ND Turkey Season Starts Sat. Apr. 11

By Nick Simonson

Following some heavy snows and a windy week in the seven days leading up to opening morning of the 2026 turkey season on Sat. Apr. 11, hunters are apt to find good

hunting for North Dakota’s largest upland bird, according to RJ Gross, Upland Game Biologist with the North Dakota Game & Fish Dept. (NDG&F).

“They’re strutting pretty good. The next couple of weeks is pretty much peak breeding in North Dakota and they’re going to have one thing on their mind, they’re going to be ready to find those hens,” Gross relates to the current status of male turkeys, known as “toms,” adding, “and those hens they’re going to start looking for those nesting sites pretty quick,” he concludes.

Gross anticipates a higher proportion of mature toms, on the landscape this spring, as

hunters tagged a greater number of less mature male turkeys, called “jakes,” over the

past two seasons. This should produce a higher ratio of older toms with longer beards

and spurs, providing an increased shot at what turkey hunters consider trophy birds.

“The population is about on par as it has been. There should be more toms this year,

because the last two years we had really high crops of jakes. We should have had high

winter survival, with the little bit of winter we had. So, there should be a lot of toms out

there for people to chase around,” Gross states.

Habitat conditions remain good across much of the state for hunters venturing out, with

grasses beginning to green in western reaches of North Dakota. Last summer and fall

produced good cover and in those riparian stretches that wild turkeys frequent,

vegetation should be available to provide camouflage for both turkeys and the hunters

seeking them out. With recent windy days, however, Gross reminds hunters to pay

attention to those areas where things are drier, and to keep landowners and their

property front of mind when accessing hunting areas.

“As far as conditions statewide, it’s pretty good. Even though we got a lot of moisture

and a lot of snow, the next couple of days [ahead of opener] will be windier than heck

and that’s going to dry stuff out. Watch the fire index, be smart and don’t park in tall

grass with your hot car. Be mindful of landowner interactions, be respectful to people - if you open a gate, close a gate - things like that,” Gross advises.

This year 8,490 tags were made available for spring turkey hunting in North Dakota.

That’s up from 2025 when 8,193 tags were issued. The largest populations of wild

turkeys are found in western North Dakota, along the breaks and in the badlands, where

low, woody cover in draws and ravines provides security to flocks. Coinciding with the

spring hunting season, the birds’ mating season runs from April into May, and toms will

strut with their chests puffed out and their tail fan of feathers spread wide to attract the

attention of females. The spring turkey hunting season closes on Sun. May 17 and

hunting hours are one half hour before sunrise to sunset each day.

Simonson is the lead writer and editor of Dakota Edge Outdoors.

Featured Photo: Hunters should find more mature toms on the landscape this spring for

their hunting endeavors, as the past two years had a higher take of immature males,

known as jakes. Simonson Photo.