Part 1:  Search For The Florida Osceola

March 2003 - The 2003 Grand Slam gets off to an action packed start at Florida Wildlife Unlimited wild turkey camp near Zolfo Springs, Florida. Doug Crabtree and I are both going for the Grand Slam ... this Spring ... with our bows. To The Osceola Hunt.

Part 2: The Merriam's Wild turkey

April 2003 - The South Dakota bowhunt with Dave Keiser at Double K Guide Service was action packed. Brooks Johnson and Keith Beam of Double Bull Archery hunted with us. (Pictures and the hunt notes.)  To The Merriam's Bowhunt.

Part 3: The Eastern Wild Turkey

This bowhunt was tops. Doug Crabtree and Terry Speakman team called in wild turkey gobblers, one after the other. Doug Crabtree called in a longbeard almost a mile away and and completed his Grand Slam. Pictures and hunt logs. TO: Eastern Bowhunt

Part 4: The Rio Grande Wild Turkey

The Rio Grande hunts were in 3 parts, sandwiched in between the Ohio and South Dakota bowhunts. Of our Quest for the Grand Slam this hunt turned out to be the biggest challenge. A lot of exciting hunts came down on this hunt. Doug's "Man on a mission" hunt proves what you can do when the hunting clock is almost done ticking. The last week of season the gobblers were scarce and call shy. My hunt boiled down to one late seaon window of opportunity. TO: the Rio Grande Bowhunt. 
 
 

The Grand Slam Clinchers
Ohio - Opening Day, A Nice Day For A Grand Slam
Doug Crabtree Gets His Grand Slam For 2003
We drove to another area, on the top of a mountain, parked the truck and got out. Doug had bagged a gobbler here a few years ago. He stood quietly, listening, for at least 15 minutes. Then he said, "A gobble," and he pointed into the dense woods. Terry Speakman and I hadn't heard anything, but I've already learned not to doubt his incredible hearing. He started down a nearby walking trail. In 200 yards he signaled Terry and they went to work, each calling with a variety of calls. Then Terry and I returned to the truck while Doug went another 300 yards. In short order Doug came a running. "He's coming," he said. 
We grabbed the two Double Bull blinds and followed Doug for 500 yards. Doug cut and yelped. The Tom gobbled. We set up quickly because the bird's gobbles got louder, he was coming fast. Doug called again and the gobbler belted out a thunderous gobble. Then we saw him, a longbeard. He went into the cautious mode and stopped 25 yards away. I took one pic.
Doug drew, aimed, and sent his arrow to the mark. The gobbler ran down hill. Doug yanked up the edge of the blind lit out. In a few minutes he came walking uphill carrying the longbeard:  Pic 1 and Pic 2. Doug had just completed his part of our Quest For The Grand Slam, with the bow, in the Spring of 2003. Here Doug is with the Grand Slam Eastern longbeard. (How about that smile!) And here is another pic of Doug in the Setup he used. to complete his Grand Slam. Woooeeeee, what a morning. 

Ahh Yes, A Nice Day For A Grand Slam
I set up my decoys on the dam and slipped into my Double Bull blind. This time I was quiet. Daybreak came ... a gobble sounded 200 yards away. I purred and made some a few soft clucks and waited. More gobbles followed. When he flew down I clucked and yelped and shut up. His next gobble was much further away.
I started to stress, the season ends this week and I still don't have the Rio Grande for the Grand Slam. I kinda stewed on that chain of thought for several minutes. Then my bowhunting brain kicked into gear and I remembered some of my own advice, TO My Grand Slam Hunt
 
 
 

May 6, Morning: The gobblers flew down and zipped up their mouths. The Duck had a hen go to his decoys. Nothing came to the dam where I was. Afternoon:  No turkey sightings. 
May 5: Today's morning hunt was a good one, I have to finish the pictures and I'll put it up on tomorrow's update. Four gobblers roosted across the river from me this afternoon. I've got to get to sleep so I can get in their mix first thing the morning. 
May 4 Morning: I paid one of the "tolls" of hunting on a cattle ranch, I got the cows. The Duck zipped also. Afternoon: No gobbles in our end of the world.

