Turkey hunters are glad to know that statewide spring turkey season is opening soon. Wayne County is in the Mississippi Alluvial Valley Unit (MAV) that classifies them to open with the Young Sportsman Hunt on April 9-10. The shotgun/archery season begins on April 16 and runs through May 15, 2022.
Some of the regulations put into place by TWRA for turkey hunting are as follows:
Bag Limits
- One (1) bearded turkey per day, not to exceed three (3) per season, except the season limit in the MAV Unit shall not exceed two (2) bearded turkeys, which count toward the statewide season limit.
- Any turkey harvested during the Young Sportsman Hunt counts toward the statewide spring season limit of three (3).
- Any turkey harvested during the Young Sportsman Hunt in the MAV unit counts toward the Unit spring season limit of two (2).
Spring Turkey Shooting Hours
- Thirty (30) minutes before legal sunrise to sunset.
Legal Hunting Equipment
- Shotguns using ammunition with No. 4 shot or smaller. No restriction on the number of rounds in the magazine.
- Archery equipment (longbows, recurve bows, compound bows, and crossbows).
- Sighting devices including scopes are legal. Night vision, infrared, and other devices using artificial light to locate wildlife are illegal.
- A pre-charged pneumatic gun (Airbow) that shoots an arrow is legal for all hunters to use during Spring statewide turkey season.
Spring Turkey On WMAs
- The use of any type of food to feed or attract wild turkeys on WMAs is prohibited. Calling or attempting to call wild turkeys using any means to mimic the sounds made by turkeys is prohibited on all WMAs from March 1 until the opening day of the spring turkey hunts on the WMA.
Statewide Spring Young Sportsman Hunt
- Ages 6-16. One (1) bearded turkey per day, which counts toward the statewide bag. Each young sportsman must be accompanied by a non-hunting adult, 21 years of age or older, who must remain in a position to take immediate control of the hunting device. Youth 10 years of age or older must meet Hunter Education requirements. Multiple youths may be accompanied by a single non-hunting adult, who is not required to have a license.
