Jeremy's Osceola - Florida
Jeremy and his Osceola.
Hunter: Jeremy Lengle
Cameraman: Adam Spittler
March 19, 2009
We packed up our gear and left the miserable Pennsylvania weather behind. We were Florida bound! This was our second trip to Florida in many years and it felt great to get on the road for the first time in a long time.
March 20, 2009
We got our rooms at the place we were staying and soon it was time to head out and set up our blind for the next morning’s hunt. We did a bit of driving around to different properties and got the scoop on how the birds were moving this year. One particular piece of property had a small pond which had an alligator occupying it. We didn’t see him on the way in, but sure enough when we were walking back to the truck, there he was sunning himself on the bank. Adam quietly snuck back to the truck and grabbed the camera so we could get him on film. I think it was the first time either of us had seen a gator in the wild. An awesome experience to say the least! When all of our running around was done, we grabbed dinner and tried to get what little sleep we could for the next morning. Excitement and anticipation was at its peak.
March 21, 2009
Morning came quickly and we headed out to get settled in the blind well before sunrise. To our surprise we only heard a few gobbles off in the distance. We knew there were birds in the area so we just sat tight and waited. It didn’t take long for the first longbeard to appear in front of us around 60 yards away. Try as we may, we couldn’t get him to commit and he eventually walked away. Not long after, we had two hens come right by the blind. I think we could have poked them with a stick, they were that close. A few minutes passed after the hens walked out of sight and I heard that sound that makes the hair on your neck stand up. The spit and drum of a longbeard about 10 yards away! He was just out of view for me, but Adam had the camera rolling. I readied my TenPoint crossbow for the shot and Adam gave me the go ahead. My NAP gobbler getter zipped right through him! The shot was a little questionable and after reviewing the footage, we decided that I hit him a little low so we gave it some time. It turned out the gobbler crashed just out of our sight and he was down almost immediately after the shot. I had my third Osceola on the ground, my first turkey ever with a crossbow!!
I want to thank my best friend Adam for filming the hunt, and our guide Spencer Jones, for going above and beyond and helping me move the blind at 10:30 at night. Thank you to Ralph and Vicki as well for giving me the opportunity to be a part of the POSSE!