May 3 Afternoon: A bearded hen hung out in the area. A couple of far off gobbles was the whole boy turkey show. A huge wild hog crossed the open area across from the stock tank. I waited until dark, listening for gobbles. None. When I got to camp the Duck had butchered 2 of the 3 wild hogs he got this afternoon. He had called in a gobbler earlier, but Don was in a treestand and the gobbler saw him and spooked. So the Duck got his Double Bull blind from his 4-wheeler and when the wild hogs came in he shot this one. They didn't leave so he shot 2 more. 
May 3 Morning: Overcast and windy. Followed by a hard rain. Two very wet hunters came in early this morning.
May 2 Afternoon: I arrived just in time to change clothes and go to my blind on the dam. It clouded up and intermittent thunder and lightning moved in. I called in one longbeard, he came to the opposite side of the stock tank and went to the field under the dam. The thunder storm got worse and he crossed the river to roost. The Duck is here also and he went to the canyon. No turkey action there. To the field notes and pictures from our Rio Grande Hunt. 

Search For The Eastern 
Ohio - Last Day, Two Birds? Why Not!
At daylight we were at one of Doug Crabtree's wild turkey haunts. He and Terry Speakman began calling. Answering gobbles came from across the county road. We drove a short ways down the road and stopped at a home. Doug talked to the owner and he granted us permission to bowhunt his property. We set up two Double Bull blinds on a hill and Doug and Terry moved several hundred yards toward the birds and worked them back toward the blinds. NEXT
To the Logs & Pictures of the Ohio Bowhunt for Easterns.
 
 

April 28, Monday - Before That ...
Doug Crabtree and Terry Speakman located gobbles and figured a way to get to the birds. We set up on a hillside in a field adjacent to a wood line. Doug and Terry began calling and we heard gobbles right away. The gobbles got closer fast and we saw them coming down the hill and approached our decoys. The decoys were 10 yards from the blind and the two Toms were a couple of steps further. I drew and aimed at the lead bird. (In picture #5 you can actually see my arrow on it's way to the Tom on the left.) My arrow hit on the money. The tom ran to the edge of the woods and went down 25 yards from us. The other bird flew back uphill. Right away, more gobbles came from downhill in the woods. Photos of this hunt as it came down.

Terry Speakman hunts with us and bags an Eastern
Five Toms came to the edge of the woods and strutted and gobbled. Terry's blind was set next to ours and he got ready to shoot. The birds entered the open and walked up to the decoys. Two gobbled right in the face of the hen decoy. Terry aimed at one and shot. The arrow hit the vitals and the Tom ran a few yards into the woods and dropped. The other Tom's ran to it and we heard them gobble and peck the downed bird. 
Once the Toms had gone Terry and I picked up our wild turkeys, tagged them, and took pictures. We took down the blinds and went looking for more wild turkey action. We found it, too. Pics taken as Terry Speakman's hunt happened.

Dennis Crabtree has pre scouted a longbeard and he went to one of his travel routs before dawn. His hunting partner Colby Johnson set up a couple hundred yards away. Behind him, Dennis heard footsteps in the leaves. Suddenly there was a very loud gobble, the Tom was right behind the tree Dennis was leaning against. The longbeard walked past him and Dennis and shot him at 18 yards. That's Dennis and his grandkids in the picture. Dennis, here is a larger picture for you.

