Illinois spring turkey hunters harvest record number of wild turkeys; Pike ranked third among counties
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — Illinois turkey hunters harvested a preliminary record total of 18,189 wild turkeys during the 2025 spring turkey season. This year’s total is nearly 1,000 more than the previous record total of 17,208 turkeys harvested in 2024.
The top five counties for harvest in 2025 were Jo Daviess, 628; Jefferson, 518; Pike, 468; Marion, 428; and Pope, 425.
The 2025 total includes the record youth spring turkey season harvest of 2,099 birds, which compares with the previous record of 2,010 birds set in 2024.
This year, 89,687 permits were sold compared to 86,083 last year.
Spring turkey hunting was open in 100 of Illinois’ 102 counties. The 2025 regular season dates were April 7 through May 8 in the south zone and April 14 through May 15 in the north zone. The 2025 youth spring turkey season was March 29-30 and April 5-6 statewide.
Local harvest numbers:
| County | 2025 | 2024 |
| Adams | 350 | 324 |
| Brown | 276 | 222 |
| Hancock | 329 | 290 |
| McDonough | 114 | 93 |
| Pike | 468 | 381 |
Miss Clipping Out Stories to Save for Later?
Click the Purchase Story button below to order a print of this story. We will print it for you on matte photo paper to keep forever.