US Super Slam for Turkeys?

[Derekc6713]

Anyone on RokSlide in the process of completing a US Super Slam or has already completed it? If you are how many states have you completed? Which state was the toughest? Most pressured? Easiest? Any tips? I’m interested in attempting it over the course of my lifetime. Seems like it’s a difficult slam that is actually achievable with enough time and effort. So far I just got one lol. My home state of PA. Hoping to tag one in NY this Spring.

 

[Steve O]

Not sure what that is but I am missing the Osceola for my Royal Slam. I have a Gould’s from AZ and that was a long time coming. I’ve found the Osceola to be the most difficult because I don’t want to spend $3000 for a turkey hunt and the public I’ve been on in southern Florida has not worked out.

I’ve hunted 14 states for turkeys. Is a super slam hunting them in all 49 states?

 

[Derekc6713]

Yep the super slam is a turkey in every state except Alaska. I’ve heard the Osceola is a more difficult bird to tag if you don’t go guided. A lot of pressure on public makes them tone down their gobbling. I haven’t done a ton of research but I’m pretty sure there are some WMAs that you can to apply for where they limit the amount of hunters and the hunting is better. That’s awesome you managed to get Goulds tag in AZ. Is that as a non res? How long did it take to draw ? I figure I’ll be going to Mexico when I attempt a Goulds hunt.

 

[flathead#2]

Not sure what that is but I am missing the Osceola for my Royal Slam. I have a Gould’s from AZ and that was a long time coming. I’ve found the Osceola to be the most difficult because I don’t want to spend $3000 for a turkey hunt and the public I’ve been on in southern Florida has not worked out.

I’ve hunted 14 states for turkeys. Is a super slam hunting them in all 49 states?

Florida public is a nightmare.

 

[Steve O]

Yes it took about 15 years to draw as a NR. Awesome birds. Took a Merriams in AZ as well.

 

[deerhunt1988]

Finished my super slam last year in Delaware. All states have been public land/open trespass except Nevada and Texas. I drew a good Texas WMA quota hunt this spring. Sitting on 5 bonus points in Nevada, hopefully I can draw one of the two public land tags there in the next decade or so.

Toughest States: For simply killing a turkey, deep south easterns are about as stubborn as they come. And they also get pressured more than any others except public land Osceolas. I've killed a fair amount of public land Osceolas and on the places I've hunted, they aren't any more difficult than deep south easterns. Other hunters are the issue.

Most Pressured: At a regional level, Southeast public land. Although with this new turkey craze its getting pretty ridiculous all over. I've hunted some atlantic states recently that kind of blew my mind with the pressure. Last year two of those was CT and Rhode Island. One state where the pressure REALLY caught me off guard was California. We'd roosted some birds evening before the opener and ended up having like 10 trucks parked on us opening morning. And there was only like 1,100 acres to hunt. it was outright dangerous. Crazy morning but we got one and decided to relocate. Found more birds an hour or so away and they had almost just as many people after them.

The new "toughest" state for slammers is going to be Nevada simply due to access. When I started applying for Nevada, there were 7 or 8 non-resident tags in the draw and only 48 non-residents applied in 2019. I'm willing to bet the number of applicants has at least tripled since due to slam popularity and the number of tags has dropped to FOUR. The most popular area for landowner tags recently got snatched up by an outfitter and the same tag i paid $300 for in 2023 now has an asking price of $3,000+.


Tips: Hurry the hell up and get it over with ASAP because the cost and difficulty is increasing at an astronomical and alarming rate. States are having to limit non-residents due to the travel turkey craze and jacking prices up. Go ahead and pay the $3,000 for a Nevada bird before it becomes a $7,500 turkey.

The popularity of the US Super Slam has grown exponentially in the last few years due to social media. It is to the point I'm almost embarrassed to even admit i'm a slammer. A lot of the folks deciding to do it now had no clue what a super slam was 5 years ago. It used to be somewhat of a "sacred" thing, but has since been tarnished. Folks are willing to do whatever it takes to kill a turkey and "check" that state off. I've witnessed things in recent years that will blow your mind. And hear stories every spring from my turkey buds that just make me shake my head.

