JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Mississippi's spring turkey hunting season runs March 15 to May 1.

Dave Godwin, wild turkey program coordinator for the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks, says hunters killed about 30,000 turkeys in the 2013 spring season.

Hunters are allowed to bag one adult gobbler per day and three in the spring season.

Godwin says it takes about two years for a turkey to gain maturity. He says this year's turkeys would have hatched in 2012.

Godwin says the length of the turkey's beard determines whether it can be hunted. He says the rule is six inches for a legal beard.

Most year old turkeys will have a beard in the three- to four-inch range. By the second year that will grow to the eight- to 11-inch range.