Australian Adventure

Hunter Blacks Secures His Grand slam

By OVO Staff

Osceola – Florida with Wayne Shelby at the Van Fleet Ranch March 17 2002

The weather was very hot…in the low 90’s.

The first morning saw heavy fog with biting mosquitoes, a squawking sand hill crane and gobbling Osceola turkeys. Hunter’s guide had him pass on a decent double bird, probably a 2-year-old bird. It would have been a perfect 15-yard shot & it was all on film. The guide had a nicer 3-year-old bird 11-1/2” Beard, 1-1/2” Spurs he had been seeing in that area & he wanted Hunter to take that one. It never showed its face.

During the afternoon the Florida sun had the turkeys seeking shelter elsewhere, but the evening brought the birds out early.

Hunter, along with his dad, Aaron, and his guide tried to sneak into an adjacent field to call the birds over. They crawled through fire ants to get into position and Hunter says they were crawling all over him. Hunter passed on several jakes.

The next morning (which was the last day of the hunt) the guide showed up bright and early saying that it looked like rain. It was decided that if there were any shot opportunities this morning, Hunter was taking one.

The sun began to rise & the turkeys began to gobble, two to the right and one out in front. Hunter was hunting a field edge, with little cover and a lot of mosquitoes. The turkeys to the right were coming in fast. The one out front was gobbling, but slower. As the turkeys got closer, they came into about 15yards. There were three Jakes and the longbeard was still out in front. Hunter and Aaron could not see the big one because a bush was in the way. Aaron decided to give Hunter the green light on one of the Jakes for fear they would spook and scare the longbeard off without any shots being taken. Hunter took aim with his Simmons Pro-Diamond scope and with one shot from his Mossberg 20 gauge the Federal turkey load put Hunter’s first bird of his Slam to the ground. Hunter jumped up with his arms stretched to the air yelling, “I Got My Osceola.”

Eastern - Arkansas with Bass Pro Shops Jerry Martin April 14 2002

The hunt for the eastern was a more relaxing hunt because technically Hunter already had 2 Easterns under his belt. But when Bass Pro Shop's "Outdoor World" television co-host, Jerry Martin invited Hunter to hunt with him & his cameraman on Johnny Morris’s property in Arkansas it was an opportunity that could not be passed up.

The birds were plentiful, but they were field birds and hard to hunt. Anyone who has hunted field turkeys knows how difficult they can be to hunt. The weather was moderate, with thunderstorms and rain passing through.

The birds were henned up in the mornings, which made late morning and early afternoon the prime time to hunt. Quite a few gobbling longbeards were worked on Friday and Saturday, but with no shot opportunities. On Sunday the family was to leave for the airport at about noon. The early morning brought no turkeys to Hunter’s gun. Then Jerry spotted a lone gobbler on the other hill. As the crew of 5 took to the woods to try to get position to begin calling, a hen showed up and began a calling competition with Jerry. After about an hour of trying to beat this hen, Jerry did it.

The gobbler decided Jerry sounded much more appealing. He came to Hunter’s right side and at about 20 yards and Aaron gave Hunter the green light.

There was a slight rise in the ground about 10 yards from Hunter and the ground sucked up most of Hunter’s shot. Only leaving Hunter with the realization that he had for the first time in his hunting career missed.

Missing a turkey is a common thing these days with the advent of the extremely tight choked shotguns, but it was a very hard pill for young Hunter to swallow. He was very depressed; everyone was trying to cheer him up. Even Jerry with his southern accent said “Hunter, if you miss every turkey you shoot at until you turn 10 years old, you still will not have missed as many as me”.

It was now about 11:00 am, almost time for Sheree, Aaron and Hunter to pack and leave for the airport. Just then four turkeys were spotted in another field. It was decided that the best way to try for these birds was to circle them in the woods and try to call them over.

As the crew got into position, Jerry starting sweet-talking these birds and they loved every minute of it. They came in gobbling and were big, mature gobblers.

Because of their size and the fact they were in the field, Aaron misjudged the distance and gave Hunter the green light early. After the shot we walked it off at about 52 yards. But, Hunter’s sharp aim with his Simmons scope, & great shooting Federal Premium Turkey shell along with his Hunters Specialties Undertaker choke tube & his Mossberg 500, again were a lethal combination. He put him down!

Hunters' Ozark gobbler was a giant 24 pound bird with an eleven inch beard and 1 1/2 inch spurs. An impressive trophy for a boy who turned 7 on April 10, or for any turkey hunter.

