Many Midwestern states offer tremendous turkey hunting opportunities in classic habitat, such as mixed hardwoods and ag fields. Photo by Michael Tatman.

Hard-gobbling, heavyweight longbeards? Check. Solid turkey populations? Ditto. Long seasons and ample opportunity? Right again. Turkey seasons in the Midwest seem to offer quality hunting year after year — a trend that should continue in Spring 2025.

Here’s what Midwestern turkey hunters can expect this spring.

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ILLINOIS

“Optimism about the Illinois turkey population has been high the last few years and should continue for the upcoming spring hunting season,” said Luke Garver, wild turkey project manager for the Illinois Department of Natural Resources. “Indications are strong that populations are still on the rise after a potential drop a few years ago. Reproductive metrics and hunter success rates were both high the last year and have been increasing for the last few years.”

Garver said the entire state appears to be experiencing a slow but steady increase in turkey numbers. The only counties that did not see an increase in harvest totals from 2023 to 2024 were those that experienced a large buffalo gnat emergence midway through the season, after which hunter effort dropped off sharply.

During Spring 2024, Illinois hunters shot a record 17,208 turkeys.

Read More: Turkey Hunting in Illinois

INDIANA

Geriann Albers, furbearer and turkey program leader for the Indiana Department of Natural Resources, said the 2025 season looks promising. Production was good during Summer 2024, with poult-per-hen ratios right at average. Gobbling counts in 2024 were higher than average, and turkey populations appear to be stable.

“While we’re past the boom the 2020 cicada emergence caused, it should be a good spring, as our turkey populations seem healthy,” she said.

Lake and Porter counties, in northwestern Indiana, saw some of the Brood XIII (17-year) cicadas, so hunters should expect a strong jake class in 2025 and more 2-year-old gobblers in 2026.

“The forests in Monroe and Brown counties had good reports of reproduction this year, and with last year’s mild winter, we should see good hunting opportunities there, including public land opportunities at the state forests,” Albers said. “Some counties in central Indiana, like Tipton County, typically show low production, and this was true in 2024. This area may continue to be difficult to hunt.”

In Spring 2024, Indiana hunters took 15,548 turkeys, the second-highest mark ever.

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IOWA

The Hawkeye State is coming off a record harvest year, and Jim Coffey, forest wildlife biologist with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, is optimistic that 2025 will also be good, as the state saw good poult production in 2023 and 2024.

“The eastern one-third of the state is our traditional turkey habitat, but turkeys were harvested in all of Iowa’s 99 counties in 2024,” he said. “North-central Iowa is a sleeper region — not a place we think of for turkeys, but is a good annual choice. I always recommend northeastern Iowa, (the Driftless Area) or the Loess Hills of western Iowa to people looking for sound turkey numbers.

Southeastern Iowa and southwestern Iowa have been down in harvest for several years.”

Iowa hunters took 16,088 turkeys in Spring 2024.

Read More: Turkey Hunting in Iowa

KANSAS

“Overall, turkey hunters should find good conditions in Kansas,” said Caleb Durbin, small-game coordinator for the Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism. “Hunter success increased last year after a better hatch and reduced tag allotments. With relatively good nesting conditions again this year, we are optimistic that we will see improved densities and success again.”

In 2025, Unit 2 (north-central Kansas) had the highest hunter success rate, with about 60% of hunters taking a bird. Durbin said that region also has more walk-in hunting access properties compared to other regions, making it worth consideration. Unit 3 (northeastern Kansas) had the lowest hunter success, at 47%, but also the highest density of turkeys. Competition for birds in that area is higher.

Kansas hunters took 11,135 turkeys in Spring 2024.

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MICHIGAN

Adam Bump, upland game-bird specialist with the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, said the state’s 2025 outlook is great. The state has seen high hunter success, low hunter interference rates and high satisfaction for years, and he doesn’t expect that to change this spring. Further, turkey numbers appear to be stable statewide.

“Hunters have a good chance to see and harvest gobblers in any open area in the state,” Bump said. “Our statewide average success rate is over 40%.”

