Motivation Drives Action – US Slams: the good, the bad, and the ugly?

[donjuan]

I once had a goal to try for a slam.
I talked to a guide on the phone down in Florida and in discussing tactics, he said Osceolas, at the end of the day are turkeys.
It dawned on me....why spend the $ to go there when I have turkeys 200 yards from the house. I still love turkey hunting but 4 different colored fans on the wall don't mean much to me.
My 2 cents

[Happy]

Liked your post deerhunt88. I personally have never had a desire for a slam. Doubt I will ever try it. I have always enjoyed hunting Appalachian Mt turkeys and always will. It just didn't seem that there was a huge boom in turkey hunting until social media and notoriety became involved. That makes me question the motives of most of the "new hunters".

Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk

[ddturkeyhunter]

I knew this subject would generate a lot of responses, and they are good ones. I my self would have loved to have tryed to accomplished the US slam, if I would have known about it years ago. I do have a number of Grand Slams, and single year Public Grand slams. But for the one Slam I ended driveing eight hours one way four different time that spring to complete. I enjoyed myself when hunting but a lot of rushing and chaseing just to say I did it. In 2009 I shipped a tent down to florida to a UPS store for instore pickup, I got onto a plane and flew down there. I rentrd a car went to a Wildlife area threw the tent on the ground and started to hunt. Ended up going back the next year to get my first osceola, but the friends I made are for a life time. Been going back every two year because of them new friend ships I made. I always did feel bad for the locals in florida that had to put up with all the new (Yankees, me) coming down there. And now public land in every state is becoming like florida.
So the botton line is Turkey hunting has changed forever and will not go back, so cherish them hunts you had and try and make some good new ones. Because for my self I will be going to some more new states to try and hunt. I will be adding to the crowding that is maybe already happening in that area. Will feel sorry for the locals but to me it will all be part of hunting, because at my age I do not have to make a kill to enjoy my hunt.

[turkeyfool]

I would say that every state becoming Florida is a big exaggeration to be honest. I do know and have seen that southern states have taken a beating from everything we've been talking about in this thread. There's a particular state in the north that does not have a rich turkey tradition and I've never really run into any turkey hunters up there. I've heard like 5 different YouTubers mention that they were ending the season there, so I really hope it doesn't start to turn into a zoo in 2022. The fad will die out within 5 years is my guess. It'll be on to the next thing

[derek]

First and foremost - This is a great post with some very good and well thought out replies. 

My first out of state hunt occurred in 2008 my senior year in college and was to the mountains of East Tennessee with my best friend in college going to the first place we could get to that had an open season during our spring break.  From that point on - I chased season dates as to extend my turkey season as much as possible.  I hunted many states along the east coast and close to my own state just to make sure I could hunt as many days as possible.  I learned of Doc Weddle and his pursuits of the slam and thoroughly enjoyed the imagery he portrayed in his books, I followed along via social media watching the completion of a US Slam and was following a couple others also in pursuit at the more beginning stages.. I loved the idea of it, but it seemed so out of reach.   2018 I found my way to Florida. I was in love, with the environment that was so different than anything I had seen before yet there were still turkeys to be found, with the fact I was not having an easy time of it, with the idea that there were a bunch more places, so completely foreign to myself that also had gobbling turkeys to be found there.  It was after that season after a couple long conversations with my same best friend from that first trip, that we would officially wave the magical wand and dub ourselves "in pursuit of the US Slam".  To me that was a huge step, just to go from "one of these days" to actually putting it into action.

To me, this forum and a handful of others I still enjoy posting on today were my first forms of social media that I participated in.  At one point I was proud to share my turkeys on these boards, I went into great detail writing up stories from each bird.. was I doing it to brag?  Not even remotely.. there were plenty of people killing turkeys, mine weren't any more special.  I simply wanted to share the stories, with like minded people that would appreciate them.  When Bonce and I made the decision to pursue the slam, we also made the decision to film and put that footage on youtube as well as participate on FB and IG.   Was it to brag?  again, no.  We were about to embark on a journey through fresh eyes and wanted to document it.  Traveling across the country to unique places is an incredible experience, and we all take different things away from it.. there is beauty in so much out there and sometimes when I'm standing on the edge of a canyon, eye to eye with a moose or down face level trying to capture the perfect picture of a simple little flower, these are the things that stand out and make me appreciate every aspect that led to me beginning this journey.. these are the things that we wanted to portray.. the journey, not just the kill.  For those that have watched our videos, you know the camera is not our priority in the heat of things, but there is still a lot to see if you're interested in more than just a killshot. 

