Can anyone recommend a good south Florida turkey outfitter?
D C Cattle Ranch !!!
2014 is booked up on DC - there is a opening for 2015
Shannon
Steve sparkman... Across the creek outfitters
Swamp Gobbler Outfitters
http://osceolaturkeyhunting.net/
You will not be disappointed!!
Quote from: suburbhunter on May 22, 2013, 09:26:45 PM
http://osceolaturkeyhunting.net/
You will not be disappointed!!
WOW ! 2000.00 for a GOLD turkey ! :TooFunny:
All I can recommend is that you bring your wallet, and it had better be FAT!!! Outfitters are driving the cost of Osceola hunting through the roof, and driving the common man out of the market. If you are an average Joe, you'd better draw a good WMA hunt, or have a LOT of $$$$$!!! If you don't, you ain't likely to get an Osceola. The ups and downs of living in central or southern FLA.
Quote from: suburbhunter on May 22, 2013, 09:26:45 PM
http://osceolaturkeyhunting.net/
You will not be disappointed!!
$3000 to kill 2 birds. wow!
Save your time and money its all a hoaks there are No Turkeys in Florida
Quote from: RutnNStrutn on May 22, 2013, 11:06:37 PM
All I can recommend is that you bring your wallet, and it had better be FAT!!! Outfitters are driving the cost of Osceola hunting through the roof, and driving the common man out of the market. If you are an average Joe, you'd better draw a good WMA hunt, or have a LOT of $$$$$!!! If you don't, you ain't likely to get an Osceola. The ups and downs of living in central or southern FLA.
well sometimes it helps "to know a guy, who knows a guy, who knows a guy that knows THE GUY"...
thats how it worked for us in flordia this past spring. we was hunting richloam wma and my dad keep asking a guy he knew about well thats how it went. finally got the chance to go to his land or cattle leases to hunt. i missed one my cousin killed one, "THE GUY" told us to come back next year and we are the first of the season this time since we have some private land. he was hoping to have some more good land to hunt then. we will be there
scott
The price is going through the roof , but I would say the limited property is driving the price through the roof more than anything , about 5 years ago the going rate was 2500 , the economy has put it down to 2000 - the lower the price I say the better , because the higher prices bring out all the SOB's who want your money -
I let 4 guys on our property (DC) each year and that's it - 2 at a time and its wrap for the year -
I get inquiries all the time , and the one thing I say to folks and make sure to get across to them before I hang up the phone on them , is that if you want to do it -- a grand slam , get it done within the next 5-6 years- as the economy starts to pick back up , expendable income will be more readily available , and guide operations will start to book up quicker , and they will raise their prices likewise-
Another factor to place in there is that Turkey and Turkey hunting Mag is no longer , this eliminates that route for hooking sales for the Florid guides , they will likely go on over to the other Magazine -or go out of business -- I think ( know) in about 10 years time the going rate for a fully guided Osceola hunt will be ball park $3600 - $4500 , you may think that is fiction , but hear me now believe me later -- I remember When David Austin & Lovett Williams would charge $700 for a 3 day hunt on Fish Eating Creek and we thought that was high , F.E.C. was the only guide service I would ever dream of referencing and they are no longer - RIP - all the others...... I never heard of them in my 43 years on this planet , I mean not even mentioned not even one time , ever - the folks that run them , don't know they are either - all I can say is ask for references , pictures and make sure the operation is Orlando area and SOUTH not saying they are bad, good , whatever .... never heard of them
Public - I make it policy never to talk about public Florida hunting due to the many severe issues facing the state , safety at the top of it ---- a brief rundown on what I am willing to disclose is that folks come to Florida and rough it out on public property for about a week , and If drive down here , pay for your own food , camp out , pay for gas, licence etc... I think you will be out $900 out of pocket for a hunt - for a %5 chance at a gobbler - if you are a real good turkey hunter and catch on quick , you might be able to get a gobbler after about 3-4 times coming down here , and that is if you do your research well and do plenty of foot work - that's a very realistic assessment of public hunting -
A very good turkey hunter from another part of the country( with a very high skill level) who kills 4-5 turkeys a year on public property where they are from ... the very same type of hunter if he was to reside in S-Central Florida and had 20 years of Florida hard core turkey hunting experience and knows many hunting spots would be hard pressed to kill a gobbler every other season , its so hard to find a good spot and keep it a secret - man its tough down here
Without a doubt Shannon. The development of Florida is decreasing the turkey lands. I can drive you around central Florida and show you places I used to hunt that are now shopping malls and neighborhoods.
