Record harvests reported for white-tailed deer, wild turkey

Two of Delaware’s most popular and productive hunting seasons – wild turkey and white-tailed deer – have yielded state record harvests for both game species during the 2024-25 season, the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control announced.

Record harvests for both deer and turkey during the same overall hunting season is an historic first for Delaware, according to the DNREC Division of Fish and Wildlife, and also a testimonial to the numerous hunting opportunities that exist for both species throughout the state on both public and private land.

The state’s five-month-long deer season starts annually Sept. 1, and is among the earliest of Delaware’s combined calendar years hunting seasons. Delaware’s deer hunting season often touches parts of six months and is one of the longest big-game hunting seasons in the country. The spring wild turkey season closes out hunting opportunities in the state until dates for the 2025-26 seasons are announced when new hunting licenses go on sale July 1.

The recent spring turkey season – which ran from April 12 to May 10 – saw Delaware hunters benchmark 2025 for posterity by bagging 800 birds, eclipsing the previous high of 723 turkeys taken in 2024. The number marked a nearly 11% increase in harvest from last hunting season as Delaware hunters continued to burnish the conservation success story of a wild turkey restoration effort that led to the state’s first spring season for gobblers in 1991.

“Delaware’s turkey hunters continue to play a vital role in wildlife conservation,” said Joe Rogerson, DNREC Wildlife Section administrator. “This season’s record numbers reflect not only favorable habitat conditions but also the commitment of hunters and landowners to sustainable game management.”

Sussex County topped the state with 369 turkeys harvested, followed closely by Kent County with 338 and New Castle County with 93 birds. 

Most of the birds harvested – 630 – were taken on private lands. 

The state’s white-tailed deer hunting season also rewarded Delaware hunters who went afield in pursuit of the state’s only big game animal – with 18,823 deer harvested during the season that ended Feb. 2. That total eclipsed the previous record of 17,265 set during the 2020-’21 season, and marked a 29.4% increase over the 2023-24 season when 14,451 deer were taken, and the lowest Delaware harvest in recent years.

“The historic deer harvest also highlights continued success in wildlife conservation and management efforts across the state,” Wildlife Section Administrator Rogerson said. “Indicative of both the resilience of Delaware’s deer population and the dedication of our hunters at pursuing our state’s big game animal, it also highlights the success of ongoing management strategies aimed at maintaining a healthy and balanced deer herd in Delaware.”

Sussex County led the state in total deer harvest with 9,628 deer harvested. The harvest in Kent and New Castle and Kent Counties was 6,140 and 3,055 deer, respectively.

For more information on hunting in Delaware, visit de.gov/hunting.