Turkey Season 2026: GAME ON!

Doug Howlett

It is “game on” for turkey hunters in 2026 as the first birds started flopping earlier this week with the opening of America’s first turkey season.

North America’s spring turkey season officially kicked off March 7 in South Florida, where the Osceola season opened south of State Road 70. In the palmetto flats and cypress edges of the peninsula, hunters are already slipping through the dark before daylight listening for that first gobble to roll across the flatwoods. Florida traditionally fires the starting gun for the spring turkey calendar in North America, and once those Osceolas start sounding off, every turkey hunter in the country starts watching the calendar.

The rest of the South won’t wait long. Mississippi and the South Zone of Texas both open March 14, putting two more gobbler-rich states into play this weekend. From there, the season marches steadily north as warming weather triggers breeding activity and gobbling. By mid-April, much of the country will be hunting. By May, the final northern states join the chase.

According to the National Wild Turkey Federation’s 2026 Spring Hunt Guide, here are the first regular spring turkey season openers by state, listed in the order they begin.

2026 Spring Turkey Season Openers

• March 7 — Florida (South Zone)

• March 15 — Mississippi

• March 15 — Texas (South Zone)

• March 25 — Alabama

• March 28 — California

• March 29 — Georgia

• April 1 — Kansas

• April 1 — Wyoming

• April 3 — South Carolina

• April 4 — Louisiana

• April 6 — Arkansas

• April 11 — Arizona

• April 11 — Delaware

• April 11 — Tennessee

• April 11 — Utah

• April 11 — Virginia

• April 12 — Colorado

• April 12 — Kentucky

• April 12 — Montana

• April 12 — Nebraska

• April 12 — North Carolina

• April 12 — North Dakota

• April 12 — South Dakota

• April 13 — Illinois

• April 13 — Iowa

• April 15 — Idaho

• April 15 — Minnesota

• April 15 — New Mexico

• April 15 — Oregon

• April 15 — Washington

• April 15 — Wisconsin

• April 16 — Oklahoma

• April 18 — Maryland

• April 18 — Michigan

• April 18 — Ohio

• April 20 — Missouri

• April 20 — West Virginia

• April 21 — New Jersey

• April 22 — Indiana

• April 24 — Rhode Island

• April 25 — Nevada

• April 28 — Massachusetts

• April 30 — Connecticut

• May 1 — New Hampshire

• May 1 — New York

• May 1 — Vermont

• May 2 — Pennsylvania

• May 4 — Maine

One early gobble in the palmettos of South Florida becomes thousands of them across the country in the weeks ahead. Spring climbs north and the lucky hunters get to follow it…if not personally, through post and stories on social media. Good luck everyone! We’ll have more tips to help you in the days and weeks to come.