The Rio Grande  (Still In Progress)

TO Thumbnails of This Wild Turkey Tom Pics
Morning: I answered a distant gobble and worked it closer. Then the Tom appeared in the field below the dam (a strut zone) where I am bowhunting. Soon it came up the side of the dam and I took it's picture as it checked out my hen decoy. It's time to be shooting so I put my camera down and got my bow. When the tom was 15 yards away I aimed and released. I heard a splash as my arrow went into the stock tank. I missed! The bird looked around. I nocked a 2nd arrow. I aimed again, this time extra carefully. And missed again. this time he left. At 10:00 I fished my arrow out of the tank and returned home to shot my bow -- a quarter size group 8 inches high and 6 to the left. I resighted and shot 100 arrows where they should go. The afternoon hunt was gobblerless as was the Friday morning hunt at the dam, although I did see several hens. Also I walked up on a couple dozen pouts, which was very cool. So it was disappointing to miss, twice, but nothing short of wonderous to see all those little turkeys.

April 23, Wednesday - Highlights - Overcast and dark, I got up too early and had to wait in my truck until it was light enough to see to get to my blind without using a flashlight. But I dozed off and when I woke up it was a getting daylight. Once in the blind (on the dam) I made a few calls with a Knight & Hale Sweet Hen slate. A hen came up on the dam within minutes and I clucked and purred to her. She looked at the decoys and left, I heard a thunderous gobble and looked in the field below. Two gobblers were coming, one's beard was dragging on the ground! Daylight was not all the way in yet so I couldn't take pictures. Two gobblers walked onto the dam and stopped. The monster, ground dragging Longbeard and a Jake. They walked toward the hen decoy. The longbeard stopped a few steps further than my 30 yard marker and strutted his brains out. However, the jake went to both my hen and jake decoys, he strutted all around them and started off the dam to my right. At last, the longbeard began to walk closer. I waited. He was almost to my 20 yard marker (a stick) when he did me in by walking down the dam on the water side. Rats!
Soon he joined the Jake in the woods to my right. I switched to the mouth call and managed to call them back! But it was the same scenario again, the jake was all over the decoys and the longbeards strutted like the dickens some 35 yards away.
After they left a bearded hen came up on the dam. This time I took pictures and have 7 very cool, close pics for you of this bearded hen and the decoys. 

April 22, Tuesday - Highlights - I was in my blind by the hay bales 30 minutes before any daylight. Soon I heard 3 different gobblers and several hens. After they flew down a longbeard with a hen came through the field about 100 yards behind me. I called but he wasn't interested. Three solo hens came by me. I worked a big longbeard across the river and to the edge of the woods 40 yards away. He gobbled mucho times. There is a small hill between him and the decoys and he couldn't see them so he didn't come in. In the afternoon I hunted the Strut Zone. I had 3 different gobblers working but the rancher's cows came up around the blind and the gobblers moved on.

April 21, Monday - Morning Highlights - (Back at Rick's) 
I saw the top few inches of the gobblers fan moving back and forth on the ridge 15 yards above my blind. I stopped calling. He hung up. I called and he gobbled ... LOUD. I cut fast and as loud. He appeared in some brush 25 yards away, in full strut, near the top of the hill. As he gobbled I cut and yelped. It was thunderous (and very cool). His neck turned fire red and he started down, a big longbeard . At 15 yards I drew. My seat (thanks Wal-Mart) squeaked ... the gobbler ran up the hill. I saw his fan for some time but could not coax him back down. I also called up two Jakes at the same time and they charged and chased each other instead of going to my decoys. I returned in the afternoon with no luck. After dark I pulled my blind and went to the first hill from the ranch's grain field. I heard gobbles and hen talk as I set by some hay bales for the morning.

April 20, Sunday Afternoon - Highlights - I set my Double bull blind 50 yards from Rick's River Stand. Knight & Hale had sent me 4 mouth calls and I tested each one. Suddenly I heard footsteps in the leaves on the hill behind the blind. Peeping through the netting on a viewing window I saw the head of a gobbler, a two year old with a nice beard. It was staring at my other new thing, an umbrella type Jake decoy. It didn't like it and retreated to the edge of the ridge. I lowered a shooting window and saw the gobblers head, still puzzling over the decoy. I considered shooting ... but didn't.

