Grand Slam: the Florida Bowhunt for the Osceola
Grand Slam: to Texas and Oklahoma for the Rio
Grand Slam: South Dakota for the Merriam's
Grand Slam: to Kansas for the Eastern
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Doug Crabtree Sr.'s successful Grand Slam Eastern Wild Turkey hunt was actually a 3 day affair with the same birds. It is a case study in wild turkey behavior and a veteran wild turkey hunters savvy and calling skill. Here it is, just like it happened. Thursday | Friday | Saturday

   
Ohio - The 2nd Grand Slam

Thursday, April 26, 2001
Doug Crabtree Sr. guided Ken Snyder, a bowhunter from WV. Doug Sr. soft yelped a gobbler in. He had his jake decoy in a mating position over a hen decoy and when the gobbler saw the decoys he became furious and boogied on in at about 20 MPH and attacked the decoys, spurring, pecking, and ripping the jake decoy into shreds. Ken put an arrow in the birds vitals at 5 yards. They quietly tagged the bird, broke the blind down, collected the decoys and slipped back to the car. 

Why so careful? There was still gobbling in the area and Doug Sr. is returning Friday morning with the intention of completing his Grand Slam.

Friday, April 27, 2001
Doug Sr. called in 4 gobblers at 8:00am, all big adult Toms. They came to 50 yards and hung up, at a blown over sapling tree, uphill where they had a good vantage point for the area below. Doug Sr. alternated calling with cutting and mating calls, with waiting. Each time he called the gobblers sounded off in what sounded like a gobbling contest. But the Toms would not come past the sapling. At 10:30 Doug Sr. felt like he should quit calling and did so. The gobblers eventually walked off.

Later on, in a new location, set up, and began calling. A tremendous Eastern came in, one of the best he has ever seen. It came to 20 yards but there was brush in the way and a safe shot was not possible.

Saturday, April 28, 2001 - Veteran turkey hunter Doug Crabtree Sr. has a whole bag full of tricks for wary gobblers, he comes up with one that brings these "hang up" gobblers into bow range !!! 
   
Two hunters came in to hunt with the Crabtree's Limb Walker Guide Service, Ron McKinley and Kenny from Cleveland, OH. Doug Crabtree took Ron to the area where the huge Eastern was yesterday. Kenny went with Doug Sr. to the hill where the 4 gobblers had hung up on Friday. 

Doug Sr. placed the blind uphill from the sapling. Today he used only hen decoys, in case the jake decoy had something to do with them hanging up.

The hunters heard gobbles at first light. Doug Sr. made tree calls to let them know where he was ... and shut up and waited for them to fly down. They did and they gobbled at 6:55. Doug Sr. made a long series of assembly calls with yelps. They gobbled several times during the extended call. 

Doug Sr. first saw them 150 yards away in an adjacent field, two adult gobblers and one jake. They enterd the woods uphill from the hunters and Doug Sr. immediately called with excited calls, rapid clucks and double clucks. The dominate gobbler charged and chased the jake gobbler untill it took to the air and fled. Then Doug Sr. switched to soft contemtment yelps and clucks. Both gobblers sighted the decoys, came to full strut and moved toward the decoys.

Doug Sr. told Kenney to shoot as soon as he had a good shot. Kenney started to draw but was unable to break the bow over. He tried 4 separate times but failed. Time was passing, Kenney said, "I can't break it over. I just had back surgery and I can not draw it. You go ahead and shoot."

He didn't have to tell Doug Sr. twice, the birds were 22 yards away and he picked out one and drew, placed the sight pin in the center of the vital area, and released. The arrow went true and the bird started to run downhill. It rolled to a stop in 20 yards.

Doug Sr. walked downhill to the gobbler. Six yards from the bird the emotion of his accomplishment flooded him. Six weeks of extreme traveling and hunting pressure came to a head, right then. He was trembling with excitement as he tagged and examined the bird, it was heart shot -- a mature 10" beard with 1 1/8 spurs, weighing 20 6 ounces..

"Finally it is over," He said to Ken, emotionly, "we've done it. Doug and I both have the Grand Slam!"

He did it all right, it is the first ever father and son Grand Slam with a bow, all in one season.

When he told me about it Doug Crabtree Sr. said, "It was the most personal satisfaction I've ever felt while hunting, of any kind."
   

Grand Slam: the Florida Bowhunt for the Osceola Grand Slam: to Texas and Oklahoma for the Rio Grand Slam: South Dakota for the Merriam's Grand Slam: to Kansas for the Eastern To Doug Crabtree's Home Page

The idea for Doug's Quest began in 2000. Doug bowhunted in Florida for the Osceola bird and he and Greg Metz came to Texas to bowhunt with me for the Rio Grande wild turkey. We covered these two hunts on the net last year. We definitely called up some Tom's and made a dent in the local wild turkey population. Florida's bowhunt. The Texas bowhunt.

Last year Doug simply ran out of time. After all, he has a real job, and couldn't arrange to get enough time off to do the job.