OHIO — Wild turkey season opened Saturday, April 19, and hunters checked thousands of birds, according to a release from the Ohio Department of Natural Resources.
For the opening weekend of the spring hunting season, hunters checked 4,281 birds.
Last year, hunters checked 4,367 wild turkeys on opening weekend. The three-year average from 2022 to 2024 is 3,912. The opening weekend results do not include the 1,740 birds taken during the youth-only weekend earlier this month.
The top 10 counties for the opening of the 2025 season were:
- Belmont (148)
- Meigs (136)
- Guernsey (135)
- Monroe (134)
- Carroll (122)
- Coshocton (122)
- Harrison (116)
- Washington (116)
- Columbiana (109)
- Muskingum (109)
The season is open in 83 counties that comprise the south zone. For Ohio's northeast zone, including Ashtabula, Cuyahoga, Geauga, Lake and Trumbull, the season kicks off Saturday, May 3.
Hunters are limited to one bird statewide for the season bag limit.
For the first nine days in each zone, hunting hours are set for 30 minutes before sunrise until noon. In the south, beginning April 28, hours will be 30 minutes before sunrise until sunset until the season closes May 18. In the northeast zone, hours are 30 minutes before sunrise to sunset from May 12 to June 1.
Hunters must have a valid hunting license and a spring turkey permit, unless exempted. Turkeys must be game-checked no later than 11:30 p.m. on the day of the harvest.