Vinton County youth hunters bag 26 turkeys, topping average harvest
Vinton County youth hunters checked 26 turkeys, four above the county’s recent average, as Ohio’s South Zone youth harvest ran well ahead of its three-year norm.
Vinton County youth hunters checked 26 wild turkeys during Ohio’s special spring weekend, topping the county’s three-year average of 22 and giving the local season a stronger-than-usual start. Across the South Zone, youth hunters took 1,941 birds during the April 18-19 hunt, 260 more than the zone’s recent three-year average of 1,681.
The youth season was open only to hunters age 17 and younger, and each one had to be accompanied by a nonhunting adult. That keeps the hunt rooted in family tradition as much as in harvest totals, and it is part of why the numbers matter beyond the woods. More young hunters in the field usually means more license sales, more shells, and more spending at local gas stations, sporting-goods counters and outfitters as the spring season gets underway.
Vinton County’s 26 birds also fit into a broader southeastern Ohio picture. Neighboring Jackson County posted 33 youth turkeys, compared with its three-year average of 28. The county-by-county figures give a rough read on how turkey populations, hunter participation and spring weather are lining up from one area to the next. In Vinton County, the small but solid increase suggests steady participation among the next generation of hunters.
The South Zone covers 83 of Ohio’s 88 counties, making the youth weekend one of the largest spring hunting windows in the state. Ohio’s 2025 spring turkey season ended with 16,014 birds checked statewide, including 1,740 taken by hunters 17 and younger, showing that youth hunters continue to make up a meaningful share of the spring harvest.
The regular South Zone spring turkey season opened April 25 and runs through May 24. In the first weekend of the 2026 regular season, hunters checked 4,646 wild turkeys statewide, with Tuscarawas, Belmont, Brown, Guernsey, Gallia, Highland, Jefferson, Meigs, Monroe and Adams among the top counties. For Vinton County, the youth total is an early sign that spring hunting activity remains active and that the season still has plenty of time to build.
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