Luke Mele: Hawaii Turkey Hunt Report

HUNT: Hawaii Wild Turkey Hunt
CONSULTANT: Charlie Ward, Outdoors International

March 06, 2025

One Day, One Bird

I had a great, successful one day turkey hunt on the big island of Hawaii. I was taken to a huge chunk of private land where the turkeys were plentiful. We had to work for our bird a little bit but by 10am we had one on the ground. And overall awesome turkey hunting experience. The altitude was a lot higher than I am use to so this hunt was definitely a work out! I enjoyed it a lot!

I have just a few small things that held me back from giving my experience a 5 star review:

1. Shortly after I received my contract for the hunt, the outfitter asked if I could change the day of my hunt by two days. This was not a deal breaker for me, but did require me to reschedule two flights and a few nights at the airBnB which resulted in a couple extra hundred dollar expense on my end.
2. Leading up to my hunt, I received an email from the outfitter with a link to purchase my hunting license. In that same email they told me I did not need a turkey kill tag for private land. A few days before I left for the trip, I found out myself online that I did in fact need a tag on private land. This resulted in a little extra added stress as I had short time to navigate the website and get the tag purchased. Had this been a tag I couldn’t print online I’m afraid I wouldn’t have had it in time. I was glad I figured this out before I got to the hunt and didn’t have a tag or worst yet shot a turkey and didn’t have a tag for it.
3. Overall my guide was great. He hunted hard with me and got me a bird. However, after I harvested my bird and took field photos, he asked me to not post the photos to social media as he didn’t want people to know where we were hunting. I didn’t ask too many questions but this did concern me a bit. Was this land we were suppose to be on? I trusted that it was.

Overall this was a great experience.

The small hiccups mentioned above were not a reflection of Outdoors International. OI made the entire experience enjoyable and much easier than trying to set this up myself!

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Thank you Outdoors International!

It was an amazing steelhead fishing trip! I brought my dad along with me and we slayed the fish. If you guys aren't applying for the OI Draws, you should. They're legit!

Tyler Kirk / OI Draw Winner

I couldn't believe we won!

We won this fully guided, all-inclusive New Zealand red stag hunt in the OI Draw! I highly recommend this hunt, and Outdoors International—fantastic company, amazing meals, and hunts that are second to none.

Brandon Ball / OI Draw Winner

I'm so grateful for the opportunity!

Thank you to Outdoors International, all the PH's and their awesome staff. I made some new friends and will be back to Africa again 100%.

Brye Mangum / OI Draw Winner

My most memorable and rewarding experience.

This was my first guided hunt, and the outfitter was amazing. He was able to keep me motivated and encouraged to hold out for true trophies. I would rate him on an 11 on a scale of 1 to 10! I never thought Africa would be a reality for me. Thank you Outdoors International.

Dason Lasater / OI Draw Winner

OI Draw Winners

• Winners to be Announced: DIY Caribou Hunt for Two
• Brandon Ball & Wife: New Zealand Red Stag Hunt
• Seth Sayles: Mexico Offshore Fishing Trip for Two
• Christopher Adams: Mexico Coues Deer Hunt
• Ryan Hall: Africa Plains Game Safari
• Tyler Kirk: Idaho Steelhead Fly Fishing Trip
• Brye Mangum: Africa Plains Game Safari
• Dason Lasater: Africa Plains Game Safari
• Kim Osborn: Africa Plains Game Safari

OI Insider Monthly Winners

Our first monthly drawing is coming soon... BTW, we only have a few OI Insiders as it's a brand new program, so the odds are better than they're ever going to be to win the $1,000 monthly Booking Credit giveaways. You should probably join.

$20,000 Grand Prize Winners

• Teresa Davis

Brandon Ball

Mrs. Ball

Brandon Ball

Brye Mangum

Brye Mangum

Brye Mangum

Brye Mangum

Brye Mangum

Brye Mangum

Brye Mangum

Kim Osborn

Kim Osborn

Kim Osborn

Dason Lasater

Mr. Lasater

Dason Lasater

Dason Lasater

Dason Lasater

Dason Lasater

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My hunt was absolutely top notch.

The outfitter is a fantastic man and incredibly hard working and knowledgeable, there is no doubt he will do everything within his power to make peoples hunts successful and enjoyable. I plan to do it again with him next year for sure.

Wade Zuver

The outfitter handled everything perfectly.

We were thankful that Outdoors International hooked us up with a great outfitter because they were able to find us an acceptable alternate on short notice. Overall the two year process to get this float in was seamless and worry free. Just like it should be.

Stan Masneri

Second time I’ve done this particular trip.

The steelhead run was awesome! The food was even better than the first time, which is hard to imagine, and our guide is the best there is! If catching big fish is your thing I highly recommend booking through Outdoors International.

Jim C.

Outdoors International

Whether it’s hunting, fishing, wingshooting, or outdoor adventure travel, our goal for you is a safe, worry free, successful trip from start to finish. Our continued success depends on giving you good advice.

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