---
title: "The Best of Grand Slam Turkey"
date: "2015-04-16"
modified: "2015-04-16"
authors:
  - name: "Outdoor Life Staff"
    link: "https://www.outdoorlife.com/authors/outdoor-life-staff/"
url: "https://www.outdoorlife.com/photos/gallery/2015/03/best-grand-slam-turkey/"
categories:
  - "Hunting"
  - "Turkey Hunting"
---

# The Best of Grand Slam Turkey

![](<https://www.outdoorlife.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/23/B3TPVBE74O5WNQM2KDNRRK3M74.jpg>)

![httpswww.outdoorlife.comsitesoutdoorlife.comfilesimport2015201504Turkey_01.jpg](<https://www.outdoorlife.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/23/AWTALK5VSCQVXFAWUNODOWALWU.jpg>)
*Welcome to Texas. The Grand Slam view at 85mph near Natchitoches, TX.*

![httpswww.outdoorlife.comsitesoutdoorlife.comfilesimport2015201504Turkey_02.jpg](<https://www.outdoorlife.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/23/HAF4HYLEDB2HBZITUEFMDXTSOA.jpg>)
*The vegetation at the Frasier Family Farm in Polk County, FL is dominated by palmettos and Spanish moss.*

![httpswww.outdoorlife.comsitesoutdoorlife.comfilesimport2015201504Turkey_03.jpg](<https://www.outdoorlife.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/23/FSIKITMIARCASFXJMBFQRJ5GPM.jpg>)
*OL’s Grand Slam Turkey winner Shawn White talks strategy for the Oklahoma Rio with host Newley Hutchinson from the Chain Ranch.*

![httpswww.outdoorlife.comsitesoutdoorlife.comfilesimport2015201504Turkey_04.jpg](<https://www.outdoorlife.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/23/CPDXFILDPQHRTQLMSGTTZWRQMI.jpg>)
*Merriam’s guide Steve Gray and Shawn White discuss how to approach a roost tree in the Cimarron River valley.*

![httpswww.outdoorlife.comsitesoutdoorlife.comfilesimport2015201504Turkey_05.jpg](<https://www.outdoorlife.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/23/Q4QIQAXSJV6PORZA5P7ZDIG2KQ.jpg>)
*Shawn's Grand Slam equipment - The Benelli Super Black Eagle in Realtree’s all-around APG pattern.*

![httpswww.outdoorlife.comsitesoutdoorlife.comfilesimport2015201504Turkey_06.jpg](<https://www.outdoorlife.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/23/A437EDT5LRRZLT3APUBIJIC53A.jpg>)
*First bird down: feather detail of Shawn's northern Florida Eastern gobbler.*

![httpswww.outdoorlife.comsitesoutdoorlife.comfilesimport2015201504Turkey_07.jpg](<https://www.outdoorlife.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/23/I3TOOR35TEAS5SNCO4V6JT4ILY.jpg>)
*Shawn shows off his trophy Merriam's. With a 12-inch beard and spurs well over an inch long, this is one of the largest Merriam’s OL Hunting Editor Andrew McKean had ever seen.*

![httpswww.outdoorlife.comsitesoutdoorlife.comfilesimport2015201504Turkey_08.jpg](<https://www.outdoorlife.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/23/CEWM6NFFIGNOMX5ZIXKB2PEYAQ.jpg>)
*Blooming Oklahoma redbud trees frame Shawn’s Rio Grande gobbler, taken on a soggy morning on the Chain Ranch.*

![httpswww.outdoorlife.comsitesoutdoorlife.comfilesimport2015201504Turkey_09.jpg](<https://www.outdoorlife.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/23/IUHTWNEBC5WG5JC3M4WSXW27QE.jpg>)
*Shawn shows off his western Oklahoma Merriam’s gobbler near the boxelder tree where it died.*

![httpswww.outdoorlife.comsitesoutdoorlife.comfilesimport2015201504Turkey_10.jpg](<https://www.outdoorlife.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/23/35Z7J74O4CHOP77F2AJ7ERVNCM.jpg>)
*Shawn White waits on a northern Florida Eastern to thread through thick stands of longleaf pine.*

![httpswww.outdoorlife.comsitesoutdoorlife.comfilesimport2015201504Turkey_11.jpg](<https://www.outdoorlife.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/23/NQ2D24RMDD5F7F656ZIDNBPGXE.jpg>)
*Shawn White takes some down time on the long road trip along the Gulf Coast. The Grand Slam crew drove from northern Florida to western Oklahoma in a single grueling day.*

![httpswww.outdoorlife.comsitesoutdoorlife.comfilesimport2015201504Turkey_12.jpg](<https://www.outdoorlife.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/23/AUNMCYO5ONU7OW2Y2UDCV5X2FY.jpg>)
*Tucked under a western Oklahoma juniper, Shawn White scratches out yelps on a Primos slate call.*

