My Slam Experience
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NWTF member Chris Simon is a 57-year-old resort owner in northern Wisconsin, mother of two boys, triathlete and avid turkey hunter. |
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Chris toured Mayan ruins after she bagged an ocellated turkey in Mexico. |
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Chris poses with her curassow. |
By Chris Simon, Park Falls, Wis.
In 2007, I decided to try for a Grand Slam in one year. I bagged an Osceola in Florida in March, a Merriam's in South Dakota, and an Eastern back home in Wisconsin in October. I still needed a Rio Grande to make my goal.
Then I read about the Mexican Slam and thought, If I accomplished that, I could try for all the slams — Grand, Royal, World and Mexican. So I called Scott Vance, the NWTF's assistant vice president of conservation programs administration, to ask about outfitters south of the border.
My significant other, Leon Duffrrin, and I headed to Mexico on April 1, 2008. We started hunting as soon as we reached LaMontana Ranch near Campeche City. I took a female curassow the first day. I hadn't planned on hunting curassow during my trip, but the season was open, and I wasn't sure when I'd have a chance to return to Mexico. I wanted to seize the hunt.
The next day, we road ATVs into the jungle to hunt ocellated turkeys, and that evening, I bagged an 11-pounder with 1¾-inch spurs. Leon took his the following day.
We still had a few days left for our stay at LaMontana, so I kept hunting and harvested a male curassow. Then we toured Mayan ruins and a preserve covered with ocellated turkeys that were practically tame.
Durango was the next stop on our Mexico journey, where we tried for a Gould's turkey. It proved to be our most challenging hunt. There were no guides, just Leon and me.
The birds didn't respond to calls. But I diligently sat in a blind, dressed in full camo, with temperatures in the high 90s.
After six hours of sweating, a tom quietly walked by, and I took him when he finally stepped into range. He weighed 22 pounds, had a 10½-inch beard and no spurs.
We headed toward the Texas border, near Monterrey, Mexico, to hunt Rio Grande turkeys. Without a Rio, I wouldn't have any of the slams I'd set out to get. I was more nervous about this turkey than any of the others I hunted in the last 15 or so years.
After waiting for nearly two hours, a few hens walked by. Then, about a half-hour later, a flock of hens, jakes and toms ran by our setup. My entire body froze, except for my heart, which was beating out of control.
I singled out a tom and waited for him to come within range.
I shot. I did it.
It may have taken me 13 months to complete my slams, but each hunt was an important part of the experience.
What's in a slam?
One of the biggest feats in turkey hunting is completing a slam. There are three slams — Grand, Royal and World — that are recognized in turkey hunting. The completion of a slam does not require the kills to take place in a single calendar year.
- A Grand Slam consists of a hunter taking an Eastern, Rio Grande, Merriam's and Osceola (Florida) wild turkey.
- A Royal Slam is the four subspecies that make up a Grand Slam, plus the Gould's turkey.
- A World Slam is the ocellated wild turkey in addition to the Royal Slam.
- A Mexican Slam consists of taking a Rio Grande, Gould's and ocellated in Mexico only.
FYI > A curassow is a large jungle bird found in Mexico, but it is not a turkey. According to Scott Vance, the NWTF's assistant vice president of conservation programs administration, a curassow is similar to a wild turkey in size and that is primarily feeds on the ground and roosts in trees. Vance says Mayans have hunted curassows for food for centuries.