We have been guilty of hashtagging our way along, posting our states and state #s.. I personally really enjoy following the journey of others if they are willing to share, and I know some enjoy following along with ours.  It isn't to brag, show how fast we go through it and gain that social media glory everyone claims is the only reason people are killing turkeys anymore.. it's because we find it very interesting ourselves and are simply sharing.  It is not a necessary part of this in the least.. as Kyle said, if Social media disappeared.. I can say with confidence it would not change my ambitions and goals in relation to the slam and what happens after the slam.  Because I know I will continue traveling to new places chasing gobbling turkeys long after the 49th state is "checked". 

The slam is a very personal endeavor and one you must tackle individually.  Everyone has a different home life and work/vacation scenario, some will challenge their pace and go state to state as fast as they can, some will spend several days in that state taking in the sights after they kill, some have no problem paying outfitters and networking their way through the handouts where others rely on map scouting public land and door knocks.  Some will reap and fan their way through it all, use decoys, TSS and some will tackle it with a bow.  Some count fall hens, bearded hens in the spring, jakes or maybe longbeards only.  Is there a right or wrong with it?  It's all up to the individuals journey and what that journey means to them. 

I don't see how anyone that's "deep" into the pursuit of this slam can not recognize there's a whole lot more to it than just checking off states.. the slam is merely a catalyst to open your mind up enough to see it. 

I too cringe at the fad aspect of it.. sorta takes away from it some.  But I can't fault anyone for wanting to taste it and begin writing their own story.

[Fdept56]

Derek, I wholeheartedly agree with everything you said and genuinely think you mean it, but couldn't you do the same thing without trying to gain monetarily from it?

[Crghss]

The Slam, US slam, Grand slam, US grand slam, prairie grad slam, public slam, public grad slam? When did this all come about? Don't even know what we're talking about anymore.

Think I'll pass on all of it. Hopefully it'll be like craft beer. They'll be some diehards but it fades away.

[ChesterCopperpot]

Some folks got wanderlust and some folks got taproots. I seem to be the taprooted kind. I'll be just fine hunting right where I am for the rest of my life. I really enjoy coming to know and understand a single place with that kind of intimacy.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[TurkeyReaper69]

I'd like to give my backstory before posting my opinion. I am a 21 year old with 19 states successfully "checked off" under my belt I have hunted a few others without success. I am originally from Florida growing up hunting pressured public land gobblers and occasionally getting the opportunity to kill on private. I then moved to Mississippi, the state my dads family is from to go to school... well I tried that but now I'm mainly just working but I'd like to finish off school at some point. I hunt heavily pressured MS birds and have a knack for traveling to far away places.  After reading Doc Weddle's book I was gifted for Christmas at the age of 15 I knew that I had to do a US Slam, it just sounded so incredible, I couldn't imagine hunting in places such as Hawaii or Arizona! Unfortunately at 15 that goal would have to wait a few years as I couldn't afford to do that, my parents would have no such interest in paying their teenage sons way to travel the country. Also I didn't even have a drivers license at this point! Coming from a family of traveling hunters, dad and grandpa love to travel for deer and elk but don't have as much interest in turkey. I was introduced to the bird by a family friend who took me out for a youth season hunt about 10 years ago. From that moment on I was hooked, I was addicted and obsessed with the King of Spring. After that I started tugging my dad (years before I got a drivers license)to south Florida applying for quota hunts to start off my spring early. Sometimes we were met with success, sometimes not. Didn't matter to me, a day turkey hunting was always better than a day at school or doing other things. My first out of state trip was to Virginia in 2014 we traveled their for a traveling baseball tournament of mine and stayed a few days to hunt, we didn't come within a country mile of killing a bird but I left with my chin raised high and a new found passion for seeing the country. 7 years later I've seemed to gotten the hang of it and I'll dive into my opinions on the subjects posted by OP.

