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Iowa · 2026-27 season year

Iowa Turkey Season 2026-27

Spring 2027: April 12, 2027 to May 16, 2027. Fall 2026: October 1, 2026 to January 10, 2027. Every date below was read from Iowa Department of Natural Resources’s own published page, linked beside it, on the date shown.

This page covers the 2026-27 season year. Dates were read from the agency sources linked below, last checked September 2, 2026. Seasons change annually and agencies correct their own pages; confirm against the linked agency page before you hunt.
April 12, 2027 to May 16, 2027
Spring 2027
published
October 1, 2026 to January 10, 2027
Fall 2026
published
5 zones
Zone structure
as the agency draws it
Iowa Department of Natural Resources
Source
read 2026-09-01
The flagship

Spring 2027 turkey season in Iowa

Spring 2027 season

published

Spring 2027 season opens in 179 days, on April 12, 2027 (Season 1 (gun-bow)).

Iowa spring 2027 season, as published by Iowa Department of Natural Resources
ZoneOpensClosesNotes
Season 1 (gun-bow)April 12, 2027April 15, 2027
Season 2 (gun-bow)April 16, 2027April 20, 2027
Season 3 (gun-bow)April 21, 2027April 27, 2027
Season 4 (gun-bow)April 28, 2027May 16, 2027
Archery onlyApril 12, 2027May 16, 2027

Dates read from Turkey Hunting, Iowa Department of Natural Resources, accessed 2026-09-01.

Hunters pick one of four gun-bow seasons or the archery-only season. A resident youth season also exists in early April 2027.

Fall, Archery Oct. 1 - Dec. 4 & Dec 21 - Jan 10, 2027
Iowa Department of Natural Resources. Read it at the source
Close view of a strutting male wild turkey with fanned tail in California grassland
A western tom in strut. Merriam’s and Rio Grande birds carry the western seasons. “Male wild turkey (Meleagris gallopavo) strutting” by Frank Schulenburg, CC BY-SA 4.0
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The other half

Fall 2026 turkey season in Iowa

Fall 2026 season

published

Fall 2026 season is OPEN now in the Statewide (gun-bow), through December 4, 2026, with 2 zone segments open.

Iowa fall 2026 season, as published by Iowa Department of Natural Resources
ZoneOpensClosesNotes
Statewide (gun-bow)October 12, 2026December 4, 2026Fall licenses are resident only
Statewide (archery)October 1, 2026December 4, 2026first segment
Statewide (archery)December 21, 2026January 10, 2027second segment

Dates read from Turkey Hunting, Iowa Department of Natural Resources, accessed 2026-09-01.

Fall licenses are sold by zone quota but season dates are uniform.

Trail camera photo of a wild turkey flock feeding through green woods
A fall flock on a trail camera at Sacramento River National Wildlife Refuge. Fall seasons, where held, hunt birds grouped like this. “Wild turkey flock” — U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Headquarters — Public domain
Why the window sits where it does

Spring seasons are built around the breeding season

Spring turkey seasons exist because of a biological coincidence that favors the hunter and protects the flock at the same time: gobblers are at their most vocal and callable in the weeks when hens are being bred and beginning to nest. Agencies set their windows so that most hens are already on nests while gobblers are still responsive, which is why the opener sweeps north with spring itself, from the Gulf states in March to the northern tier in May.

The dates are an annual regulatory decision, not a fixed calendar, which is why this page reads them from Iowa Department of Natural Resources each season year and states the year it covers.

Wild turkey hen crossing a path with three well grown poults
A hen with poults. Spring season structures exist to protect nesting hens while gobblers are still callable. “Wild turkeys (hen with poults)” — ShenandoahNPS / Luca Pfeiffer — Public domain
Rules

Iowa turkey hunting regulations

Season windows are carried here with their source and read date attached. Everything else a hunter is bound by is set by Iowa Department of Natural Resources, and its regulations page is linked below.

Current Iowa regulations

Bag limits, legal methods, shooting hours, license and permit requirements, and youth or special season rules for Iowa are set by Iowa Department of Natural Resources, are legally binding and change annually. Its current regulations page is linked here.

Iowa Department of Natural Resources: current regulations

Turkey season dates in other states

Iowa duck seasonThe other 2026-27 season calendar: duck and goose dates by zone and flyway.Iowa deer rutWhen deer actually breed, from the conception studies agencies publish.Iowa fall foliageFall turkey weeks and peak color often overlap. Plan the same trip.

Iowa turkey season questions

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Three wild turkey toms displaying side by side in late winter brush
Toms displaying in late winter. By the time most spring seasons open, flocks like this have broken up. “Leader Of The Pack” by Paul VanDerWerf, CC BY 2.0

This page covers the 2026-27 season year with data as of September 2, 2026. Every season window is republished from the Iowa Department of Natural Resources page linked beside it, read on the date shown; windows the agency had not yet published are labelled not yet published. Bag limits, legal methods, shooting hours and license rules are set by Iowa Department of Natural Resources, whose page is the final word on the day you hunt. See also the national turkey season guide.