I'm thrilled to be finished and can hunt a lot less stress free now. Back to hunting more with family and friends. This spring I'm revisiting some of my favorite states, one I haven't hunted since 2012. Already had to buy tags and apply for two of the states, states that I could just go buy OTC tags for last time I hunted them at much cheaper prices. Thanks to the turkey craze I'm paying a lot more money for fewer tags. The amount of lost opportunities in recent years is mind blowing. Oh well, hopefully all the new, and incoming non-resident restrictions help the hunting quality.

All that being said, Good Luck!

 

[deerhunt1988]

I'll leave you with one of our new favorite jokes.

"How do you someone is a super slammer? Just wait a minute, they'll tell you"

Think on that one a minute.

 

[Kellum]

To quote what DH88 is saying it's not the same as it was years ago as nobody hardly knew what a super slam was. Matter fact I'm sure that it did not even have the term " super slam" until it was popularized by NWTF. Which by the way they charge per each turkey to register in every state to "certify" your slam lol.

Anywho, as someone who thought about accomplishing a super slam a few years ago that idea no longer appeals to me. Like already mentioned many states are making changes to combat struggling populations with draws, price increases, and shorter seasons. On top of all this, pressure is at an all time high for public and outfitted hunts are even increasing in price. Personally i just focus on traveling to places i always "wonted" to go rather than "where" i should go. By all means to the OP do whatever makes you happy but just know this slam thing can take the fun out of it. Good luck this spring!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Derekc6713]

Finished my super slam last year in Delaware. All states have been public land/open trespass except Nevada and Texas. I drew a good Texas WMA quota hunt this spring. Sitting on 5 bonus points in Nevada, hopefully I can draw one of the two public land tags there in the next decade or so.

Toughest States: For simply killing a turkey, deep south easterns are about as stubborn as they come. And they also get pressured more than any others except public land Osceolas. I've killed a fair amount of public land Osceolas and on the places I've hunted, they aren't any more difficult than deep south easterns. Other hunters are the issue.

Most Pressured: At a regional level, Southeast public land. Although with this new turkey craze its getting pretty ridiculous all over. I've hunted some atlantic states recently that kind of blew my mind with the pressure. Last year two of those was CT and Rhode Island. One state where the pressure REALLY caught me off guard was California. We'd roosted some birds evening before the opener and ended up having like 10 trucks parked on us opening morning. And there was only like 1,100 acres to hunt. it was outright dangerous. Crazy morning but we got one and decided to relocate. Found more birds an hour or so away and they had almost just as many people after them.

The new "toughest" state for slammers is going to be Nevada simply due to access. When I started applying for Nevada, there were 7 or 8 non-resident tags in the draw and only 48 non-residents applied in 2019. I'm willing to bet the number of applicants has at least tripled since due to slam popularity and the number of tags has dropped to FOUR. The most popular area for landowner tags recently got snatched up by an outfitter and the same tag i paid $300 for in 2023 now has an asking price of $3,000+.


Tips: Hurry the hell up and get it over with ASAP because the cost and difficulty is increasing at an astronomical and alarming rate. States are having to limit non-residents due to the travel turkey craze and jacking prices up. Go ahead and pay the $3,000 for a Nevada bird before it becomes a $7,500 turkey.

The popularity of the US Super Slam has grown exponentially in the last few years due to social media. It is to the point I'm almost embarrassed to even admit i'm a slammer. A lot of the folks deciding to do it now had no clue what a super slam was 5 years ago. It used to be somewhat of a "sacred" thing, but has since been tarnished. Folks are willing to do whatever it takes to kill a turkey and "check" that state off. I've witnessed things in recent years that will blow your mind. And hear stories every spring from my turkey buds that just make me shake my head.

I'm thrilled to be finished and can hunt a lot less stress free now. Back to hunting more with family and friends. This spring I'm revisiting some of my favorite states, one I haven't hunted since 2012. Already had to buy tags and apply for two of the states, states that I could just go buy OTC tags for last time I hunted them at much cheaper prices. Thanks to the turkey craze I'm paying a lot more money for fewer tags. The amount of lost opportunities in recent years is mind blowing. Oh well, hopefully all the new, and incoming non-resident restrictions help the hunting quality.

All that being said, Good Luck!

Congrats on that accomplishment and thanks that's alot of great information! Nevada and Delaware are the only ones that come to mind that are draw states are there any others? How did you get your North Dakota bird since the spring season is resident only? Did you shoot one in the fall or go onto a reservation?

