NC hunters killed 24,074 turkeys during 2024
According to the NCWRC’s 2024 Wild Turkey Harvest Summary, hunters harvested the second-highest total of turkeys ever recorded for North Carolina.
A total of 24,074 turkeys were killed by hunters in North Carolina during the 2024 season. This was only 15 fewer birds than were harvested during the 2023 season, the state’s highest ever.
Youth hunters killed 2372 during the state’s youth season, one of a number of increases over the past 3-year average.
Youth season harvest increased by 11 percent.
Coastal region harvest increased by 13 percent.
Harvest in the Mountains increased by 8 percent.
Piedmont harvest increased by 2 percent.
Harvest on Game Lands increased by 5 percent.
Harvest of adult gobblers increased by 11 percent.
Duplin County saw the most turkeys harvested, with a total of 872. Pender County was next with 694, followed by Halifax (612), Columbus (598) and Brunswick (589). More than 500 turkeys were also harvested in each of four other counties.
The top five counties for turkeys harvested per square mile were Duplin, Franklin, Northampton, Halifax and Chowan.
“Turkey hunting continues to be very popular in North Carolina, with this year’s total harvest statewide being 8 percent higher than the average of the previous three years,” said NCWRC’s upland game bird biologist Hannah Plumpton.
North Carolina’s harvest numbers from the past five turkey seasons are the five highest on record. This trend goes against a decrease in harvest numbers for other states throughout the southeast, including South Carolina, where turkey harvest numbers have been on a steady decline for the past several years.
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