April 19-20 - Doug & I hunted at my place Friday and Saturday. The wind was blasting and we didn't get into any turkey action.

April 18 - A Man On A Mission
"I've got a good feeling about tomorrow morning, let's leave asap," said Doug Crabtree. We took pictures of everyone, ate a late lunch and took off. Doug insisted on driving straight through. We pulled up in my yard at 7:38. Doug yelped and a gobbler answered way to the East. He grabbed his bow, blind and decoys and drove East. I went to sleep. We had seen a hen several times by the dirt road above the grain fields and Doug called and got the gobbler coming there, but a county maintenance truck drove up to work on the nearby lines. They said it would take two hours. Doug checked the river and the windmill areas. No luck. He returned to the hen's haunt. A gobbler responded and came in on the run, with his long beard swinging. He blew up and stopped when he saw the decoys. Doug shot. The Longbeard flew up, but hit a tree limb and careened toward the field. Normally Doug would wait, but not this time, he didn't want the gobbler to get in the grain field, it would be very hard to find. Doug heard loud Putts and ran downhill. He saw the Longbeard, 30 yards away, almost to the field -- with a gray fox in hot pursuit behind it. Doug cut into the field. The fox veered off the trail. The gobbler was slowing and Doug dove headlong for him. His thumb hit the ground first and popped painfully out of joint, but his fingers found the bird's neck. They skidded to a stop. The gobbler had a 10 1/2" beard and weighed 22 pounds. That night we had a well deserved celebration at the Backdoor Bar & Grill. Here is Doug Crabtree and his Rio longbeard.

Part 3:  The Merriam's Wild Turkey
Going For #3, The Merriam's Wild Turkey

Day 2, Afternoon Continued:
After missing the Tom I felt a little rough. I didn't know it yet but I was only a few minutes shy of spending one of the best hours of my entire bowhunting life. 
Wild turkeys began coming from all directions and I totally enjoyed watching and taking pictures of these beautiful Merriam's wild turkeys. The following link to the hunt includes a link to the photo gallery of the highlights of the activity. TO THE HUNT.

Day 2, Afternoon:
Keith Beam (of Double Bull Archery) and I set up on the edge of the field near the strip of woods and large trees where Doug and I roosted the turkeys yesterday. Keith used a separate Double Bull blind to video. In no time we began seeing Merriam's. Keith was using a slate call and doing a fine job and the birds made their move toward the source of the calls.  To The First Toms

Day #2: Run & Gun (Without the gun)
Dave Keiser picked Doug Crabtree and I up. He said we were going to "Run and gun." First we went to the "Goose Pit" area and Dave drove the ridges above the canyons. Soon we glassed several gobblers in a creek bottom and Dave zipped ahead of the turkeys and we set in a cut corn field on the edge of the woods. Doug began calling. A gobbler responded at once and soon a Merriam's longbeard walked out of the woods in full strut. He advanced to about 35 yards and then he saw our decoys. TO THE HUNT

Day #2: Morning Hunt - Dave Keiser took Doug and me to AJ's. We set up on a high spot in a field adjacent to a canyon. At first light we heard lots of gobbling and hen talk in the canyon. When the birds flew down they walked 1,000 yards to the North of us and we watched 100 or so birds on the far hill for two hours. Dave picked us up and we went to another area .

Two Toms and Brooks Johnson & Keith Beam of Double Bull Archery
Keith Beam and Brooks Johnson hunted at Egg Roll Canyon. They heard a gobble and glassing the area. Six Toms were in the canyon. The hunters circled ahead of the Toms and set their Double Bull blind up in an opening on a high spot in the woods. They called and the Toms answered. Six jakes came out of the woods and approached their hen and jake decoys. Brooks drew his recurve but the birds ran to the decoys and passed through his shooting window. Brooks dropped a 2nd window and made a 9 yard shot. The turkey ran a few yards and gave out. The other birds ran to it and began pecking it. Keith and Brooks switched places and Keith aimed carefully for a head shot ... and made it. These two have harvested scores of wild turkeys but this is their first "double" on wild turkeys. Here is their picture.

