grand slam question

[glass eye]

I have 13 points in AZ for turkey and still haven't drawn the Gould's.

 

[Monteman11]

I have down the grand slam twice, once with a bow and once during a single season with a gun. I like hunting turkeys, so the slam is simply a nice reason to go different places. My next goal is the super slam, taking a turkey in every state they exist. Did I mention i like to turkey hunt?

I haven't registered any of my birds, as it seems pointless unless you want to get the pin, but that is up to you. I got turned off when I realized some people had registered more than 50 slams. The eastern is hands down the hardest to get followed by Osceola, but that is predominately because of land issues and cost in Florida. If you are looking for a good relatively inexpensive Osceola hunt try Triple M Outfitters in Palm Bay. He has lots of turkeys and property and is a genuine person. There are PLENTY of cheap options or DIY options for Rio's and Merriams. I have done it both ways, usually simply paying a semi-guided fee for food and lodging which was as cheap as getting a hotel and feeding myself, plus I got access to private land. To each their own. As I travel to more states it will be mostly DIY or with friends or trade hunts.

I am heading to Mexico this spring for Gould's. Much like Merriams and Rios they typically aren't what eastern hunters consider a typical turkey hunt. They are usually in flocks and it is more of an ambush. I have certainly called in tom's from a distance like an eastern of both species, but mostly you get in the area they want to be and wait for them to show up. Each hunt is still pretty fun. The Royal slam counts wherever you take a Gould's, Arizona or Mexico. Arizona is tough if you haven't been in the draw for a while and by the time you pay for a license in Arizona and the points for ten years it would be cheaper to go to Mexico as you can get hunts for ~$1500.00 if you dig. The coolest bird to hunt and a hunt I am doing in spring 2016 is the Occelated. Not a turkey hunters hunt for sure, but I am looking forward to hunting brockett deer, guan, and curassow when I am there and I found a great relatively inexpensive place to do it at.

Good luck with whatever you choose to do. If you ever need any pointers, feel free to PM me. I don't post much but I do lurk around.

 

[Rocky176]

I have a good friend in Pine Ridge, South Dakota. I have been out many times over the last 17 years. I have taken friends and family out to hunt Merriam's. Birds are everywhere and lots of ground to hunt. When I first started hunting South Dakota, I would always need my friend to help show me the country but now I know where the birds usually are and how to hunt them. Sometimes from a calling position and sometimes spot and stalk. Here in Pa. stalking is illegal so it is a nice change to the way we hunt here at home. We always tag out and it is a fairly easy hunt. Three years ago we left Pa at 7 AM on a Sunday morning. We were hunting by noon the next day and had our first bird by 1 PM. Let me know if I can help in any way.

 

[jimss]

I would say the Goulds and Osceola are likely going to be the tough ones. I looked at the application info for AZ and you have to buy a fairly expensive hunting license each year to apply for pref pts. It may take quite a few years to draw a tag because AZ is likely the only place you can get them unless you pay for a fairly expensive Mex guided hunt. The Osceola are likely the same way. There are a lot of merriam/rio hybrids in Nebraska and KS. I'm sure the same thing is true on the border of easterns and rios so I would likely check into this before narrowing down where you want to hunt. I've hunted areas in Nebraska that had toms with white or rio looking tail feathers in the same flocks. I'm not sure how picky the turkey guys are in regard to hybrids but would be worth checking out.

 

[LopeHunter]

We have three species in WA state (Easterns, Meeriams, Rios). My experience is those species all have similar behaviors. The species do thrive in much different terrains so that changes tactics and I find for Rios the big terrain with ravines creates a need for calls that are loud, especially on windy mornings.

Will be easier getting an Osceola than a Gould.

 

[Epfd217]

Monteman, I'm curious why you say the Eastern is by far the hardest to get. Eastern have the highest population, the largest range and are the most common?

I have the most experience with easterns, so I'm curious if those who don't live in "eastern-country" agree. States like Missouri offer the best chance at an eastern on public land for a very low cost.

The eastern and Merriams can easily be had on public land for about $100 per tag and with a little planning can be done in the same state or at least the same trip. A 3 state trip can accomplis the eastern, Merriam and the rio.

I'm a DIY public land guy so I'm working on it. Ibe got several easterns and a few eastern/Merriam hybrids. I'm hoping to plan a "western" turkey trip for the full-buff merriams.

Is it April yet?!?!?!

