Florida, to try to harvest my first of the six turkeys (the Osceola). On March 20, I set out to find and bag this Florida bird. At 7:00 a.m. that same morning, I had successfully completed my first hunt. I was off to a good start. I had a great guide and a great caller to thank. Brandon from Full Strut Osceolas and Bill Zearing, the owner of Cody calls. Oh, and I cannot forget my cameraman Doug Douget, he got every last memory on film. Thanks guys!

OSCEOLA STATS:

Weight- 21 lbs. 9 oz. Spurs- 1 ¼ inches Beard- 9 inches
From there, I headed for Ponotoc Mississippi. That’s right, there is such a place. This time I was after the Eastern turkey. I was in good hands, since I was guided and filmed by my good friend Richard (Mississippi) Stafford. I had only to get the bird within 20 to 30 yards and the number two bird was mine. Well, easier said than done. I traveled back and forth between Alabama and Mississippi in search of my Eastern; I even had to battle a Cottonmouth snake that thought it could pick on this poor unsuspecting Yankee girl. The weather changed which slowed everything down. The birds were about two weeks behind. Needless to say, after seven days I headed for Texas without my Eastern under my belt.

EASTERN STATS:

Weight- 19lbs. Spurs- 1 inch Beard- 9 ½ inches
March 29 and there I was in South Texas with some dear friends of mine that had taken me under their wing. I had to fight flooding, scorpions, snakes, and mosquitoes. I had to travel to a few different locations and finally, on the ninth day, I had my Rio turkey. This one I made hard on myself. It could have gone much easier if I was shooting straighter! All in all though, I got the job done. Special thanks must go out to the following. Wild side ranch and the boys, and my Texas family, thanks for putting up with me! My thanks to Rueben and Jimmy for the filming. By the way, when you are in snake country, make sure your wearing your Rocky snake boots; I killed two rattlesnakes in Texas. Both were over five feet long.

RIO STATS:

Weight-20 lbs. Spurs- 1 1/8 inches Beard- 9 inches
After finishing the Rio hunt, I was off to the Jungle to hunt the beautiful and unique Ocellated turkey. It was April 10 and I was to begin my hunt on the eleventh. Again, Doug Douget was behind the camera and enduring the hardships of jungle life with me (thanks Doug). I have to admit, I don’t like the taste of monkey meat. Our cook was fabulous, but monkey meat can only be doctored so much. On day three of our hunt, I harvested a twelve-pound Ocellated turkey. I need to thank the guys that were in camp, hunting with me that week. They took extra good care of me. It was like having five dads, with me. Jan, Jim, Johnny, Richard and Steve, let’s do it again guys!

OCELLATED STATS:

Weight- 11lbs. 13 oz. Spurs- 1 3/4 inches. NO beard on this species.
From the Jungle, I traveled back north to Chihuahua, Mexico. I was now half way to a World slam and looking for my Goulds turkey. The man that I teamed up with on this one was Manuel Enriquez, owner and operator of El Halcon outfitters. Manuel had set up my hunt in the jungle and was now guiding and filming me on my Goulds hunt. I hunted hard for three days and finally, bagged a respectable Goulds. If you want the best, go with Manuel. The mountains, I cannot describe their beauty. I will definitely be going back. My thanks go out to Manuel and his staff for making my stay so nice and his son Carlos for all his help guiding me.

GOULDS STATS:

Weight- 17 lbs. Spurs- rubbed off Beard- 8 inches
Back to Texas, it was for me. I was just praying that I had not overstayed my welcome. Southern hospitality can go only so far, you know. In true Texas style they welcomed me back with open arms and let me regroup for a couple of days, before I headed back to my home state to get the bird that had given me the slip a few weeks earlier.

I had a couple of days to try to get the pesky Eastern, before I was to travel to New Mexico to hunt the Merriam turkey. Well, for some reason my home state bird would not cooperate with me. I headed to New Mexico, Easternless.

I arrived in New Mexico, on May 6 and had until May 10 to complete this one. I was not too worried; I had paired up with Bridger Petrini of TriState Outfitters. This country was like his back yard and he knew it well. I started getting nervous on the ninth. One day left and no bird. We had a few good opportunities, but it just wouldn’t come together. On May 10, at 1:00 p.m. in the afternoon, I harvested my Merriam. Talk about cutting it close. Thanks Bridger. You and me again next year, this time, with a shotgun.

MERRIAM STATS:

Weight- 19 lbs. Spurs- 1/2 inch Beard- 7 ¾ inches
Home again, Michigan one more time. My family had been scouting for me for two months; I knew if I could just get a little good luck, I could do this. On May 15, 2004 at 8:10 am, I arrowed my last bird (the Eastern). When that arrow connected, I became the first woman to complete a World Slam on Turkeys with a bow! I didn’t just pick up my bow one day and go kill six turkeys. Many, many people are behind this. To all those friends, family, and business associates, I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart. I met many great people along the way and I also want to thank them for keeping it fun.