Preliminary data from the Missouri Department of Conservation indicates that young turkey hunters in Missouri harvested 3,721 birds over the youth weekend on April 6 and 7. The top harvest counties were Gasconade with 92 birds harvested, followed by Osage with 90, and Franklin with 89. The weekend total represents a significant increase from the 2,550 birds harvested last year.
MDC Turkey Biologist, Nick Oakley, attributes the favorable weather as the key factor for the increase in the youth harvest by more than a thousand birds compared to the 2023 youth season. This year’s harvest is the highest total among youth since 2017. Successive improvements in hatches over the last several years have contributed to the stabilization of the turkey population, and hunters are beginning to see the benefits of these improvements in the field.
In North Missouri, the number of turkeys harvested by youth during the spring weekend varied, with 44 in Livingston County, 43 in Harrison County, and 42 in Adair County, descending to 14 in Grundy County. Other counties and youth harvest numbers include Linn with 37, Daviess with 36, Chariton with 34, Mercer County with 30, Sullivan with 28, Carroll with 25, Caldwell and Putnam each with 23, and DeKalb County reporting 19 turkeys.
