Georgia turkey season opening early for youth and handicapped hunters

Children under 16 and mobility-impaired hunters can get a jump on turkey season this year.

On the weekend of March 19-20, young people, wheechair-bound hunters and others who have suffered amputations or other conditions affecting their ability to get around, will be allowed to hunt turkeys on private land.

Youth hunters must be accompanied by an adult who is 18 or older. The adult can call for a turkey but cannot hunt.

The specialty opportunity hunt "gives two deserving audiences a unique chance to get in the woods before the season opens statewide the following weekend," said John Bowers, chief of the Game Management Section, in a news release from the Georgia Department of Natural Resources.

Hunters under 16 who live in Georgia will not need a license, but adults accompanying them must be licensed to hunt anywhere except their own private land.

As the statewide turkey season opens March 26, a new turkey hunting regulation goes into effect requiring all hunters, even those under 16, to pick up a free harvest record for each season.

Before moving a harvested turkey, hunters must document the date and county on the record, and within 72 hours of the kill, complete the reporting process through Georgia Game Check.

More information on the new reporting process is available at georgiawildlife.com/HarvestRecordGeorgiaGameCheck.

Licenses also can be purchased online or at retailers listed at georgiawildlife.com/licenses-permits-passes.

This story was originally published March 8, 2016 at 5:44 PM with the headline "Georgia turkey season opening early for youth and handicapped hunters ."