I have always appreciated humble people, especially those folks that have achieved the pinnacle of their chosen endeavors and yet have remained unpretentious about their accomplishments.

Over the past several years of writing this column, I’ve had the opportunity to talk with some exceptional people that have done extraordinary things. By and large, the one common thread between them has been that each was very humble in discussing what he or she had accomplished.

Mississippian Chip Davis certainly meets this criterion. Perhaps you remember my article last year about Davis and his completion of the U.S. Super Slam of wild turkey hunting. Taking a turkey from each of the 49 states (Alaska doesn’t have a turkey season) to complete the Super Slam is no small feat, and for Davis it was a 30-year quest.

However, the Magnolia State hunter and native of Grenada was far from finished with his quests, as during the 2023 season he completed the remainder of the National Wild Turkey Federation’s recognized Slams by finishing his World Slam, Mexican Slam, and Canadian Slam (Davis had already completed numerous Grand Slams and a Royal Slam prior to this season).

For his Mexican and World Slams, Davis traveled in April to the jungles of the Yucatan with outfitter Steve Brown of Brown and Company Outfitters, braving the heat of the tropical rainforest for his Ocellated wild turkey.

The avid turkey hunter followed up that achievement in May with a trip to Canada to attempt his last remaining Slam—the Canadian. In order to successfully close out this last quest, Davis would need to take an Eastern wild turkey in Ontario and a Merriam’s subspecies in British Columbia.

According to Davis, Ontario lived up to its nickname as “The Province of Opportunity” as there were plenty of birds. In fact, he said it felt like hunting turkeys back home in the Magnolia State, but without all the hunting pressure.

From Ontario, he flew to British Columbia, and soon found out that The Pacific Province was going to present much more of a challenge. “I’ve been on roughly one hundred turkey trips, and of all of them this may have been the most difficult,” he explained.

According to Davis, the challenge came from the turkeys, or lack thereof, as well as the terrain. “B.C. is straight up and down in rocky mountains and, not only that, there were very few turkeys,” he said, adding, “I have always found the Merriam’s subspecies to be relatively easy to hunt, but I only heard two turkeys gobble and I only saw three–the gobbler I killed and two other hens.”

At one point during the trip, Davis called his wife to tell her that he had all but given up and was beginning to contemplate a return trip to another location.

As luck would have it, later that same afternoon, another guide returned from checking game cameras to report a gobbler on camera in a food plot at three different times the prior day.

Davis’s hope was renewed as he now knew where at least one longbeard was and one bird was all that he needed. That afternoon he positioned himself along with his guide in a makeshift burlap blind and called every fifteen minutes, varying his calling with each sequence.

After several hours of calling, his calls were met with a thunderous gobble, however, as often happens with wild turkeys, this monarch of the mountains was directly behind their setup instead of in the direction they were facing.

The seasoned Mississippi hunter quickly hit his belly and pointed his shotgun in the direction of the incoming gobbler. Within a few minutes, Davis spotted the bird coming in at around 35 yards.

He continued tracking his quarry until the longbeard was well within range, and was about to take the shot when his Canadian guide moved to get a better visual on the turkey which, in turn, spooked the bird.

As the jumpy longbeard turned to make his exit, Davis found an opening and dropped him before he could get away.

With the completion of his Canadian Slam, Davis had now completed all the recognized NWTF Slams, becoming only the second person to achieve the feat. After achieving his quest, it would be understandable if he wanted to sit back and bask in the glory of the accomplishment. However, he already has his sights set on another challenge.

“There are no recognized Slams for this, but there are wild turkeys in New Zealand,” he explained, adding that, “their Spring is our Fall and I’m working on booking now for October.”

The humble outdoorsman also told me that he has a mission to use his platform to be a voice of encouragement. “The reason I do these things is simple—I love the wild turkey, and I love being an encouragement to others to chase their dreams,” he said.

Sounds like a wonderful mission! Until next time, here’s to chasing your dreams and to being the voice that encourages others to do the same.

Email outdoors columnist Brad Dye at braddye@comcast.net.