This turkey season came around very quickly and I had a very busy schedule to keep. Florida was the first destination on my list. From April tenth to the thirteenth my father and I hunted the Osceola turkey in Okeechobee, Florida with Brandon Storey. This was my first Osceola hunt and my fourth turkey in the slam. The previous turkey season I had killed a Rio Grande on the King Ranch, a Goulds with Muy Grande Outfitters in Hermosillo, Mexico and an Ocellated with Balm Outfitters in Campeche, Mexico. I really wanted to complete my slam this year and I felt the pressure, I had two days to get the job done. The first afternoon was more of a scouting mission than anything else; we roosted a couple of birds and were very confident for the next morning. The next day we were in our blind and set up half an hour before sunrise. The Tom started gobbling while he was still in the tree, right away my heart started pounding, he came in much faster than anticipated and my father ended up shooting that bird. It was a nice size Tom and now he had his Osceola for his slam. After lunch we went out again for my bird, we got close to a few birds but not close enough to get a shot at one. Late in the afternoon we set up on the edge of a field and we called, and called. After not hearing anything we got up and decided we would move, the second we got up I noticed a hen about 70 yards from us, we sat and waited so we didn’t get busted. All of a sudden a huge Tom presented himself in full strut. He was a little un-cooperative and Brandon whipped out a big Tom decoy to get him annoyed and bring him in close enough to get a shot. It worked like a charm and as soon as I could see his big red head I took my shot. My fourth bird for the slam was now down. He ended up weighing 21 pounds, with a ten inch beard, one and half inch and one and three quarter inch spurs. It was extremely hot, and the terrain is very light in color. Wear warm weather clothing, and take plenty of water. Rain boots are a good idea, there are lots of swampy areas and they may come in quite handy. I would strongly recommend Brandon Storey as a guide; he has lots of private land where the birds have no pressure. He is experienced and fun to be around.
To contact Brandon Storey visit his website: http://storeyhunts.com/
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