![httpswww.outdoorlife.comsitesoutdoorlife.comfilesimport2015201504Turkey_13.jpg](<https://www.outdoorlife.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/23/ZREWIWZPHTYF7V7Y7OHIH755C4.jpg>)
*Shawn using his Primos slate call.*

![httpswww.outdoorlife.comsitesoutdoorlife.comfilesimport2015201504Turkey_14.jpg](<https://www.outdoorlife.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/23/QCHA2KQYFUV24KYDPNRJA65MBE.jpg>)
*Shawn using his Primos Box Cutter.*

![httpswww.outdoorlife.comsitesoutdoorlife.comfilesimport2015201504Turkey_15.jpg](<https://www.outdoorlife.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/23/Q5VQYHN5HXS44KEDHQCSWYHIWE.jpg>)
*Shawn uses a Primos slate to call in a western Oklahoma Merriam’s gobbler.*

![httpswww.outdoorlife.comsitesoutdoorlife.comfilesimport2015201504Turkey_16.jpg](<https://www.outdoorlife.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/23/KWYYGYMGCDXN7KOYFUAF7FHW5Y.jpg>)
*Benelli’s Super Black Eagle performed flawlessly on the Grand Slam adventure, pointing instinctively and delivering tom-stopping payloads out to 40 yards.*

![httpswww.outdoorlife.comsitesoutdoorlife.comfilesimport2015201504Turkey_17.jpg](<https://www.outdoorlife.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/23/EXKWZ3SWLCBO3L3VIGEW4OQH44.jpg>)
*Shawn White and Realtree videographer Chuck Sumner take a break from the action during central Florida’s Osceola hunt.*

![httpswww.outdoorlife.comsitesoutdoorlife.comfilesimport2015201504Turkey_18.jpg](<https://www.outdoorlife.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/23/KC5YYCZHWGKZTVMTSJMIJMITLM.jpg>)
*Shawn hears a distant gobble while hunting with Vandy Collins on Collins’ northern Florida plantation.*

![httpswww.outdoorlife.comsitesoutdoorlife.comfilesimport2015201504Turkey_19.jpg](<https://www.outdoorlife.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/23/66HPNRQPJYONH477EH7A37ZJSM.jpg>)
*Western Oklahoma’s Merriam’s hunt took place along the Cimarron River, rimmed with sandstone ledges. Shawn and guide Steve Gray talk strategy among the rimrocks.*

![httpswww.outdoorlife.comsitesoutdoorlife.comfilesimport2015201504Turkey_20.jpg](<https://www.outdoorlife.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/23/J5GICFRNVEZ5H3YGUFV73YQO74.jpg>)
*Shawn thanks Greg Finenco, manager of Bass Pro Shops’ Orlando store, for helping him get geared up with footwear, camo and a Bass Pro vest prior to the Grand Slam hunt.*

![httpswww.outdoorlife.comsitesoutdoorlife.comfilesimport2015201504Turkey_21.jpg](<https://www.outdoorlife.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/23/4WRXBA6D6HENDIYPUDCLJ3OBQU.jpg>)
*Shawn hunkers down behind his Realtree APG as he waits for an Oklahoma gobbler.*

![httpswww.outdoorlife.comsitesoutdoorlife.comfilesimport2015201504Turkey_22.jpg](<https://www.outdoorlife.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/23/MDO4LFUAI3ZEGP7NIUEVBDPRNU.jpg>)
*Realtree’s APG pattern blended in to the background from Florida’s palmetto swamps to Oklahoma’s western plains.*

![httpswww.outdoorlife.comsitesoutdoorlife.comfilesimport2015201504Turkey_23.jpg](<https://www.outdoorlife.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/23/SIOGO7R5CURY2UFEVLDANHTVCU.jpg>)
*Finished at last, Shawn carries out his Merriam's on the final evening of his 7-day Grand Slam turkey hunt.*

![httpswww.outdoorlife.comsitesoutdoorlife.comfilesimport2015201504Turkey_24.jpg](<https://www.outdoorlife.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/23/J3O4IAETTVWNUMJVL6ARK57QYQ.jpg>)
*Shawn White and guide Steve Gray survey the Cimarron River valley, and pinpoint several roost trees.*

![httpswww.outdoorlife.comsitesoutdoorlife.comfilesimport2015201504Turkey_25_0.jpg](<https://www.outdoorlife.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/23/DZQ7EXUN5AVNWMR4LIDLEDIMCI.jpg>)
*Signs of the season. An Osceola gobbler leaves evidence of his strutting on a sandbar in central Florida.*

