PIKE COUNTY, Il. — Preliminary numbers are in for the 2023 Illinois spring turkey season. Turkey hunters harvested a statewide total of 16,121 wild turkeys, topping last year’s spring season by nearly 2,500 turkeys.

Hunters were nearing the record harvest total for the spring season which was set in 2006 with 16,569 turkeys.

The top five counties for the 2023 harvest were Jo Daviess County with 595 turkeys harvested followed by Jefferson, 487; Pike, 419; Pope, 379; and Randolph, 370.

The totals include the youth turkey season harvest of 1,309 birds, which is about 50 more than last year.

Spring turkey hunting was open in 100 of Illinois’ 102 counties.