Youth Turkey Hunt Program

The program is open to minors 12-17 years of age and includes a seminar and a mentored turkey hunt.

To participate, youth hunters must: 

• Graduate from a Basic Hunter Education course before the day of the hunt
• Complete a seminar before the day of the hunt
  (This only needs to be completed once; it is not necessary to repeat each year.)
• Be accompanied by an adult mentor (18 or older) who holds a Massachusetts hunting license and turkey permit

All hunting laws apply. If you are 15 or older and wish to hunt with a shotgun, you must have a valid Massachusetts firearms license. To apply for a firearms license, contact your local police department.

To participate in the youth turkey hunt, new participants must be 12-17 years of age and fulfill the following:

1. Graduate from a Basic Hunter Education course before the day of the hunt
2. Obtain a firearms identification (FID) card
   (This step is only required if you will be 15-17 years of age on the day of the youth turkey hunt and wish to hunt with a shotgun.)
3. Complete the youth turkey seminar. You can choose to complete the online seminar or the in-person seminar.
   (Youth who have completed the seminar in prior years already meet this requirement.)
4. Find a mentor.* Mentors can be any adult licensed hunter (18 years of age or older). Only one minor per licensed adult is permitted.
5. Obtain the necessary license, permits, and authorizations through MassFishHunt.

*Note about mentors: If you do not have a mentor for the hunt, it is best to complete the in-person seminar where you will have an option to be paired with a mentor from a participating club. If you complete the online seminar, you will not have the option to be paired with a mentor.
 

All first-time participants must complete a youth turkey seminar. If you prefer the in-person option, skip to the section below.

How to complete the Online Massachusetts Youth Turkey Seminar

1. Complete the Massachusetts Turkey Hunting Regulations Module
   This part of the seminar teaches about turkey hunting in Massachusetts, hunting safety, and shoot/don’t shoot scenarios. Start now.
2. Complete the Massachusetts Online Youth Turkey Seminar 
   This part of the seminar covers turkey hunting tips and strategies, hunting locations, and shotguns for turkey hunting. COMING SOON: This course will be open on April 1, 2026.
   *Note: When you finish the online seminar, it’s time to practice at the range. The last step in the online seminar asks you to affirm that you have completed all requirements—including range practice—so you’ll need to log out and return when this is completed. Your work will be saved.
3. Go to the range and practice
   Practice sighting in with the hunting implement you plan to use on the day of the hunt while practicing the 10 basic rules of firearms safety. If you don’t belong to a club or have access to a range, you can participate in one of the range days listed below to meet this requirement. Click on the range day link to register.

• March 28, 12:30 p.m.-2:30 p.m. Wrentham Sportsman's Club, Plainville Click here to register
• April 18, 8 a.m.-9:30 a.m. Harvard Sportsmen's Club, Harvard Click here to register.
• April 18, 9:30 a.m.-11 a.m. Harvard Sportsmen's Club, Harvard Click here to register.

4. Affirm completion of steps 1-3
   Once you have completed all the steps, log back into the online seminar and affirm. 
   Your turkey permit/hunt eligibility will be available within 5 business days of completing the seminar. You must have completed basic hunter education to get your turkey permit/hunt eligibility. Get instructions.

Note: The youth’s Customer ID must be entered when registering for the online Youth Turkey Seminar or the youth turkey certification will not be applied.
Important deadline: If you plan to hunt on Youth Turkey Hunt Day, you must complete all requirements by Monday, April 20.

All first-time participants must complete a youth turkey seminar. If you prefer to complete the seminar online, see the section above.

This option allows hunters to participate in a day-long training offered at several locations. It provides specialized training and reinforces lessons from Basic Hunter Education. Instruction includes safety, calling, proper set-up, identifying your target and what’s beyond it, turkey biology, and turkey hunting regulations.

How to complete the In-person Massachusetts Youth Turkey Seminar

1. Register
   The 2026 in-person seminars are listed below. Select a class, then click the link to register.
   Note: When registering, please include the youth’s Customer ID, so that the Youth Turkey Certification can be added to their account upon completion.

