| 2007
Double Grand Slam Bowhunt
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The 2007 Grand Slam Home Page
BOWHUNT
FOR THE FLORIDA OSCEOLA
Day
3 & 4
Day
3 - Monday
I had to do Monday
morning web work and didn't hunt this morning. Sam and Jim took Fred to
the area where Sam had taken his gobbler yesterday They set up, believe
it or not, where an orange grove meets a field. When they didn't hear any
gobbles across the field Jim walked into the grove to listen for them in
other directions.
Jim returned to the blind
and said he had heard multiple gobblers on the other side of the grove.
They broke down the gear and quickly walked through the grove to the opposite
side, where there was another field. They quickly put two decoys in the
2-track road between a fence and the orange grove. Fred popped up his Matrix
blind between the end trees and they were ready. They were 5 or 6 yards
from the decoys.
Jim and Sam began calling
and they heard gobbles from the trees in two different areas across the
field. Soon two hens came out into the field and set a course for
the source of the calling. Then a big longbeard took shape in the trees.
The longbeard gobbled a few times and started across the field.
The hens came right to the
decoys but the gobbler ducked under the fence three rows of trees down.
Fred was facing the opposite way and he couldn't switch sides because the
blind was too crowded. Jim could see the gobbler and whispered what the
gobbler was doing. "He's strutting. He's moving closer. He is coming fast.
Fred saw the gobbler now.
The big tom stopped nose to nose with Fred's taxidermy hen decoy. Fred
drew.
The gobbler saw the movement
and darted backwards 10 feet and stopped. He waited briefly and walked
into the orange grove.
AFTERNOON: Fred and
I hunted the same blind position he had hunted this morning. No turkey
sightings and no gobbles.
Day
4 - Tuesday
We returned to yesterday's
gobbler spot. I was on the video camera and Fred had the first shot opportunity.
We heard distant gobbles in the beginning of dawn's light. We waited a
few minutes so there was enough light for a hen to have flown down, and
Fred yelped on the Woodhaven crystal slate. The gobblers answered right
away.
Two gobblers appeared under
the big trees across the field. The calling and gobbling went back and
forth and two longbeards came into the open on the far side of the field.
They walked along the edge of the field, going to their left.
Through the leaves and limbs
of the orange trees I saw two other wild turkeys walking along the fence
and apparently headed for our decoys. They were hens. Across the field
the two longbeards shifted into high gear and ran along the edge of the
trees and fell in line with the hens when they were still 20 yards from
the decoys. The hens ducked under the fence but the gobblers stayed on
the field side.
I had the video on the scene
as the two hens walked up to the decoys and stopped. The two longbeards
swaggered onto the video screen in full strut. The two gobblers spit and
drummed 17 yards from us ... but the fence's wires crossed their bodies
where the shot needed to be placed.
It was not a good shot. Surely
the gobblers would cross under the fence.
But they didn't.
They walked twenty yards
and crossed at another spot. The lead bird kept going into the orange grove
but the second stopped and raked his wing feathers on the ground. But only
for a few seconds. He followed his companion gobbler.
AFTERNOON: Back at the same
orange grove. No see 'um no hear 'um.
Day
5 - Wednesday
We hunted hard but
did not hear or see any wild turkeys. David Mills told us that none of
the other turkey hunters got any action today, either. It was just one
of those days.
 |
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. |
Triple
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 |
|