Rio Grande – Texas with Environmental Improvements April 19th 2002

The ever present South Texas wind brought dry, hot and humid Gulf air into South Texas. At the ranch in San Antonio everyone was excited because of the number of turkeys which were supposed to be there.

When the locals were asked about the roosting areas, the reply was "You mean turkeys roost?" And then Aaron was trying to locate a bird by yelping and one of the guys says "You mean a turkey will come to that call?" The hunting family knew they were in trouble. They were more than 1,500 miles from home on a short schedule and realized that they were on their own in unfamiliar terrain.

The first evening brought four Rio Grande jakes into gun range. Hunter passed on the Jakes hoping for a larger turkey. Hunter watched as the turkeys flew up on the roost while the jack rabbits and armadillos were moving about.

The next morning brought a big gobbler past just out of range of Hunter’s shotgun. The strutting gobbler had a hot yelping hen keeping his attention, Although Hunter’s calling brought in two other gobblers that came in silent, all the turkeys eventually flocked up and disappeared into the cactus and oak brush.

The turkeys were not gobbling well, and then the family was greeted with the news that the curator had to leave the ranch and no guests were allowed to remain on the premises without supervision. They would have to leave. The hunt was over. No! They had come too far, spent too much time and money to be derailed now. Jerry Martin was called. Within ten minutes Jerry had called back to discuss the situation. Between Jerry and Sherree both making numerous phone calls to the appropriate people, an outfitter was found that would take Hunter on this short notice. But at the same time, Larry Kelm was making phone calls also, and permission was given to stay where they were. The hunt was back on! Breathing a sigh of relief, the Black family hit the woods in search of a Rio Grande gobbler.

In short order, they made their way close to water as advised by Dave Freeman from Ohio Valley Outdoor Magazine. The area chosen showed signs of a good turkey population and before the day was over Aaron had called in a good Rio gobbler near a watering hole. Again, young Hunter's ability to know how and when to shoot paid off. The hefty Rio Grande gobbler was bird number 3. Only the Merriam's turkey remained in Hunters quest to complete the Grand Slam.

Merriam's – New Mexico with Kiowa Hunting Service April 24 2002

New Mexico presented a new set of hurdles to overcome. The weather was unseasonably cold, the turkeys were not gobbling and the wind was gusting to more than 60 miles an hour.

The first day showed no turkeys and no gobbling. However the guides of Kiowa Hunting were still very confident and kept the group's spirits high.

The guide took Hunter to a seep on the second morning and then left to glass a nearby field. While waiting, a red head was spotted coming from the direction of the seep. With the other 3 subspecies of turkeys a red head always indicates a gobbler. Not so with a Merriam's. Aaron and Sherree could not be sure that it was a gobbler and did not want to give Hunter the green light without being positive. The turkey disappeared into a field behind Aaron & Hunter.

A few minutes later another turkey came to the seep and it was a hen. Now they knew the one they let go was Hunter’s gobbler. The hen was calling and a gobbler answered in the direction that the other turkey had gone.

"I knew I had let Hunter's Grand Slam gobbler walk right out of his grasp," Sheree said. The turkey had been so close yet I let it walk away because I could not make a positive I.D. I was absolutely sick. I couldn't bear to look at my husband and son. I simply couldn't believe it." Then a flicker of movement.... a red head appeared. The gobbler was coming back! Hunter could see the bird but Aaron could not. Hunter was saying “give me the gun, give me the gun.” Hunter had been ready to shoot; waiting on a signal that it was okay.

At ten yards the Grand Slam gobbler went behind some foliage. Hunter had to twist around to get into position to shoot before the turkey emerged. With his heart pounding wildly in his chest and more emotion than can possibly be explained, Hunter found the will to control himself. The instant the gobbler stepped clear of the brush, Hunter squeezed the trigger on his shotgun and watched as the gobbler went down.

"I did it! I did it!" Hunter screamed as he raced to the fallen gobbler. "I got a Grand Slam!" And indeed he had! Not only a Grand Slam but a Single Season Grand Slam at that. The next Guinness Book of World Records will bear record that 7-year-old Hunter Black of Rochester, Pennsylvania is the youngest hunter ever to.... Get 'em all!

What’s next you may ask; well if you ask Hunter it is the World Slam. We are already making preparations for that next spring. We will be traveling to Mexico & Guatemala, Lord Willing.