Indiana Wild Turkey Season The 2009 spring season will be April 22 - May
10, 2009. The bag limit is one bearded or male
turkey for the entire spring season. Bag limits
and licenses do not carry over to the fall season.
Game bird habitat stamp privileges are good
for both spring and fall seasons in the same
calendar year.
To hunt wild turkey, Indiana residents need a
resident turkey hunting license and a valid game
bird habitat stamp privilege, or a lifetime or
youth license. For information on non-resident
wild turkey licenses, see page 3.
Turkeys may be hunted from ground level or
from elevated stands. Turkeys can be called with
mouth- or hand-operated calls. Artificial turkey
decoys may be used. It is illegal to use dogs,
live decoys, electronically powered or controlled
decoys or recorded calls to hunt turkeys. It is
illegal to hunt turkeys over bait (an area is
considered baited for 10 days after removal of
bait).
Youth Turkey Hunting SeasonA youth wild turkey season will take place on
April 18 and 19, 2009. It will allow a youth turkey
hunter, 15 years old or younger to take a bearded
or male wild turkey. The youth must be accompanied
by an adult of at least 18 years of age.
The youth hunter may use any legal shotgun,
bow and arrow, or crossbow. The adult accompanying
the youth hunter must not possess a
firearm, bow and arrow, or crossbow while in
the field, and does not need to possess a turkey
hunting license. The youth hunter may take
only one bearded or male wild turkey during the
spring season, inclusive of the youth and regular
spring turkey seasons. The youth must be properly
licensed to take a wild turkey and comply
with all tagging and check-in requirements.
A youth turkey hunt will be held at Big Oaks
National Wildlife Refuge. Youth hunters should
send a postcard with their name, address, date of
birth and phone number to Big Oaks NWR, 1661
W. JPG Niblo Rd., Madison, IN, 47250 by April 1.
Visit the Big Oaks NWR website at
www.fws.gov/midwest/bigoaks for information.
TaggingA temporary transportation tag is no longer
provided with the turkey hunting license. All
hunters must immediately tag the turkey with
a paper stating the hunter’s name, complete
address and date of kill before transporting it
from the field. The feathers and beard of a wild
turkey must remain attached while the turkey
is in transit from the site where taken. For fall
turkeys, you must include the sex of the bird. A
sample tag can be found at
www.wildlife.IN.gov.
CheckingIf you are successful in bagging a turkey, you
must have it checked at an official turkey check
station within 48 hours of harvest or before
leaving the state. While at the official turkey
check station, you must attach a permanent
transportation tag or seal provided at the check
station. The tag or seal must remain on the
turkey until processing begins. See page 42-49
for a list of official turkey check stations or go
online at
www.wildlife.IN.gov and click on the
Hunting Guide link.
Legal EquipmentTurkeys can be hunted only with:
• A 10-, 12-, 16- or 20-gauge shotgun loaded
with pellets of size No. 4, 5, 6, 7 or 7½.
• A muzzleloading shotgun not smaller than
20-gauge and not larger than 10-gauge,
loaded with pellets of size No. 4, 5, 6, 7 or 7½.
Combination loads using shot sizes other than
these are illegal.
• Bow and arrow, including crossbow.
Hunting hours
Wild turkeys may be hunted only from
one-half hour before sunrise to sunset. All
Fish and Wildlife areas, J. Edward Roush,
Mississinewa and Salamonie lakes have spring
season hunting hours one-half hour before
sunrise until noon for properties on CDT and
until 1 p.m. for properties on EDT. Call the
property for additional information.
Just another night at work for me and Monty will be back here again bright and early. 