 

[pointingdogsrule]

Don't get me wrong... it's NOT rocket science, however, having hunted the these birds, Easterns are a lot smarter then those western Merriams.

good luck to all
the dog

 

[phutch30]

I completed two shotgun and 1 archery slams with Osceola’s that came thru swap hunts. If you can work one out it will save you some money. Takes some work and you have to do some footwork to find someone who wants to swap a hunt but its doable. Now I just need to get to Mexico for my Gould’s and oscillated.

Ive hunted turkeys in 17 states and have found little difference in sub species difficulty overall. Right day and its a piece of cake if they dont want to play theyr all tough. In my experiance osceollas are pretty easy. 1st osceola was killed less than 10min into my first hunt. Flew down and ran across a field full sprint gobbling while he ran. Also every osceolla Ive killed has gobbled his head off. Which is atypical.

Overall, Ive found easterns in small states to be the toughest simply due to hunting pressure. Although the archery Rio hunt I did in OK a few yrs back was the toughest turkey hunt Ive every been on simply due to good ole murphys law and 100 degree temps.

Itboils down to if its the right day, most birds can seem easy.

 

[firefranco]

Good luck to you! I have completed one World Slam and have enough birds for a second Royal but have not registered them with NWTF yet. I think it is $15 bucks a bird now. They send you a pin and certificate for each species and slam. I called all of the birds myself excluding the Oscillated. Due to private property issues I used an Outfitter for both Osceola hunts. I have taken three Goulds all in Mexico with outfitters. Have not been back due to safety issues. Gould's were extremely fun and have what I would call an intense but shorter gobble. My favorite by far is the Merriam. There is tons of public property out West and it is in beautiful country and similar to Elk hunting. So far Merriams from California, Arizona, New Mexico, Nebraska, South Dakota, Colorado and Washington. Rios to me are the easiest to hunt. The majority of Turkeys in California are Rios or Rio-Hybrid and have expanded onto public land up and down the state.

 

[phutch30]

Google the distribution of each subspecies and plan from there.

http://www.bing.com/images/search?q...A5A6243F084EDB6A5CBF928F35DA&selectedIndex=12


Theres several states that have both pure strain and hybrids. If you pick say KS for rios Id stay away from the buffer zone if you want a pure Rio. Central/Western OK/TX would be 1st choice for rios. CO, NM western Dakotas most of WY and most of MT has pure merriams.

 

[DrH]

Just make certain you actually get the right subspecies. Landowners after bad winters have "helped" Game and Fish agencies by releasing game farm birds on their properties that then interbreed with the wild birds and even go back to the mountains with the wild birds. A friend and I killed two Eastern gobblers from a flock northeast of Newcastle, WY where there theoretically aren't any Easterns. There is genetic pollution in many places. In one day I and the guy hunting with me killed two Merriam's, and Eastern, and a hybrid inn northwestern Nebraska.
I have lost track of the number of slams I have seen mounted, many of them in booths at the NWTF national convention, that do not contain a real Merriam's gobbler, they are hybrids. The guide or landowner may have convinced the hunter he killed a Merriam's gobbler, but it wasn't. Like Gould's turkeys, Merriam's gobblers have white tips on the tail feathers, and the tail coverts are white. If you got/get one with tan tail tips and tan tail coverts, it is a hybrid. Eastern/Merriam's hybrids look remarkably like Rios.
FYI, a friend from PA got a public land slam last spring by hunting Osceolas on public areas in central Florida, a Rio in SW Nebraska, a Merriam's in the Black Hills of South Dakota, and Easterns in Pennsylvania and New York. No outfitters involved at all.

 

[DrH]

FYI, a friend from PA got a public land slam last spring. He killed an Osceola on a public area in central Florida, a Rio on a state management area in SW Nebraska, a Merriam's in the Black Hills of South Dakota, and Easterns in Pennsylvania and New York on state and National forests. No outfitters were involved.
Make certain you really get a Merriam's turkey. I have lost count of the grand slams I have seen mounted at banquets and the NWTF convention that do not contain a real Merriam's gobbler. If the gobbler has tan rather than white tail tips and tan rather than white tail coverts, it is a hybrid between a Merriam's and an Eastern turkey. A friend and I killed two Merriam's gobblers, an Eastern gobbler, and a hybrid in one day in NW Nebraska, so the hybridization is widespread.
Can't find a damned delete button, so you get this one twice!

 

[Mudranger1]

anyone that says you need an outfitter to hunt the Osceola has never hunted Florida public land. Now would it be easier..probably