This past Sunday, March 14th, we decide to try our luck in an area we have hunted in Big Cypress National Preserve (not to worry, not giving away secrets it's 700,000 acres. Have to have a permit for ORV trail access, which we did. It was a really fun and awesome hunt. Left the house at 3:30AM, new time, and drive to put in area with the buggy trailered. Made it to the area we were going to hunt prior to first light. Dead still and 58 degrees and a gazillion stars out. At the buggy just sat and listened for a bit. In a few we hear a faint gobble off to the South maybe a mile. That bird probably gobbled 30 times and an owl was speaking up as well (or a hunting tempting the tom). After it just began turning a little lighter the tom went silent. So we gave up trying to gain ground that bird, especially if the "owl" didn't have feathers (we never hear a shot at that way).
Decided to move in to the original area were we had seen plenty of tracks and numerous birds on some trail cameras we had put out earlier in the years. We listened as we moved into the area but had not heard a single gobble. Just a sunup we set up in open pines under a small sable palm, with a cypress dome about 60 yards out front. Several lines of view out 50-60 yards around, some shorter.
Not much happening through the morning. As I had turning to the extreme right and then back I see two red and white heads 15 yards moving toward our hen deke out front 20 yards. I nudge my son on the left but both have guns in our laps. As the toms focused on the deke they passed behind a couple saw palmetto palms giving us a chance to get on them. They got to the deke and began strutting around back and forth behind a clump. My son wanted me to take a bird first but the only shot was on his side so I told to take the shot and I'll have my gun on the clump to take the other bird when it reacted to the shot, thinking he would run out my side. My son drops the first gobbler dead as a hammer at 26 yards, and the other tom takes flight and I drop him 15 feet in the air at 32 yards! That bird fell like a bag of rocks dead. Biggest bird I ever shot out of the sky! This whole event happened in under five minutes. Holy Mackerel, we celebrated, as we had never had a double together! And never a peep out these birds creeping in silent.
These birds were not big boss toms, but true South Florida swamp Osceloas. In fact, this year the water was high so far the "dry season" with most of the area we were in still soft and muddy. Big Cypress country old timers feel that birds tend to be a bit smaller than the ones further north around the Lake O, and central Florida areas that has a little more favorable diet. Our birds were approximately 15 pounds each, with 3/4" spurs and 6-7" beard on one and an 1 1/2" stub that seemed to have beard rot or sometime. The birds seemed to be in the same age class of maybe 2 1/2".
Lord, at 72, I truly love spending time in the Cypress Cathedral seeking these beautiful birds! I'll keep doing this until I can't get out of bed I guess.
