Safety Tips For Spring Turkey Season In New York

We are one week into Spring turkey season here in New York and as the weather starts to get nice there will be more and more hunters out and about across the state.

Spring turkey season runs from May 1st until May 31st and is open in all counties north of the Bronx-Westchester County boundary. Also, new for 2023, turkey hunting will be allowed in Suffolk County on Long Island.

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New York's Department of Environmental Conservation is offering some safety tips to all the hunters in New York for turkey season.

• Point your gun in a safe direction;
• Treat every gun as if it were loaded;
• Be sure of your target and beyond;
• Keep your finger off the trigger until ready to shoot; and
• Stalking stinks! Sit with your back against a tree or other object wider than your shoulders and call birds to you.

There are several rules you need to abide by in order to hunt turkeys in New York.

• Hunters must have a turkey hunting permit in addition to their hunting license;
• Shooting hours are from one-half hour before sunrise to noon each day;
• Hunters may take two bearded turkeys during the spring season, but only one bird per day and no more than one bird per season in Wildlife Management Unit 1C (Suffolk County);
• Hunters may not use rifles or handguns firing a bullet. Hunters may hunt with a shotgun or handgun loaded with shot sizes no larger than Number 2 or smaller than Number 9, or with a bow or crossbow (except crossbows may not be used in Westchester or Suffolk counties);
• Successful hunters must fill out the tag that comes with their turkey permit and immediately attach it to any turkey harvested;

For more details about hunting turkeys in New York, check out the New York Department of Environmental Conservation website HERE.