- All turkey must be Telechecked online, using the MO Hunting app, or by telephone.
- If you are calling Telecheck on your cellphone, be sure you have a clear signal.
- If the signal is spotty, move closer to a major highway, go to higher ground, or wait until you get to a land-based line to call.
- Avoid calling in areas with loud background noise.
You do not need to Telecheck immediately after harvesting a turkey. You have until 10 p.m. on the day taken to check your turkey.
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Telecheck with the MO Hunting app
- Select your notched permit from the list.
- Tap “Telecheck.”
- Follow the prompts on the screen.
Telecheck will upload a confirmation number to your mobile device.
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Telecheck Using a Phone or the Internet
- Before calling the toll-free number or going online, find your Telecheck ID number on your permit.
- If you have more than one permit, be sure you give the number of the permit you want to use.
- Get a pen so you will be able to write your Telecheck confirmation number on your permit.
- Collect the information you will be asked when you use Telecheck.
- Call 800-314-6828 or use the Telecheck button at the top of this page, then follow the instructions. If you’re using a phone, speak clearly and slowly. You can use Telecheck between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m.
- After you have provided the required information, you will be given a confirmation number that verifies you have legally checked your game. Write this number on the permit. You have now completed checking your game and can process your deer or turkey.
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How to Telecheck Turkey (Fall)
During checking, hunters will be asked the age and sex of their turkey. Monitoring the age and sex of harvested turkeys provides a valuable measure of the fall harvest.
Hunters may also submit feathers as part of a research project.
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How to Telecheck Turkey (Spring)
During checking, hunters will be asked the age, beard length, and spur length of their turkey. Spur length measurements help biologists keep track of the age structure of the adult turkey population.
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Gobblers (Male)
- Breast feathers: black-tipped
- Head: mainly red
- Breast: appears black
- Spurs: usually 1/2 inch or more
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Hens (Female)
- Breast Feathers: buff-tipped
- Head: mainly blue
- Breast: appears rusty
- Spurs: no spurs
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How to Measure Spurs
Spur length measurements help biologists keep track of the age structure of the adult population. Please accurately measure your turkey’s spur before Telechecking your turkey. If you don’t have a ruler, use the signature line of your permit, which is 2 inches long—with a 1-inch mark in the middle.
Start at the outside center from the point at which the spur protrudes from the leg scales, and measure to the tip of the spur. Juvenile gobblers have spurs less than ½ inch long and a beard less than 6 inches long.
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How To Age A Turkey
To age a turkey, look at the two outermost feathers on the wing (see below). The tips of the 9th and 10th primary feathers of a juvenile lack white barring. The 9th and 10th primary feathers of an adult have white barring extending to the tips.
