A Royal Slam of turkeys

The spring turkey season has just ended and this exceptional story is well worth telling.

My good friends Larry and Debra Strickland just returned from Mexico on an adventure to increase Larry’s “Grand Slam” of wild turkeys to a “Royal Slam” with the addition of a Gould’s turkey.

This all started at the Safari Club International (SCI) convention, where they purchased a turkey hunt in Mexico with Bobby Boido’s Coues Outfitters. Bobby also happens to be on the board of SCI and the Wild Turkey Foundation.

For this hunt they met Bobby in Tucson, Arizona and drove south to Mexico, where they picked up one of their guides, Carlos, a former minor league baseball pitcher, also from Tucson, and headed for their first overnight at a luxury hotel in Hermosillo, Mexico.

The next morning they continued south for another six hours over often rough terrain to an old land grant ranch on a historic Mexican trail. The campfire hunting camp was basic, but comfortable.

On the first morning of the hunt, Debra, in her pink camo, and their guide called in a group of Gould turkeys with their box call and one quick, direct hit from the “National Cowboy Action Shooter” champ ended her hunt. It was followed by an exceptional campfire meal of the day’s catch.

On the second day it was Larry’s turn and proved to be a bit more challenging for this “World Champion Cowboy Action Shooter.” Disturbed by cattle and a curious and aggressive bull messing with their blind, he shot low and the bird was able to “wing walk” down a nearby ravine. Larry followed, sliding down the hill in pursuit. He finished it off at distance in a complete burst of feathers.

On his return he remarked to Debra, “Guess I need another bird.” It’s hard to mount a pile of burger and feathers.

On the third morning the bull was still there, but Larry was able to call in a huge Gould’s gobbler. His skill and training paid off with a clean shot and his Royal Slam of wild turkeys.

Following the hunt it was a second comfortable night in Hermosillo and a 17-hour trip through customs and home. Following this adventure they both agreed, “We’re going back,” and booked a Coues deer hunt for next year.

And then there are first turkey hunt stories. I attended a class given by Fish and Wildlife and was encouraged enough to buy a full camo outfit, with mask, which made me look the way I thought I should. Then I listened to hours of instructional tapes and practiced, which gave me confidence and with a new shotgun, I was ready.

I’m not sure what happened; there were turkeys in the area, but my practiced hen calls must have been saying, “go away,” or worse. I never saw a turkey. Perhaps next year.

My friend Ben Arata recently returned from his first turkey hunt in Arizona and found it more successful. He had his gear properly stowed in his new Tenzing pack with its expandable main pocket, large enough to hold his decoy and an assortment of well-placed pouches, which made it easy to store several necessary calls, special turkey shot shells, the many “essential” items every hunter needs and lots of water, everything he would need for a multi-day hunt. My point here is, as with optics, get the best pack you can afford. Your back and shoulders will thank you. Keep it organized and it will last a lifetime.

He found an appropriate-looking tree, put his back to it and started calling. He received immediate responses from a distance but couldn’t get them to come to his decoy in the western terrain.

Being the experienced bow hunter that he is and in full camo, he stalked forward and began calling again with greater success. One shot and the hunt was over, but Ben had caught Turkey Fever. It won’t be his last hunt. I had imagined my hunt would go like that; I guess I caught Turkey Fever second-hand. Yep, I’ve caught the bug too.

If you have an adventure, a story or a comment send it to dansimmons@usa.net