April 14: Day #1

Two gobblers and Dave Keiser & Brooks Johnson

Dave Keiser took Keith Beam and Brooks Johnson of Double Bull Archery and me to a field overlooking a canyon and we set up two blinds. (Brooks was shooting, Keith videoed and  tagged along to take pictures) Here's Brooks' blind. Before daybreak we heard several gobblers. They flew down and soon we saw a gobbler with a hen on a distant hillside. A couiple of Toms came up to them and the gobbler chased them away. Keith called at the two Toms and they stopped. And then headed our way. One bird moved out front and I got a good pic. And a closer pic of the Tom. A group of hens came out of the canyon, clucking away. The Toms stopped just short of bow range and went after the hens. Here's Keith Beam in the blind talkin' turkey. You can see a long way up here in South Dakota and we enjoyed seeing 9 other groups of turkeys on the hillsides around us. Then we got in Dave's truck and we drove and glassed for gobblers. We set up twice without any results. The 3rd time was better. We walked down into a deep canyon and set up in a small opening. Here are Dave Keiser and Brooks Johnson placing their decoys. Here is the terrain and the blind. Then we all scattered for 100 yards and hen called to make it sound like a bunch of turkeys. 

It worked.

A longbeard strolled up behind the blind Keith and I were in and gobbled several times. (Too close to risk a picture.) The bird drummed and spit and then left. It didn't seen Brook's decoys because our blind was in the way. Two other Toms came but the same scenario played again. 
After that we returned to camp for lunch. 
Doug Crabtree was there, he had gone to the capital to get our hunting licenses. We went to a farm and set up near the biggest collection of turkey tracks you can imagine. At roosting time we glassed dozens of gobblers flying up in some cotton wood trees. We will be back there tomorrow.

Apr 13: Arrival Day:  We began seeing Merriam's 70 miles from South Dakota. As you see here these two jakes were good enough to let Doug (Crabtree) sneak up on them with the camera. (Bigger Pic) We saw lots more. Sunday evening we arrived at Dave Keiser's Double K Guide Service. Dave guides bowhunters exclusively. The terrain is a combination of rolling prairie and wooded canyons and Doug assures me there are "oodles and oodles of turkeys." We are meeting Brooks Robinson and Keith Beam of Double Bull Archery. (We have to buy our licenses in the morning and then the hunt begins.)

We stayed in Wichita, KS last night and this morning we stopped at  Dick's Custom Archery where I bought some red wraps and 5" red feathers & Snyper replacable blades. The arrow I missed the Rio gobbler with has barbed feathers and I could not see it clearly when I shot. The red will help.

Part 2:  The Rio Grande  (Still In Progress)

Apr 11, Day #7: A Double Header
Morning: Two gobblers sounded nearby off on the way to my blind on the dam. I ran up on the dam and quickly set my hen decoy about 35 yards from the blind. No gobblers showed. At 7:44 a faint gobble across the river. I cut excitedly, real loud. The gobbler broke in on me. A few minutes later I called again and the gobbler answered, this time he was much closer. Seconds later I saw him cross the field. It looked like he would come up to the top of the dam on the trail 10 yards from me. Woops, he stopped and walked out of sight along the bottom of the dam. I waited a little bit and then turned away from him and called again. In seconds he came into view 80 yards away on top of the dam -- a big longbeard. (I did not expect a tom to approach the decoy from that direction and it was too far for a comfortable shot.) He went into full strut and walked back and forth before moving toward the decoy and I got these 5 pictures. I traded my camera for my bow. The longbeard drummed and spit around the decoy. I waited to see if he would come closer. He passed the decoy, which was good, but turned and started walking away. I aimed and shot. And missed. The gobbler took a short hop down the side of the dam and casually walked away. Doug had no luck this morning. 
Afternoon: I saw 3 hens. Doug heard a far away gobble and called. Some hens came into the area and then Doug saw a gobbler standing 25 yards away by the brush behind him. The gobbler appeared the blind's shooting window but he was moving further away. Doug aimed and shot. And missed. Two for two.

