# Turkey Hunting in South Florida



## tie 1 on (Jul 27, 2009)

I am looking for some public land or to lease a spot to turkey hunt in south florida. Also, how far south do you have to go for the Osceola bird?


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## byrddog (Aug 3, 2009)

Good luck most people that have Osceolas know it and leasing land is pretty hard for turkey hunting.I dont know about public land butI would guess those birds will be few and far between on wma's because Osceolas only live in sucha small part of the country. But hey if you hunt turkeys you love a challenge anyway, go for it! 

As far as where the Easterns stop and the Osceolas begin the NWTF says Live Oak but your gonna run in to hybrids around the line. I got a friend there and that place is full of hybrid turkeys. To get the real thing your gonna have to get a little further south, Alatchua, Gainsville,Orlando,Kissimmee.


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## Bullshark (Mar 19, 2009)

I have a few spots but the only one you can get to is Bear Island in the Everglades/Big Cypress. I killed my first 2 birds there and have seen birds everytime. If it's the same way it was you don't need a quota. Ask a ranger or someone how to get to the oil pump. It is right off the main road on the right. Once you hang the right to the pump the road splits go down both sides the evening before you hunt and find where they roost. It's mostly Cypress heads so you should find them quick. If there is a silver monster truck there tell the driver James said he's a douche. Watch out for bears b/c they are thick but so are the birds. As far as private goes the city of Okechobee and Ft Drum areloaded up and so is the Seminole res in Big Cypress. The res is almost impossible to get on to unless you know a Seminole but it is by far the best hunting experiance I have ever had and they are great people to spend some time with. I will be hunting Ft. Drum this year on private land.

You will need a 4-wheeler to get to the oil pump or a buggy


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## reel trouble (Jan 19, 2010)

I have hunted a good bit around Ocalla and there are alot of birds just South of there. Alot of Public land however you have to be drawn for the good WMA'S. They only allow so many hunters per year. In years past the tags were transferable so you didnt have to be the one to draw the tag. Now I think you have to be the one. I have killed several birds on Public and Private land. Private Leases are Really high because like he said if they have turkeys they know it. I think it may be to lae to get drawn for this year but Im not sure.


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## baldona523 (Mar 2, 2008)

I do not know from personal experience, but I looked into it pretty hard this winter in hopes of going to central FL to hunt Osceolas for a long weekend this spring. First off, most of the WMA's in central FL are quota for turkey, and that has already been draw. Here are the non quota direct from Myfwc.com:

www.myfwc.com/NEWSROOM/10/statewide/News_10_X_SprTurkeyNoQuotaPermit.htm



It also sounds like until you get down to the Tampa/orlando area the birds could be Hybrids or Easterns, so it is not a guarantee if you hunt the Ocalla/Gainesville area for a Osceola. I really wanted to spend a long weekend in Gville to hunt them, but there is just one real small WMA without Quota and they may not be Osceolas. Still might though. Good luck.


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## bossgobbler (Aug 21, 2008)

I've always wanted to head down to the South region of Florida to hunt since the season starts at the beginning of March down there a couple of weeks before it starts in the rest of florida. It's way too expensive for me to pay to hunt private land down there :banghead. 

It's a long drive, so I would think you would have to go for a week to make it worth it, especially if you don't have a guide and are hunting public land. It would probably take a couple of days just to find some birds.

When I went to school in Gainesville in the late 90s, I used to hunt a management area south of there called Lochloosa. Never killed a bird down there, but came close once. It had a decent turkey population. About what you would expect from a management area.


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## hosscat (Jan 21, 2010)

Withlachoochee state forest has some birds, but I do not know what is involved in getting a license to hunt them.


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