Turkey Dates, Rules & Regulations
2027 Private Land Turkey Zones
- Zones follow county lines with the exception of the inside of the Mississippi river levee in Crittenden, Lee, Mississippi, Phillips and St. Francis county. See the current Hunting Guidebook for WMA Zone info.
2027 Regular Turkey Season Dates & Bag Limits
April 19-May 9, 2027 | Two legal turkeys (Click here to view “What Is a Legal Turkey?” from the 2026-2027 Hunting Guidebook).
April 19-27, 2027 | One legal turkey (Click here to view “What Is a Legal Turkey?” from the 2026-2027 Hunting Guidebook). Hunters who harvest a turkey in this zone must travel to an NWR, WMA or Zone 1, 2, 2A or 3 to harvest a second bird.
April 12-May 2, 2027 | Two legal turkeys (Click here to view “What Is a Legal Turkey?” from the 2026-2027 Hunting Guidebook).
April 12-20, 2027 | One legal turkey (Click here to view “What Is a Legal Turkey?” from the 2026-2027 Hunting Guidebook). Hunters who harvest a turkey in this zone must travel to an NWR, WMA or Zone 1, 1A, 2 or 3 to harvest a second bird.
April 5-25, 2027 | Two legal turkeys (Click here to view “What Is a Legal Turkey?” from the 2026-2027 Hunting Guidebook).
2027 Youth Turkey Hunt
Zones 1, 1A, 2 and 2A: April 10-11, 2027, One legal turkey.
- Only hunters 6 to 15 years old may hunt turkeys during the youth turkey hunt. Youths who have completed hunter education may hunt alone. Youths who have not completed hunter education must be under the direct supervision of an adult who is 21 or older. Resident youth will need the product code YGT to check turkeys; nonresident youth will need the product code YTTN.
Statewide Turkey Bag Limit
- The statewide bag limit is two legal turkeys (Click here to view “What Is a Legal Turkey?” from the 2026-2027 Hunting Guidebook).
- For each zone, no more than one legal turkey may be taken during the first seven days of the regular season.
- No more than one legal turkey may be taken per day.
- It is illegal for any hunter to harvest a hen turkey (including bearded hens).
- Bag limit on all individual wildlife management areas is one legal turkey.
- Hunters may not exceed any zone (statewide or WMA) harvest limits.
- Nonresidents (youth and adult) are allowed only one turkey in their seasonal bag limit.
Turkey Hunting Regulations
- Only shotguns (10 gauge and smaller) and archery equipment (including crossbows) are legal for turkey hunting. Shot larger than No. 2 common shot is prohibited.
- Wild turkeys may not be hunted over bait. An area is considered baited if any food (including shelled, shucked or unshucked corn, chops, wheat or other feed that could serve as a lure or attractant for wildlife) is present or has been present in the last 10 days. (An area is considered baited for 10 days following complete removal of the bait.) There is no set distance from a baited site that a hunter may shoot a turkey.
- Turkeys may not be taken from 30 minutes after sunset until 30 minutes before sunrise.
- Turkeys may not be hunted with the use of traps, snares, nets, hooks, explosives, dogs or live decoys. Hunters may not possess electronic or mechanically powered or driven callers.
- Hunters must be at least 6 years old to harvest a wild turkey.
- Releasing domestically reared turkeys into the wild is illegal.
- Capturing wild turkeys or collecting their eggs is illegal.