Apr 10, Day #6: Gobblers & Cows!: Rick Philippi walked up on a wild boar (in the dark) going to his stand on the river. He called in a jake but it didn't come close enough for a bow shot. I hunted the dam again and saw 2 hens and called in a gobbler that hung up at 100 yards. Doug set his blind 60 yards from the gobbler he roosted yesterday. He could see it and a hen in the same tree, plus another longbeard in a nearby tree. At good light the gobbler flew down -- it went 400 yards into the adjacent coastal field!!! The 2nd tom flew down across the river. When the hen flew down it walked by Doug. Once the hen was gone Doug set 35 yards up inside the woods edge and called to the gobbler in the field. It came running. So did the hen. And the chase was on. They came by Doug 3 times but never quite close enough.
Afternoon:  Steps ... behind my blind at the dam. I looked downhill in time to see a wild boar enter the field below and trot off toward Rick's River stand. (Rick, here is a pic of your wild boar.) Today I set my decoy 50 yards from the blind, since the gobblers are not coming right up to the decoys yet. At 5:25 I heard a distant gobble and clucked a response. More gobbles followed as the tom came closer -- from the stock pond side of the dam (Pic of how this area looks). I saw the gobbler top the hill and glassed him, a monster longbeard. It blew up huge and zipped through the trees across the water. Moments before about 50 cows had walked into the area between us. The gobbler burst out of the cedars and slammed on the brakes ... and retreated a little. As I took the big gobblers picture cows started walking into the frame. Cows started onto the dam. The gobbler walked away. When he was well out of sight I hopped out of the blind and chased the cows to Mars. Doug hunted the strut zone again without any luck. 

Apr 9, Day #5:  Doug set up 70 yards from the gobbler he roosted last afternoon. The longbeard flew down after daylight and walked through tall grass and stopped 25 yards from the blind but did not come to the decoys. Doug wisely did not risk a shot through the grass. Meanwhile, I, ahhh, well, I fell asleep in my blind. Afterward, I moved my Double Bull blind to a wooded corner on the dam.
Afternoon: I saw one hen from my blind on the dam. Rick Philippi came down and he and Doug hunted the Strut zone (in different blinds). No turkey action but they both roosted gobblers for the morning hunt.

Apr 8, Day #4: We were set up 45 minutes before daylight, I was at Rick's River Stand and Doug was 50 yards from the gobbler he roosted yesterday. The gobbler flew down before good light and went to Doug's decoys. It was still too dark and Doug could not see his pins to shoot. On the afternoon hunt we hunted near Rick's River and I got great pics of a bearded hen (pics coming) and a wild boar came into the area but smelled us. 

Apr 7, Day #3: The morning hunt was uneventful. The new afternoon blind worked better, Doug called in 2 jakes and a longbeard but we couldn't turn it into a shot. He left the blind before dark and roosted a gobbler.
Afternoon: The first turkey at Strut Zone #2 was a bearded hen. It hung out for 2 hours and I took pictures (look for them tomorrow). We heard gobbles and Doug talked the tom closer. When I saw the gobbler sunlight had it illuminated and a fat, long beard swung as the gobbler walked. He approached on the side where brush hides the blind, and also prevents a shot. We couldn't see him because of the brush, but we heard him drum and spit and gobble, just a few yards from us. Doug waited, bow in hand, for this big longbeard to move toward the decoys. It didn't. It walked away. Later I sat down in the tall grass where the Longbeard had been. No wonder it didn't go to the decoys, the grass around us was too high and it could not see them. We quickly relocated the blind 50 yards to an area without the tall grass,  this gobbler will see the decoys ... next time.

