KENT – It may be months from Thanksgiving, but Connecticut’s spring turkey hunting season is now underway, running from April 29 through May 30.
Hunters are permitted up to five male turkeys during the season, known as “toms” for adults or “jakes” for juveniles, which are marked by their distinctive “beards” – protrusions of hair-like feathers that extend from their necks. Shotguns and bows are the only weapons allowed for turkey hunting in the state.
A new law passed last year allows hunting on Sundays on private land with the proper permitting. Previously, hunting wasn’t allowed on Sundays in Connecticut.
Local hunter and electrical contractor Chris Harrington, who lives in Kent, said rural residents shouldn’t be alarmed if they hear gunfire over the next month. “Most of the time in Northwestern Connecticut, when you hear a gunshot, it’s somebody hunting or recreational shooting,” he said.
He also urged outdoor recreators to dress to stand out when in the woods during any active hunting season.
“You should always be wearing bright colors when you’re hiking,” he said.
Harrington said he’s been hunting turkeys since it became legal in the 1980s. While once plentiful in the state, colonists hunted the birds to near elimination in New England before reintroduction efforts began to restore a stable population.
“When I was a kid, there were no turkeys in the state,” said Harrington, who grew up in Kent.
Today, the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) estimates the turkey population at over 30,000.
“Wild turkeys are a conservation success story, with populations rebounding over the past few decades,” said DEEP Commissioner Katie Dykes in a statement announcing the start of the season.
Harrington said he hunts for food, and to carry on a family tradition, having been taught by his grandfather.
“Deer hunting and turkey hunting and rabbits and small game and fishing was a big part of their food,” he said of his grandparents.
Now, occasionally bringing his own sons along, he said he won’t kill anything he won’t eat.
After the spring season ends, turkey hunters have other opportunities later in the year. A short firearm season runs Oct. 3 through Oct. 31 and allows hunters up to three birds of either sex, and a fall bow season allows hunting on state-owned designated bowhunting areas and private property from Sept. 15 to Dec. 31, with a cap of two birds of either sex.
