MONTPELIER, Vt. – Vermont is increasingly recognized as a wild turkey hunting destination. With its near perfect mix of fields, farms and forests, Vermont is home to some of the best turkey hunting opportunities New England has to offer.
Although the majority of turkeys are harvested during the annual spring hunting season, many hunters take to the woods to enjoy Vermont’s fall shotgun and archery turkey hunting seasons which are set to start in early October.
The archery turkey season opens statewide October 6 and continues through October 19.
Archery and shotgun turkey hunting is open in Wildlife Management Units (WMUs) B, D, G, H, I, J, L, M, O, P, and Q from October 20 through 28 and October 20 through November 4 in WMUs F, K and N.
A hunting license and add-on turkey license are required to hunt turkeys in Vermont. Licensed hunter may take one turkey of either sex during the fall season. Only number 2 through number 8 shot may be used in shotguns and arrowheads must be at least 7/8 of an inch wide and have two or more cutting edges.
“Hunter success should be great this fall thanks to the overall health and abundance of Vermont’s wild turkey population and to the exceptional turkey nesting season we experienced this year,” said Chris Bernier, Vermont Fish & Wildlife’s wild turkey project leader. “In fact, based on preliminary results from the annual public turkey brood survey, 2018 was the second best year for turkey production ever recorded in the survey’s 12-year history.”
Throughout all of Vermont’s 2018 turkey hunting seasons, hunters are expected to accrue a combined harvest of more than 6,500 turkeys this year which represents an estimated 148,000 servings of sustainably harvested, locally grown, organic meat.
A 2018 Vermont Turkey Hunting Guide with regulations is available on the Vermont Fish & Wildlife website (www.vtfishandwildlife.com).
Licenses can be purchased on Vermont Fish & Wildlife’s website.
For Immediate Release: October 1, 2018
Media Contacts: Chris Bernier 802-289-0628; Mark Scott 802-777-4217; Scott Darling 802-786-3862