Osceolas and Easterns

[Flhawghuntr]

Here is a lil Map that shows the boundary according to the NWTF

Personally I think it is wrong and that the Easterns boundary stretches even farther 20 or 30 miles southward.
Here is a few Osceolas that I have taken recently Notice the darker wing barrings Easterns have barring close to Osceolas.
Osceolas seem to have a greener tenge and Easterns more a bronzed colors also.
I have also noticed that Esaterns tend to have thicker beards in general and are bigger in body weight.
Osceolas tend to be a lil more leggy meaning then seem to be a lil taller leg wise.


Really dark barring on wings

Here is a Osceola I took a pic of that was just south of me(PERFECT EXAMPLE OF A OSCEOLA)


Since I have not killed any Easterns I will grap a few pics from the web.


pair of Easterns

[Cr0ck1]

Good thread man. Thanks.

[flhuntfish]

Those are some really nice birds you have taken

That line looks way better then the one i said in another thread that it was SR 50. Last I heard SR 50 is the cutoff for Boone and Crocket scoring. That line makes WAY MORE sense.

[swampman88]

i was born and raised in flordia and never killed an osceola shot at em never got one, went to tenessee and killed a nice eastern

[flhuntfish]

In all honesty if you ask the true South FL turkey hunters (old timers) they will tell you that their are no true Osceola's north of Orlando. They say that you start getting into hybrid birds and such. I can tell you that "Osceola"s that I have killed in central FL are different then the birds we kill down here. They are slight differences but they are there.

Yea theres gonna be slight differences. The climate in south florida is way different then north florida. The turkeys over hundreds of years have adapted to the specific climate/surroundings to suite their needs. Plus there is better nutrition in the north because of more agriculture. Different vitamins and minerals in foods will also change the colors in the feathers a little bit.

Deer are the same way, bigger deer with bigger antlers-more agriculture in the north.

[Flydown]

I hunt in Union County, which is just south of that red line, and I can assure you we have far more Easterns than Osceolas.

[Flhawghuntr]

I hunt in Union County, which is just south of that red line, and I can assure you we have far more Easterns than Osceolas.

You're right the line is wrong. Where you hunt I'd would bet that you actaully don't even have pure Osceolas and have more Hybrids than even Easterns.

[flhuntfish]

Well lets remember that turkeys will cross the "invisible line" without a problem. Just as easy as it is to cross state lines

[Flhawghuntr]

Well lets remember that turkeys will cross the "invisible line" without a problem. Just as easy as it is to cross state lines

It really has nothing to do with crossing a line but has everything to do with mixing of two sub species and their for have hybrids instead of pure Osceolas or Easterns.

[Cr0ck1]

There should be no line. There should be a big grey area that says "oceola/eastern/hybrid" that would make to much easier. Its like "pot luck diner" You never know what your gonna get!

[Iluv2hunt]

The WMA I hunt...the western boundary of that line runs thru the middle of it. So if a turkey is on one side of the road in Dixie county, he is an Osceola. If he flies across the road, he is now an Eastern.

Seriously, I've hunted that area my entire life and all the birds I've killed look pretty much Osceola. But, now I am in a lease just 10 miles up the road. The appearance of the birds is VERY different. A lot more characteristics of an Eastern. I would call them a hybrid, though. They still don't look like an Eastern killed in GA

[Cr0ck1]

Mixed.

[milkman]

That line means alot to the guys who pay big money to come down and shoot an Osceola. It doesnt mean much to us weekend wariors,but to the guy trying to get his slam that line is important.

[Flhawghuntr]

That line means alot to the guys who pay big money to come down and shoot an Osceola. It doesnt mean much to us weekend wariors,but to the guy trying to get his slam that line is important.

That is true no doubt. I don't care if it is a hybrid of not I just like seeing them flop.

[nachogrande]

if going for a slam, how would a hybrid place(or not at all?) and are we gonna be allowed to use 22 lr's or 22 mags, I hope?