COLUMBUS — Ohio hunters harvested 3,315 wild turkeys during the opening weekend of the south zone spring hunting season April 23-24, according to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources Division of Wildlife.
This is the second year that spring turkey season began on a Saturday instead of the traditional Monday opener. Ohio hunters checked 3,875 turkeys during the 2021 opening weekend. The average harvest during the first two days of the previous three seasons is 3,974 birds.
The top 10 counties for wild turkey harvest reported during the opening weekend of the 2022 south zone include: Guernsey (110), Harrison (104), Tuscarawas (104), Carroll (101), Belmont (93), Meigs (92), Adams (89), Brown (88), Jefferson (88) and Muskingum (86).
The Division of Wildlife has issued 38,971 wild turkey permits that are valid throughout the spring hunting season. In addition to the opening weekend results, youth hunters harvested 1,103 wild turkeys during Ohio’s youth season April 9-10. Wild turkey hunting in Ohio’s south zone is open until May 22.
Hunting in the northeast zone, comprised of Ashtabula, Cuyahoga, Geauga, Lake and Trumbull counties in Ohio’s snow belt, is open until May 29.
The spring hunting season limit is one bearded wild turkey. A turkey is required to be checked no later than 11:30 p.m. the day of harvest using the 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.
Wild turkeys checked by county
A county list of all wild turkeys checked by hunters during the opening weekend of the 2022 south zone is shown.
The first number following the county’s name shows the harvest numbers for 2022, and the three-year average from 2019 to 2021 is in parentheses. A three-year average provides a better overall comparison to this year’s numbers, eliminating year-to-year variation because of weather, misaligned season dates, and other unavoidable factors.
Numbers are raw data and are subject to change.
Adams: 89 (104); Allen: 22 (13); Ashland: 43 (41); Athens: 74 (102); Auglaize: 8 (9); Belmont: 93 (132); Brown: 88 (104); Butler: 49 (50); Carroll: 101 (98); Champaign: 25 (20); Clark: 8 (2); Clermont: 62 (82); Clinton: 19 (18); Columbiana: 79 (107); Coshocton: 65 (107); Crawford: 14 (13); Darke: 13 (16); Defiance: 41 (41); Delaware: 21 (31); Erie: 12 (9); Fairfield: 32 (26); Fayette: 1 (2); Franklin: 1 (5); Fulton: 19 (28); Gallia: 80 (97); Greene: 12 (5); Guernsey: 110 (135);
Hamilton: 28 (26); Hancock: 5 (10); Hardin: 20 (23); Harrison: 104 (115); Henry: 9 (15); Highland: 65 (92); Hocking: 60 (67); Holmes: 43 (54); Huron: 19 (30); Jackson: 51 (94); Jefferson: 88 (106); Knox: 54 (78); Lawrence: 52 (50); Licking: 65 (84); Logan: 39 (29); Lorain: 25 (29); Lucas: 13 (13); Madison: 1 (2); Mahoning: 46 (47); Marion: 11 (8); Medina: 21 (26); Meigs: 92 (122); Mercer: 5 (5); Miami: 11 (6); Monroe: 75 (116); Montgomery: 3 (8); Morgan: 67 (84); Morrow: 46 (31); Muskingum: 86 (114);
Noble: 72 (97); Paulding: 13 (15); Perry: 55 (69); Pickaway: 1 (5); Pike: 42 (52); Portage: 42 (52); Preble: 47 (29); Putnam: 10 (11); Richland: 44 (55); Ross: 72 (80); Sandusky: 5 (7); Scioto: 50 (65); Seneca: 26 (31); Shelby: 11 (15); Stark: 56 (62); Summit: 18 (16); Tuscarawas: 104 (113); Union: 15 (11); Van Wert: 7 (4); Vinton: 47 (70); Warren: 23 (23); Washington: 69 (114); Wayne: 33 (26); Williams: 50 (50); Wood: 7 (4); Wyandot: 11 (17).
