| 2007
Double Grand Slam Bowhunt
Bowhunts In: |
Florida
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BOWHUNT
FOR THE FLORIDA OSCEOLA
 |
In Florida we are
hunting with David Mills of Zolfo Springs, Florida in Central Florida's
Osceola wild turkey country. David is an easy going, likable guy with a
good sense of humor.
David has thousands of acres
available to hunt Florida Osceolas. He understands this unique species
of wild turkey and knows their habitat.
David is now part of the
Woodhaven Sting Team and is hosting Mike Pentecost and several members
of the team on this hunt. To contact David about Osceola hunts, bow
or shotgun, phone 1-863-990-9087. David also guides Alligator hunts. |
Day
1 - Florida Central Zone Opening Day
Fred and I set up in side
by side Double Bull Matrix blinds at 6:35. An orange grove was on our left
as well as behind us. A cut coastal field was directly in front. A fence
ran from our side of the field to the far side and a larger coastal field
was across the fence. Large trees were visible above the woods bordering
the field.
As the sunrise steadily
increased the daylight I saw a turkey walking through the weeds of the
orange grove to our right. It was at least 150 yards away. I made some
soft yelps on the Woodhaven aluminum slate and the turkey walked into the
grass field in front of the blind, a large hen. It walked 80 yards and
stopped, starring at my taxidermy mounted Jake decoy (made by Calley Morris)
that was 40 yards away from it and 10 yards from me. Then the hen lay down
in the low grass. I took this picture at exactly 7:30am.
The hen stayed put as the
days light turned on.
 
The hen stood up, it was
8:05. It looked around a bit and laid back down. It stood up again at 8:09
and laid back down again.
 
At 8:20 it stood up for
the 3rd time. Fred had his taxidermy hen decoy to the left of our blinds
near the fence in the field. The hen studied the two decoys for a minute
and cautiously walked closer to the hen decoy.
It studied on the hen decoy
briefly and walked right to it.
Poof ... it puffed up its
feathers when it was near the hen decoy.
It didn't stay long and
walked back into the field and into the orange grove.
The picture below is the
view from the front of my Matrix blind. You can see the field in front
of us, the fence that runs across the field and some of the woods around
the field. That's my jake decoy in the bottom right.
Another hen walked out of
the orange grove and noticed my jake decoy.
It came closer to the jake
decoy and looked it over. Then it walked past our blinds and into the orange
grove behind us.
Another solo hen entered
the field in front of us and I purred and yelped softly and it did
not hesitate like the other hen had.
Some excited cackles to
the left and behind the blind stopped the hen. It ducked under the fence
and looked toward the sound. Then it briskly walked away.
Meanwhile I kept purring
and soft yelping on the Woodhaven aluminum and I could see parts of 4 turkeys
through the considerable obstruction of the orange tree next to my blind.
The birds were close. One moved toward the decoy. I could not tell whether
it was a hen or a gobbler. It stepped in the clear.
A hen. It puffed up in front
of Fred's hen decoy. Today the Caley Morris decoys are really attracting
a lot of attention.
Soon the hen and the 3 unidentified
birds with it walked behind our blinds and continued down the row. Fred's
blind was on my right. I couldn't see them in the row but Fred could. The
time was 8:52.
Later, while looking through
the leaves of the orange tree next to me I noticed a turkey laying
down about 5 steps away. It laid there for 10 minutes and then got up and
moved closer to the hen decoy. Then it laid down again and I got its picture.
Time: 9:49.
Here is a close up of the
hen.
The hen stood up and I took
its picture at 10:07.
It took a couple of steps
and lay back down again.
Another close up of the
hen. It is 8 yards from the blind.
At 10:08 the hen went back
into the orange grove.
Another solo hen appeared
in the field at 10:14..
After checking out both
decoys it walked closer to the more popular, at least for this morning,
hen decoy.
It watched the decoy with
a few steps between them.
Then it ducked under the
fence and walked across the adjacent field toward the distant woods.
At 10:36 I saw a turkey
in the orange grove and yelped at it. When it got closer I saw it was another
solo hen. It checked out my jake decoy.
Here is a close up pic of
the hen standing in the dried grass and weeds.
At 10:53 two hens walked
out of the orange grove 60 yards in front of us and crossed the field .
Ten minutes later another
hen stepped out of the orange grove and apparently had a purpose and a
destination in mind. It didn't pay our decoys a bit of attention.
At noon we broke down our
blinds and carried them and out gear to my truck. We had seen all hens
this morning, but any place that has this much solo hen traffic will surely
draw some gobblers. Things look promising.
AFTERNOON HUNT: We
returned to the same place. This time Fred set up on the far side of the
field and I set up just inside the orange grove. We didn't see any turkeys
and we didn't hear any gobbles at gobble time.
Mike Pentecost Brings In The First Longbeard
 
While we were walking to
my truck after the morning hunt my cell phone vibrated and I looked to
see who it was. David Mills. He asked about our hunt and told me Mike Pentecost
was the first one in with a longbeard and soon to be pan fried turkey breast.
To
Mike's Hunt...
2007
Double Grand Slam Bowhunt ...
This
year Bowhunting.net is hunting in several states and will follow Robert
Hoague, Fred Lutger and Doug Crabtree, among others. Fred, Doug and Robert
are trying for 2 Grand Slams each, all during this Spring's turkey seasons.
-
The
Florida Osceola: We start the hunt in Florida on March 17 in
the Central Zone. We are hunting with David Mills.
-
The
Merriam's: On March 27 Fred and I hunt Merriam's in Nebraska
and hunt with friends.
-
Rio
Grande: April 2 Fred Lutger and I bowhunt in Texas on as the
guest of Rick Philippi in Jack county. Then we will hunt the Leon River
and with Billy Don at Wild Horse Prairie Ranch in Burnet, Texas.
-
Eastern:
It's off to Illinois, Tennessee and MIssouri. And possibly more.
Recognizing Hens
& Gobblers
The heads of hens and gobblers
are different and their overall appearance has a different purpose. GO |
  |
The Difference Between Wild & Domestic?
Webster’s
Dictionary defines "turkey" as: a theatrical production that has failed,
three successive strikes in bowling, a stupid or foolish person and a large
North American bird that can either be domestic or wild.
The
large bird is the turkey we're talking about and here is the difference
between
Domestic & Wild
Turkeys |
  |
So What Is A Grand
Slam, Anyway?
The
Grand Slam consists of 1 each of all 4 of the North American wild turkey
sub species.
Eastern |
Merriam's |
Osceola |
Rio Grande |
|