I'll start with social media and the new fad of turkey hunting: When I was growing up  in school I was made a mockery of for being a "turkey hunter", none of the other kids cared about turkey they were all about deer or duck and thought I was a fool for being such a turkey nut. I didn't really mind it one bit, I just had a love for the wild turkey like no other. Fast forward to now and those same kids are now interested in turkey and are messaging me about their plans to travel to XYZ state .. wait a minute? This guy didn't care about turkeys until 2 years ago and has 1 local bird under his belt and is now packing up to head out to Nebraska? . But now that turkey hunting is all the rage I guess I'm just ahead of the game for my age group.. hell i don't know. Also, the social media attention focused on the Super Slam has dampened my passion for the slam as it is now the cool thing to do.  When I first learned about it it was virtually unknown to 99% in the turkey community. Now, it's the thing to do. With accounts like Chasing 49 having thousands of followers and hundreds of much smaller accounts with lesser followings it seems almost everyone is just trying to make a name for themself or promote a brand or product. Something that saddens me, the greatest game bird reduced to just a social media picture with a "link in description". Most hunters are more concerned about the kill and instant gratification of likes and follows soon to follow rather than the experience of the hunt. Heck some guys have a picture on Instagram before the bird quits following.
A quote I stole from a movie "A camera is far more dangerous than a gun"


Easier than ever to kill a turkey? I'd say so. With the amount of resources available at your finger tips it's easier than ever to find turkey and places to hunt. I am guilty of it, but the satellite mapping apps such as OnX are a huge tool that are responsible for putting a lot more hunters in the woods. I still love to break out grandpas old USGS Topo maps and do things the old school way but, with the technology that is there today it's hard to go back to pen and paper. Also forums such as this one hold a wealth of information on them, folks who posted years ago about a general area they hunt have no idea a decade later some kid is lurking on them looking for crumbs.

Not staying put for long? This year I spent a week in one state leaving with no gobbler and my morale tattered, then had a few states in which I arrived close to nightfall and was already departing a few hours after sunrise the next morning with a gobbler in tow. I'll take the first day gobblers when I can get em, although some states I leave asking myself "why did you not stick around and see that national park or use the other tag in your pocket?"  I am typically a one and done hunter in each state and continue moving on, funds are always low in my bank account and days to travel are limited. I feel as if I am not doing a 1/4th the amount of damage as a guy who hits multiple states as the guy who camps out in Wisconsin killing 10 birds in an area and posts to YouTube or the group of 4 Arkies who travel out to Nebraska and camp out on a WMA for a week killing 12 birds in early season. As Deerhunter88 mentioned with federal funding matching my license purchase 3:1 as well as the money I spend in local diners, and family owned gas stations I believe I give more than I take. Although the resource may not benefit from the fruits of my money spent I sure would like to think it does.

With the soaring popularity of the sport the quality of public land hunting will suffer, I'm confident in the ability of the bird to survive as it has faced so many perils in its history from market hunting, habitat loss, poor hatches, and so many other tribulations it has bared witness.

In all, I blame social media as the root cause of many of the sufferings of the turkey. The desperation for some to kill is higher than ever. I killed several birds on public in obscure locations and low pressure states with crawls full of corn this year. I bumped into a fellow hunter who had a speaker mimicking turkey sounds  and decoys in hand. Behaviors which all shallow the experience of the hunt but still meet their end goal of a social media picture with a witty caption. Strutter helmets, fanning, reaping, and so many other effective but not ethical strategies to kill a turkey have now become mainstream on one end of the spectrum, on the other hand you have masses of self proclaimed "old school turkey hunting purists" who were inspired by their favorite YouTube to travel to far reaches through out the country to travel and kill birds on foreign dirt. I often wonder what would Gabe and Gene think of all this nonsense? I couldn't have predicted some of the things I saw this season 5 years ago... couldn't imagine what they'd think of it all.

It's indisputable their are some tough decisions that will have to be made in the future regarding non residents and public lands, I'm just trying to soak it all in while I can.

I have enjoyed the friendships I have made along the way in this quest with several of the other commenters on this thread, local ranchers and fellow turkey hunters.. The slam to me is much more than just about killing turkeys or accomplishing such a prestigious feat. It is a passion of mine to travel the country and see the world, I've visited many places I never would've dreamed of going if it wasn't for the wild turkey. What other reason would a Florida boy have that would land him on a volcanic rock in the middle of the pacific or a red rock ridge in Utah... oh the  sights I've been able to see and the memories I've made I will cherish forever.

