COLUMBUS — Ohio’s youth wild turkey hunting season ended April 18 with 1,473 birds harvested by young hunters, according to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources Division of Wildlife.
Youth hunters 17 or younger enjoyed mostly mild temperatures and dry conditions during the two-day season. Participants in the youth season were required to be accompanied by a nonhunting adult.
As of April 18, the Division of Wildlife has issued 6,978 youth wild turkey permits, which can be used throughout the 2021 spring hunting season.
The top 10 counties for wild turkey harvest during the 2021 youth season include the following: Guernsey (60), Monroe (51), Noble (51), Jefferson (48), Coshocton (47), Tuscarawas (46), Belmont (44), Muskingum (44), Columbiana (43) and Meigs (41).
In 2020, youth hunters harvested 1,843 wild turkeys during the two-day youth season. Ohio offers more opportunities for hunters of all ages to pursue wild turkeys. Hotspots for turkey hunting are found throughout the southern and eastern regions.
The state has two zones for spring wild turkey hunting: the south zone and the northeast zone. The northeast zone is open from May 1 to May 30. Hunters are required to have a hunting license in addition to a spring permit.
Find complete details in the 2020-2021 Hunting and Trapping Regulation booklet.
Hunters may use shotguns or archery equipment to hunt wild turkeys. It is unlawful to hunt turkeys using bait, live decoys or electronic calling devices, or to shoot a turkey while it is in a tree. The spring hunting season limit is two bearded wild turkeys. Hunters may harvest one bearded turkey per day, and a second permit may be purchased at any time throughout the spring season.
A turkey is required to be checked no later than 11:30 p.m. the day of harvest using the new HuntFish OH mobile app, the automated game-check system, by phone at 877-TAG-IT-OH (877-824-4864), or at a participating license agent.
Anyone interested in learning to hunt or becoming a mentor to a new hunter can visit the Wild Ohio Harvest Community page for information on how to get started, hunting-related workshops, as well as special hunting opportunities for mentors and new hunters. Visit wildohio.gov to find out more.
Turkeys by counties
A county list of all wild turkeys checked by youth hunters during the 2021 youth turkey season is shown. The first number following the county’s name shows the harvest numbers for 2021, and the 2020 numbers are in parentheses. Harvest numbers are raw data and subject to change.
Adams: 27 (41)
Allen: 11 (10)
Ashland: 26 (19)
Ashtabula: 38 (36)
Athens: 18 (34)
Auglaize: 2 (4)
Belmont: 44 (47)
Brown: 30 (40)
Butler: 10 (24)
Carroll: 27 (32)
Champaign: 6 (9)
Clark: 1 (4)
Clermont: 20 (31)
Clinton: 3 (15)
Columbiana: 43 (44)
Coshocton: 47 (45)
Crawford: 0 (3)
Darke: 8 (8)
Defiance: 26 (40)
Delaware: 4 (11)
Erie: 2 (2)
Fairfield: 7 (11)
Fayette: 2 (5)
Franklin: 2 (2)
Fulton: 13 (23);
Gallia: 38 (36)
Geauga: 12 (13)
Greene: 1 (1)
Guernsey: 60 (48)
Hamilton: 2 (5)
Hancock: 0 (7)
Hardin: 5 (9)
Harrison: 37 (44)
Henry: 9 (13)
Highland: 35 (41)
Hocking: 14 (26)
Holmes: 27 (37)
Huron: 9 (7)
Jackson: 30 (30)
Jefferson: 48 (36)
Knox: 25 (33)
Lake: 7 (6)
Lawrence: 26 (19)
Licking: 21 (30)
Logan: 10 (12)
Lorain: 5 (11)
Lucas: 5 (8);
Madison: 1 (0)
Mahoning: 14 (16)
Marion: 3 (5)
Medina: 7 (18)
Meigs: 41 (57)
Mercer: 1 (4)
Miami: 1 (7)
Monroe: 51 (71)
Montgomery: 1 (3)
Morgan: 27 (36)
Morrow: 11 (21)
Muskingum: 44 (63)
Noble: 51 (51)
Paulding: 9 (9)
Perry: 29 (33)
Pickaway: 1 (6)
Pike: 12 (13)
Portage: 24 (19)
Preble: 5 (8)
Putnam: 6 (11)
Richland: 21 (16)
Ross: 21 (31)
Sandusky: 4 (3)
Scioto: 15 (28)
Seneca: 14 (8)
Shelby: 3 (4)
Stark: 14 (19)
Summit: 4 (5);
Trumbull: 36 (43)
Tuscarawas: 46 (68)
Union: 3 (5)
Van Wert: 1 (4)
Vinton: 19 (35)
Warren: 8 (15)
Washington: 40 (55)
Wayne: 7 (11)
Williams: 21 (20)
Wood: 5 (4)
Wyandot: 9 (8)