![httpswww.outdoorlife.comsitesoutdoorlife.comfilesimport2015201504Turkey_26.jpg](<https://www.outdoorlife.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/23/MNKBDSHYDWEKQBKVNFQBH3754M.jpg>)
*The dogwoods were in full bloom as Shawn hunted Eastern turkeys in northern Florida.*

![httpswww.outdoorlife.comsitesoutdoorlife.comfilesimport2015201504Turkey_27.jpg](<https://www.outdoorlife.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/23/RPBGIMB23OJ2LDP32VEOYUDSQ4.jpg>)
*Realtree videographer Chuck Sumner recreates Shawn's Eastern success, filming cut-aways on Vandy Collins’ plantation.*

![httpswww.outdoorlife.comsitesoutdoorlife.comfilesimport2015201504Turkey_28.jpg](<https://www.outdoorlife.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/23/KZFTYLVJQTVH5U3PX7KQY4MQOY.jpg>)
*On the road. State lines blurred as the Grand Slam crew blitzed from Florida to Oklahoma in one day.*

![httpswww.outdoorlife.comsitesoutdoorlife.comfilesimport2015201504Turkey_29.jpg](<https://www.outdoorlife.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/23/HS6DW5ROERWS6HJKGWMXWNVEN4.jpg>)
*Shawn, host Van Collins and videographer Chuck Sumner trudge through the north Florida woods to yet another set-up.*

![httpswww.outdoorlife.comsitesoutdoorlife.comfilesimport2015201504Turkey_30.jpg](<https://www.outdoorlife.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/23/K3OWFGADCOYLWYRABYZTVVA2C4.jpg>)
*OL's Hunting Editor Andrew McKean congratulates Shawn White on his first Grand Slam gobbler, an Eastern taken in northern Florida.*

![httpswww.outdoorlife.comsitesoutdoorlife.comfilesimport2015201504Turkey_31.jpg](<https://www.outdoorlife.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/23/544KAPXDUBZNCY6HNH4H44TGAQ.jpg>)
*Oklahoma Merriam's head to their evening roost.*

![httpswww.outdoorlife.comsitesoutdoorlife.comfilesimport2015201504Turkey_32.jpg](<https://www.outdoorlife.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/23/3L22L6ZY56JNSV7KVAFGIDNYBQ.jpg>)
*Shawn’s Merriam's gobbler sported limbhanger spurs.*

![httpswww.outdoorlife.comsitesoutdoorlife.comfilesimport2015201504Turkey_33.jpg](<https://www.outdoorlife.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/23/FDK3B5TNQIOMXRIIDM5GMJRS5Q.jpg>)
*Lost on the road to Oklahoma. In order to reach the town of Kenton, the crew had to clip the corner of New Mexico.*

![httpswww.outdoorlife.comsitesoutdoorlife.comfilesimport2015201504Turkey_34_0.jpg](<https://www.outdoorlife.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/23/U3O4MLR33RTHIFCORRNGUDF5UA.jpg>)
*The Grand Slam crew bunked at the Hitching Post Guest Ranch in tiny Kenton, OK.*

![httpswww.outdoorlife.comsitesoutdoorlife.comfilesimport2015201504Turkey_35.jpg](<https://www.outdoorlife.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/23/Y6NXSJIN2MU4YHX5S2HAZTV3MQ.jpg>)
*Host Vandy Collins of Meander Plantation in northern Florida takes a trophy feather from Shawn White’s Eastern gobbler.*

![httpswww.outdoorlife.comsitesoutdoorlife.comfilesimport2015201504Turkey_36.jpg](<https://www.outdoorlife.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/23/ZEHK7UDE7SR73UFY2CDGUX6VZ4.jpg>)
*Signs of the season. An Osceola gobbler leaves evidence of his strutting on a sandbar in central Florida.*

![httpswww.outdoorlife.comsitesoutdoorlife.comfilesimport2015201504Turkey_37.jpg](<https://www.outdoorlife.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/23/Q2WLKDQKPVVW76CES2JMMXS4M4.jpg>)
*The tail feathers on the Shawn’s Merriam's shows the distinctive white tipping.*

![httpswww.outdoorlife.comsitesoutdoorlife.comfilesimport2015201504Turkey_38.jpg](<https://www.outdoorlife.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/23/QB4QT3VK7LYK6UHNXMPOBCHD64.jpg>)
*Merriam's gobblers have dark plumage that transitions to white flank and tail feathers.*

![httpswww.outdoorlife.comsitesoutdoorlife.comfilesimport2015201504Turkey_39.jpg](<https://www.outdoorlife.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/23/XGKFLFLRKGFQJGNHCYT6SHAEP4.jpg>)
*Tail feathers of Eastern gobblers tends to be a study in browns and bronzes.*

