Turkey Hunting Florida

Turkey Hunting Who’s ready for a challenge! Try bagging a genuine free-range Osceola Turkey out in the Florida wild. Turkeys are considered to be the toughest North American game to hunt and for good reason. Instinctively turkeys are on the watch, always wary of their surroundings and constantly keeping their ear to the ground for approaching predators. Turkeys have superior hearing ability, which is actually connected with their sense of sight- no wonder they are nearly impossible to shoot! Turkey is generally hunted with a shotgun, however, a bow and arrow is an option if you are game for the ultimate challenge! Since a lot of your successes in bagging one of these wary birds depends on knowing beforehand where the birds roost and feed; it is almost impossible to turkey hunt without one of iOutdoor expert guides. Turkey hunting is a sit and waits for proposition most effectively done in the mornings or evenings. Calling birds into your location (strategically selected by your expert guide) is the most effective method. You’ll be sitting behind a Turkey blind with and using your call, making all attempts to lure these wary birds near enough to shoot. Thanksgiving dinner will never look that same after you engage in one of iOutdoors exciting Turkey hunts! It is imperative to call us NOW at 1-888-412-1117 to start the process- pre-planning is paramount! Let iOutdoor do all the preparation for you!

The Florida Wild Turkey

Florida is home to two wild turkey subspecies, the eastern wild turkey and the Osceola wild turkey, also known as the Florida wild turkey. The Osceola Turkey was named after a famous Seminole Chief Osceola in 1890 who led his tribe in a 20-year war in 1835 against Americans. The Osceola turkey can be distinguished from the eastern wild turkey by the white barring on its wing feathers, it’s also darker and smaller.

Range

The Florida Osceola Turkey is found only in peninsular Florida. Across the Florida panhandle and north of the peninsula, the Osceola turkey will interbreed with the eastern subspecies. Most of the wild turkeys are most concentrated in the middle of Florida.

Habitat

The Osceola turkey is a woodlands bird so it prefers open forests, forest edges, and openings. The Florida turkey tends to thrive most in the open terrain of longleaf pine forests, oaks, and grasslands. They are known as generalist species, which means they do not require any specialized food or vegetation community to survive. Therefore, they occur in any suitable habitat throughout Florida.

Behavior

Osceola Turkeys are powerful fliers, especially for shorter distances, with speeds up to 55 mph being observed. They spend most of their time walking to conserve energy searching for seeds, acorns, fruits, insects, and small vertebrates. These wild turkeys can easily cover hundreds of acres in a day.

Osceola turkeys are social animals that generally flock in groups from a few birds up to 20 or more. They are very wary creatures that will fly to a tree or run away to escape danger. Wild turkeys usually congregate in the trees at night in thicker forest stands for safety from ground predators.

Osceola Turkey Hunts

Edibility

Everyone knows turkeys are delicious and the Florida Osceola turkey does not fall short of this expectation. Just about every part of a Florida Osceola turkey is edible. Though the thighs and legs of a wild turkey may be less tender than the breast meat, they are extra flavorful and great for stews, soups, or slow cooked.

Spring Turkey Season

North of State Road 70

Youth Turkey hunt weekend: March 12-13

Spring Turkey Season: March 19-24

South of State Road 70

Youth Turkey hunt weekend: February 26-27

Spring Turkey Season: March 5 through April 10

Youth Turkey Hunts

The Florida wildlife conservation commission (FWC) regulations offer two weeks dedicated to Youth Spring Turkey Hunts. These hunts are available to the youth 15 years and younger and may occur on many of the Wildlife management areas (WMAs) as well as lands outside of the WMA system.

What a wonderful Turkey hunt, I can’t wait until Thanksgiving to eat him!