• March 28, 8:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. Wrentham Sportsman's Club, Plainville  Click here to register
• April 4, 8:30 a.m.-2 p.m. Fitchburg Sportsmen's Club, Ashburnham  Click here to register
• April 11, 8 a.m.- 1 p.m. Carver Sportsmen's Club, Carver  Click here to register
• April 11, 9 a.m.- 2 p.m. Lee Sportsman's Association, Lee  Click here to register
• April 18, 8 a.m.-2 p.m. Falmouth Rod and Gun Club, East Falmouth  Click here to register

2. Complete the seminar
   Once completed, a Youth Turkey Certification will be added to your customer profile in MassFishHunt within 5 business days. This allows you to obtain either a free Youth Turkey Permit (for ages 12–14) or a free Youth Turkey Day Eligibility (for ages 15–17). You must have this the youth turkey certification in order to participate in the hunt. Get permit instructions.

If you have participated in the Youth Turkey Hunt in the past, you can go to MassFishHunt and get your Youth Turkey Permit or Youth Turkey Day Eligibility at any time before the day of the hunt. Get instructions for how to log into MassFishHunt.

After completing either the online or in-person youth turkey seminar, along with Basic Hunter Education, a youth turkey authorization will be added to your customer profile in MassFishHunt. If you don't already have a customer profile, one will automatically be created for you. This will allow you to purchase either a Youth Turkey Permit (for ages 12–14) or Youth Turkey Day Eligibility (for ages 15–17). You must receive this special authorization in order to participate in the hunt. See below for detailed instructions on how to obtain your permit/authorization.

Instructions

Logging into MassFishHunt

All customers age 13 and older must have their own MassFishHunt account with a unique email address. Go to MassFishHunt and click on Sign Up to get started. Get step-by-step instructions on how to create an account in MassFishHunt.

Accounts for youth under age 13: Kids under 13 can not have their own online MassFishHunt account. Parents/guardians can link to a minor under 13 by entering basic information to either find an existing minor account or create a new linked account. Once linked, you can make purchases and manage account information for the minor. Get step-by-step instructions on how link an account in MassFishHunt.

Obtaining Your Permit/Eligibility

Youth hunters ages 12-14 need a Youth Turkey Permit:

1. Once you are logged into MassFishHunt, go to Buy Licenses in the main menu.
2. Go to the Hunting Permits & Stamps section and add a Turkey Permit (age 12-14) to your cart. If you are not able to add the permit, you may need to enter your hunter education information in the Hunter Education and Certificates section on your account homepage.

3. Once you have added the Turkey Permit (age 12-14) to the cart, checkout and print.

*If you do not see both your spring and fall turkey tags on the turkey permit (age 12-14) after checkout, go to the customer home page, select active privileges and re-print your permit.

Youth hunters ages 15-17 need a Minor Hunting License, a Turkey Permit, and a Youth Turkey Hunt Eligibility:

1. Once you are logged into MassFishHunt, go to Buy Licenses in the main menu.
2. Go to Licenses section and add a Hunting License (age 15-17) to your cart. Parent or guardian authorization is required for this step.
3. Go to Hunting Permits & Stamps section and add a Turkey Permit to your cart.
4. Next, add a Youth Turkey Day Eligible (age15-17) to your cart. If you are not able to add the Youth Day Eligible (age 15-17) product to your cart, you may need to enter your hunter education information in the Hunter Education and Certificates section on your account homepage.
5. Checkout and print.

*If you do not see  the Youth Turkey Day Eligible (ages 15-17) on your license after checkout, go to the customer home page, select active privileges and re-print your license. 

Mentors can be any adult licensed hunter (18 or older). Only one minor per licensed adult is permitted. Mentors must have the following to participate on the Youth Turkey Hunt day:

• Massachusetts hunting or sporting license
• turkey permit
• If mentoring a minor 12-14 years of age hunting with a shotgun, the adult must have a firearms license

If you have questions, please contact MassWildlife (508) 389-6300 or email hunter.education@mass.gov.

Please mention that you need help with the Youth Turkey Program when calling or emailing.