Best Spring Turkey Counties in Arkansas: Sharp Led 2026, Fulton Finished First Most Often

IThe climb

Five consecutive annual gains brought Arkansas's count to 13,646 from 7,023

At 7,023 birds, spring 2021 marked the low point in our records. By spring 2026, hunters had checked 13,646 turkeys. Each intervening year brought an increase: 7,595, then 8,910, then 9,336, then 11,397. The last increase totaled 2,249 birds, or 19.7%. Compared with 2024, the count for 2026 rose 46.2%, with 13,646 birds versus 9,336. The earlier high for the years in our records was 12,074 in 2014; the latest total exceeds it by 1,572.

Arkansas Game and Fish Commission offers its own explanations. In its yearly turkey summary, it attributes the 2025 gain to improved reproduction during 2021 to 2023 and favorable hunting conditions on many days. The May announcement also points to mature gobblers left from conservatively managed seasons, favorable weather, and a newly split opening weekend. That weekend allowed a hunter to take a turkey in a southern zone, then another on a northern zone's opening day. The same announcement describes reproduction in 2025 as moderate and says the coming season may see a drop. None of those claims can be tested using our county tables. The agency made that warning about the coming season; we did not.

IISharp's spring

Izard trails Sharp by 37 checked birds

In 2026, hunters in Sharp County checked 511 birds; those in Izard County checked 474. The remaining counties in the leading five are Independence with 450, Newton with 449 and Fulton with 400. For each of the 15 counties shown, the table supplies a 2025 count and an average for 2021 to 2025.

All listed counties topped their individual five-year averages. Counties coming off low totals had the largest increases. Yell County's count of 286 was more than double its 140 average. Independence's 450 versus 241, Van Buren's 398 versus 216, and Montgomery's 316 versus 167 each came in at 1.8 to 1.9 times their respective averages. Among the listed counties, Baxter County alone fell below its 2025 count, dropping from 334 to 328. Stone County stayed at 351.

Below the top two counties, five pairs sitting side by side in the harvest rankings are no more than two birds apart. Independence and Newton differ by one bird. Fulton and Van Buren, Cleburne and Stone, and Drew and Montgomery each have a gap of two birds, while Union and Yell are tied at 286. The ten highest-ranking counties make up 30.0% of all spring birds checked statewide. Among all 75 counties, 63 posted higher harvest totals than in 2025, 11 had lower totals, and 1 matched its previous total.

IIIWho keeps winning

Fulton placed first 5 times across 14 seasons

One strong spring can push a county higher in the rankings. To put that in perspective, we tallied the leader for each season in 2013 to 2026. Fulton won 5 times, Sharp 4 and Union 3; Newton and Izard won 1 apiece. Sharp's 2026 lead accounts for one of its 4 wins. Fulton placed fifth in 2026 but has taken first most often.

Across the ten seasons covering 2017 to 2026, harvest counts for the leading three counties sit close together. Sharp recorded 3,178 birds, compared with Izard's 3,156 and Fulton's 3,098. The decade's first- and third-place totals differ by 80 birds. Union County breaks that pattern: it led 3 seasons within that span, yet places fifth for the full ten-season count at 2,610 and 14th for 2026. The summary tables list how many wins each county has, without identifying the winning years. We therefore cannot tell whether Union's wins were grouped into one stretch of years.

IVThe 2014 gap

That spring's list named just ten counties

The county detail for Arkansas in 2014 is more limited than in other years. For that spring, the commission released only its ten leading counties. Of the 12,074 birds counted statewide, 8,524 lack a county label. Named counties account for the remaining 3,550 birds, equal to 29.4% of the total (dividing 3,550 by 12,074). The unassigned counts in other years are smaller: 112 for 2015, 67 for 2019 and 21 for 2022.

That missing county detail narrows what we can learn from 2014. We include that spring when counting first-place finishes because the leading county is identified in a top-ten list. We cannot rank that year's other 65 counties, nor can we measure the winner's margin. The combined counts above use 2017 to 2026, leaving 2014 out.

VWhat highest means

The county series begins with 2013

We have Arkansas county data beginning with 2013. In this paper, "highest" therefore refers to the period starting in 2013. The commission uses a longer historical window in its May announcement. It reports 13,591 checked birds and describes that count as the largest spring harvest since 2006. For 2003, it lists a state record of 19,947 birds. According to the release, hunters in most of Arkansas had 37 hunting days that year, compared with 21 days for Zones 1 and 2 during 2026. The commission's state turkey findings include higher statewide harvest counts from before 2013. We have not reconstructed county totals for those earlier seasons.

The sums we report slightly exceed the commission's headline figures: 13,646 versus 13,591 for 2026, 11,397 versus 11,332 for 2025, and 9,336 versus 9,296 for 2024. Those gaps fall between 0.4% and 0.6%. Our method adds county rows from the commission's harvest reports from the licensing system and birds that the agency could not place in a county. We did not investigate that small discrepancy. These check counts also depend on effort and geography. Additional hunters, greater access or a larger area can each raise a county's count. We did not adjust for county acreage.

VIField rule

Begin with the nine shared county leaders

Nine counties appear in the leading ten for both 2026 and the 2017 to 2026 totals: Baxter, Cleburne, Fulton, Independence, Izard, Newton, Sharp, Stone and Van Buren. Searcy joins the current leaders with 376 in 2026 versus its 230 average; Union drops out despite its long-term ranking. Each of the nine has ten seasons of checked birds in its record, plus a 2026 total exceeding its individual average. That combination makes them the safest counties to consider first.

Consider the commission's warning, too. If next season brings a decline, the long track records in Sharp, Izard and Fulton offer the most evidence for planning. Counties with big jumps, including Yell (286 compared with 140) and Independence, have one standout spring alongside much lower averages. Hold off on rebuilding your plan around them until the next county table comes out. Then ask about hunting permission. Checked-bird totals tell you nothing about who owns the land.

Among the seven states covered in our Southeast comparison, Arkansas's 19.7% increase ranks second. The comparison places every state's 2026 result alongside its own past harvests.