The 2024 harvest report wasn’t available yet, but Michigan hunters took almost 34,000 birds in 2023.

“With stable populations, we can project similar opportunities and experiences as those we have seen in previous years,” Bump said. “I anticipate the 2024 harvest to look similar to that of 2023.”

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MINNESOTA

“2025 is shaping up to be another great season in Minnesota,” said Nate Huck, resident game-bird consultant with the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. “In 2024, Minnesota set a record for spring harvest thanks to a great nesting season in 2022. 2023 may have been an even better nesting season. Those 2-year-old birds that made it through the 2024 spring season will now be 3-year-olds, and we should have a lot of 2-year-olds available to hunters.”

Huck said 2023 saw great production throughout Minnesota. However, he reminded hunters that turkeys have only recently expanded into northern portions of the state, so those areas will hold fewer birds.

During Spring 2024, Minnesota hunters took 16,714 turkeys.

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MISSOURI

Nick Oakley, wild turkey and ruffed grouse biologist for the Missouri Department of Conservation, said the state’s overall outlook for 2025 is good. Missouri had a good hatch in 2023, so there should be lots of 2-year-old birds on the landscape. Hunters saw large jake flocks during Fall 2024.

“Every region of the state saw better-than-average production last year, but the eastern Ozarks and generally areas in the eastern half of the state saw better production,” Oakley said.

Missouri turkey hunters took 47,119 birds during Spring 2024.

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NEBRASKA

Spring 2025 should be similar to the past couple of years, according to Luke Meduna, big-game program manager with the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission. Trends are level for the past few years but down from highs the state saw 15 years ago.

Nebraska turkey hunters took 13,097 birds in Spring 2024.

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NORTH DAKOTA

R.J. Gross, upland game biologist with the North Dakota Game and Fish Department, said it was too early to tell how winter might affect the state’s turkey numbers. In general, populations west of the Missouri River are increasing, and numbers east of the river are decreasing.

Of course, if you’re not a North Dakota resident, your turkey options are limited anyway, as the state does not offer nonresident spring tags. Traveling hunters are restricted to opportunities at American Indian reservations.

In Spring 2024, North Dakota hunters took 3,336 turkeys.

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OHIO

“We expect 2025 spring permit success rates to fall slightly from 2024 while remaining above average,” said Mark Wiley, forest game-bird biologist with the Ohio Department of Natural Resources’ Division of Wildlife. “Statewide indices of poult production have been at or above the long-term average for four consecutive years, suggesting hunters will encounter strong gobbler numbers in Spring 2025.”

Wiley said the eastern half of Ohio consistently holds the highest turkey numbers. Poult numbers have been high in northern counties in recent years.

Ohio hunters shot 15,536 bearded turkeys during Spring 2024.

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SOUTH DAKOTA

Chad P. Lehman, senior wildlife biologist with South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks, said Spring 2025 turkey prospects look great, thanks to better weather patterns for annual survival and reproduction.

“The western part of the state has an excellent outlook,” he said. “There might be some areas in the southeastern portion of the state that are slightly down due to flooding conditions and too much precipitation in spring last year.”

South Dakota hunters took 8,293 turkeys in Spring 2024.

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WISCONSIN

Alissa Kakatsch, assistant game-bird specialist with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, said Spring 2025 prospects are shaping up nicely.

“The winter of 2023-2024 was particularly mild, and that led into early spring season conditions,” she said. “Our current winter season hasn’t been quite as mild, but I am seeing large winter flocks and hearing similar/good reports of turkeys from other parts of the state as well.”

Data from the state’s 2024 game bird brood survey indicated that total turkey observations and brood and poult numbers were down from the 2023 report, but biologists received many reports of seeing more broods in July than in August, which is when the survey occurs.

“But overall, the observation data still indicated good turkey production throughout the state,” Kakatsch said.

During Spring 2024, Wisconsin hunters took 50,435 turkeys.

Read More: Turkey Hunting in Wisconsin