Conditions favorable for novice turkey and squirrel hunters
FRANKFORT, Ky. (March 13, 2025) — Kentucky’s spring hunting seasons kick off with the youth-only turkey season April 5-6, followed by the general season for turkeys April 12-May 4. Spring squirrel season, a popular activity for both novice and experienced hunters, commences May 17 and continues for nearly a month, concluding June 15.
Surveys foreshadow a great turkey season ahead.
“During our winter netting and leg banding research, we caught an unusually high number of jakes, or younger birds,” said Zak Danks, Wild Turkey Program coordinator for the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources. “This aligns with the productive poult hatch in 2024, so I expect hunters will see more jakes this spring.”
Danks suggests this should be an especially good season for youth and new hunters looking to bag a bird for the first time. Younger birds are easier for hunters to fool than older birds that have been hunted previously.
Hunters would do well to have a good turkey call and know how to use it. The online Learn to Hunt Turkey webpage on the Kentucky Fish and Wildlife website is a great place to start for tips and resources.
While most turkeys are harvested the opening weekend of the spring season, hunters should remember they still have three more weeks to take their bird. Weather plays an important role.
“In general, turkey hunting is more difficult on windy or rainy days, although I still hunt whenever I can,” Danks said.
No more than two legal turkeys may be taken per spring season. A legal turkey is defined as a wild turkey that is male or has a visible beard. Hunters may only harvest one bearded turkey per wildlife management area (WMA), and no more than one bird may be taken per day. Turkeys taken by youths during the youth-only season count toward their spring turkey bag limit.
For those without a place to hunt, Kentucky Fish and Wildlife manages dozens of WMAs across the state open to the public for hunting. Find these online at the department’s Wildlife Management Area & Public Lands Search webpage.
Danks recommends public lands hunters focus on prescribed burn sites with the fresh regrowth favored by turkeys. Scouting via an interactive topographic and aerial photography map, like the one available on the department’s Hunting webpage, will provide a starting point for finding this type of land. Hunters can also contact a regional US Forest Service ranger office or local Kentucky Fish and Wildlife biologist in an area they have chosen to hunt to ask about potential burn sites.
Hunters who want to stay in the woods after turkey season have nearly a month in May and June for squirrel season. The department’s online Squirrel Hunting page provides expert advice on hunting, processing and cooking squirrels.
Squirrel hunting is ideal for novice hunters because it is not as equipment-intensive as many kinds of hunting. It also helps hunters develop their woodsmanship skills.
While the state has eastern gray squirrels and eastern fox squirrels, most hunters are harvesting gray squirrels, Kentucky Fish and Wildlife Small Game Program Coordinator Cody Rhoden said.
Gray squirrels are widespread and frequent wooded areas, while forests near agricultural fields generally attract more fox squirrels.
“Squirrels will be on the move by the time spring hunting starts,” Rhoden said. “Looking for a food source is a good way to start scouting. They’re not a hibernating species, so they’ll be taking advantage of fresh green growth. You might see them on the ground finishing off winter food caches or foraging for vegetation and fungi.”
Weather isn’t a huge deterrent for squirrels, although they tend to hide on windy days.
“On sunny days, they like to lay prone on branches to absorb the warmth and sunlight,” Rhoden added.
Many hunters use shotguns during the spring season because of the leaves on the trees. Kentucky Fish and Wildlife’s online Learn to Hunt Squirrel page features squirrel biology, season checklists, hunting advice as well as videos of processing harvested game and deciding on firearm type.
Before heading afield, view the regulations and season dates of each game species by consulting Kentucky Fish and Wildlife’s online 2025 Spring Hunting Guide. It’s important to note that this guide can only be found online.
The Learn to Hunt webpage is a hub for resources about Kentucky’s different game species, processing wild game and upcoming learning opportunities with Kentucky Fish and Wildlife’s conservation educators. Check the department’s Calendar for hunting courses or events.
More information about hunting is available on the department’s website at fw.ky.gov. For questions, please call 1-800-858-1549, 8 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. (ET) weekdays, excluding holidays.