As a turkey hunter I have dreamed about being able to hunt for a Turkey Grand Slam.  A Wild Turkey Grand Slam is a reward for any turkey hunter who kills a set number of turkeys.  The turkeys killed must be representing trophy members of different turkey species.  The National Wild Turkey Federation is the organization is that oversees and issues pins for each of the Wild Turkey Grand Slam.  While surfing the net I was surprised to find out that there were 5 different Grand Slam pin that you can receive.

The five slams are, The Grand Slam, the Royal Slam, The World Slam, the Mexican Slam, and the Canadian Slam. Each Slam has their own set of requirements.  The turkeys should be mature, long-bearded toms that are killed with a bow or shot gun. Many hunters think that all of the birds have to be killed in one year.  This is not true you have a life time to get your birds.

The first and most sought out pin is the Grand Slam. You will have to kill four turkeys. They are the Eastern turkey, Rio Grande turkey, Merriam turkey, and the Osceola (Florida) turkey. All these birds can be killed in different parts of the USA, Mexico, or Canada.

The second pin is the Royal Slam.  You have to kill the four birds needed for the Grand Slam and the Gould Turkey.  The Gould is found in Arizona and New Mexico, as well as Northern Mexico. This is the hardest of all the turkeys to kill.  The opportunity to hunt the Gould turkey is limited.  A hunt in Mexico for a Gould turkey can cost as much as 2,000 USA dollars.

The World Slam pin includes the five turkeys in the Royal Slam, as well as the Ocellated wild turkey.  They live in the Yucatan Peninsula, limited areas of the States of Tabasco, Chiapas, and the Central American countries of Belize and Guatemala. 

The last two pins are rewarded for killing turkeys in a particular country.  The first is the Mexican Slam pin which consists of the Rio Grande, Gould, and Ocellated turkeys harvested in Mexico only. Almost all of the hunting for non-Mexicans is only on private land and can be very expensive.

The final pin is the Canadian Slam. You will have to kill an Eastern and Merriam turkey in Canada.  Unlike Mexico, there is a lot of public land to hunt in Canada.   Canada has must stronger gun laws than the USA. You can not use semiautomatic guns and if you have been convicted of DWI you cannot bring a gun into Canada.

If you are going to go for any of the Slam pins you will have to report each kill to the NWTF. The form can be downloaded by clicking here.  It costs $10.00 to submit the form and you will have to send photos that show the turkey and its measurements.  Once you have completed the Slam, the NWTF will send you a certificate(s) and pin for each completed Slam. I will be submitting my turkey that I kill this year.  I may never be able to go for the other turkeys but it will not stop me from living the hunt.

Good luck,

Sean

www.bowarrowhunting.com