Apr 6, Day #2, Morning Hunt: My "First place they go" blind was not the first place they went this morning. There were distant gobbles but no action. However, there were shots and talking nearby, on the other side of the river. The Duck hunted Strut Zone #1 and saw one hen and 3 deer.

Opening Day April 5: Afternoon Hunt: Doug and I set up below the dam overlooking a field that runs along the river. He called in 7 gobblers & 3 hens. We both passed up shots on a jake and a 2 year old tom. 10 Thumbnailed Pictures.
Morning Hunt - Doug Crabtree's 11:05pm Friday flight arrived late and and it was almost daylight when we arrived back at my place. At sunrise a big gobbler sounded off and we heard other gobblers, as well. We didn't call, we were only checking the area out this morning. 
Meanwhile, Donald Duck was at the blind at Strut Zone # 1. At daylight the air was full of gobbles from the direction of the river. An hour later he heard gobbles near the Point, so he used his slate call, yelped, and shut up ... and waited. A loud gobble startled him, it was very close to him; but behind the blind where he couldn't see it. Two adult gobblers came into view and walked to the decoys. As Don drew the lead tom continued walking and passed through the blind's shooting window. Here's What Happened & 3 Pics...

Scouting For The Rios:
Mar 31, Getting Ready:  I set up 3 Double Bull blinds, two in last years very active Strut Zone area and one on a hill overlooking the tall trees that line the river.
Mar 30, Monster Longbeard:  I looked and listened for wild turkey gobblers. I glassed a monster longbeard Rio strutting and gobbling on the dam by the stock tank. Plus 3 different Tom's were working the field next to where I hunted last Fall. 
March 12 (Afternoon):  Two Gobblers show off for a group of hens.
When I first saw these wild turkeys they were in a wheat field. They were 400 yards away. I stopped my truck and used the woods on the edge of the field for concealment to work my way down to them. They co-operated very nicely, the flock of hens moved over to my side of the field. Two adult gobblers stayed out in the field and put on a show for the hens. They strutted a bunch but they never gobbled. I got pretty close to the hens at one point (the last picture). Daylight began to fade and I stopped following the birds. By the time I got back to my truck it was dark. Here are the 7 best pictures.
 
 

Part 1:  In Search Of The Florida Osceola
Doug Crabtree and I bowhunted one of the Florida Wildlife Unlimited wild turkey hunting camps near Zolfo Springs, Florida. 

The Equipment We Used
BODOODLE & Timberline Archery Products - Accurate shooting, arrow after arrow, depends on the bow's arrow rest and bowsight. 
Alpine & Barrie Archery - A close look at how Alpine Archery's Fatal Impact and SS Stealth Force and the Barrie Archery Snyper performed during set up and on this hunt.

Osceola - Day 6: The Final Day
Morning Hunt:  This morning Doug Crabtree guided songwriter Mike Mc Bride. Doug is still hot and called in yet another gobbler, a longbeard. Mike bagged the longbeard Tom (10 1/2" beard) with his shotgun at 30 yards.
Afternoon Hunt: Day 6 (Afternoon Hunt):  Back At  North Bear Hammock

We set the Double Bull blind up against the fence at the same place we were on Day 4. An hour passed before we saw the first wild turkey, far away, on the opposite side of the adjacent field. I glassed it and identified it as a hen . Doug called it in (To The Pictures & what  happened.)

Osceola - Day 5: Wild Hogs In Florida, Close Up ...

Following a rain storm we drove out to hunt and saw wild hogs in an orange grove. Doug (cell) phoned Florida Wildlife Unlimited's  camp to see if we could hunt here, but we couldn't. Hogs in a Florida orange grove!  That is a new one to me and I wanted pictures. So I snuck up on 'em. (In the first pic, as the hogs come into view, you'll see some plastic piping being used.)  I wanted to see if I could get in close enough for a shot. As you see, I did. To Wild Hogs In The Orange Grove.

