Bonus fall turkey harvest authorizations on-sale Saturday, Aug. 17 at 10 a.m.

Bonus fall turkey harvest authorizations on-sale Saturday, Aug. 17 at 10 a.m.

Contact(s): Alaina Gerrits, assistant upland wildlife ecologist, 608-261-8458

Fall turkey harvest authorizations will be available for purchase beginning Saturday, Aug. 17 at 10 a.m. - Photo credit: DNR
Fall turkey harvest authorizations will be available for purchase beginning Saturday, Aug. 17 at 10 a.m.Photo credit: DNR

MADISON, Wis. – Fall turkey harvest authorizations will be available for purchase beginning Saturday, Aug. 17 at 10 a.m. One turkey harvest authorization will be issued to each person purchasing a fall turkey license or conservation patron license, instead of being issued through a drawing.

Hunters can choose the zone for which their harvest authorization will be valid at the time of purchase.

Bonus fall turkey harvest authorizations can be purchased in addition to the fall turkey harvest authorization included with a license purchase. The bonus harvest authorization sale begins at 10 a.m. on Saturday, August 17, availability is as follows:

  • Zone 1: 5,000
  • Zone 2: 2,000
  • Zone 3: 5,000
  • Zone 4: 2,000
  • Zone 5: 0
  • Zone 6: 0
  • Zone 7: 0

Bonus harvest authorizations are sold on a first-come, first-served basis. They can be purchased at a rate of one per day until the zone sells out or the season ends. The cost is $10 for residents, $15 for nonresidents and $5 for hunters under 12 years old. An annual turkey stamp authorization is required to hunt turkeys.

Hunters can purchase their bonus harvest authorization online at GoWild.wi.gov or in person at any license agent. Hunters can purchase their fall turkey license and claim their fall harvest authorization anytime throughout the fall turkey season. Please note that customers who wish to purchase a bonus authorization will need to first purchase a fall turkey license and claim their harvest authorization.

The fall 2019 wild turkey season for Zones 1-5 is Sept. 14 to Jan. 5, 2020. For zones 6 and 7, the season will run from Sept. 14 to Nov. 22.

Availability for bonus harvest authorizations is determined by a variety of factors, including hunting pressure, customer demand, habitat availability, turkey population densities and turkey distribution in each zone.

The fall turkey regulations can be found within the 2019 Wisconsin Small Game Hunting Regulations [PDF]. For more information regarding turkey hunting in Wisconsin, visit dnr.wi.gov and search “turkey.”