2018 Osceola hunts

Stories of your favorite gobbler hunts.
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Swampstalk
Posts: 388
Joined: November 16th, 2018, 3:48 pm
Location: Palmetto Bay, Florida

2018 Osceola hunts

Post by Swampstalk »

Opening weekend, March 2nd: I had drawn a quota for the first weekend hunt in a South Florida WMA, and my son and his wife, had quotas in a WMA next door the same weekend. We had scouted a few weeks before season and had seen a number of birds moving in a promising area that I would hunt. My son left early afternoon to go up and do some final scouting and set up. His wife and I traveled up late afternoon and we all stayed at the Immokalee Inn nearby. A friend was going to hunt with me and drive up early Saturday morning.

March 3rd: We left the motel around 4:15am in order to get to our parking spots before others might. Met up and we used bikes to go up the Forestry access road from the county road. My son and wife left for their area to set up. We had an easy ride for a mile or so then hid the bikes and walked into a few hundred yards where we were going to set up on the edge of wooded area overlooking a dry flag pond. We were in the blind before 6am, on a cool clear beautiful morning.

We heard turkeys calling well before first light from roosts off to the north a ways. By sunup we had heard several gobblers calling in the distance to the north and northwest. Around 7:15 I saw a doe walking across the dry flag pond marsh right to our decoys, watch for a bit and then go into the woods to the south and move off.
Around 8:00 we saw several turkeys feeding and walking from north to south out about 80 yards, not coming closer even while calling them some. They were not interested in our decoys. In a while later a group of jakes came by and followed the earlier birds. After about 30 minutes or so the group moved back north the same way.
I had spotted a roosted tom straight across the dry marsh in a pine tree about 325 yards out in a tree line. We watched him for a while then he flew down while we were watching the returning group on the ground. Later on my friend spotted a tom strutting with a hen a couple hundred yards to the south that had moved from the western side of the marsh, which we felt was the roosted tom we had seen earlier. For some time the tom would shock gobble reacting to a pesky crow, all the while the tom was working his way toward our calling. Though the tom hadn’t gobbled in a while, around 10am my partner indicated to me, as I’m on the left side of the blind, that the tom was behind some bushes close and he did a couple hen clucks and the tom turned and stepped out between two sabal palms and I shot him at about 10 yards. He was the only bird harvested that day at the WMA, weighing 15 lbs., 15 ounces, 8 ¼” beard, with only nubs for spurs. This was a very fast shot at close range as the tom popped out so close. I really didn’t have time to get too excited, but a fun hunt.

After retrieving my bird, we returned to the blind and continued to call wanting my partner to get a chance at a bird. Just after Noon a small group of 4 or 5 turkeys, including young toms and jakes appeared along the edge of the timber from the north to where we were all of a sudden while we had let our guard down, chatting and had removed our masks thinking we would wrap up for the 1 pm cut off. The birds were 15-20 yards on the right side just outside the timber. I saw them first as my friend was turned toward me and he saw my reaction and began trying to get his gun around, but the birds were spooked and took off out and back the way they had come in and were out of range quick. Missed opportunity for a double! A great day of action in an amazing setting under a big oak tree! Son had no action in their area in their WMA.

March 4: Another beautiful clear morning with calm winds. As my son and wife decided to come as quest hunters with me to the WMA site as I still had a quota bird available. We walked, instead of the bikes, the access road and arrived well before first light. Decoys set, we all settled in. As I had taken my bird, they would try their luck at a tom. Not much happening early, except some calling to the north again this morning. Around 6:50 a lone tom comes from the north out a ways and heads straight for the jake decoy. He jumps up and spurred the decoy knocking it over. Then he became unsettled possibly from our movement scrambling to get a gun on him and/or turning on the camera, or an errant chirp on a call, and begins to move out away from us. My daughter-in-law shoots him at about 40 yards. Great shot and the tom began to flop briefly and die. Loralyn, being pregnant, was a real trooper during the hunts, we were excited for her to take a gobbler. After she got her tom we observed other birds to the north and left the tom where he died as we didn’t want to spook them off. The birds straggled in with a lone hen making her way south and discovered the dead tom. She fussed and made noise for some time around the tom. About seven minutes later, around 8:30, three toms and a jake made their way from the north and were heading to the decoys and we decided to call it a day and gathered the tom, did pictures and packed up and walked out. Son’s wife’s tom weighed 16 ¾ lbs., 10.5” beard with 7/8” spurs. A great bird, and another amazing, action packed hunt, though somewhat disappointed for my partner's missed opportunity the day before. What a wonderful opportunity for our family to experience together! We are all rearing to go back soon. And we were on another quota the next weekend!

March 11: A little cooler with some cloud cover left over from the rain event the evening before. As my son had not harvested a turkey yet, we decided to return to a honey hole for another try from where we had taken several birds from. As my son had some obligations Saturday, we left late afternoon for the Immokalee motel room. We again got up extremely early on Sunday to get a jump on anyone that might be interested in our area. We walked the access road and headed into the woods for our hunting spot, and settled in very early as it had changed over to Daylight Savings Time. We both took a little snooze and woke around first light. Unlike the previous weekend, not much gobbling this morning happening. A couple gobbles to the north, and one back to our south a ways.
Around 7:30 a possum walked along the edge wet from the heavy rains the evening before and strolled by us at about 10 yards. At about 8:15 the group of hens and jakes we had seen the weekend before strolled through feeding from the north out about 80 yards or so on their regular trail.
After a few minutes one lone hen out to our left was standing alert in between a couple of bushes. When I was motioning to my son about her two toms pop out to our left from behind the brush and sabals at about 15 yards, near where I had shot a tom previously. I saw them and motioned to him and he was trying to get the gun up and I scrambled to get the video camera going. I guess we moved and/or made noise as the birds turned and began to head out away from us and the decoys. He shot the trailing tom at about 35-40 yards. After pictures and being amazed at another extremely quick hunt we packed up and headed for the truck. His gobbler weighed in at 14.5 pounds, 9 ¾” beard, and 7/8 and ¾” spurs. All in all the most memorable turkey hunting season any of us have had! These areas have produced 9 turkeys in 6 years for all of us. Can’t wait until next year, as we will all be applying for quotas up there for sure!
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Don
HennedUp
Posts: 46
Joined: December 31st, 2018, 7:50 pm
Location: Central NY

Re: 2018 Osceola hunts

Post by HennedUp »

I enjoyed the read and the pics Don, thank you and congrats again on the birds. :thumbup:
Bob
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ncturkey
Posts: 886
Joined: September 15th, 2011, 2:22 pm
Location: North Carolina

Re: 2018 Osceola hunts

Post by ncturkey »

👍
Mike
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