Spring turkey permits are awarded via a lottery followed by over-the-counter sales; the lottery application period is January 25-February 22. There is no lottery for the fall season. Applicants should study the Permit Quota Table to determine application strategy for the best chance at getting the Area/Period wanted.

General license information can be found here; https://njfishandwildlife.com/licenses.htm

For non-resident hunters as first time hunters in New Jersey, it is recommended to handle your licensing prior to your arrival, which can be completed here; https://dep.nj.gov/njfw/hunting/non-resident-hunting-license-documentation/

Spring turkey season dates can be found here; https://njfishandwildlife.com/turkey_info.htm

Turkey Hunting Ethics and Safety

You can help ensure that turkey hunting will be available to future generations by observing the following safety and ethical considerations:

l. Respect property rights of others. Obtain permission to hunt on private property and pay attention to “no trespass” signs.

2. Be positive of your target. After you pull the trigger, it’s too late.

3. Make sure that the gobbler is within sure range of the shotgun and shoot at only the neck and head area. Body shots kill turkeys only a small percentage of the time.

4. Hens are not legal targets in the spring. Be sure you’re shooting at a gobbler during the spring season.

5. Do your homework before season – scouting, practice calling, patterning your gun.

6. If another hunter is working a bird, don’t spoil it by trying to call the bird to you or spooking the bird. This is very unsportsmanlike.

7. Never presume that what you hear is a turkey. Many turkey hunters sound just like turkeys. Never try to get too close. If your bird turns out to be another hunter, it could be very dangerous, and also embarrassing.

8. Never wear any red, white or blue clothing. These are the colors of the gobbler’s head, the primary target of the hunter.

9. Don’t attempt to stalk a turkey. By law, turkeys may be hunted only by calling with non-electronic devices. And that gobbler you’re stalking may turn out to be another hunter.

10. Use a gobbler call with caution. This call can be productive but also dangerous. In areas with a high density of hunters, you will call many more hunters to you than turkeys. Use this call only when you’re sure there are no other hunters nearby. Gobbling can also scare a subdominant bird away from you.

11. Remember that being fully camouflaged doesn’t make you completely invisible. Movement is the greatest enemy of the turkey hunter. A turkey can detect and react to movement 10 times faster than a person.

12. Don’t approach closer than 100 yards to a turkey. A turkey’s eyes, ears and awareness are many times better than a person’s, enabling it to spot you and be gone before you have a chance to call to it.

13. Select a tree that is wider than your shoulders and body to sit against. This protects you from any hunter who may come in from behind you, mistaking you for a real turkey. It also breaks up your silhouette. If you’re a right-handed shooter, position yourself so that your left shoulder faces the bird.

14. Don’t jump and turn at a turkey approaching your back. The chances of getting a good shot are very slim. At best, you may wound the bird. Be patient, remain still and let the bird pass.

15. Don’t hide so well that you can’t see what is happening. Blinds are a good tool, but where constructed so well that vision is obstructed, it becomes a hiding place.

2023 Fall Either Sex and 2024 Spring Gobblers Season Regulations