30 Nebraskaland • April 2019
Story by Ryan Sparks. Photos by Jeff Kurrus
D
edicated turkey hunters dream
of completing a "grand slam,"
or killing a bird from each of the four
subspecies of the North American
turkey. To complete a grand slam, a
hunter might travel from Alabama to
Texas to South Dakota to Florida. As a
teenager, while enjoying the developing
turkey hunting in Nebraska, I dreamed
about this turkey hunting adventure,
but realized it would be a long time
before I could roam the country in
pursuit of turkeys. Instead, I devised a
different challenge.
I was already obsessively hunting
turkeys with a bow and conventional
shotgun, but when I spotted a used
muzzleloading shotgun for sale, I had
an idea. I realized that with Nebraska's
three-bird limit I had the opportunity to
hunt turkeys with a bow, muzzleloading
shotgun, and conventional shotgun all
in one season. I had no idea what an
incredible experience it would be and
how my adventures could help other
hunters challenge themselves as well.
Bows and Beards
Bowhunting turkeys is more difficult
than hunting them with a shotgun for
two reasons. First, archery equipment
limits a hunter's shooting range.
Second, and most importantly, a
bow must be drawn before shooting.
A turkey's excellent eyesight is its
principal defense. They can see almost
as well as a hawk and don't have to shift
their focus to see objects at different
distances clearly. Everything within
their field of view is always in focus.
TURKEY
TRIFECTA
Nebraska has turkey hunting so good that hunters have the opportunity to
harvest three birds with three different types of weapons.