Alabama Turkey Hunting Laws: Seasons, Bag Limits, and Game Check

Alabama turkey hunting laws, set by the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, require every hunter to hold an All-Game Hunting License, carry a Deer and Turkey Harvest Record in the field, take only gobblers during posted zone dates, stay within a limit of one gobbler per day and four per combined fall and spring seasons, use only approved shotguns or archery equipment, and report each bird through Game Check within 48 hours.¹ Violations can bring fines up to $2,000 and loss of hunting privileges.

Licenses and the Harvest Record You Must Carry

An All-Game Hunting License is the baseline requirement. Residents pay $34.35 for the annual license.² Non-residents can buy an annual license, a 10-day trip license, or a 3-day trip license.³ Residents 65 and older are exempt from the hunting license and WMA license, though carrying ID that confirms age and Alabama residency is a practical necessity.⁴

Anyone born on or after August 1, 1977, must complete an approved hunter education course before buying a license. You can instead buy a license with a “supervision required” status that lets you hunt only under direct supervision of a licensed hunter at least 21 years old.⁵ Active-duty military, Alabama National Guard members, and certified law enforcement officers are exempt from hunter education.

Along with your license, you have to carry a Deer and Turkey Harvest Record while hunting. The record can be the paper form or the digital version in the Outdoor AL app.⁶ To hunt a Wildlife Management Area, you also need a WMA license, which is $22.75 for residents.²

Season Dates by Zone

Alabama splits the state into three turkey zones. For the 2025–2026 spring season, Zone 1 and Zone 3 open March 25 and Zone 2 opens April 1; all three close May 8.¹

A limited fall season runs only in Zone 3, covering Clarke, Clay, Covington, Monroe, Randolph, and Talladega counties. The fall season has two segments: November 15–23 and December 13–28.¹

Youth and disabled hunters get earlier access. For 2025–2026, youth hunt dates are March 21–22 in Zones 1 and 3 and March 28–29 in Zone 2. Disabled hunter dates are March 24 in Zones 1 and 3 and March 31 in Zone 2. On WMAs and National Forest districts, youth and disabled hunts fall on slightly later dates and end at 1 p.m.¹ On WMA youth hunts, the youth must be under 16, accompanied by a licensed adult at least 25 years old, with only one firearm between them and only the youth using it.⁷

Bag Limits

You may take only male turkeys. The daily limit is one gobbler, and the maximum across the combined fall and spring seasons is four gobblers.⁸ Hens are protected during the breeding season, with no exceptions.

Public land is tighter. On any single WMA, Community Hunting Area, or National Forest Ranger District, the season cap is two gobblers, and only one of those may be taken during the first 10 days of the spring season.¹

Legal Weapons and Ammunition

Four categories of equipment are legal for turkey:⁹

Shotguns 10 gauge or smaller, loaded with No. 2 shot or smaller. No slugs, no shot larger than No. 2.
Muzzle-loading shotguns, subject to the same gauge and shot restrictions.
Archery equipment, including longbows, compound bows, and crossbows that conform to Administrative Code Rule 220-2-.03.
Pre-charged pneumatic arrow rifles firing an arrow with a broadhead at least 7/8 inch in cutting diameter and two sharpened edges.

Rifles and handguns are not legal for turkey. Hunters coming in from states that allow a rifle for turkey get caught by this one often.

What’s Prohibited

Several practices that are legal elsewhere will draw a citation in Alabama.

