For those who are passionate about turkey hunting, Colorado delivers — and fall is the sleeper season. While everyone else is chasing elk, fall turkey hunters enjoy over-the-counter licenses in most units, either-sex birds, and some of the prettiest woods of the year.

01Permits & Licenses

To hunt turkeys in Colorado you need a valid turkey license. Most fall licenses are sold over the counter at CPWshop.com, CPW offices, and licensed retailers — no draw required in the majority of units. A handful of units are limited-draw (that application closed in the spring), and youth under 18 hunt at reduced cost. Don’t forget the Habitat Stamp with your first license of the year.

CPW Turkey Hunting  →Buy your license  →

02Turkey Season Dates

Hunt dates vary by season, license type and location — always confirm against your printed license and the official CPW Turkey Brochure.

03Bag Limit & Legal Methods

In the spring you’re allowed one bearded turkey; in the fall it’s one turkey of either sex. Fall also opens up your gun cabinet: where spring is shotgun-and-archery, fall hunts in many units allow shotguns, archery, muzzleloaders and even rifles — check your unit’s rules. Legal hours run from a half-hour before sunrise to sunset.

04Prime Hunting Locations

Public Lands

Merriam’s turkeys thrive in Colorado’s ponderosa and scrub-oak country. National forests, State Wildlife Areas and Walk-In Access properties all hold birds — and right here in Northwest Colorado, the river-bottom cottonwoods and oak brush of the Yampa Valley are underrated fall turkey ground. Scout roost trees near water and food, and use the free Colorado Hunting Atlas to sort unit boundaries before you go.

Private Lands

Fall flocks love agricultural edges. Before stepping onto private ground, get the landowner’s permission — a knock on the door and a respectful ask still works in Routt and Moffat counties. Treat the place better than you found it and you’ll get invited back.

05Gear & Equipment

Shotguns & Loads

A reliable 12- or 20-gauge with a tight turkey choke is a turkey hunter’s best friend — and modern TSS loads have made the 20 (and even the .410) a legitimate gobbler gun. Pattern your gun before the season, not opening morning.

Browse the categories our turkey hunters lean on:

Shotguns

12ga, 20ga, .410

Turkey Loads

TSS & premium shot

Camo & Apparel

Head-to-toe cover

Game Calls

Box, pot & diaphragm

Knives

Clean and dress

Accessories

Decoys, bags, blinds

06Hunting Techniques

Scatter & Call Back

The classic fall play: locate a flock, break it up, then set up and call the scattered birds back together. Young birds respond eagerly to kee-kee runs.

Spot and Stalk

Glass feeding flocks from a distance and use terrain to close the gap. One of the most exhilarating ways to fill a fall tag — just be dead sure of your target and backstop.

Blind Hunting

A blind on a feeding edge or water source masks your movement and is the most comfortable way to bring a kid along on a fall hunt.

07Safety & Ethics

Complete your hunter education before you go — it’s required for anyone born on or after Jan. 1, 1949. Never stalk turkey sounds (it might be another hunter calling), identify your bird completely before shouldering the gun, and aim for the head and neck with a shotgun for a quick, clean kill. Respect public and private ground alike: leave gates as you found them and pack out everything.

Chasing bigger game this fall? Read our 2026 Colorado Big Game Hunting Guide for elk and deer season dates, license deadlines and gear.

Season dates and regulations are subject to change. Always verify dates and unit-specific rules against your printed license and the official Colorado Parks & Wildlife Turkey Brochure before hunting.