BigGameHunt.net Hunting Forums

[coop]

A true Florida Osceola bird from the Kissimmee River drainage.

[bnow0707]

Congrats!!

[bigbucks8]

Nice BIrd :thumbsup1:

[hunter777]

Oh yeah :thumbsup1:
If you have land to hunt them.........you can make a lot of money :o

[PurcellSportingGoods]

Nice bird!

[barnold]

Please excuse my ignorance, but whats the big deal? are these rare to come upon? Somebody mentioned if you have land you can make some $$ whats the deal, whats up with the turkey grand slam? could somebody fill me in?

[coop]

There are 5 subspecies of turkey. The Florida Osceola is arguably the hardest bird to harvest due to it's temperment and the extreme nature of the habitat it exists in (deep, thick swamps of peninsular Fl.) Much of central florida is private property and southern florida is extremely difficult to hunt. Many true turkey hunters relish the idea of seeing the entire united states and all the beautiful areas that wild turkeys inhabit, so the "slam" is a reason to attempt to harvest all the subspecies, which is also quite the challenge. The money issue is due to greedy ranchers/ farmers charging up to 2000 dollars to hunt the rare birds, even though thier grandfathers paid 2 cents an acre many years ago. That is another issue.

[barnold]

Ahh, I see. so what are the other subspecies of turkey? and where are they located? I hunt in MO and I think they are called "Mariams"? Not sure of the name but they sure are fun to hunt/eat.

How far along are you on the grand slam? Was this the big # 5?

[cowgal]

There's an article here on BigGameHunt.net that gives some info on the 5 sub-species and their distribution in North America.

The Osceola has the smallest range compared to the other 4.

http://www.biggamehunt.net/sec.....20607.html

[barnold]

Ok, thanks!

[coop]

I have taken the Rio turkey (California)and the Osceola turkey (Florida). I eventually would like to get a Merriam and an Eastern. I almost shot an Eastern with my bow in Missisippi, but he seemed to run as fast as my arrow flew. I dont get as much time as i should to hunt, work (Navy) and lack of access to good hunting areas keep me from going more. Someday I will be able to travel and hunt more.

[redrider]

There's never enough time for shootin' turkey and deer! :cry:

[Unit5A]

There's a program going on here in AZ to re-introduce, or increase, the Gould's Turkey here. I've read that it is going pretty good. I think they used to be pretty plentiful in the southern area of the state, but back in the days before regulations etc. they got hunted out. Most are in Mexico now.
So maybe by the time you are ready to travel more coop, there will be a good hunting population for your "slam" without leaving the country.
Good Luck. 8-)

[coop]

Well, thanks for the info. I read an article on nwtf.org about the Goulds turkey and the efforts to restore the populations from less than a thousand birds. I hope they are successful in thier efforts. What a great organization.

I am not an expert, maybe someone can help. I believe if i take an Eastern, Ocseola, Merriams and Rio, that qualifies as a slam, and if i were to add a Gould's bird that would be a Grand Slam. Someone please correct me if I am wrong. It really doesn't make all that much difference anyway, I am not a turkey aristocrat, if i bagged a few more of any subspecies, I would still feel blessed for the opportunity

[bigbucks8]

yes you are correct as far as i know in washington there are easterns, merriams, and rio's. that is the washington slam. and overal i know there are some subspeicies that are mixbrea between the meriams and rios.