The West Virginia Division of Natural Resources (WVDNR) announced that hunters harvested 537 wild turkeys during the 2025 fall season.
The fall harvest is 52.5 percent below last year’s harvest of 1,130 birds, 38.1 percent below the five-year average (868) and 49.9 percent below the ten-year average (1,072). All counties were below their five-year average with the exception of Pendleton, Logan and Wayne.
The fall turkey harvest is influenced by hunter participation but also depends on the current year’s brood production and mast conditions. This year’s decreased harvest was likely caused by rainy conditions in the spring and early summer, which contributed to a decrease in the poult survival rate and an increase in hard mast production.
During this year’s brood survey, WVDNR staff observed an increase in the number of broods (189), which is 12.5 percent above the five-year average. However, the poult-per-hen ratio, an index for tracking reproductive success, was the lowest it has been in the five years (1.78 pph). Additionally, this year’s mast survey revealed that hard mast production was abundant across the state, which often results in decreased harvests due to the difficulty of tracking and targeting game species spread out over a landscape.
According to preliminary hunting data from the WVDNR’s electronic licensing and game checking system, hunters in District 3 harvested the most birds (111) followed by District 4 (105), District 2 (100), District 5 (95), District 1 (76) and District 6 (50). Counties with the most harvests include Mason (27), Monroe (26), Nicholas and Pendleton (23 each) and Pocahontas and Upshur (22 each). All of these counties, with the exception of Mason and Upshur, had a four-week season.
Hunters are reminded that annual licenses and stamps will expire on Dec. 31 and are encouraged to purchase their 2026 license and stamps early at WVhunt.com.
