NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — After compiling statistics about this year's spring wild turkey hunting season, the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency found the total reported harvest to be lower than both last year and the previous 5-year average.

The TWRA said that the total 2025 spring turkey harvest was 29,037. That represents an eight percent decrease from 2024 and a 13% decrease from the previous five-year average.

The agency's Wild Turkey Program Coordinator Roger Shields said in a press release that he thought this year's harvest might be lower due to poor reproduction in 2023.

"The low productivity meant we would have fewer 2-year-old birds on the landscape than in years past," Shields said.

Additionally, the agency said this spring was "very wet," which affected both turkey and hunter behavior.

"We heard from a number of sources that birds were not as vocal this year and as hunters, if we’re not hearing birds, we’re often less inclined to keep heading to the woods, especially if it’s raining all the time,” Shields added. “We’ll have a better idea of how hunter effort changed and how that might have affected total harvest after we get results from our post-season hunter survey.”

In all, 23,785 hunters reported harvesting at least one turkey — which is just one percent less than the 5-year average of successful hunters.

Next year's turkey season starts April 11 and lasts until May 24. The Young Sportsman Hunt will be the weekend of April 4 through April 5.

News Source : https://www.wkrn.com/news/tennessee-news/low-2025-spring-turkey-harvest/