Breaking down the Wisconsin Spring Turkey Hunting Season

I love the spring turkey season for different reasons than deer season. It’s a reminder that winter is behind us, the woods are starting to trade their brown for green and the GOBBLING….I love the GOBBLING. Hearing a Tom gobbling from the roost is an instant shot of adrenaline and calling him into range as he becomes louder and louder is an exhilarating experience. The 30 pound birds make their presence feel ten times larger.

Wisconsin is a turkey powerhouse with a healthy population of an estimated 300,000 turkeys. Hunters in Wisconsin registered 50,345 harvests in the Spring 2024 season. This puts it securely in the top five states nationally. Wisconsin is home to Eastern Wild Turkey and they are known for their “Corn-fed” size due to the abundant agricultural landscape.

The Wisconsin Spring Turkey Season is broken down into 7 weeks (Youth, A-F) over 7 zones instead of a general season statewide. You have to a have a tag specific to the zone you are hunting and that tag is specific to 7 days.

ttps://dnr.wisconsin.gov/topic/hunt/turkey

Applications have to be submitted by December of the prior year to be entered into the draw. After the draw there are leftover or bonus tags that go on sale in March and are first come first serve. Most of the highly desired earlier weeks will be gone by this point but still provides you an opportunity if you forgot to apply early or want to get an additional opportunity. Technically the draw is a preference point system, meaning if you did not draw a tag during the draw you would accumulate a point that would increase or secure your chances for drawing a tag the following year but based on healthy flock numbers if you choose multiple weeks as options during the draw you are likely guaranteed to draw a tag each season.

Earlier weeks are generally preferred as the bird numbers are the highest and less likely to have been pressured compared to the later weeks. Calls and decoys are likely to be most effective during this time as they have not become wise to the ploys.

Statistically in 2024 there was a direct correlation to the earlier the weeks having higher harvest rates. With "A" being the highest at 29.5% and "F" being the lowest at 14.9%, with steady declines from "A" to "F". With a total success rate of 22.5%.

Source: 2025 Wisconsin Wild Turkey Update

But it is difficult or even impossible to predict in December when you apply to know what week is going to have the most turkey activity and vocalizations as the breeding period reaches its peak. Current weather and the duration of winter will be driving factors.

I have tags for Both “A” and “E” weeks this year which is the same as what I had last year.

Silent Tom (A). Photography/fanning in early season form.

My experience last year during week “A” was a colder (40-50 degrees) and very quiet turkey woods. There was not much reaction to calling, with the exception of a lone hen that walked curiously past me. But the turkeys were there, and I saw 20 birds returning to their roost but their minds were not yet on breeding. The following night I was able to position myself between where they were feeding

and the roost the next night and caught a lone Tom as he silently appeared over a hill.

The drummer (F)

For the “F” week, I traded in my gloves and cold weather gear for a Thermacell and permethrin. The woods were no longer brown, the weather hot (70 degrees) and the turkey behavior was the complete

opposite, the birds were fired up. We walked into the woods hearing several Toms firing off from their roosts. We sat down and started calling. The Tom on the left took note and kept sounding off, coming off the roost and working closer and closer. He started drumming before I could see him (literally sounds like a drum). I knew he was close and the adrenaline started flowing. He drummed again and emerged at 15 yards, and I was able to fill my second tag 15 minutes into legal shooting hours. After that I had a lot fun trying to call some more birds into my buddy Jordan the rest of the day and having back and forth conversations with the birds.

It was the opposite of what I had expected coming into spring, I expected the first week to be primetime with no one bothering the birds for months and the second last week to have a silent wiser group of birds. So you never know which week is going to be the loudest! And you have to dictate your strategy based on their behavior and the conditions of the woods.

Good luck to those of you that have a tag ready to go for this season! And if you do not add a reminder to your calendar to get your application in for next year!

All the best,

Luke Bartel