1. Grand Slam2001: the Florida Bowhunt for the Osceola
2. Grand Slam 2001: to Texas and Oklahoma for the Rio
3. Grand Slam 2001: South Dakota for the Merriam's
4. Grand Slam 2001: to Kansas for the Eastern
5. Doug's 2000 Wild Turkey Hunts: Florida/Osceola | Texas/Rio Grande
6. Who is Doug Crabtree?
7. NEW: the Ohio Season Opens, Here are the Hunts

Back To Ohio
(Special Youth Hunt)  - Doug Crabtree takes the Matson boys hunting wild turkeys.
The weekend preceding the Ohio wild turkey season is open for hunters under 16 who hunt in designated Public areas. Cody (10) and Christopher (12) Matson flipped a coin to see who would hunt first and Cody got the luck and won the toss. But he was going to be even luckier that day ... 

Latest Hunt Log: Doug Sr.'s Turn "In The Pit"
(Apr 19-20)  - There was no further wild turkey activity in the afternoon of the 19th. When Doug thanked the land owner that evening the gentleman was surprised and said he very rarely saw wild turkeys in this area.

Thursday morning:  Back at the dried grass field, 3 gobblers came to 17 yards. Doug Sr. shot and the arrow went over it's back. They left there three hours later and went to another area they had permission for. They looked and looked without any success. At 6:00pm they stopped and called. A gobbler sounded off 150 yards away and came running. But the bird was was on them before they could get ready. 

If Doug Sr. can harvest an Eastern wild turkey this will be a Double Grand Slam by a father and son, as far as we know it will be the first time that has ever been accomplished. 

"This has been a great 2 weeks of hunting," Doug Crabtree told me, "We've made a lot good friends on this trip."

To resume in Ohio.

THE EASTERN: One Grand Slam To Go, Please
(Apr 19) Doug Crabtree just called me right from his blind when it happened. Minutes ago he had called and, immediately, saw two Eastern gobblers running toward the blind along the fence at the edge of the dried grass field. Both birds ducked under the fence, ripped through some green briars and stopped between the blind and the jake and hen decoys. It was too close, only a couple of yards away, there was no way to get a shot angle. But this ain't over yet, here's how it happened: the Eastern

THE MERRIAM'S: Southern South Dakota
(April 17-18) From their sound on the roost Doug identified 6 different gobblers and a hen. He kept calling to get the hen vocal. It worked and a 3 gobblers and one hen flew down 50 yards away. The gobblers started toward the blind but the hen went into the corn stalks. The gobblers followed. Further away, a 3rd gobbler flew down. Doug started cutting excitedly. The bird trotted in their direction. The other 3 gobblers intercepted him and ran him off, right into the dried corn stalks. The 3 Merriam's continued on toward the blind and they all stopped 20 yards away and strutted for the decoys. To the Merriam's Bowhunt

The 3rd Leg of the Quest For the Grand Slam With A Bow is a success for Doug Crabtree (L) and his dad Doug Crabtree Sr. (R). So far, they both have bagged the Osceola, the Rio Grande and Merriam's wild turkeys.

THE RIO: Grand Slam 2001 (Texas and Oklahoma)
(Apr 6) At 5:30pm the Duck and I met Doug Crabtree and his pop at the Red Barn to eat the place out of chicken fried steak. We discussed the hunt strategy. In the wee hours this morning Jim Autrey of TexasDeerHunter.com TV Show came over to cover Doug's hunt on TV and the Slam for the Texas Rio began. 
Doug called in and bagged his Texas Rio Grande wild turkey gobbler on the first evening of the hunt. There was a lot more calling, hunt strategy, and wild turkey hunting done here at my place on the river as I logged the hunts of the Duck, Doug Crabtree Sr., and Angela Morris from April 6-11. 

Doug Crabtree (L) and Doug Crabtree Sr. with their Oklahoma Rios.

Then the Crabtree's drove to Oklahoma. Both of them successfully bagged an Oklahoma panhandle Rio Grande wild turkey and they called for other hunters in camp and brought them in for them. Texas and Oklahoma for the Rio

The Slam Is On - Doug Crabtree Takes An Osceola
Doug Crabtree and his pop, Doug Crabtree Sr. began their quest for the Grand Slam With A Bow 2001 in search of the notoriously call shy Florida Osceola gobbler. They bowhunted as guests of Florida Wildlife Unlimited in Zolfo Springs, Florida. The hunting area was a mixture of pasture lands, cypress swamps, oak hammocks and pine islands. All prime Osceola habitat!

Doug harvested his Osceola on March 22 and his pop got his on March 26. It is a story of calling technique and wild turkey hunting strategy. To the start of the Grand Slam - the Florida Bowhunt.

The Florida Pics
Doug was unable to get his pictures transferred from his digital camera to the computer at Florida Wildlife Unlimited, so we had to wait until he returned to Ohio to get the pics, here are two thumbnail pics:

To see larger pictures go to the Osceola Picture Page.