DE Turkey Hunting Season to Offer an Extra Day; Season Opens April 4 and 5 with Youth & Non-ambulatory Hunts
Brixi, a young turkey hunter, with her first Delaware gobbler harvested during a recent season /Delaware DNREC photo by Lauryn Downes
The spring turnkey hunting season in Delaware has been extended by a day – thanks to a recent regulatory change. DNREC will run the season from Saturday, April 11 through Sunday, May 10 – offering turkey hunters with selected permits – Segment D – an additional day of hunting. This information is noted in the online version of the 2025-26 Delaware Hunting and Trapping Guide – but not in the print versions which were produced before the regulations were amended. The season will open with a special two-day youth and non-ambulatory hunt on April 4th and 5th. Also young people under the age of 16 may participate in youth hunts. Youth must be accompanies by an adult 21 or older who has completed a Delaware-approved turkey hunter safety class and who possesses a Delaware hunting license or License Exempt Number. Accompanying adults may not hunt during the special youth-day hunts.
Additional information from DNREC:
Regular-season turkey hunters under the age of 13 also must be accompanied by an adult 21 years of age or older who has completed a Delaware-approved turkey hunter safety class and who possesses a Delaware hunting license or a License Exempt Number (LEN).
Non-ambulatory hunters who participate in the special two-day hunt must use a wheelchair for mobility.
A permit is required for anyone who hunts on public lands – the permits can only be used on the public land location and during the turkey season segment for which they have been issued. Sunday hunting for turkeys is allowed on private lands with landowner permission and on state wildlife areas. Hunting on Sunday is not permitted on state forests or the Coastal Delaware National Wildlife Refuge Complex, which includes Bombay Hook NWR and Prime Hook NWR.
Record numbers of turkey hunters are expected to pursue Delaware gobblers this year after an all-time high of 992 turkey hunting applications were submitted for the 2026 spring turkey hunting permit lottery – with 540 permits made available to hunters for the upcoming season. For more information about hunting on state wildlife areas, wild turkey hunting in Delaware or the annual turkey hunting permit lottery, visit the de.gov/hunting webpage.
The DNREC Division of Fish and Wildlife also reminds hunters who bag a turkey that they must now report their harvest online or by phone rather than at an in-person check station. Hunters can register their turkey after logging into their DigitalDNREC account – or may expedite recording their information by clicking the Quick Hunting Registration link at the Digital DNREC app, or by calling 855-DEL-HUNT (855-335-4868).
Additionally, Delaware turkey hunters are reminded that the Division of Fish and Wildlife is continuing to expand new turkey harvest reporting procedures started in 2025. Hunters are now required to complete their turkey harvest report card prior to moving their bird from the location where it was harvested. Further change requires all first-time turkey hunters in Delaware age 13 or older to successfully complete a DNREC Division of Fish and Wildlife-approved turkey education course.
Hunters who have completed the course receive the turkey harvest report card when purchasing their license or obtaining their License Exempt Number. Any hunters who took the turkey education course but did not receive a turkey harvest report card when obtaining a license or LEN should contact the DNREC Hunter Education Office at 302-735-3600 ext. 1. For more information about turkey hunting and the registration procedures, hunters should refer to the online Delaware Hunting and Trapping Guide.