Electronic calls. Possessing any electrically amplified turkey call or any device capable of producing turkey sounds in the field is illegal. Recordings and electronic callers are both covered. Electrically amplified crow calls are the lone exception.¹⁰

Decoys. No decoys may be used during the first 10 days of spring season in any zone. After that initial period, non-mechanical decoys are permitted; in Zone 1, for example, decoys become legal on April 4. No turkey decoys of any kind may be used during the fall season. Any decoy with mechanical or electronic parts that allow movement or sound is prohibited year-round. The ban specifically covers “fanning” and “reaping” with a tail fan attached to a weapon or held by hand. Decoys are allowed during both youth and disabled hunts.¹¹⁰

Bait. Hunting turkey over bait is illegal, and no bait privilege license covers turkey; the deer-and-swine bait license does not extend to turkey. If an area has been baited or fed, all feed must be completely removed or consumed for at least 10 days before the area becomes legal for turkey hunting again.¹⁰ A neighbor’s corn feeder running near the property line is a problem worth thinking through before you set up. Conservation officers read “the area where feeding has taken place” broadly.

Vehicles. Hunting from any motorized vehicle, aircraft, or boat is illegal. One narrow exception: shooting from a stationary motor vehicle with the engine completely shut off, off any public road.¹⁰

Hunting Hours and the Hunter Orange Exemption

On WMAs and National Forest Ranger Districts, spring turkey hours run daylight to 1 p.m. On private land, hunting hours extend through the full day.¹

Turkey hunting is explicitly exempt from Alabama’s hunter orange requirement on both private land and WMAs.¹¹ Wearing orange while walking in and out is still a sensible safety practice on public land.

Reporting a Harvest Through Game Check

Before you move or field dress a bird, record it on your Deer and Turkey Harvest Record. That’s the on-the-spot step.⁶

Within 48 hours, you also have to report the kill through the ADCNR’s Game Check system and obtain a confirmation number. Reporting is through the Outdoor AL app, the ADCNR website, or by phone, and you’ll need your Conservation ID or license number along with:¹²

Date and county of harvest
Type of land (private or public)
Turkey age (jake or adult)
Beard length
Each spur length (left and right)

The confirmation number has to be entered on your harvest record form or saved in the app within that same 48-hour window.⁶ Skipping Game Check is a citable offense.

Penalties

Turkey and deer violations carry heavier penalties than general game violations. A first offense involving the illegal taking of turkey draws a fine of $250 to $500, and the court may revoke all hunting privileges for up to one year.¹³

A second or subsequent offense runs $500 to $2,000, carries an automatic one-year loss of hunting privileges, and can bring 10 to 30 days in jail.¹³ A license obtained fraudulently or by someone not entitled to it can be revoked by the ADCNR, and the holder has to surrender it immediately.¹⁴ The violations that most often draw enforcement are exceeding the daily or seasonal bag limit, hunting over bait, using electronic calls, failing to report through Game Check, and hunting on a WMA without the required permits. Because a second offense triggers automatic license revocation, a mistake in April can cost you the following deer season too.

1
Outdoor Alabama. Turkey Season
2
Outdoor Alabama. Hunting Recreational Licenses – Resident
3
Outdoor Alabama. Hunting Recreational Licenses – Non-Resident
4
Outdoor Alabama. Who Is Exempt From Purchasing Recreational Licenses?
5
Justia. Alabama Code 9-11-44.1 – Certification of Completion of Approved Hunter Education Course Required for Issuance of License
6
Alabama Administrative Code. Alabama Administrative Code 220-2-.146 – Game Check System – Deer and Turkey Harvest Record and Reporting Requirement
7
Outdoor Alabama. Youth Turkey Hunting Area
8
Outdoor Alabama. Turkey Hunting in Alabama
9
Alabama Administrative Code. Alabama Administrative Code 220-2-.02 – Legal Arms, Ammunition, and Equipment for Hunting
10
Alabama Administrative Code. Alabama Administrative Code 220-2-.11 – Prohibited Methods and Devices for Hunting
11
Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. Hunter Orange Requirement in Alabama
12
Outdoor Alabama. Game Check and Harvest Record Information
13
Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 9-11-246 – Penalties for Violations of Provisions of Sections 9-11-244 and 9-11-245
14
Alabama Administrative Code. Alabama Administrative Code 220-2-.111 – Hunting License Revocation Procedures