When a Mississippi turkey hunter set out to harvest a mature gobbler in each of the 49 states that have wild turkeys, Alaska being the only state without wild turkeys, he didn’t realize it would be a 30-year journey.
He also didn’t realize the lessons he learned and the people he met while chasing his passion would shape his life.
“I think from the first time I heard a turkey gobble,” said Chip Davis of Grenada, “I think the passion was there and continued to grow until today.
“When the hair on the back of my neck stood up I was hooked. They had me. They had my number.”
Davis said he began hunting turkeys in 1985. He said at that time there were few turkey hunters and they were tight-lipped about the secrets of success.
So, he read.
“My mentors were anything I could get my hands on to read,” Davis said. “I read ‘Tenth Legion.’
“I read ‘Old Pro Turkey Hunter.’ I tried to be a sponge. I tried to absorb everything I could.”
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Translating words into hunting
One of the things he read that stuck in his mind was that a hunter cannot move when a gobbler is near. He read that even blinking his eyes could spook a turkey and he took it to heart.
However, Davis learned early on that words on pages don’t always translate exactly when you’re in the field.
Davis called in his first gobbler. There was a small bluff that was about 4 to 5 feet high between him and the bird. When the bird came over the bluff and into view, there was about 15 feet between him and Davis.
Davis was ready, but the bird’s head wasn’t exactly lined up with the barrel of his shotgun. So he sat and watched the bird until it walked away.
“The rule was you can’t move,” Davis said. “All I had to do was move my barrel about an inch and a half.
“I was a statue. That was the last time I saw that gobbler in my life. I learned a lesson from that experience.”
A few years passed before Davis harvested his first gobbler, but he considers those years successful.
“I would not swap those early years,” Davis said. “I learned something every time I went. Even though I was not harvesting turkeys, I was learning turkeys.”
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Taking a passion for turkeys on the road
In 1992 Davis decided to try something new. He traveled to Missouri to hunt.
“It was the place to go,” Davis said. “They had lots of turkeys then.”
Davis said that trip was also a learning experience. He had to learn how to pack everything he needed for five days of hunting and make it fit in his vehicle.
“I had to learn how to travel,” Davis said. “I had to learn to pack three changes of clothes.
“I had to learn how to wash clothes real quick. Nobody ever talks about that stuff.”
Traveling to hunt turkeys got in his blood. He set out to do a Grand Slam which is harvesting the four native species of wild turkeys in North America. He already had Eastern turkeys under his belt and over the next few years he harvested a Rio in Texas, a Merriam’s in Nebraska and an Osceola in Florida.
Then he turned his sights toward harvesting a gobbler in 49 states, which is called a Super Slam in the turkey world. After all, he only had 44 to go.
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How he hunted 49 states
Planning and research were at the forefront. Davis researched where the highest concentrations of birds were in states. He also looked at corners of states where he could go and hunt multiple states in a single trip.
“If you pick your places correctly, you stack the odds in your favor,” Davis said.
He hunted a lot of public land. He also networked to gain access to private land.
“Networking is important in everything you do,” Davis said. “I can talk for a week about about how important networking is, but it’s important in turkey hunting as well.”
He also knocked on doors.
“I wouldn’t just arbitrarily knock on doors,” Davis said. “I wouldn’t knock on a door if I didn’t see a gobbler on the place.
“I would stack that in my favor. A lot of those guys are my friends today that I met like that.”
Some states he had to go to twice.
“I was not successful every hunt,” Davis said. “There were five different states I had to repeat.
“Some turkeys are tough. Weather conditions can be tough. That was another life lesson. Not everything you sign up for is going to work out.”
A successful hunt and a surreal look back
While not everything works out in life, Davis felt confident his hunt in West Virginia, his final state, would.
Davis arrived to the property he would hunt on Easter. He said it was a beautiful day and he could hear gobbling from his cabin.
The weather didn’t hold, though. Monday morning came with heavy rain and sleet. Davis was forced to hunt from a ground blind, which he typically does not like to do.
That didn’t dampen his spirits. Davis knew the weather would improve and he had four more days to hunt. So, Davis used that time to reflect on his journey.
Davis called up an alphabetical list of states on his phone and scrolled through. He spent a few hours thinking of each of the states he’d hunted.
“It gave me the time to make it special and think about all the people that made it possible, the places and the turkeys over 30 years,” Davis said. “It was highlight of my turkey hunting career having that time to look back.
“It’s surreal. Is it a sense of accomplishment? Yes, but it’s more than that. It has shaped me into who I am today. It’s also a feeling of being blessed. The Lord has truly blessed me.”
The following day, the weather improved enough to increase gobbler activity. Davis said he had a textbook hunt and with it became the 14th person on record to harvest a turkey in 49 states.
Davis said his journey, like many other pursuits in life, came down to taking the first step.
“Ninety-eight percent of the time, the thing that prevents people from doing this is they never start it,” Davis said.
Contact Brian Broom at 601-961-7225 or [email protected]. Follow Clarion LedgerOutdoors on Facebook and @BrianBroom on Twitter.
