Oklahoma Has Changed Spring Turkey Hunting In 2022

If you're like most Oklahoma outdoorsmen, the retreat from the cold you made after deer season ended in January has worn off and you're itching to get back out there to harvest more of nature's protein. With the feeling that spring turkey season is just around the corner, there are a few rule changes, but it is coming.

Normally, especially in our part of the state, the bag limit for turkey season is two birds. It's been that way as long as I can remember, or at least it has in the county I've always hunted in Southwest Oklahoma. Now the bag limit is one bird across all counties for the Spring 2022 season. As per usual, you have to bag yourself a tom/bearded turkey. Shooting hens is strictly prohibited so they may provide us all another year of hunting.

The Spring Turkey season dates are April 16th through May 16th, though the weekend of April 9th & 10th is open for the youth of our state to get their shots in before the flood gates open.

It's worth noting if your kid shoots their bird during the weekend "youth" season prior to Spring Turkey 2022, that's their limit. They'll be more than welcome to go hunting with you during the regular season, but they won't be able to hunt themselves. Arm them with binoculars, because if they're carrying their gun after they've tagged out, the game warden won't hesitate to issue a fine because they'll technically be hunting. It's not like fishing where they have to see you physically cast a line in the water to call it fishing.

Of course, as always you'll need a 2022 hunting license and tags, you can get all of that here.

If you're looking to get out and enjoy the cooler weather and bag yourself a turkey, now is the time to get prepped. Be sure to glance through the rules and regs over at WildlifeDepartment.com to prevent yourself from doing something unintentionally stupid.