Welcome to Texas. The Grand Slam view at 85mph near Natchitoches, TX. The vegetation at the Frasier Family Farm in Polk County, FL is dominated by palmettos and Spanish moss. OL’s Grand Slam Turkey winner Shawn White talks strategy for the Oklahoma Rio with host Newley Hutchinson from the Chain Ranch. Merriam’s guide Steve Gray and Shawn White discuss how to approach a roost tree in the Cimarron River valley. Shawn's Grand Slam equipment – The Benelli Super Black Eagle in Realtree’s all-around APG pattern. First bird down: feather detail of Shawn's northern Florida Eastern gobbler. 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. Blooming Oklahoma redbud trees frame Shawn’s Rio Grande gobbler, taken on a soggy morning on the Chain Ranch. Shawn shows off his western Oklahoma Merriam’s gobbler near the boxelder tree where it died. Shawn White waits on a northern Florida Eastern to thread through thick stands of longleaf pine. 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. Tucked under a western Oklahoma juniper, Shawn White scratches out yelps on a Primos slate call. Shawn using his Primos slate call. Shawn using his Primos Box Cutter. Shawn uses a Primos slate to call in a western Oklahoma Merriam’s gobbler. Benelli’s Super Black Eagle performed flawlessly on the Grand Slam adventure, pointing instinctively and delivering tom-stopping payloads out to 40 yards. Shawn White and Realtree videographer Chuck Sumner take a break from the action during central Florida’s Osceola hunt. Shawn hears a distant gobble while hunting with Vandy Collins on Collins’ northern Florida plantation. 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. 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. Shawn hunkers down behind his Realtree APG as he waits for an Oklahoma gobbler. Realtree’s APG pattern blended in to the background from Florida’s palmetto swamps to Oklahoma’s western plains. Finished at last, Shawn carries out his Merriam's on the final evening of his 7-day Grand Slam turkey hunt. Shawn White and guide Steve Gray survey the Cimarron River valley, and pinpoint several roost trees. Signs of the season. An Osceola gobbler leaves evidence of his strutting on a sandbar in central Florida. The dogwoods were in full bloom as Shawn hunted Eastern turkeys in northern Florida. Realtree videographer Chuck Sumner recreates Shawn's Eastern success, filming cut-aways on Vandy Collins’ plantation. On the road. State lines blurred as the Grand Slam crew blitzed from Florida to Oklahoma in one day. Shawn, host Van Collins and videographer Chuck Sumner trudge through the north Florida woods to yet another set-up. OL's Hunting Editor Andrew McKean congratulates Shawn White on his first Grand Slam gobbler, an Eastern taken in northern Florida. Oklahoma Merriam's head to their evening roost. Shawn’s Merriam's gobbler sported limbhanger spurs. Lost on the road to Oklahoma. In order to reach the town of Kenton, the crew had to clip the corner of New Mexico. The Grand Slam crew bunked at the Hitching Post Guest Ranch in tiny Kenton, OK. Host Vandy Collins of Meander Plantation in northern Florida takes a trophy feather from Shawn White’s Eastern gobbler. Signs of the season. An Osceola gobbler leaves evidence of his strutting on a sandbar in central Florida. The tail feathers on the Shawn’s Merriam's shows the distinctive white tipping. Merriam's gobblers have dark plumage that transitions to white flank and tail feathers. Tail feathers of Eastern gobblers tends to be a study in browns and bronzes. Rio Grande gobblers exhibit characteristics of both their Eastern and Merriam’s cousins. Walnut-colored feathers have blonde highlights. Dressed in Realtree APG, Shawn surveys a central Florida palmetto hammock as he waits on an Osceola gobbler. 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. The Frasier Brothers Farm in central Florida is a wildlife Mecca. Sandhill cranes nest in a grassy pasture. Cameraman Chuck Sumner shows a dark side of the road trip—a $336 Oklahoma speeding ticket. 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. Bass Pro Shops' Turkey Lounger vests made hunting a cinch, and extremely comfortable. Outdoor Life Hunting Editor Andrew McKean, host of the Grand Slam, gives Shawn a pointer. Endangered Florida tortoises were frequently underfoot as the Grand Slam kicked off in Polk County. 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. This Florida water snake so spooked hunter Shawn White that he refused to wade without an escort. 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>>
