Ohio Spring Turkey Hunting Sees 3% Increase

6/6/2025, 4:18:00 PM

Ohio Spring Turkey Hunting Sees 3% Increase

Ohio’s spring 2025 wild-turkey season closed with 16,014 birds checked—3 % more than last year and 11.5 % above the recent three-year average—but still well below the 26,156-bird record set in 2001.ashlandsource.comwfmj.comhighlandcountypress.com Hunters enjoyed robust flocks, a one-bird bag limit, and steady gobbling action across both management zones, confirming that the Buckeye State’s long-term restoration work continues to pay dividends.

Season by the Numbers

Statewide totals

County hot-spots

Ashtabula again topped Ohio’s leaderboard with 516 birds, followed by Monroe (462), Belmont (459), Guernsey (419) and Muskingum (406). Rounding out the top ten were Trumbull, Tuscarawas, Carroll, Meigs, Columbiana and Coshocton.wfmj.comashlandsource.com

Age & sex breakdown

Zones & gear

Ohio splits its spring season into a five-county Northeast Zone (1,230 birds) and an 83-county South Zone (14,784 birds) to match nesting chronology.ashlandsource.com Shotguns dominated the harvest at 98 % (15,751 birds), while archers tagged the remaining 263 toms.wfmj.com

Regulations Recap

How We Got Here – A Brief History

Wild turkeys vanished from Ohio by the early 1900s, but trap-and-transfer efforts begun in the 1950s set the stage for their comeback.ashlandsource.com The first modern season (1966) opened in just nine counties and produced 12 birds; statewide seasons began in 2000, and numbers peaked in 2001.ashlandsource.comfacebook.com Long-term harvests have remained stable despite annual ups-and-downs tied to brood success and habitat conditions.ashlandsource.com

Looking Ahead for Hunters

Expect plenty of vocal birds in 2026

The GPS-hen study the Division of Wildlife launched in 2023—now tracking 248 hens—should fine-tune season timing and habitat work, potentially boosting future poult survival.ashlandsource.com If summer brood surveys stay above the 2.8 poults-per-hen benchmark, hunters can anticipate another healthy class of two-year-old gobblers next spring.

Tune up those turkey calls

With shotgun patterns dialed-in and a one-gobbler limit, calling finesse matters more than ever. Practice soft yelps and excited cuts to coax wary long-beards that have already heard every box and slate on the farm. (Need audio help? Grab the free sound library at TurkeyCalls.us.)

Scout the fringe counties

Harvest growth in counties like Defiance (+56 over average) and Williams (+63) hints at expanding range edges—prime spots for less-pressured birds.


Bottom line: 2025 wasn’t a record-smashing spring, but it was another solid notch in Ohio’s comeback story—proof that smart regulations, robust habitat and a chorus of well-timed turkey calls keep the Buckeye State’s gobblers thundering each April.

h/t: https://www.mansfieldnewsjournal.com/story/news/2025/06/03/spring-turkey-hunting-season-results-above-average-shy-of-record/83992968007/

Turkey Calls

Learn how to make turkey calls and find turkey hunting resources.

As an Amazon Associate I earn a small amount from qualifying purchases. Amazon, the Amazon logo & the Audible logo are trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates.

© 2025 Turkey Calls. All rights reserved. v1.0.3 (Build 91)