Thanksgiving falls on November 26 this year, and if you’ve ever looked at the price of a frozen bird and thought“I could do this myself,”Texas Parks and Wildlife has a season for you. Lubbock County’s fall turkey season opens November 7, 2026 and runs through January 3, 2027, with a four-bird bag limit for gobblers or bearded hens. That’s plenty of runway to harvest a bird before the holiday table is set.
The paperwork is straightforward but not optional. You’ll need a valid Texas hunting license and an Upland Game Bird Endorsement, and depending on your age, hunter education may apply. Because most land on the South Plains is private, landowner or outfitter permission is required before you go. Rio Grande wild turkeys favor wooded creek bottoms and water sources, so scouting those areas is a smart start.
Once you’ve got a bird, treat it differently than a store-bought one. Wild turkey is leaner, so brining helps with moisture, and it must reach an internal temperature of 165 degrees. Tagging and reporting compliance keeps everything legal from field to freezer. As one outdoors writer put it, harvesting your own Thanksgiving dinner makes for a pretty interesting holiday story.
Would you ever hunt your own Thanksgiving turkey, or is the grocery store tradition too hard to beat?
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Local Lawton
Local Lawton is a contributor to LocalBeat, covering local news and community stories.