Fall Turkey Hunting Regulations
During the fall turkey-hunting season, wild turkeys may be pursued, taken, killed, possessed or transported only as outline in the Fall Deer & Turkey Hunting Regulations and Information booklet, which is available in PDF format under "Related Information" below and in print form from permit vendors and Conservation Department offices.
What’s New for 2012
- Atlatls can now be used during archery deer and turkey season.
- Hunters with developmental disabilities who have taken a hunter-education course but failed to pass the certification tests may now purchase firearms permits after obtaining an eligibility statement from the Department. They must carry this statement as proof of their disability and hunt in the immediate presence of a properly licensed hunter age 18 or older who is hunter-education certified or exempt by age.
- Any member of the U.S. military currently assigned as a patient to a Warrior Transition Brigade, Warrior Transition Unit or a military medical center may now purchase Missouri resident permits regardless of where they live.
Identifying Fall Turkeys
Fall turkey hunting can be an extremely enjoyable experience. The sounds and sight of 20 or 30 turkeys returning to you from all directions can be as exciting as calling in a spring gobbler. However, the fall firearms turkey season has the potential to be more dangerous than the spring because either sex may be hunted. Therefore, less emphasis is put on positive identification. Remember to follow the basic rules of safe turkey hunting.
An orange alert band, wrapped around the bird to keep its wings from flopping, helps make your walk out a safer one. If you don't want to make or purchase an alert band, try using an orange hunting vest. A little precaution may keep your bird from being shot a second time–and you with it.