DOVER – Delaware’s month-long spring turkey hunting season opens Saturday, April 13 and runs through Saturday, May 11, DNREC’s Division of Fish & Wildlife announced today. Hunting hours are a half-hour before sunrise until 1 p.m. Monday through Saturday. Only bearded turkeys may be harvested, and the bag limit is one bearded turkey per hunter each year, regardless of where and when a gobbler is harvested.
A special statewide one-day turkey hunt for youth ages 10-15 and for disabled hunters requiring a wheelchair for mobility will be held Saturday, April 6 from a half-hour before sunrise until 1 p.m. Youth hunters on this one-day turkey hunt must be accompanied by an adult 21 years of age or older who has completed a Delaware-approved turkey hunter safety class and who has a Delaware hunting license or is license-exempt. The accompanying adult may not hunt.
All harvested birds must be checked at an authorized turkey check station by 2:30 p.m. on the day the bird was harvested. A list of check stations is available at 2019 Turkey Check Stations. Check station hours may vary, so hunters are advised to call the station to confirm hours of operation. Hunters who want to have their bird scored and entered into the National Wild Turkey Federation records are reminded to have their bird’s weight recorded on a certified scale. If the check station does not have a certified scale, hunters will be directed to another station to have the turkey weighed.
Hunting on state wildlife areas and state forests during the spring turkey hunting season requires carrying the public land permit that was issued through a preseason lottery, with the permit specifying the public land and season segment/dates that can be hunted. Hunters participating in the special turkey hunt
