FL Birds

[plateye]

Hi all, looking for some advice/guidance. I'm on my second season of chasing Osceolas. I have access to a several hundred acre tract in Marion County, but it's mostly pine plantations with heavy understory and a couple of large, 3-4 year old clearcuts. Killed one bird last season after hearing only one or two gobbles all season long. This one was gobbling his head off. I've heard nothing this year, but have cam pics and sign. They just aren't vocal at all. I've hunted in the areas of the sign and game camera, but with no luck. Generally stay until 11 on the weekends, but only 9 or so during the week. (Gotta pay the bills.) I only call every 15-30 minutes, depending on the weather. I know the areas where they roost, and the preferred fly-down spots, but I'm still striking out because they seem to be silent. Any thoughts? I'm down to the wire, as the season ends this weekend. Thanks!

[NFW]

I'm in the same boat, only thing you can do is find a lot of sign try and roost a bird and sit and wait. I'm on public and while most ppl get frustrated at 9 and move all around I stay put and try to wait it out. I've become friends with a few older guys where I hunt, and I swear they kill a bird every weekend and I've probablu only gotten close maybe 10 times in 5 years. Now take it I can go on some private land and get it down in a week when I have time, but I don't always have access like that. Unless you know where other bird might be working later in the morning. You can move and that's worked for me but one trick some of the older guys have taught me and it's worked is just stay put unless you know you messed up the birds and know they left. Just a game of who's gonna more patient.

[g8rvet]

It is harder, but doable when they are not talking.  Pay real close attention to tracks.  Know which ones are fresh, which direction they are going and when you think they were laid down.  Find strut marks and figure when they are there.  You have to pattern the bird that is not talking and pattern his hens as well.  I hunt a 400 acre tract and consistently (except this year) kill birds that may gobble once or not at all on the limb. They often only gobble when very close and right before they die.  It seems like a couple days each spring they would fire up (not this spring though) and you have to make hay when the sun is shining.  If they are coming in quiet, you must be well blinded and very still.   

[plateye]

I've been out hunting and scouting since my last post, and had a little luck. Was within 150 yards of a lone hen yesterday morning, so I'm getting there. Found a LOT of fresh tracks on my scouting trip this afternoon; they were laid down either yesterday evening or this morning, so I have a really good idea of where I'll be in about ten hours. I've had to work on my patience quite a bit, to the point where turkey hunting has become a form of meditation (with mosquitoes). I still have to fight the urge to move on, once I've been in one spot for a couple hours with no gobbles or bird sightings.

It seems like a couple days each spring they would fire up (not this spring though) and you have to make hay when the sun is shining.  If they are coming in quiet, you must be well blinded and very still.   

That's exactly what happened last year; I'd heard nothing all season until the day before it closed, and then I struck one that wouldn't shut up. He came in drumming hard, and I dropped him at 18 yards.
In regards to camouflage, I use one of those MAD shooting stick/pop-out camouflage deals to hide the motion of working my calls, in conjunction with a ghillie jacket. (On a side note, I read a thread on here regarding Howard Leight earmuffs. Those things are awesome. I've gotten MUCH better at noise discipline while stalking through the woods, and I can hear very distant calls that would have otherwise been drowned out.)
A co-worker, who has only hunted a couple of times this season, brought in photos of a nice gobbler that he was able to lure out of his neighbor's pasture into his backyard yesterday after work. His A5 took it from there. He may or may not have rubbed it in a bit.
Thanks for the advice, and I'll let y'all know how it turns out. Best of luck!

[Muzzy61]

I'm just north of you. They gobbled great the first 3 days of the season, and almost nothing since.

[NFW]

I'm up here in the panhandle and literally you will never know what they do until you go, only way to really find out. The biggest thing at least I always want is clear sky's and cool temps. Buddy of mine has live on a good bit of property and work for another plantation. They were hot at his house first couple of weeks but now they've shut up. As far as work this past week they have been blowing up at his work and I heard a few the other morning on public. Each day is different, today you may know you were close but he didn't even gobble off the roost, tomorrow you could hear 10 where you only thought only a couple were there. Just have to go every chance you can get. More you go better the odds. With some scouting and knowledge.

[plateye]

It's odd, the gobbling (or lack thereof). I'm hunting 15 minutes from my buddy that I mentioned in a previous post...the calls here are sporadic at best, but they gobble like clockwork just down the road.

[plateye]

So I switched tactics a bit the last two days of the season, and almost had some luck. I set up on a gravel road, and put a lone hen decoy about 20 yards away. Shortly after first light, I heard cackling close by, so I knew I at least had a chance. Called sporadically for 2 hours, and heard nothing. Figuring I'd struck out again, I eased out towards the road to grab the decoy...and saw a hen and gobbler at about 175 yards, feeding their way to me. Slipped back to my spot and waited....and waited. I had 2 breaks in the vegetation where I could see them coming. Never saw her, but somehow the hen got past me, saw something she didn't like, putted a couple of times, and took off running. She was at about ten yards at the time, and I never saw the gobbler again. It was still great to finally see birds and work them in that close. When I finally did go get the decoy, the hen was maybe 75 yards in the other direction, so they weren't spooked too badly. Saw her again the next morning, after sitting through a thunderstorm and a couple of passing showers. Also accidentally walked up a hen with a < 1  week old brood. Not sure who startled who more. Final tally for the season: 0 turkeys, 2 large cottonmouths dispatched at about 15 feet away. Time to go fishing.

[NFW]

Turned out the same way had this big bird patterned down. Watched him 3 days in a row hung out within a 100yd all of those days. Lucky him I couldn't hunt him on week day or he'd be done. Saw where he was crossing a road into a fresh burned pine. Got there super early wanted to make sure I got my spot and could hear him off the roost as I didn't roost him the night before. And luck would have it only heard one bird that morning about 300 yd away down in the bottom of those burned pines, later knowing that was him, got a monster track I'm guess went down that evening. So I figured surely he would work his way back up and knowing he wouldn't gobble when he hit the ground I waited, and so goes turkey hunting right when you think you have one, he does something completely out of the blue. And all the while I sat till 12:30 threw all the thunder storms just knowing he should cruise up in the pines in between the breaks of the storm. But boy was I wrong, my turkey vest in still drying out.

I reckon that's how some old birds are, he's at least 4 and older guy I've become friends with, has been hunting him 2 years and he saw him one day this year at about 70 said got a 12" beard on him at least.

Best luck I've had all year was calling up 2 jakes which was great since that was one of the closest encounters I've had with one on public land no decoys came in my face at 20 yd, and here I was trying to save em to let my Gf kill one, boy am I regretting that now, never even saw them again.

Hopefully can squeeze up to GA and try my luck there before the season goes out, and try to get on the board.

Boy I wish the season was longer.