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Merced hunter makes history with a turkey 'World Slam'
Joel Hood, Modesto Bee
April 06, 2003
There are achievements in sports and then there are milestones. On a hot, humid morning in the south of Florida earlier this month, Leonard Franco pulled off the latter.
The 49-year-old Merced resident and his close friend, Robert Crawford, had traveled to the southern peninsula in search of its native bird, the Osceola. For Franco, this wasn't an ordinary hunting trip, it was a chance to join an exclusive club. It was, in hunting circles at least, a chance to make history.
There are six species of wild turkey in the world, five that are native to North America. To capture all six is a rare feat among wild turkey hunters, who number in the millions in the United States alone. Of that group, only 54 have earned the World Slam, certified by the National Wild Turkey Federation.
When Franco shot his Osceola in a wooded area west of Lake Okeechobee two weeks ago, he became just the second Californian to bag all six birds. The man he joined was Crawford.
"It's sort of a special breed of hunter who goes after the World Slam," said Franco, a battalion chief with the Merced Fire Department. "It's not your everyday hunter."
While the number of hunters overall in California has declined over the years, wild turkey hunting, particularly because of its spring season, is thriving.
California, where turkey season runs until May 4, offers some of the best wild turkey hunting in the country because of efforts by the Department of Fish and Game and the NWTF to keep their population levels plentiful.
Wild turkeys are not native to California, but the DFG's and NWTF's breeding program that began in the 1970s has contributed to a population explosion, so much so the DFG increased its season bag total to three birds two years ago. Terry Knight, an outdoor writer and wild turkey consultant with the DFG, estimates the wild turkey population in California is now between 600,000 and 700,000. That's about a 600 percent increase from a decade ago.
"Wild turkeys aren't really like hunting anything else," Franco said. "They have such good eyesight and hearing that you can't afford to make a mistake, you'll lose him."
Turkey hunters don't stalk their prey, they sit, wrapped head to toe in camouflage, and wait them out. They use elaborate calls to lure the turkeys into shooting range, which is about 35 yards, Franco said.
It's often a test of wills because one rustle of the hunter's jacket or crunching of the brush between his or her feet can spook the turkey into flight. Hunters have to keep still no matter what the obstacle: mosquitoes, ants, heat and high wind, to name a few.
It takes more than patience to kill a turkey, Franco said, it takes precision.
"It's a very challenging sport," Crawford said. "The most important thing is to have the right camouflage, to be able to blend into your surroundings. It means masking your face and hands and anything that might give you away."
Franco, who picked up the sport about 12 years ago, said he still has goals to accomplish. The next is to bag a turkey in every state. He's killed turkeys in 12 already, mostly in the West.
His experiences have taught him that hunting turkeys is the same wherever you are. The six breeds respond to slightly different calls, but it would take a wildlife expert to distinguish between them.
It's the scenery that changes and that's reason enough to keep going, Franco said.
Joel Hood, Modesto Bee
April 06, 2003
There are achievements in sports and then there are milestones. On a hot, humid morning in the south of Florida earlier this month, Leonard Franco pulled off the latter.
The 49-year-old Merced resident and his close friend, Robert Crawford, had traveled to the southern peninsula in search of its native bird, the Osceola. For Franco, this wasn't an ordinary hunting trip, it was a chance to join an exclusive club. It was, in hunting circles at least, a chance to make history.
There are six species of wild turkey in the world, five that are native to North America. To capture all six is a rare feat among wild turkey hunters, who number in the millions in the United States alone. Of that group, only 54 have earned the World Slam, certified by the National Wild Turkey Federation.
When Franco shot his Osceola in a wooded area west of Lake Okeechobee two weeks ago, he became just the second Californian to bag all six birds. The man he joined was Crawford.
"It's sort of a special breed of hunter who goes after the World Slam," said Franco, a battalion chief with the Merced Fire Department. "It's not your everyday hunter."
While the number of hunters overall in California has declined over the years, wild turkey hunting, particularly because of its spring season, is thriving.
California, where turkey season runs until May 4, offers some of the best wild turkey hunting in the country because of efforts by the Department of Fish and Game and the NWTF to keep their population levels plentiful.
Wild turkeys are not native to California, but the DFG's and NWTF's breeding program that began in the 1970s has contributed to a population explosion, so much so the DFG increased its season bag total to three birds two years ago. Terry Knight, an outdoor writer and wild turkey consultant with the DFG, estimates the wild turkey population in California is now between 600,000 and 700,000. That's about a 600 percent increase from a decade ago.
"Wild turkeys aren't really like hunting anything else," Franco said. "They have such good eyesight and hearing that you can't afford to make a mistake, you'll lose him."
Turkey hunters don't stalk their prey, they sit, wrapped head to toe in camouflage, and wait them out. They use elaborate calls to lure the turkeys into shooting range, which is about 35 yards, Franco said.
It's often a test of wills because one rustle of the hunter's jacket or crunching of the brush between his or her feet can spook the turkey into flight. Hunters have to keep still no matter what the obstacle: mosquitoes, ants, heat and high wind, to name a few.
It takes more than patience to kill a turkey, Franco said, it takes precision.
"It's a very challenging sport," Crawford said. "The most important thing is to have the right camouflage, to be able to blend into your surroundings. It means masking your face and hands and anything that might give you away."
Franco, who picked up the sport about 12 years ago, said he still has goals to accomplish. The next is to bag a turkey in every state. He's killed turkeys in 12 already, mostly in the West.
His experiences have taught him that hunting turkeys is the same wherever you are. The six breeds respond to slightly different calls, but it would take a wildlife expert to distinguish between them.
It's the scenery that changes and that's reason enough to keep going, Franco said.
