My 10 year old son, Tad, shot his first mature gobbler opening morning here in Florida. He shot a Jake the previous season but he really wanted a “big ole Tom”. Boy did he kill one. This gobbler had 1 inch spurs and a double beard measuring a total of 16 inches (main 10 inches, second 6 inches). Those are really good measurements for an Osceola.
The video below shows the hunt. As you can see, real decoys are the way to go. The gobblers we have killed over them get so mad when they see the Jake decoy puffed out with a hen. We use the real decoys from Hazel Creek (www.hazelcreekinc.com). Go to their Website and let Cally Morris hook you up.
Anyway, in all the excitement I did not see the gobbler knock down my hen decoy so when he shot I thought the feathers flying were her’s. Instead they were the gobbler’s after Tad had strategically put his #4s from a youth model 20 gauge shotgun into the turkey’s vitals. This was a really fun hunt one that I will remember forever. Enjoy.