Osceola - Day #4: Calling The Wild Turkeys In Close

 We parked the truck and walked through the woods to a field at North Bear Hammock. There were already birds in the field. We set up on the woods side, right against the barbed wire fence. Doug reached through the Double Bull blind's windows and set two decoys up arms length away. Meanwhile a strutting gobbler chased after a jake and two hens. (See Pictures.) Then Doug called with clucks. A hen started for us right away and the gobbler followed. (Row 2 of Pictures). One hen was very vocal and Doug made calls that "fussed" with her. The hen came right to the decoys (Last Picture) two arms lengths away from the blind. TO PICS & WHAT HAPPENED

Osceola - Day #3: March 19
Doug guided a hunter for Florida Wildlife Unlimited this morning. He called in a longbeard but the fellow's gun jammed and the Tom got away. 
This afternoon Doug and I hunted wild hogs. We saw several distant groups. Finally we spotted some across a 100 yard wide field, just inside the woods. Doug stealthily crossed 75% of the field but had to stop and sit down when 2 hogs entered the field. They rooted around and then proceeded in my direction. I was ready but they turned and walked 50 yards from Doug. At the same time another hog come out of the woods and walked toward Doug. The other 2 hogs picked up Doug's scent. One ran, the other grunted loudly and ran toward Doug, who was ready for a shot at the 3rd hog. When he heard the loud grunts Doug looked and saw the hog coming. He swung his already drawn bow around to shoot. The hog veered off and raced for the woods, as did the 3rd pig.

Osceola - Day #2 March 18 - One Minute and 16 Seconds !!!

Day #2: March 18 - Gobble! It was barely audible. Another faint gobble and we moved out as daylight came on slowly. We walked a mile. The gobble was louder now and we heard other birds as well. Doug stopped at a trail crossing under the fence. We slipped under the barbed wire and waded a shallow stream. "Right Here," Doug whispered, TO THE HUNT

Osceola - Day #1 March 17

Day #1: March 17 - Florida is very unique looking, especially compared to the rest of the USA this time of the year. It's very green here and palmettos and big trees full of spanish moss are everywhere. We slipped through the woods and set up our Double Bull ground blind at the edge of a large field. To The pictures and what happened.

Morning Hunt:  The 3 day drive here to Central Florida whipped me and I slept in. Doug Crabtree scouted BJ's stand. He called and a hen entered the nearby field. Doug called again and a gobbler answered. Another gobbler joined in and they started coming closer. Doug pulled out before the birds got there, we're going back tonight. The same scenario happened again at two different places. Things are looking good.

Osceola - Arrival Day March 16
Sunday:  At 10::00 pm we pulled into the Florida Wildlife Unlimited turkey camp in central Florida. Bobby Smith greeted us and took us to our quarters for this week's hunt. Doug Crabtree and I are here to bowhunt for the Osceola wild turkey. It's the hardest turkey to get, but the way I see it, we're the men for the job. Tomorrow morning we are going to BJ's stand. After tomorrow morning's hunt I will update right here. Wish us luck.

February 9, 2003: The Grand Slam Is On For 2003 ...
My cell phone's ID read "Doug Crabtree." I pushed the Talk button, Doug sounded excited, with good reason too. Our plans for a Grand Slam bowhunt in the Spring of 2003 were falling in place. The hunt is going to happen.

1. The Osceola:  On Monday, March 17 we go for the Osceola with Florida Wildlife Unlimited in central Florida. 
2. Rio Grande:  April 5 is the opening day for the Texas season. Doug will be my guest. 
3. The Merriam's:  On April 14 we hunt Merriam's in South Dakota with Dave Keiser at Double K Guide Service.
4. Eastern:  The Ohio season starts on April 27 and we hunt at one of Doug Crabtree's turkey haunts.