Best Spring Turkey Counties in North Carolina After 50 Years of Reports

IDuplin on top

Ten springs, nine wins

The spring 2026 total reported by Duplin County's hunters was 853 turkeys, putting Duplin 126 ahead of Halifax County (727). Northampton (598), Pender (595) and Columbus (568) round out the top five. Rankings extend through 15th place, with each county's 2025 total and average for 2021 to 2025 shown in the table.

Duplin has kept the lead for years. Across 2017 to 2026, it won nine times in ten springs; Rockingham County claimed the remaining spring. Duplin logged 6,981 turkeys over those ten seasons, beating runner-up Pender's 5,499 by 1,482 birds.

Halifax draws attention in the table for 2026: its reported count of 727 exceeded its five-year average by 191, the largest increase above average within that group of 15 counties. Northampton reported 598 compared with 470, Edgecombe 513 compared with 380, and Pitt 510 compared with 381. Each also finished well above its average.

On the chart, Duplin and Halifax sit well ahead of the remaining counties. From Northampton down to Sampson, counts range from 598 to 543, a spread of just 55 turkeys.

IIFifty springs

A climb from 144 to 25,034 birds

The records begin with 144 turkeys in 1977. According to the commission, reporting became mandatory that year. Its summary covering 1977 to 2026 lists reports from only 23 counties that spring; Caswell County accounted for 51 birds out of 144 by itself. The first reported count above 1,000 came in 1988, at 1,032. The count crossed 10,000 during 2006, reaching 11,706, then crossed 20,000 during 2020, reaching 23,431. Starting in 2020, every spring's reports have exceeded 20,000; the low was 20,576 for 2022. At 25,034, the 2026 count beat the previous peak, 24,089 in 2023, by 945 birds. It was about 174 times as large as the count for 1977. All 100 North Carolina counties logged at least five turkeys during spring 2026.

IIIRestocking years

Restocking followed by harvest

On its page about wild turkeys, the commission explains that workers captured birds within North Carolina and in other states, then moved them to places where turkeys had disappeared. Starting in 1953, they released 6,031 turkeys across 358 sites. Of those birds, 4,443 were moved starting in 1990. The restoration effort concluded in 2005; the commission considers the work complete. The agency's profile of the species also credits the end of fall hunting with helping turkeys recover. Statewide flock estimates from the commission put 1970 at 2,000 birds and 1990 at 28,000.

The reported counts track the timing of restocking. In 1990, the start of the busiest release period, hunters logged 1,510 turkeys. In 2005, the final release year, reports totaled 9,824.

Statewide flock estimates from the commission put 2010 at 260,000 birds, 2015 at 265,000 and 2020 at 270,000. That is an increase of 10,000 across ten years. For those three spring harvests, reported totals were 13,756, followed by 17,828, then 23,431. The estimated flock grew gradually; reported harvest increased more quickly. With revisions only every five years, the population estimate offers a rough measure. An increase in hunters, improved reporting or an actual gain in turkeys could each explain this pattern. Neither series, even considered together, can tell which explanation fits.

IVCoast and interior

Coastal counties dominate the rankings

For 2026, the commission divides its county table into Coastal, Central and Western regions, assigning a region to every county. Our leading 15 include eleven Coastal counties. The four remaining counties belong to Central: Rockingham, Edgecombe, Northampton and Halifax. Western has none among those leaders. Wilkes leads that region, placing 17th overall with 393 reported turkeys. About a third of North Carolina's counties fall in each region. Reports from Coastal's 34 counties totaled 9,928, or 292 per county. Central's 32 counties logged 8,721, while Western's 34 recorded 6,385, or 188 per county.

Duplin's own reporting history is fairly short. Nothing appears for the county in the commission's summary before 2000, which lists 31 turkeys. The next count was 39 for 2001; by 2026, it was 853. Whether an empty cell indicates a season closure or an absence of reports is left unexplained in the table.

VReading the record

Reading the counts for 1977 to 2026

Our county figures come from the commission's table of reported spring harvests by county on its page of harvest statistics. Youth-season birds count toward the table for 2026. Game lands supplied 1,259 turkeys out of 25,034, about 5%. For all 50 springs, we compared our added county counts with the agency's statewide row. The totals match for 40 springs, including all springs starting in 2000. For the remaining ten, each earlier than 2000, the statewide row exceeds our sum by 1 to 42 birds. That row counts turkeys whose county was unrecorded; our county totals exclude them. On its page about turkeys, the commission lists 1977 at 144 birds and 2004 at 8,846. Our series matches both figures.

The commission publishes estimates from hunter surveys going back to 1949, too. These figures belong to a separate category from reported bird totals. We leave them out. A county's reported turkey total reflects how many hunters it has, their access and the county's size, as well as its turkeys. We made no adjustment for county size, so acreage alone can give a large county a high ranking.

VIRisers and sliders

How to weigh the 2026 results

Look first at Duplin, the county holding the record, then keep an eye on counties showing changes. In the table of 15 counties, 11 topped their averages for 2021 to 2025. Four were below average: Pender (595 versus 622), Bladen (530 versus 572), Brunswick (470 versus 523) and Onslow (418 versus 456). Each of those four is in the Coastal region. Every Central-region county listed, four in all, ended above its average. With four Coastal counties below average and four Central counties above average, the sample is too small to base a hunting plan on. Still, it gives you a reason to consider Halifax, Northampton and Edgecombe before making the Coastal counties that fell short of their averages your default choice.

We would favor a county backed by several years of results. A reported count for 2026 below that county's average would flag a warning; a count well above it would call for confirmation the following spring. North Carolina beat its previous peak by 945 birds, a wider gap than the 351 birds by which Kentucky set its record, covered in our Kentucky county paper. From 2025 to 2026, North Carolina gained 10.1%, the lowest increase of the seven states covered in our Southeast comparison. Even so, the state's count set the peak for its series.