Illinois · Turkey · 2026–27 Edition
Illinois Turkey Season 2026–27: Fall & Spring Dates, Bag Limits
01 — Fall turkey
| Season | Zones | Dates |
|---|---|---|
| Fall Archery | Statewide (closes during firearm deer season in counties that have one) | Oct 1 – Jan 17 |
| Fall Shotgun | Gray-shaded counties only — see IDNR fall firearm turkey map | Oct 24 – Nov 1 |
02 — Spring gobbler
| Season | Zones | Dates |
|---|---|---|
| Youth Spring — Weekend 1 | Statewide | Mar 27 – Mar 28 |
| Youth Spring — Weekend 2 | Statewide | Apr 3 – Apr 4 |
| Segment 1 | South Zone | Apr 5 – Apr 9 |
| Segment 2 | South Zone | Apr 10 – Apr 15 |
| Segment 1 | North Zone | Apr 12 – Apr 16 |
| Segment 3 | South Zone | Apr 16 – Apr 21 |
| Segment 2 | North Zone | Apr 17 – Apr 22 |
| Segment 4 | South Zone | Apr 22 – Apr 28 |
| Segment 3 | North Zone | Apr 23 – Apr 28 |
| Segment 5 | South Zone | Apr 29 – May 6 |
| Segment 4 | North Zone | Apr 29 – May 5 |
| Segment 5 | North Zone | May 6 – May 13 |
03 — Bag limits
| Spring (per permit) | 1 tom, jake, or bearded hen per permit — maximum 3 spring permits per hunter |
|---|---|
| Youth Spring (per permit) | 1 tom, jake, or bearded hen per permit — 1 permit per year, counted within the 3-permit spring maximum above |
| Fall Shotgun (per permit) | 1 either-sex turkey per permit — maximum 2 Fall Shotgun permits |
| Fall Archery (per permit) | 1 either-sex turkey per permit — maximum 2 Fall Archery permits |
04 — Shooting hours
Legal light on opening day (October 1, 2026) 06:23 — 18:38
Rule: Spring & Youth Spring: half an hour before sunrise until 1 p.m. only — not sunset. Fall Shotgun: half an hour before sunrise to sunset. Fall Archery: half an hour before sunrise to half an hour after sunset (per IDNR). Sunrise/sunset shift daily — the times above are computed for opening day; use your local Illinois sun times for any other date.
05 — License
An Illinois hunting license and turkey permit are required. Spring and fall permits are often sold separately, and some states cap the number of gobblers per hunter per year across both seasons.
Illinois hunting license cost & turkey permits →
Where to hunt public land in Illinois — WMAs by county & access rules →
06 — Scouting gear
Patterning a gobbler's roost and strut zone before Illinois's opener usually means glassing from a distance and running a trail camera through late winter and early spring.
- Hunting binoculars on Amazon →
- Trail cameras on Amazon →
- Trail camera SD cards — class, capacity & format explained →
As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases. These are category links, not a single named pick — we run no product tests of our own.
07 — FAQ
When does turkey season start in Illinois?
The earliest 2026–27 opener is October 1, 2026. Fall and spring seasons run separately — see the tables above.
When does turkey season end in Illinois?
The latest 2026–27 closing date is May 13, 2027. Individual segments and zones close on their own dates.
When does spring turkey season start in Illinois?
Youth Spring — Weekend 1 opens March 27, 2027 (Statewide).
When does fall turkey season start in Illinois?
Fall Archery opens October 1, 2026 (Statewide (closes during firearm deer season in counties that have one)).
How many turkeys can you shoot in Illinois?
2026–27 bag limits: Spring (per permit) — 1 tom, jake, or bearded hen per permit — maximum 3 spring permits per hunter. Youth Spring (per permit) — 1 tom, jake, or bearded hen per permit — 1 permit per year, counted within the 3-permit spring maximum above. Fall Shotgun (per permit) — 1 either-sex turkey per permit — maximum 2 Fall Shotgun permits. Fall Archery (per permit) — 1 either-sex turkey per permit — maximum 2 Fall Archery permits. Limits are set per zone and per permit — check the agency's own regulations before you hunt.
What time can you start shooting turkey in Illinois?
On opening day (October 1, 2026) legal light runs 06:23 to 18:38. The rule is: Spring & Youth Spring: half an hour before sunrise until 1 p.m. only — not sunset. Fall Shotgun: half an hour before sunrise to sunset. Fall Archery: half an hour before sunrise to half an hour after sunset (per IDNR). Sunrise and sunset shift daily, so work the offset against your local Illinois sun times for any other date.
Can I hunt turkey on my own land in Illinois without a license?
Illinois owners residing on, or bona fide tenants of, farmland — plus their children, parents, and siblings who live there too — may hunt any legal game on that land without a license. Deer and turkey run through a separate free Resident Landowner/Tenant Permit Program requiring 40 contiguous acres (20 in CWD counties).
Verified · Illinois Department of Natural Resources · Last verified 2026-08-16
Publisher's note. Dates from the 'Turkey Season Dates and Limits' table in the official Illinois Digest of Hunting and Trapping Regulations. Illinois splits spring turkey into a North Zone and South Zone (divided along a line north of Crawford, Jasper, Effingham, Fayette, Bond and Madison counties), each running the same five one-week segments roughly a week apart. Fall has two separate seasons: Fall Shotgun is open only in specific gray-shaded counties on the IDNR turkey map (not statewide), while Fall Archery is open statewide but closes during firearm deer season in any county that has one. Shooting hours differ by season — spring and youth spring close at 1 p.m., not sunset, which most other states' spring turkey seasons don't do. RE-VERIFIED 2026-09-01 — and that check showed the cited URL does not carry the data at all. dnr.illinois.gov/hunting/hunttrapdigest.html is a distribution page: it lists links to the PDF but contains not one season row itself. A fetch with a browser user agent succeeds and returns only that link list. The real source is the 2026-2027 Hunting and Trapping Digest (English) it links, at v3-wp.huntillinois.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/HuntTrapDigest.pdf, alongside a Quick Reference Card. Worth knowing before the next check: the Spanish and Polish editions on that same page are still the 2025-2026 ones, with a note that the new versions are coming — reach for those and you get last year. The dates in this file were not re-checked against the PDF on that date; all that is established is that the cited page cannot serve as the check.