Record-setting wild turkey harvest
Results from the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission’s wild turkey harvest summary show this year’s harvest was the second highest ever recorded, with hunters across the state reporting 18,730 birds harvested, including 1,478 birds taken during the youth-only hunting season.
This season’s harvest was only slightly below the record harvest of 18,919 birds, which was set in 2017. The total harvest statewide this year was 3.5 percent higher than the average harvest during the previous three years.
Turkey harvest in the coastal region was 9.6 percent higher than the average harvest during the previous three years, indicating turkey populations continue to grow in the coastal region. Similarly, in the Piedmont, this year’s turkey harvest was 6 percent higher than the average harvest during the previous three years. However, in the mountains, turkey populations are generally stable in some areas while declining in others. This year’s harvest in the mountains was 6.5 percent lower than the average harvest during the previous three years.
The top five counties for the number of turkeys harvested were Duplin with 497, Halifax with 479, Rockingham with 453, Columbus with 443 and Bertie, with 437.
