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Hunting Osceola Turkeys with Keith Kelly Day 3: Knowing the Equipment for Taking Osceola Turkeys

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Editor’s Note: Osceola turkey season arrives earlier than any of the other turkey hunts in the U.S. These birds are limited to Florida – generally from central Florida to the southernmost tip of the Florida peninsula. Any turkey taken in the counties of Dixie, Gilchrist, Alachua, Union, Bradford, Clay and Duval is considered by the National Wild Turkey Federation and the Florida Wildlife Commission to be an Osceola subspecies. Florida’s 2024 turkey season opens March 2 and runs through April 7 on lands outside the WMA system. North of State Route 70, spring turkey season opens March 16 and continues through April 21. Keith Kelly, the general manager of Dee Dot Timberlands throughout the state of Florida, hunts two different areas of Florida for Osceola turkeys.

Keith Kelly explains that he likes, “A 20 gauge to shoot with a turkey scope on it – making it deadly out to about 40 yards. With TSS shells, you can put a turkey down further out than you can with regular shells. Also, a 20 gauge doesn’t kick very much. I recommend that anyone who is taking a youngster or someone who never has hunted turkeys before have a scope on the gun that his hunter will shoot. Most first-time hunters, when they see turkeys coming, will start looking at the turkeys and not the beads on their shotguns. When using scopes, they know they have to aim at the turkeys and put those crosshairs on the birds before they shoot.

“I also like turkey choke tubes and a Leupold shotgun scope. I’ll set my riflescope on 3X – 4X. If you only have a bead on your shotgun, most of the time the hunter wants to pick his head up off the stock to look up over at the turkey and will miss the bird. That turkey scope makes the hunter keep his head down and aim much more intensely than he will when sighting with a bead.

“When my hunter (See Day 2) squeezed the trigger on the turkey, he got so excited when he shot the bird. I went out of the blind to get the turkey for him and to make sure the turkey wasn’t going to get up and go anywhere after he’d been shot. When I returned to the blind with the turkey, there was a lot of high-fiving, hugging and laughing happening. My vet and I probably scared every other turkey within a mile, away from the area. But that’s okay because my hunter got his turkey.

“Mossy Oak sponsors this hunt for wounded warriors. Many of these veterans had hunted before they were in the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, but because they had wheelchairs afterwards, they hadn’t been able to hunt much when they came home, if at all. All us guides feel so rewarded to get these veterans out hunting again and see them be successful. Also, some of the other wounded warriors who never had hunted before really got into turkey hunting. Another aspect of the hunt that was equally important with a group of wounded warriors was the time spent around the campfire and eating together brothers (other soldiers) who knew what they’d experienced.”

Looking for more content? Check out our YouTube channel and watch “The Turkey That Wouldn’t Move” by John E. Phillips.

Check out John E. Phillips’ 12th book: “Turkeys: Today’s Tactics for Longbeards Tomorrow“

hunting strategies with pros Will Primos, David Hale, Eddie Salter, Preston Pittman, Allen Jenkins, Terry Rohm, Paul Butski, Larry Norton and others.
information about taking turkeys with .410 shotguns.
box-call techniques.
strategies for moving on turkeys.
ways to hunt public-land gobblers.
the differences in calling and hunting Eastern, Osceola and Western turkeys.
the latest research on turkeys; and other information.

Click here to check out John’s 12^th turkey book.

Expert Guidebooks on Turkey Hunting: Best Sellers

Turkey Hunting Tactics
This turkey hunting audiobook has entertaining chapters like: “How to Miss a Turkey”, “Hunting with a Guide”, and “The Turkey and the New York Lady”.

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How to Hunt Turkeys with World Champion Preston Pittman
You easily can take a turkey if you don’t make any mistakes, but you have to know what the deadly sins of turkey hunting are to keep you from making those mistakes. If you understand how to hunt a turkey, you’re far more likely to take a gobbler than if you just know how to call a turkey.

Of course, calling is important, and if you want to learn to call a turkey, Preston Pittman will teach you how to call turkeys with box calls, friction calls, diaphragm calls, and other turkey sounds.

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When you have turkeys that strut and drum in the middle of a field, when you know there’s no way to get close enough to get a shot, Pittman will show you some weird tactics that have worked for him to help you hunt tough ole toms.

But the main thing you’ll learn in this book is how to become the turkey.

Using what he’s learned while hunting wild turkeys, he’s also become a master woodsman who can take most game, regardless of where he hunts. To learn more secrets about how to be a turkey hunter from one of the world champions of the sport, this turkey-hunting book with Preston Pittman is a must.

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The Turkey Hunting Guides’ Bible
The quickest way to learn how to turkey hunt successfully is to either hunt with a turkey hunter with years of experience or a turkey-hunting guide. These two types of turkey hunters have solved most of the problems turkey hunters ever will face.

Just as one size of shoes won’t fit every person, one style of turkey hunting doesn’t fit each hunter. Each turkey-hunting guide interviewed for this book has his own style of calling, hunting, and outsmarting turkeys.

While listening to this book, make a list of the new information you’ve learned, take that list with you during turkey season, and try some of the new tactics. Then you’ll become a more versatile turkey hunter and prove the wisdom from The Turkey Hunting Guides’ Bible.

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Outdoor Life’s Complete Turkey Hunting (2nd Edition)
This Audible book will help you learn how to call turkeys with two of the nation’s best, longtime and well-known turkey callers, Rob Keck, formerly with the National Wild Turkey Federation, and Lovett Williams, a wildlife biologist who recorded wild turkeys giving the calls that you’ll learn how to make on various types of turkey callers.

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Expert Guidebooks on Turkey Hunting

Turkey Hunting Tactics

These 22-blockbuster chapters answer questions beginning turkey hunters as well as veteran turkey hunters have. In the Kindle version, you’ll also get links to 24-bonus videos made with some of the greatest names in turkey hunting to learn their best tips.

VERSIONS: AUDIBLE, KINDLE & PRINT

CHAPTER DETAILS & BUY

VERSIONS: AUDIBLE, KINDLE & PRINT

CHAPTER DETAILS & BUY

This Audible book will help you learn how to call turkeys with two of the nation’s best, longtime and well-known turkey callers, Rob Keck, formerly with the National Wild Turkey Federation, and Lovett Williams, a wildlife biologist who recorded wild turkeys giving the calls that you’ll learn how to make on various types of turkey callers.

VERSIONS: AUDIBLE & KINDLE

CHAPTER DETAILS & BUY

Tomorrow: Decoying and Fanning Osceola Turkeys