The North Dakota Game and Fish Department is offering 7,647 licenses for the 2022 spring wild turkey hunting season, 635 more than last year.
The spring turkey season opens April 9 and continues through May 15; the deadline to apply for a license is Wednesday, Feb. 16.
Ten of the 22 hunting units have more spring licenses than last year, one has fewer licenses and 10 remain the same. Unit 21 (Hettinger and Adams counties) is again closed due to lack of turkeys in the unit.
One noteworthy change from last year is handguns are no longer a legal firearm. Only shotguns, including muzzleloading shotguns, no larger than 10 gauge are legal.
Spring turkey applicants can apply online at the Game and Fish Department website , gf.nd.gov.
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A general game and habitat license is required when applying for a turkey license. Applicants can have the general game and habitat license refunded if they don’t draw a turkey license in the lottery.
In addition, hunters 16 and older must possess a small game license or combination license.
First-time spring turkey hunters 15 or younger are eligible to receive one spring license valid for any open unit. To be eligible, the youth hunter must be 15 or younger on opening day of spring turkey season and have never received a spring turkey license in North Dakota.
Spring turkey licenses are available only to North Dakota residents. Per legislation, four spring wild turkey licenses are made available to the Outdoor Adventure Foundation and three to the National Wild Turkey Federation.
