Editor’s Note: William Sullivan, president of the Florida chapter of the National Wild Turkey Federation (NWTF), has hunted turkeys all his life in Florida. “The most-difficult part about hunting Osceolas in Florida is finding a place to hunt,” Sullivan says. Sullivan will tell us where to hunt Osceola turkeys and how to find them in Florida.
 The Hunting Wire: If someone really wants to hunt Osceolas, when should they call you?
Sullivan: I suggest they call me at the end of turkey season for the following year. I’ll also advise them to call the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission at (850) 488-4676, or visit www.myfwc.com, and check into the rules and regulations on the special-opportunity hunts and the regular-quota hunts on the wildlife management areas (WMAs). I also recommend they look at applying for the third hunt rather than the first or second, because those are the hardest to get. The third week is the best in Florida, because the hens have come off the roost, and the gobblers are looking for dates.
The Hunting Wire: If an out-of-stater draws a hunting area, do you know local guides who will go with them and help them get their turkeys, or can they hunt private lands?
Sullivan: Yes, there are a couple of guides who will do that. Too, I can send them to some of the outfitters I’ve hunted with and where I know their chances will be really good for taking a turkey. A good Osceola hunt on private land usually costs $1500 to $2000 for a 3-day hunt.
The Hunting Wire: William, what makes the Osceola different from all the other turkeys?
Sullivan: Osceolas do all the same things that every other turkey does. But what makes the Osceola so difficult to hunt is that he has a very small home range in Florida and gaining access to hunt him is very difficult for most individuals. There’s some public land in Florida where you can hunt him, but the birds on this land receive a lot of hunting pressure. The public-land Osceola is a very-quiet turkey, unless he doesn’t receive much hunting pressure. Because of the high humidity and dense foliage, many hunters who have hunted him before believe that he’s much further away than he is. In Florida’s palmetto swamps, the sound of his gobbling doesn’t travel as far as it does in big hardwoods and ridges.
The Hunting Wire: Is there any good public land where a person can come from another state and hunt Osceolas?
Sullivan: There’s some really-good public hunting here in Florida, and particularly on the special-opportunity hunts held on Green Swamp West WMA. Another place is Dexter/Mary Farms near Daytona. But my favorite prime, public-hunting, uncrowded land is 106,110 acre Avon Park Air Force Bombing Range near Sebring, Florida. But a little less than 90 acres is hunt-able. The military runs the hunting program. You download the application at www.avonparkafr.com and submit it with an application fee of $15. If you’re drawn, you pay a fee for the entire year that’s about $250, but then you can hunt there from the beginning of bow season through spring gobbler season. The only downside to Avon Park is that you have to come to a safety session each year prior to hunting season in early September. They cover what to do if you find unexploded ordinance. No matter where you live, if you’re drawn to hunt, come to the safety briefing in September and also pass a hunter’s safety course, you can hunt there all season.
Green Swamp West WMA, north of Lakeland off County Road 471, encompasses 33,000 acres. But only four or five, 3-day hunts with only 18-hunters each are held each spring. You have to be drawn for these hunts and pay an application fee. However, you can apply as many times as you want. If you’re drawn to hunt there, you pay about a $175 hunt fee for a 3-day hunt.
No matter where you hunt, use a hand-held GPS receiver. Many of the areas you’ll hunt will look similar in Florida, and you can get lost. At the bombing range, numerous big oak hammocks and beautiful turkey woods run along the edge of the river, but that’s where a lot of people hunt. Instead learn the land, and try to hunt away from the river. Green Swamp West WMA has plenty of open woods, swamps and road systems running through it. I believe the state allows you to go in one day before your hunt to scout, but always carry your GPS with you.
To hunt with William Sullivan, you can write him at 4205 Old Colony Road, Mulberry, Florida 33860, or call him at home (863) 425-6104, or on his cell at (863) 640-1395, or you can email him at wesnwtf@aol.com. |
