I have gotten the itch to try to take another species of turkey. I'm in the beginning stages of planning an Osceola hunt. I was wondering if any of y'all have tried to hunt them on public ground in south Florida and had success. I'd be open to suggestions of good outfitters too if y'all have any leads where you've had success. I'm trying to decide if it would be worth it to try a DIY hunt or if I would just be wasting time.

Ive personally not hunted in Florida, but if you have the time I think you could get it done on public land, or maybe knocking on a few doors and get private access. But if you only have a few days, an outfitter would be a better bet.

cant remember the spelling but hoppie kempher at Osceola outfitters is a stand up guy. Not that it matters but ralph and Vicki cincurelli or whatever have been down there on several of their shows

it's obvious from yer answer that you have NEVER hunted in Fl LOL

bite the bullet and find a good outfitter. 90% of the public land in Fl is damn near impossible to kill a turkey on and the rest is just hard. Knocking on doors won't work down there for turkeys.

Just go play golf at Disney and take a sling shot with you. Lots of public land down there, but also a lot of hunters from every state coming to get an Osceola. Knocking on doors can work, but you better start yesterday trying. Every private land owner down there has already been approached by an outfitter AND several DIY guys. Best bet is the outfitter route, but there are some shady ones that do that too!

Hoppy at Osceola Outfitters is good.

Mike Tussey also is good at Osceola Outdoors.

http://www.osceolaoutdoors.com/our-guides.html

Call one of them, set up a trip, go enjoy it and shoot a turkey in the face.

piddling with a gun in Fl is a Felony.....

Thanks for the outfitter recs. I'll give them a call and try to line something up.

Lol truth.

UNLESS YOU KNOW A MAN WHO KNOWS A MAN WHO KNOWS THE MAN...

scott

I have hunted Fl six er seven times. Once with an outfitter, couple of times with a friend of my brothers, and several times on brothers lease. Killed a bird every trip. All were good places with plenty of birds.

Danny SantAngelo of Okeechobee Outfitters. I've hog hunted with him and my dad has hog hunted with him several times. There are some big names in the industry who hunt with him regularly. He also owns the Brady Ranch/Seminole Prairie Outfitters. When I was there Jared Allen was down there hunting. He also has his own charity that takes Veterans returning from deployment hunting even if its just for hogs.

I returned from deployment 12 years ago. Is there a statute of limitations on that?

I used to hunt Osceolas on public land in Big Cypress Turner River and Bear Island units. Very hard hunting on public land. I was fortunate enough to be good friends with a turkey guide but we were never able to close the deal on public land. The TV guys on private land make it look easy but the Osceola is a hard bird to hunt on public land. More pressure so they don't come easy to the call. Never succeeded in 8 years of trying with a guide who holds a bunch of NWTF records and grand slams. But I did get to meet his buddy the late great Neil Cost which was enough of a consolation prize I guess. Due to demand and limited area and high cost, I'll never be able to afford hunting my own state turkey. Got a few Florida Easterns but the Osceola is too expensive for me to afford.

I'm not sure.

He normally takes guys hog hunting, sometimes gator, turkey, or deer. Look up The Sportsman's Foundation for Military Families[/i]. Most of the time he has guys bring their kids or spouse. His wife runs a similar one, but I believe it's with a Christian Ministry for battered women or something along those lines. I think he brings 2-4 families a week. You've just gotta cover transportation there and then tip the guide/cook.

Okeechobee Outfitter if you want to look-up his business side. Shoot me a PM if you've got questions. I know Danny and a few of his guides pretty well.

I was just kidding.
But that's a very nice thing they're doing.

If you know someone just getting back or who's currently overseas have them reach out to Danny. I'm considering planning an Osceola hunt with him in the next year or two