Pursuing a DIY public land / door knocking slam is something I prep for year round the countless hours of research, phone calls to biologists/forestry  service employees , hours staring at maps, and so many other tasks at hand to prepare for the upcoming spring are all worth it to me. As mentioned by the OP many are attempting it, but I promise few will succeed. It is not for the faint of heart.
The folks in it for the wrong reasons (social media, monetary gain, gratification) will give up, the ones with the passion and fire will continue on.

To those not interested in the slam, thank you. And to the rest out there pursuing it: Good luck.

[SD_smith]

If you want to achieve the slam, but only do 1 or 2 states a year then that's their choice. Sounds like you're knocking people for doing what they want.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[yelpaholic]

Agree with you deerhunt on your post..Used to enjoy reading your post on bullnettle.. I actually always wanted to kil one of each sub species and i was successful in that goal this year single season grand slam..Having done that im satisfied with slams.  I do enjoy hunting different places and states especially the mountains out west but if the turkeys wont gobble and act right its not much fun for me...

[Mountainburd]

I'd like to give my backstory before posting my opinion. I am a 21 year old with 19 states successfully "checked off" under my belt I have hunted a few others without success. I am originally from Florida growing up hunting pressured public land gobblers and occasionally getting the opportunity to kill on private. I then moved to Mississippi, the state my dads family is from to go to school... well I tried that but now I'm mainly just working but I'd like to finish off school at some point. I hunt heavily pressured MS birds and have a knack for traveling to far away places.  After reading Doc Weddle's book I was gifted for Christmas at the age of 15 I knew that I had to do a US Slam, it just sounded so incredible, I couldn't imagine hunting in places such as Hawaii or Arizona! Unfortunately at 15 that goal would have to wait a few years as I couldn't afford to do that, my parents would have no such interest in paying their teenage sons way to travel the country. Also I didn't even have a drivers license at this point! Coming from a family of traveling hunters, dad and grandpa love to travel for deer and elk but don't have as much interest in turkey. I was introduced to the bird by a family friend who took me out for a youth season hunt about 10 years ago. From that moment on I was hooked, I was addicted and obsessed with the King of Spring. After that I started tugging my dad (years before I got a drivers license)to south Florida applying for quota hunts to start off my spring early. Sometimes we were met with success, sometimes not. Didn't matter to me, a day turkey hunting was always better than a day at school or doing other things. My first out of state trip was to Virginia in 2014 we traveled their for a traveling baseball tournament of mine and stayed a few days to hunt, we didn't come within a country mile of killing a bird but I left with my chin raised high and a new found passion for seeing the country. 7 years later I've seemed to gotten the hang of it and I'll dive into my opinions on the subjects posted by OP.

I'll start with social media and the new fad of turkey hunting: When I was growing up  in school I was made a mockery of for being a "turkey hunter", none of the other kids cared about turkey they were all about deer or duck and thought I was a fool for being such a turkey nut. I didn't really mind it one bit, I just had a love for the wild turkey like no other. Fast forward to now and those same kids are now interested in turkey and are messaging me about their plans to travel to XYZ state .. wait a minute? This guy didn't care about turkeys until 2 years ago and has 1 local bird under his belt and is now packing up to head out to Nebraska? . But now that turkey hunting is all the rage I guess I'm just ahead of the game for my age group.. hell i don't know. Also, the social media attention focused on the Super Slam has dampened my passion for the slam as it is now the cool thing to do.  When I first learned about it it was virtually unknown to 99% in the turkey community. Now, it's the thing to do. With accounts like Chasing 49 having thousands of followers and hundreds of much smaller accounts with lesser followings it seems almost everyone is just trying to make a name for themself or promote a brand or product. Something that saddens me, the greatest game bird reduced to just a social media picture with a "link in description". Most hunters are more concerned about the kill and instant gratification of likes and follows soon to follow rather than the experience of the hunt. Heck some guys have a picture on Instagram before the bird quits following.
A quote I stole from a movie "A camera is far more dangerous than a gun"


Easier than ever to kill a turkey? I'd say so. With the amount of resources available at your finger tips it's easier than ever to find turkey and places to hunt. I am guilty of it, but the satellite mapping apps such as OnX are a huge tool that are responsible for putting a lot more hunters in the woods. I still love to break out grandpas old USGS Topo maps and do things the old school way but, with the technology that is there today it's hard to go back to pen and paper. Also forums such as this one hold a wealth of information on them, folks who posted years ago about a general area they hunt have no idea a decade later some kid is lurking on them looking for crumbs.

