Preliminary data from the Missouri Department of Conservation shows that turkey hunters checked 36,231 birds during Missouri’s 2019 regular spring turkey season, April 15 through May 5.
Top harvest counties were Franklin with 785 birds checked, Texas with 729, and Callaway with 672. Young turkey hunters harvested 2,546 birds during the 2019 spring youth season, April 6-7, bringing the overall 2019 spring turkey harvest to 38,777.
Among the Green Hills counties, the most turkeys were taken in Putnam and Sullivan counties with 571 and 540 respectively. Numbers from other area counties include Harrison at 484, Daviess 449, Mercer 443, Linn 439, Livingston 421, Grundy 333, and Caldwell with 228.
Last year, young turkey hunters harvested 1,729 birds during the spring youth season and hunters harvested 34,072 during the regular spring season for a 2018 spring season total harvest of 35,801 birds.
