Osceola for Team ThunderStrut!

Covehnter · March 18, 2006

WoW what a trip! It was another awesome adventure down south again this year and again an Osceola made the trip back to Georgia, this one much earned and to say i'm proud of this bird would be an absolute understatement! I vowed to kill a bird as South as possible in the states, being the Big Cypress National Preserve below the Seminole Reservation in South Florida, little did i know the 'dream' would become reality this year and with a fellow realtree'er along to boot!

I'll just go through the Special Day because if I started in on the entire story this may stretch for pages!

Tracy and I started our trip Saturday and Sunday hunting a WMA north of Big Cypress, after fruitless efforts there, we traveled southward to spend the rest of the week. Not being familiar with the particular area in which we were ‘crashing’ into and only words of advice over the phone to go on, we waited until 5:45 to get our start deep into the Public Land swamps of Big Cypress. Words cant explain the obstacles we encountered this morning. Beginning our journey through the ankle deep South Florida black muck was no easy task, especially for a couple Ga and Al boys accustomed to hard roads running across hardwood ridges. Venturing into the first shallow cypress head, I found a 4-5 foot cottonmouth resting 6 inches ahead of my right boot and claiming the area I had in mind for my next step. After a look and a few other exclaimations that wont make the script, Tracy and I chose to bypass this guy. The next several hours of walking consisted of thick palmetto flats and wet sawgrass meadows, at 9:00 we were scratching our heads wondering what to do next? We did manage to stubble upon an old homeplace deep in a palmetto flat still equipped with growing orange and grapefruit trees, couldn’t help but wonder when the last time someone had visited this place nearly 2 miles into the Glades.

Just to carry the story along, we were guided to more accessable pine flats where we were able to put things together and continue our trek into the Swamps, the time is now 10:00. Once on the pineflats, we covered some ground quick attempting to find our destination in time to hunt/scout before the 1:00 deadline assigned to Florida public lands. After an additional 3.5 miles of walking we arrived at the dry meadows at around noon, the heat and rough terrain had taken its toll and we both were drained. A quick rest and a little scouting provided us with hope for the remainder of the trip, bumping 2 turkeys from the pines and meadows. With a long trip back to the truck (5.2 miles to be exact) we decided to begin the treacherous path. The sun was beaming down and the heat had risen to 85 degrees. Making any attempt at catching a breeze that may stir, we had taken off all gloves and masks. I even went as far as putting my shirt in the back of my vest. So here’s the picture, two turkey hunters very tired, very thirsty with limited water remaining, walking down an old road still evident only due to foot travel, no hats on, no gloves, no mask, and one even without a shirt. . . both sweating profusely due to the unforgiving sun. Now on a steady walk out, heads down with only a Toyota truck and ice cold Gatorade on the mind. After approximately a mile, I stopped suddenly in my tracks and turned to Tracy. . . did I just hear a hen cutt? He says no, just for insurance I am going to lean my gun up get out a diaphragm and cutt, better safe than sorry right? Before I could get the gun against the tree a turkey roars 80 yards ahead. This is when things get hairy, remember our condition mentioned above. Both being veteran turkey hunters, we make eye contact and dive head long into the palmettos at the roads edge. Cotton is now being shredded!! I’m finding my shirt to put on, okay now my hat. . . mask, okay. . .forget the gloves. . . no get the gloves on. . . okay set. . . oh wait, I need a call. . . diaphram, check. I glance at Tracy and he’s set. He’s covering a lane to our left through a fairly open meadow with smaller pines and palmetto clumps scattered throughout, got the lane covered I whispered with a quick assurance from him, I turn and cover the right which is the roadway. I turn my head and float soft yelps into the heat, he answers readily. I answer with more yelps and clucks and he again is falling in love. A few moments of silence and he gobbles again. I send more lonely yelps his way which he answers and I cut him off with some hard cutting which sends him into a gobbling frenzy about 60 yards away. I put the call in my cheek and whisper that this was worth the whole trip if it had to end right now. A few more moments pass and the bird answers some soft purrs and cluck just behind a palmetto clump 30 yards away. When he clears the clump we’ve got him on both sides, Tracy on the left, and me on the right. Just then I see the white head emerge from behind the palmettos following the road around to my side. When he clears a small pine I cutt hard at him, only 15 steps away at this point, he erupts into his last gobble because when his neck reached full extension I introduced him to the center of the load of Winchester #6s and he never heard the gun go off! Hoops and Hollers could be heard for miles at 1:00 pm on Monday. High fives and hugs were exchanged over a gorgeous Osceola longbeard that made a lot of work and walking worth every step! I’ve laid a few turkeys to rest in my turkey hunting day, but none mean as much as this bird that was collected from the deep swamps of the Everglades with great company from a friend from Alabama! Memories like these are the reason we do what we do, I guess some people will just never understand. We snapped pictures and relived the hunt several times, both grinning ear to ear. Finally arriving back at the truck at 4:30, the gps shows that we walked 14 miles through the Florida swamps, but I guarantee we’d do it again tomorrow for that 5 minutes of adrenaline rushing excitement and the opportunity to harvest such a trophy.

I'll include a few pictures too, although i know yall dont like alot of pictures!

Covehnter · March 18, 2006