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Florida AirGun Turkey Hunting : Looking for place to hunt

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AirgunMan

Member
Jun 3, 2015
38
4
Tennessee
Hello Guys,

I haven't been on the forum in over a year due to going thru a divorce and moving out of California. I moved back to my hometown of Chattanooga TN and I am looking for somewhere to hunt Turkey in Florida this year with my Airgun. I am willing to pay but was hoping to find someone that has access to property and maybe I can take them and help them get their first Turkey with an Airgun. I have all the equipment blinds and decoys needed to be successful and will be videoing for my youtube channel "The AirGun Hunter". Thanks for reading my post. 

Glenn "AirGun Man" Elliott
 
That might be difficult for you unless you’re willing to pay. Out-of-state turkey hunters compete heavily for access to Osceola turkeys and hunting land is limited due to Florida’s development and inter state immigration run amuck. You’re basically asking for a multi-thousand dollar hunt to be given to you (I understand that unless you regularly hunt here, you aren’t going to know that). 

Your best bet is to start calling outfitters to see if you can book a hunt. You may find that all of 2019 is booked. But you won’t know unless you try. 

For future reference, it is possibly to apply to hunt public land. Our public land turkey hunting is decent in many places. However, you can only use an airbow on public land. No pellets or bullets for safety reasons. 
 
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Osceola turkeys (not to be confused with ocellated turkeys) only exist on the Florida peninsula. We have a monopoly on them. A person can’t complete their turkey slam without an Osceola under their belt. That makes them a limited resource we only sell to the highest bidder. They’re considered harder to hunt than the other turkey subspecies. 

Our deer are also biologically different than other whitetails. But where the National Wild Turkey Federation built a culture around hunting Florida’s unique turkeys as a show of turkey hunting skill, no such culture ever developed around Florida whitetails. 

Osceola hunts usually start at $1,000 and go up from there, not counting state fees. 
 
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I'm not a hunter, but live in the panhandle. You can hunt on Eglin reservation. You will need a permit to hunt there but can be obtained online. I believe you will also need a state hunting permit. The reservation is very large but you will have to look at the maps to see exactly where hunting is permitted. Information can be found here. Looks like turkey season is coming up. https://eglin.isportsman.net/HuntingSeasons.aspx
 
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Thanks for the info Bullfrog. Been hunting Turkey for 25 years so I am well aware of the high cost of hunting Florida and the Osceola species. I wasn't looking for a free hunt but more looking for a fellow Airgunner that was into AirGun Turkey hunting as much as I am and that might be willing to take me on land they had access to or have me guide them and like I stated I am willing to pay or even hand someone a brand new Marauder or guide them in exchange for a spot. While I lived in California I took around 15 different people AirGun Turkey hunting and never charged a dime. I did it more to help teach other airgunners about AirGun Turkey hunting and because I loved getting a double and you can't do that by yourself lol. It seems there aren't near as many Airgun Turkey hunters in Florida as there were in California and that is probably due to the fact it has been legal in California for 18 years and this is only the second legal season for Florida plus the fact that the Osceola is on every shotgun hunters bucket list to get their slam. Guess I will have to find me a high price outfitter just didn't have much time this year as I just recently got laid off and my schedule opened up lol.
 
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This is actually only the first season airguns have been allowed in Florida. We measure our hunting seasons from Fall to Spring, with this spring turkey season ending the 2018-19 season. 

You'll want to plan your hunt about a year in advance. That will give you some leeway to either book an outfitter, hook up with a host, or try public land. You have to apply for Spring permits the previous fall. They're handed out by raffle. A few public land areas allow access without being drawn for the permit, but those areas are packed. You can be successful in you know where to go to get away from everyone else, but it puts a damper on it when you can only use an airbow. 

I'm not in a position to host this year. I have a newborn I'm tending that came earlier than expected. I have some prep work to do to even have turkeys on my property this year (I have to mow a field they like to use and plant some food plots). I may or may not get one for my self this season. Most years its guaranteed I'll get one opening weekend. 

I'm not trying to be a party pooper. Its just a hard thing to make come together a month before the season starts. I wouldn't recommend trying Florida-themed message boards. They'll probably be rude to you about it. There's a lot of bad blood between Florida native turkey hunters and out of state hunters because out of staters take up permit spots that locals want. You're better off continuing to focus on air gunners like you're doing to see if someone can host you. 
 
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Hi AirgunMan

I’ve wondered what happened to you. Sorry I can’t help you with a Florida hunt I just wanted to say hi. I enjoyed watching your turkey hunting videos and glad it sounds like you’re going to get back into it. Never knew airgun turkey hunting was a thing, much less of all places California, until I saw your videos. Unfortunately Colorado doesn’t allow it. 

Anyways, sorry to hear about your divorce but hope things are turning around for you and looking forward to see more airgun turkey hunting.
 
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