MONTPELIER, Vt. – It's almost time for spring turkey hunting in Vermont with youth and novice weekend on April 25 and 26 and the regular season from May 1 to May 31.
"The youth and novice turkey hunting weekend provides an excellent opportunity for experienced hunters to teach young or new hunters how to safely and successfully hunt wild turkeys," said Toni Mikula, Vermont's wild turkey biologist.
To hunt turkeys on April 25 and 26, a youth must be 15 or younger and must have completed a hunter education course and possess a hunting license, a turkey hunting license and a free youth turkey hunting tag.
A person who has purchased their first hunting license in the past 12 months and is 16 or older may hunt turkeys as a novice on April 25 and 26. They must have a hunting license, turkey hunting license and a free novice tag.
The youth or novice must be accompanied by an unarmed licensed adult over 18 years of age. Shooting hours for the weekend are one half hour before sunrise to 5 p.m. Landowner permission is required to hunt on private land during youth-novice turkey hunting weekend.
The youth or novice may take one bearded turkey on the weekend and two bearded turkeys in the regular May hunting season.
Shooting hours during the May 1-31 turkey season are one half hour before sunrise to 12:00 Noon, and two bearded turkeys may be taken.
A shotgun or archery equipment may be used to hunt turkeys. Shot size must be no larger than #2. Vermont Fish and Wildlife recommends hunters to use highly effective non-lead shotgun shells.
A successful hunter in Vermont's spring turkey seasons must report their turkey within 48 hours to the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department. This can be done at a local big game reporting station or online at Vermont Fish and Wildlife's website.
Last year, youth and novice hunters took 617 and 26 turkeys, respectively during the April weekend hunt and hunters took 5,131 bearded birds during the regular spring season.
"Combined with the 419 turkeys taken during the fall season, hunters harvested in excess of 150,000 servings of locally sourced, free range turkey meat in 2025," added Mikula. "To go from essentially no turkeys in Vermont before 1969 to a booming population that can provide over a hundred thousand meals each season as well as wildlife viewing opportunities statewide is a conservation success anyone who cares about wildlife can be proud of."
Vermont Fish and Wildlife's 2026 Turkey Hunting Guide and the 2025 Turkey Harvest Report are available on their website.