| 2007
Double Grand Slam Bowhunt
Bowhunts In: |
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The 2007 Grand Slam Home Page
BOWHUNT
FOR THE FLORIDA OSCEOLA
Day
6
Day
6 - Thursday
MORNING: Up in the
morning and out to school. Turkey school it would seem, at least to me,
with no gobbler action on any of my hunts. Fred and I returned to the same
orange grove again and he set up near where we hunted yesterday morning.
I put my blind at the opposiet end of the orange grove and set up so I
could see down the road and as well as watch the trees and field across
the fence that ran parallel to the road.
As far as turkeys neither
one of us had any sightings or heard any gobbles.
Someting interesting did
happen. Around 9:30 a group of cows came walking along the fence on the
other side. When they got to my hen decoy they stopped to check it out.
Here is another cow pic.
This cow poked its big head between the lower barbed wire strands and shoved
the decoy around with its nose and mouth. They were the only excitement.
When I picked up Fred we
drove around the entire perimiter of the orange grove. We had to find where
the gobblers had moved to. We discovered 3 likely areas that had the ingrediants
we were looking for; the edge of the orange grove, a sizeable field and
some big trees, as in big enough to be turkey roosts.
AFTERNOON:
We started on the South
end of the areas we wanted to check out. Fred took the furthest corner.
He is on the edge of the grove; adjacent to a nice field; looking at some
big cypress, turkey roost looking trees. I am set up against a fence in
a corner and I can watch an orange grove, big oak and cypress trees, and
a sizeable open field. I am looking straight down the two track road
that runs along the fence.
At 5:22 a hen walked out
of the grove and into the two track road. It was 85 yards occording to
my rangefinder (Nikon Laser 990). I yelped softly and it stopped and looked
toward my hen decoy.
Gobble!
A loud one too. The hen ducked
under the fence and and I saw the figure of another turkey in the orage
grove, following the first hen. I cut excitedly and the gobbler rattled
my eardrums as I took the second hen's picture.
I switdhed between cutting
and yelping and I saw the gobbler stop by and orange tree and gobble again.
He was on the trail of the two hens and was just as far away as they had
been. I was still calling when he popped ouyt of the grove. He stopped
an instant and continued following the hens. Here is the gobbler's pic
just before he ducked under the fence and ran after the hens.
You may or may not have
noticed that in spite of everyone elses good luck I haven't been seeing
or hearing anythng on my own hunts. Realistically, that happens sometimes
and when it does I try not to focus on that part of the hunt. Sometimes
that is hard to do, sometimes my mind wants to play with my thoughts when
I'm sitting in the woods, hour after hour, day after day, birdless. So,
right or wrong, I surpress any such thoughts and kinda put my grain in
neutral and my eyes and ears working. But I have to tell ya that it was
a relief to hear a gobbler answer my call.
Later, at roost time I heard
a faint, distant gobble across the field.
Fred walked over as I was
assembling my gear. "Did you get him?" he asked. Then he told me what happened
to him. The gobbler came to him first. He saw it way down an orange grove
row and called to it. When the gobbler saw Fred's hen decoy he came quickly
and stopped 50 yards from Fred's blind. Fred was already ready to shoot
he waited.
Suddenly a hen russed up
to the gobbler and took the gobbler away with it. Minutes later he heard
it gobble at me. This gobbler his only gobbler experience, too.
 |
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 |
|
