The 2026 spring wild turkey hunting season will run from April 11 through May 9, 2026. A special two-day hunt for youth and non-ambulatory hunters is set for April 4 and 5, 2026.

Resident and non-resident hunters aged 13 and older must have a valid Delaware Hunting License and pass a turkey hunting course approved by the DNREC Division of Fish and Wildlife before they can legally hunt turkeys in Delaware.

Hunting on Sunday is now permitted for turkeys. The bag limit is one turkey per year. Bearded turkeys only.

Turkey hunting hours are one half-hour before sunrise until 1 p.m. All successful turkey hunters must register their turkey within 24 hours of harvest.

New this year: Successful turkey hunters will not have to take their turkey to a check station to have it registered. Hunters can register their turkey by visiting de.gov/DigitalDNREC or by calling the toll-free number 1-855-DEL-HUNT (1-855-335-4868).

The 2025 Wild Turkey Hunting Season

A total of 801 wild turkeys were harvested during the 2025 season, a 10.8% increase from the previous year and ranking as the highest harvested in Delaware since the season opened in 1991. The previous high was in 2023 when 723 turkeys were harvested.

The 2025 season ran from April 12 to May 10, with a special two-day hunt for youth and non-ambulatory hunters on April 5 and 6.

Harvest by Turkey Management Region

Delaware is divided into four wild turkey management regions, made up of 18 wildlife management zones.

The Interior Region accounted for 42.7% of harvested wild turkey in 2025 (342 birds). This region includes zones 2, 4, 6 – 8 and 10.

There were 284 birds (35.5%) harvested the Southern Region (zones 11 through 17).

There were 155 birds (19.3%) harvested from the Bayshore Region (zones 3, 5 and 9).

And 20 birds (2.5%) were harvested from the Northern Region (zones 1A and 1B).

Public Land vs. Private Land

Those hunting on private land were allowed to hunt on every day of the season. Those hunting on public land were selected through a preseason lottery to hunt during one of four week-long season segments.

Most wild turkeys harvested in 2025 were taken from private lands, though a record number, 171 birds, were harvested on public lands.

With the addition of Sunday hunting for some wildlife areas, and the addition of access at Prime Hook National Wildlife Refuge as well as Bombay Hook National Wildlife Refuge (no Sunday hunting), public land hunters were given more opportunities.

The top three public lands for harvesting wild turkey in 2025 were Redden State Forest, Norman G. Wilder Wildlife Area and Milford Neck Wildlife Area.

2025 Youth and Non-ambulatory Person Hunt

With the addition of Sunday hunting in 2025, the youth and non-ambulatory hunt ran on both Saturday April 5 and Sunday April 6.

During this two-day hunt, 63 turkeys were harvested, with 49 on Saturday and 14 on Sunday.

From Saturday alone, harvests were up 68.97% from 2024’s one-day youth and non-ambulatory hunt, which yielded 29 birds.

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