![httpswww.outdoorlife.comsitesoutdoorlife.comfilesimport2015201504Turkey_40.jpg](<https://www.outdoorlife.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/23/G36A3MYOWQO5PYLB2RFTEPEEHQ.jpg>)
*Rio Grande gobblers exhibit characteristics of both their Eastern and Merriam’s cousins. Walnut-colored feathers have blonde highlights.*

![httpswww.outdoorlife.comsitesoutdoorlife.comfilesimport2015201504Turkey_41.jpg](<https://www.outdoorlife.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/23/2OT4EDJHE7SXHRBMTJUROXN4IQ.jpg>)
*Dressed in Realtree APG, Shawn surveys a central Florida palmetto hammock as he waits on an Osceola gobbler.*

![httpswww.outdoorlife.comsitesoutdoorlife.comfilesimport2015201504Turkey_42.jpg](<https://www.outdoorlife.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/23/SO4WDJSK6GMFD6HORCTFQX7DU4.jpg>)
*The Grand Slam crew was so pleased to bag a bird that everyone took a turn posing. Videographer Chuck Sumner with Shawn and his Eastern.*

![httpswww.outdoorlife.comsitesoutdoorlife.comfilesimport2015201504Turkey_43.jpg](<https://www.outdoorlife.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/23/3RRLR4R6VVXYRLHBFETEKR5JIY.jpg>)
*The Frasier Brothers Farm in central Florida is a wildlife Mecca. Sandhill cranes nest in a grassy pasture.*

![httpswww.outdoorlife.comsitesoutdoorlife.comfilesimport2015201504Turkey_44.jpg](<https://www.outdoorlife.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/23/3CVJRDUNXFA4VRPPFKOWYP3UC4.jpg>)
*Cameraman Chuck Sumner shows a dark side of the road trip—a $336 Oklahoma speeding ticket.*

![httpswww.outdoorlife.comsitesoutdoorlife.comfilesimport2015201504Turkey_45.jpg](<https://www.outdoorlife.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/23/3C75GN6KSA764OQKEWWLAFLOUM.jpg>)
*Cameraman Chuck Sumner fools around with a very happy Shawn White after the hunter ended his Grand Slam odyssy with a trophy Merriam's gobbler in western Oklahoma.*

![httpswww.outdoorlife.comsitesoutdoorlife.comfilesimport2015201504Turkey_46.jpg](<https://www.outdoorlife.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/23/QTKIJOODF33ZBUKIB7HAFBV43I.jpg>)
*Bass Pro Shops' Turkey Lounger vests made hunting a cinch, and extremely comfortable.*

![httpswww.outdoorlife.comsitesoutdoorlife.comfilesimport2015201504Turkey_47.jpg](<https://www.outdoorlife.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/23/BQJUKRW3XVPLEHAIMVEIPYDCKU.jpg>)
**Outdoor Life* Hunting Editor Andrew McKean, host of the Grand Slam, gives Shawn a pointer.*

![httpswww.outdoorlife.comsitesoutdoorlife.comfilesimport2015201504Turkey_48.jpg](<https://www.outdoorlife.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/23/YLAVSELBBYSI4GDGRAUHOJ6UPU.jpg>)
*Endangered Florida tortoises were frequently underfoot as the Grand Slam kicked off in Polk County.*

![httpswww.outdoorlife.comsitesoutdoorlife.comfilesimport2015201504Turkey_49.jpg](<https://www.outdoorlife.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/23/4I25ESZJELKFGU536YL55E22UE.jpg>)
*You never know what you’ll find in the palmetto swamps of central Florida. This abandoned hog-capture cage is being reclaimed by the undergrowth and Spanish moss.*

![httpswww.outdoorlife.comsitesoutdoorlife.comfilesimport2015201504Turkey_50.jpg](<https://www.outdoorlife.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/23/RPD5YVMOTK5Z25QONBPTY7GHXY.jpg>)
*This Florida water snake so spooked hunter Shawn White that he refused to wade without an escort.*

![httpswww.outdoorlife.comsitesoutdoorlife.comfilesimport2015201504Turkey_51.jpg](<https://www.outdoorlife.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/23/44UAZIDB6UOCDKXZSZNNNXRQPA.jpg>)
**Outdoor Life*'s Grand Slam Turkey Adventure started in Florida's palmettos. It ended in western Oklahoma, where spring weather coaxed out cactus blossoms.*

For our second adventure, *Outdoor Life* Hunting Editor Andrew McKean accompanied winner Shawn White on the road trip of a dozen lifetimes on their quest for a wild turkey Grand Slam. And to take this endeavor to an even higher level, Shawn had to tag his four birds in just nine days. Read More\>\>