A slam is considered one of the biggest feats in turkey hunting and will test your hunting skills and abilities to the max.

The term “Grand Slam” has a myriad of definitions, evoking claims to accomplishment in the sports of baseball, thoroughbred horse racing, golf, tennis, basketball, Formula One and NASCAR racing, rugby, professional wrestling, ski jumping, judo, roller derby, Ultrarunning, and even something called shinty.

But of course, the only Grand Slam most outdoorsmen and women care about this month is the Grand Slam you can earn while hunting the elusive thunder chicken – the wild turkey!

To claim a Grand Slam in turkey hunting, one hunter must harvest all four United States Subspecies, the Eastern, Osceola or Florida, Rio Grande and Meriam’s. According to the National Wild Turkey Federation, a slam is considered one of the biggest feats in turkey hunting and will test your hunting skills and abilities to the max.

There are few thrills in the outdoors like completing a slam, unless it is watching your son or daughter earn one. Michael Greene has one Grand Slam under his belt, and his son, Wyatt, has completed two.

“I love turkey hunting because of the experience I get every time I go,” says Wyatt, who was a 13-year-old middle school student at the time. “And what I love most about it is the adrenaline rush I get when a gobbler comes in full strut.”

“When I shot my first turkey, I realized how much fun it was to hunt them, and then after a few more Easterns and a few more years of learning, I decided I wanted to go out and try to hunt all the other species,” Wyatt added.

“This is really an accomplishment and I am very proud of him,” said his father, a South Carolina forestry and hunting lease consultant and former turkey hunting guide.

“He is one determined kid when he puts his mind to something.  To accomplish this at such a young age is pretty impressive. Getting up at 4 a.m. several mornings in a row is not on most kid’s agenda!  I am blessed to have been with him for each and every bird.”

If a hunter wishes to register his slam with the National Wild Turkey Federation, he or she would receive from the NWTF a Grand Slam certificate for each slam, a distinctive wild turkey record slam pin for each slam, and his or her name and accomplishment will be published on the NWTF Web site. The NWTF’s wild turkey records database contains lists of every hunter who has officially completed any slam and registered it, and this list is updated monthly.

But as the TV commercial says, “Wait, there’s more!” The Grand Slam is just one of several slams a turkey hunter can aspire to achieve in his or her lifetime.

To claim a Royal Slam, a hunter must complete a Grand Slam plus kill the Gould’s turkey found in Mexico and limited areas of the Southwest. After that, there are four more slams one could seek:

The World Slam – The Royal Slam plus the Ocellated wild turkey found in Mexico and Central America;

Canadian Slam – Harvesting the Eastern and Merriam’s in any Canadian province (Ontario, Quebec, Manitoba, Alberta or British Columbia);

Mexican Slam – Rio Grande, Gould’s and Ocellated harvested in Mexico only;

The U.S. Super Slam – Harvest one wild turkey subspecies in every state except Alaska.

Did you know?

There are two other notable Grand Slams in the outdoors:

• The Explorers Grand Slam, also known as the Adventurers Grand Slam, is when one person reaches the North Pole, the South Pole, and all Seven Summits during a climbing career;
• In Caribbean Fly-fishing, a Grand Slam is when one angler catches a bonefish, a tarpon and a permit during one day of Caribbean fly-fishing.