Add to that there are plenty of big money people here in FLA, and they lease up a lot of what is left.
Then the outfitters grab up the rest, and charge big money, because, well, this is after all the only place to get an Osceola for your slam.
It all adds up to tough odds all around.
I've found a few WMA's that are pretty much of a sure thing IF you can get drawn for them. But if not, its tough hunting for a po firefighter. :firefighter:
Jim , you know and so do I but for the benefit of the members here , here is some info ---
The big lease operations like Lykes and Mormons are being snapped up by the Corporate types , long gone are the days where you and a buddy can split a lease - I thought $3600 for a lease on 1,500 acres shared with 15 other dudes was outrageous - My cousin has a lease on Lykes and it is $9800 a year , and you can only kill 2 gobblers a year total ---
The permits are gamed out , I went from 1999 to 2008 with out drawing a spring permit , got one and have been sitting in line - I think in 5- 10 years time you will need 6 preference points to get anywhere near a good permit
Florida turkey hunting is living on borrowed time - it is about a rich mans sport
I have hunted for 8 years at Osceola Outdoors. The owner is Mike Tussey. The success was 31 for 31 in '11, 37 for 37 in '12 and 40 for 42 in '13.
PM me for more info. It is my favorite place in the country to hunt.
Like Rut and Shannon said, public land can be tough. If you can put in the time to scout hard for a place most others will not put the effort in to get to, you up your odds tremendously. We have places we reach by boat, wade in through swamps and ones that are nestled between private lands or major roads. Sure it's annoying to have to wait for traffic noise to slack off to make some yelps and purrs, but the gobblers don't seem to mind. That being said, an out of stater with only a few days to hunt and little scout time is in for a hard row to hoe. Most walk in WMA's are inundated with all kinds of (I'll try to keep a straight face) turkey chasers. While coming out of the woods and reaching the road I had parked along I heard a truck coming that sounded in desperate need of major engine work. This did nothing to stop the two "hunters" from hanging out the window to yelp loudly on box calls almost non stop while driving about 5 mph past me. Ahhh, the joys of a crowded WMA. :toothy9:
I would recommend D&C. I know they are full for 2014, but I would send my money in for 2015 and lock down a spot. It's a fantastic place to chase Osceola's.
No doubt about it. Id second that vote for dc. Fantastic place
Quote from: warrent423 on May 24, 2013, 04:41:43 PM
Don't let these guys fool you. Florida has more public land(wma's) than most states in the union. Excellent turkey hunting on many of them.
I'm not trying to fool anyone. I'm just stating
FACTS!!Yes, FLA does have a lot of public land,
BUT not all of it is open to turkey hunting,
AND the vast majority of them are by permit
only. And those permits are
VERY coveted and difficult to come by.
Excellent on most of them? Now who's trying to fool someone? ??? That's (I'll be nice here)
NOT true at all. While there are
some excellent hunts, there are also a lot of just OK hunts, and a lot of hard, or just plain lousy hunts as well. And the handful of open WMA's that don't require a permit are absolute madhouses. There can be 100 or more hunters roaming those woods. Dangerous, and unproductive. I live in FLA, and there are only a handful of WMA's that I will hunt.
Also, the "buddy" system in FLA virtually guarantees that the number of hunters on any given WMA is doubled on most hunts. Most of those hunts were overcrowded to begin with even before the advent of the buddy system.
The quest for a Slam is what is hurting FLA's turkey hunting opportunities. :TrainWreck1:
You hit it 100% Rut I know two wma areas that were almost a guarantee shot until the buddy system came along with the self check in its a free for all clean um out situation now. You do your homework and put some woods time in you can be successful on any wma but by the time you do that you have some money tied up in by gas money your almost better off paying for one of the lower end private land hunts. Then that takes the busters/interference inconsiderates out of the hunt, #1 Florida wma problem and escalating more and more every year. Its frustrating but thats they way Florida turkey hunting is (the worst of any state i have hunted) just gotta brush it off and keep hunting.The sop hunts are a good way to go if you get drawn and a lot of these hunts are being grabbed up and guided now. A payed hunt looks better and better as the days go by with multiple hunts busted and without a bird over the shoulder and the days winding down