Den sjette Royal Slam nogensinde - med bue og pil!

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Stork takes Gould's subspecies for Royal Slam

BY BILL SARGENT
FLORIDA TODAY
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Double slams. Turkey hunter Jamie Nance, of Melbourne, accomplished a special turkey hunting slam during a recent hunt for the Gould's subspecies in Mexico. Nance completed his World Slam for shotgun, which is all five subspecies and also the Ocellated species found in the Yucatan. For FLORIDA TODAY

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Double slam. Turkey hunter Rick Stork, of Melbourne, accomplished a special turkey hunting slam during a recent hunt for the Gould's subspecies in Mexico. Stork became the sixth bowhunter of all time to achieve the Royal Slam, which is taking all five subspecies. For FLORIDA TODAY

Rick Stork hunts wild turkeys the hard way -- with a bow.

You only need to look at his record to understand that the 49-year-old Melbourne businessman is exceptionally good. For starters, he has two dozen gobblers to his credit.

There are five subspecies of wild turkeys, and Stork has claimed all five. First he took a so-called Grand Slam, consisting of four of the five.

Then during a recent hunt to the Sierra Madre Mountains of Mexico with fellow turkey hunter Jamie Nance, also of Melbourne, Stork completed his Royal Slam by taking a Gould's wild turkey, the rarest of the five.

Stork is only the sixth bowhunter to achieve the Royal Slam according to records maintained by the National Wild Turkey Federation.

All that remains for him in the annals of turkey hunting is the Ocellated turkey, a separate species found in the jungles of the Yucatan. That would give him a World Slam and still another noted achievement.

"I'm already working on a trip for an Ocellated," Stork said. "I'm definitely going to try for it."

During the Gould's hunt with Armando Klein and the Sierra Madre Adventures, Nance completed his World Slam with a shotgun by bagging a Gould's. Nance, who also hunts with the bow, tried to get a Gould's with a bow for two days but never got a shot.

As an avid Florida bowhunter Stork has claimed mostly Osceolas, the subspecies found only in Central and South Florida and considered one of the most difficult gobblers to kill because of its wariness.

Only the males, or gobblers, are taken for records and slams.

One of Stork's Osceolas is the second-highest scoring typical Osceolas by a bowhunter. It's ranked first in weight, at 21.6 pounds. The bird had a 10.6-inch beard and 1.5-inch spurs.

He took the big tom during the 2004 spring gobbler season on a private hunting lease along the St. Johns River in Brevard County.

"I just love to hunt, turkeys especially," said Stork, who often is joined by his stepsons, Ryan and Kyle Manning. "Gobblers are especially wary and the Osceolas and the Eastern are the most wary.

"I've hunted deer, wild hogs and a lot of other game but I don't think there's anything smarter than a big tom. You're always learning little tricks on every hunt that help you a little. But they're always tough."

.....når bare man har nok penge og krudt.....så går det ikke aldrig helt galt :-)

Favourite Quote: Vi løser ikke vore problemer ved at tænke på samme måde, som da vi skabte dem.....(Albert Einstein)