Spring turkey season updates

A turkey season that used to feel like one spring ritual now runs on three different calendars, and in one state the biggest change is not the opener but the paperwork after the shot. Michigan opens as early as April 18, Minnesota opens April 15, and Ohio splits hunters by region and date. (michigan.gov) (dnr.state.mn.us) (ohiodnr.gov) Michigan’s 2026 season starts with several hunt windows, but the headline change is mandatory harvest reporting for every successful turkey hunter. The state says the bird has to be reported within 72 hours of harvest or before it is transferred to another person, processor, or taxidermist, whichever comes first. (michigan.gov 1) (michigan.gov 2) That reporting rule comes with a map change too. Michigan cut its spring turkey management units from 14 down to 3 for 2026: Unit M in the Upper Peninsula, Unit NN in the northern Lower Peninsula, and Unit ZZ in the southern Lower Peninsula. (michigan.gov) The new Michigan layout also changes how permits work. Hunt 0234 is now a guaranteed statewide license that runs from May 2 through May 31 and is valid on public and private land in Unit M and Unit NN, but in Unit ZZ it is private land only. (michigan.gov) Michigan still has earlier windows for drawn hunts, including April 18 through May 1 in Unit NN and Unit ZZ, plus a season-long April 18 through May 31 hunt in Unit M. The state also kept a guaranteed private-land-only Unit ZZ license, Hunt 0301, for April 18 through May 31. (michigan.gov 1) (michigan.gov 2) Ohio’s system is simpler on the map and more complicated on the calendar. The state splits spring turkey hunting into a south zone covering 83 counties and a northeast zone covering Ashtabula, Cuyahoga, Geauga, Lake, and Trumbull counties because nesting timing differs between those regions. (ohiodnr.gov) That split produces four season windows in 2026. Youth hunters go first on April 18 and 19 in the south zone and April 25 and 26 in the northeast zone, while adult hunters run April 25 through May 24 in the south zone and May 2 through May 31 in the northeast zone. (ohiodnr.gov) Ohio also changes the clock during the season. Hunting hours in both zones run from 30 minutes before sunrise until noon for the first nine days, then expand to 30 minutes before sunrise until sunset for the rest of the season, while the youth weekends allow hunting until sunset from the start. (ohiodnr.gov) Minnesota uses the most segmented schedule of the three. Its spring season begins April 15 and runs through May 31, but the firearm seasons are broken into six one-week blocks labeled A through F, starting with A on April 15 to 21 and ending with F on May 20 to 31. (dnr.state.mn.us 1) (dnr.state.mn.us 2) Minnesota’s compliance rule is faster than Michigan’s. A harvested turkey has to be registered within 24 hours, and one leg or a fully feathered wing must stay attached until registration is complete. (dnr.state.mn.us) Put together, the 2026 spring turkey story is less about one opener than three different state playbooks. A hunter crossing from Minnesota into Michigan or from southern Ohio into the northeast zone can run into a different start date, a different deadline to report a bird, and a different rule on where a permit is valid. (dnr.state.mn.us) (michigan.gov) (ohiodnr.gov)