I’ll be quick to admit that calling in a turkey is one of my favorite hunting adventures, and if I managed to pick up a gobbler every year in Pennsylvania, I would be tickled pink, but that doesn’t always happen.
Of course, some hunters are successful every year, and there are even some hunters who have achieved an even higher goal-the taking of the “Grand Slam.”
What is the Grand Slam of turkey hunting? The Grand Slam includes Pennsylvania’s Eastern, Wyoming’s Merriam’s, Florida’s Osceola, and the Texas Rio Grande.
Recently, I met and talked with a man who not only has been a successful Pennsylvania turkey hunter but has also, over four years, achieved the Grand Slam of turkey hunting.
Mike Hobbins, from near Mifflinburg, has managed to take all four birds in recent years.
Mike, now 65, has hunted deer and turkeys since he was a kid, and over the past 6 years, he has also worked for the well-known company Top Calls.
Top Calls, run and promoted by Russ and Bob Wagner, has been around for 32 years, producing a variety of deer and turkey calls. Mike obviously has a good “feeling” for turkey calls; he sands, assembles, and tunes the calls.
By the way, Mike’s success as a turkey hunter is actually quite amazing, and what makes it even more amazing is that Mike is totally blind!
On May 1, 2010, while turkey hunting, Mike was shot in the face by another turkey hunter. The hunter realized what he had done and called for help. Unfortunately, Mike was left totally blind from that point on, but obviously, that did not put an end to his hunting.
Mike and Russ teamed up several years ago to continue Mike’s hunting, and it was this team that completed the successful Grand Slam — but how?
Russ explained to me how they pursue turkeys.
They hunt from a blind to help shield any movements. Russ has a device that hooks onto Mike’s gun scope, enabling him to see on his phone what is in Mike’s scope as he points it at the turkey. Russ, who is sitting right behind Mike, is able to make adjustments to Mike’s position to get the scope pointed where it needs to be for a successful shot. The gun is usually mounted on a tripod to make it a bit easier. When Russ feels the shot is ready to take, the words “ready, fire” come out, and Mike said he is quick to react.
They also do the same thing when deer hunting. Using similar techniques, the pair have successfully taken a buck and a doe with a crossbow and a doe with an inline muzzleloader.
In addition to these interesting achievements, Mike is also a Hunter’s Education Instructor for the Pennsylvania Game Commission, and he was selected as the “Instructor of the Year.”
I am certainly impressed and moved by what Mike and Russ have been able to do together. Talking with people with these kinds of stories really makes me appreciate my time out hunting, even if it’s not a successful hunt.