Some of the small states that you mentioned like CT and RI I was worried about how the pressure might be being that they are so small and the public land so limited. Those were ones I might really try to do some door knocking see if I can get lucky.

It seems like everything hunting is more popular than it used to be. Especially when it comes to achieving slams and hunting out of state. Like you said social media is a huge part of it. I have a love/hate relationship with hunting media. I do enjoy hunting content such as guys like the hunting public while also recognizing that it's increasing the demand for out of state hunting making everything more competitive.

At this point in my life with work and young kids I'll be lucky to get in 1 state a year starting with states bordering PA then be able to make some trips to multiple states later on down the road. Maybe by then the craze will have blown over a bit haha.

 

[Derekc6713]

To quote what DH88 is saying it's not the same as it was years ago as nobody hardly knew what a super slam was. Matter fact I'm sure that it did not even have the term " super slam" until it was popularized by NWTF. Which by the way they charge per each turkey to register in every state to "certify" your slam lol.

Anywho, as someone who thought about accomplishing a super slam a few years ago that idea no longer appeals to me. Like already mentioned many states are making changes to combat struggling populations with draws, price increases, and shorter seasons. On top of all this, pressure is at an all time high for public and outfitted hunts are even increasing in price. Personally i just focus on traveling to places i always "wonted" to go rather than "where" i should go. By all means to the OP do whatever makes you happy but just know this slam thing can take the fun out of it. Good luck this spring!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I hear yeah. I just enjoy hunting and traveling. Maybe throughout the course of my life I'll accomplish it. If I don't oh well I wont lose any sleep over it. Not planning to get it NWTF certified anyway. Like you said hunting is supposed to be fun don't need to add additional stress to my life.

 

[deerhunt1988]

Congrats on that accomplishment and thanks that's alot of great information! Nevada and Delaware are the only ones that come to mind that are draw states are there any others? How did you get your North Dakota bird since the spring season is resident only? Did you shoot one in the fall or go onto a reservation?

Some of the small states that you mentioned like CT and RI I was worried about how the pressure might be being that they are so small and the public land so limited. Those were ones I might really try to do some door knocking see if I can get lucky.

It seems like everything hunting is more popular than it used to be. Especially when it comes to achieving slams and hunting out of state. Like you said social media is a huge part of it. I have a love/hate relationship with hunting media. I do enjoy hunting content such as guys like the hunting public while also recognizing that it's increasing the demand for out of state hunting making everything more competitive.

At this point in my life with work and young kids I'll be lucky to get in 1 state a year starting with states bordering PA then be able to make some trips to multiple states later on down the road. Maybe by then the craze will have blown over a bit haha.

Ah, I forgot about ND. Since a NR can't get a bird there in the spring on public, you do have to hunt a reservation in the spring.

More and more states are going draw. This is Kansas's second year of being a draw. Last year there were like 80 leftovers, so there won't be any this year. Nebraska put a 10k cap on NR permits two years ago. They go on sell in mid-January. First year they sold out in March. Second year late January. This year in 31 hours. So probably will sell out in about 24 hours next year. As of this year, all of South Dakota state tags are a draw for NR. Mississippi public lands in March are now all draw as of 2022. Other states are discussing the prospect of going to draw/limited tags for NR too. This is why I despise turkey hunting content on social media and the Slam craze. We are losing hunting opportunities at a crazy fast rate.

Iowa has been all draw for NR for as long as I can remember. It used to be about a 100% draw but thanks to The Hunting Public posting tons of Iowa videos over the year, many units now take 1pt for 100% draws. Effectively making your tag $300+ if you have to draw with a point.

Arizona is either draw or reservation.

Another tip: It is more important than ever to hunt openers. A decade ago you could go late season to a bunch of states and still get on birds easily. But now days most of the birds are dead or boogered so bad it can really be a grind. Openers are more crowded, but you want the most targets available. So just deal with the crowds and go kill your bird.

 

[KHNC]

South Carolina turkey population has absolutely plummeted beyond belief! Coons, possums, bobcats, coyotes , hawks and owls are taking their toll! Seasons have been changed, tag prices increased and bag limits reduced to try and restore them. I have even heard of some type of disease that is killing them as well. I see almost zero poults last few summers now, and very few adult birds.