Not staying put for long? This year I spent a week in one state leaving with no gobbler and my morale tattered, then had a few states in which I arrived close to nightfall and was already departing a few hours after sunrise the next morning with a gobbler in tow. I'll take the first day gobblers when I can get em, although some states I leave asking myself "why did you not stick around and see that national park or use the other tag in your pocket?"  I am typically a one and done hunter in each state and continue moving on, funds are always low in my bank account and days to travel are limited. I feel as if I am not doing a 1/4th the amount of damage as a guy who hits multiple states as the guy who camps out in Wisconsin killing 10 birds in an area and posts to YouTube or the group of 4 Arkies who travel out to Nebraska and camp out on a WMA for a week killing 12 birds in early season. As Deerhunter88 mentioned with federal funding matching my license purchase 3:1 as well as the money I spend in local diners, and family owned gas stations I believe I give more than I take. Although the resource may not benefit from the fruits of my money spent I sure would like to think it does.

With the soaring popularity of the sport the quality of public land hunting will suffer, I'm confident in the ability of the bird to survive as it has faced so many perils in its history from market hunting, habitat loss, poor hatches, and so many other tribulations it has bared witness.

In all, I blame social media as the root cause of many of the sufferings of the turkey. The desperation for some to kill is higher than ever. I killed several birds on public in obscure locations and low pressure states with crawls full of corn this year. I bumped into a fellow hunter who had a speaker mimicking turkey sounds  and decoys in hand. Behaviors which all shallow the experience of the hunt but still meet their end goal of a social media picture with a witty caption. Strutter helmets, fanning, reaping, and so many other effective but not ethical strategies to kill a turkey have now become mainstream on one end of the spectrum, on the other hand you have masses of self proclaimed "old school turkey hunting purists" who were inspired by their favorite YouTube to travel to far reaches through out the country to travel and kill birds on foreign dirt. I often wonder what would Gabe and Gene think of all this nonsense? I couldn't have predicted some of the things I saw this season 5 years ago... couldn't imagine what they'd think of it all.

It's indisputable their are some tough decisions that will have to be made in the future regarding non residents and public lands, I'm just trying to soak it all in while I can.

I have enjoyed the friendships I have made along the way in this quest with several of the other commenters on this thread, local ranchers and fellow turkey hunters.. The slam to me is much more than just about killing turkeys or accomplishing such a prestigious feat. It is a passion of mine to travel the country and see the world, I've visited many places I never would've dreamed of going if it wasn't for the wild turkey. What other reason would a Florida boy have that would land him on a volcanic rock in the middle of the pacific or a red rock ridge in Utah... oh the  sights I've been able to see and the memories I've made I will cherish forever.

Pursuing a DIY public land / door knocking slam is something I prep for year round the countless hours of research, phone calls to biologists/forestry  service employees , hours staring at maps, and so many other tasks at hand to prepare for the upcoming spring are all worth it to me. As mentioned by the OP many are attempting it, but I promise few will succeed. It is not for the faint of heart.
The folks in it for the wrong reasons (social media, monetary gain, gratification) will give up, the ones with the passion and fire will continue on.

To those not interested in the slam, thank you. And to the rest out there pursuing it: Good luck.

Well articulated post for a young guy. Seems like you have a good head on your shoulders .

[Fdept56]

If you call yourself a "traveling turkey hunter" and don't know who Gene and Gabe are, I think you should hang your vest up for a few years.

[GobbleNut]

If you call yourself a "traveling turkey hunter" and don't know who Gene and Gabe are, I think you should hang your vest up for a few years.

I know Gene was the guy who made "Star Trek",...and I think Gabe played a horn,...or something like that.... 
Am I close?....   

[Fdept56]

If you call yourself a "traveling turkey hunter" and don't know who Gene and Gabe are, I think you should hang your vest up for a few years.

I know Gene was the guy who made "Star Trek",...and I think Gabe played a horn,...or something like that.... 
Am I close?....   

You got it