PickettSFHunter
Well-Known Member
Thought I would post a report of my trip to Florida this past week. I had been applying for quota hunts for about 4 years in FL,and finally drew a hunt this Spring. This was a 7 day hunt on a large military base with 35 permits, so I was thinking it would be not crowded at all...... I was dead wrong about that. FL allows each hunter to bring a guest, plus there are exempt hunter categories. Still I thought it would be okay.... I was wrong. The place was divided into 4 units, but only 1.75 units were open for the first 3 days, with the remainder only having 1 unit
Open. It was crowded like nothing I've ever experienced. No scouting was allowed, and you had to be off base by 1pm each day. I did get 1 morning on private land before the public hunt and came very close to killing one there. Then the quota hunt began, and I walked and walked and walked
for the first 3 days with only hearing one bird gobble on the roost one time. No one was hearing anything, but sign was abundant. At the end of day 3 I spotted a gobbler coming out of a creek bottom in a clear cut. Today, morning of day 4, I decided to start there. I was within 50-75 yards of the roost, the gobbler gobbled a few times, at that point , I began to become surrounded on all sides by hunters closing in from everywhere. The hens flew down to within 40 yards, I eased the safety off, ready for the gobbler to join them. About that time, a dude came walking across the wide open clear cut right at them, they spotted him, and it was over. They took off toward another clear cut. I circled to that cut and found them.... as a very large guy was getting out of his blind and placing a "funky chicken" (I think that's the name) decoy in front of him and stalking toward them. No kidding. I surmised that he would be unsuccessful and guessed at where they would spook to and went there and set up. About 20 minutes later, I saw the gobbler running across the clear cut, and made a soft yelp to him. He may have thought I was his hens, I don't know, but he ran to me and I shot him at about 40 yards. Certainly not ideal, certainly not the way you envision a hunt, but I dealt the cards I had. I will not be returning to fill the 2nd tag, nor will I apply for that hunt again. You just couldnt get away from people due to roads being everywhere and way to many people. I will take a cousin to private land one more morning and return home. As of today, there were 6 birds taken out of about 60 some odd hunters on the quota hunt.
Now is this an Osceola? I don't know. I was South of the line designated by FWC but really wasn't that far south. The black does seem to dominate on the wing to me but I don't know.
Just thought I would share. 16.5 pounds, 10.5 inch beard, 1 inch spurs.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Open. It was crowded like nothing I've ever experienced. No scouting was allowed, and you had to be off base by 1pm each day. I did get 1 morning on private land before the public hunt and came very close to killing one there. Then the quota hunt began, and I walked and walked and walked
for the first 3 days with only hearing one bird gobble on the roost one time. No one was hearing anything, but sign was abundant. At the end of day 3 I spotted a gobbler coming out of a creek bottom in a clear cut. Today, morning of day 4, I decided to start there. I was within 50-75 yards of the roost, the gobbler gobbled a few times, at that point , I began to become surrounded on all sides by hunters closing in from everywhere. The hens flew down to within 40 yards, I eased the safety off, ready for the gobbler to join them. About that time, a dude came walking across the wide open clear cut right at them, they spotted him, and it was over. They took off toward another clear cut. I circled to that cut and found them.... as a very large guy was getting out of his blind and placing a "funky chicken" (I think that's the name) decoy in front of him and stalking toward them. No kidding. I surmised that he would be unsuccessful and guessed at where they would spook to and went there and set up. About 20 minutes later, I saw the gobbler running across the clear cut, and made a soft yelp to him. He may have thought I was his hens, I don't know, but he ran to me and I shot him at about 40 yards. Certainly not ideal, certainly not the way you envision a hunt, but I dealt the cards I had. I will not be returning to fill the 2nd tag, nor will I apply for that hunt again. You just couldnt get away from people due to roads being everywhere and way to many people. I will take a cousin to private land one more morning and return home. As of today, there were 6 birds taken out of about 60 some odd hunters on the quota hunt.
Now is this an Osceola? I don't know. I was South of the line designated by FWC but really wasn't that far south. The black does seem to dominate on the wing to me but I don't know.
Just thought I would share. 16.5 pounds, 10.5 inch beard, 1 inch spurs.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
To those of us from South Florida, the purist strain Osceola's are from The Cypress, with pockets creeping up to right above The Lake.(below 70 highway) There is very, very little white barring in the wings. Dave Owens demonstrates this well in that latest video of his old ladies Gobbler. They are darker and longer legged than other turkeys, even within the state. Dave's video documents the reason why their legs are longer, as well. That Gobbler came to them across a 200 yard wet prairie, through 3 foot grass and 6 in of water. It's what they do. That ground down there is like no other ground in the state. The only "improved" ground is roads(buggy trails), burns, and campsites. They are also lighter, with a "heavy" Gobbler being 17lbs. I killed 2 different Gobblers 3 weeks ago, less than 65 miles apart, as the crow flies. One on Fisheating Creek WMA and one in The Cypress. First was 16.75 lbs and second was 15.50lbs. Even though these would both be considered Osceola's by most, the wings on the Cypress Gobbler were almost completely black. We call them "blackwings" down there. Either way, congrats on a public ground Florida Gobbler 
