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The Youngest Turkey Grand Slam

SHE Field Staffer Susan Armstrong and her daughters Alli (l) and Adriana (r) pose with turkeys from their grand slams.

Shesafari.com

Illinois --(AmmoLand.com)- At age 7, Adriana Armstrong may be the youngest girl to harvest the grand slam of turkeys. Her older sister, 11-year old Alli, also scored a grand slam in the spring of 2009. Although many hunters strive to achieve this coveted milestone, the two Illinois siblings are believed to be the youngest grand-slam-sister-team on record.

The National Wild Turkey Federation (NWTF) identifies the grand slam of turkey hunting as harvesting an Eastern, Rio Grande, Merriam’s and Oscelos (Florida) birds. The NWTF awarded the girl’s accomplishments with official certificates and pins. Adriana is believed to be the youngest girl to complete a grand slam. When she started the season, Adriana was 6-years-old and turned 7 during her quest. The entire Armstrong family went on every hunt and all were captured on video. In fact, every member of the family now has grand slams.

Susan Armstrong, the girls’ mother, was the first member of the family to get her grand slam and is a member of the SHE Outdoor Apparel field staff. Susan recalls their recent adventures,” We started out in Florida in Alachua County where the girls took two jakes on the first evening. This completed Alli’s first grand slam and started Adriana’s. As soon as Adriana shot her Osceola she started talking to her daddy about going after her own grand slam.”

The next day Alli and her father Darrick accomplished what Susan describes as, “the ultimate DDD or daughter-daddy-double. They scored on two gobblers, which completed Darrick’s grand slam and started Alli on the trail to her second.”

Upon returning to their farm in Southern Illinois Adriana doubled on two Easterns and Alli took another great gobbler. Soon the family was headed to Donley County in Texas to hunt with All American Outfitters. Adriana got a jake and a gobbler in the same morning. Later that evening Alli called in a four-bearded gobbler and scored her Rio.

Next, they headed to Trophies Plus Outfitters in southeastern Montana to hunt Wyoming Merriam’s with outfitter Mike Watkins. Alli and Darrick pulled off yet another successful DDD.

Alli shot her turkey then gave her dad the gun and took control of the camera to video
his hunt. Adriana completed her grand slam on this hunt too.

This hunt completed Alli’s second grand slam all in one season. Susan describes an added twist to the story,”What made it even more special for everyone is that Alli was able to take her second grand slam with Mark Cubley’s 12 gauge Benelli. Mark was a close family friend who passed away suddenly in the spring of 2008. He had always dreamed of getting his grand slam. Mark was more like an uncle to Alli and Adriana and he loved turkey hunting. Alli and Mark had traveled to Florida the year before he died to try for a slam, but neither one harvested an Osceola. After he passed away, Mark’s family wanted Alli to have his Benelli. She graciously accepted the gun and pursued the emotional grand slam in his memory.”

The hunt culminated a season that would make any hunter proud. For more information on the Armstrong girl’s hunting adventures visit www.alliarmstrong.com.

About:
SHE Outdoor Apparel is a Texas based company specializing in high quality outdoor clothing for women. For more information visit www.shesafari.com or call 281-448-4860.

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SHE Team Members Win Shooting Awards

National Muzzleloading Rifle Association

During the recent National Muzzleloading Rifle Association (NMLRA) shoots, Michelle placed first in the 50 yard individual bench match, second in the 100 yard individual match and second in the women’s 100 yard individual slug match. She also finished in the top 5 women to qualify for the Crosley Open. She and husband, Branch finished 3rd in the couples bench match.

The NMLRA was founded in 1932 and currently has approximately 18,000 members. They hold 2 shoots each year; in June and the national shoot held in Friendship, IN each September. Approximately 1000 members competed.

The Crosley Open is considered the most prestigious event with a finale requiring members to shoot a qualifying target and place in the top 5 of each category. These include: the previous year’s top 5 shooters, men over 60, men under 60, women and juniors. The qualifier and the final target are shot with a roundball, bench rifle at 50 yards with open metal sights and 5 bulls. Branch won this event for the 5th time and tied his previous record of a perfect score of 50 with 4Xs.

For the women’s bench championship Michelle shot the roundball bench rifle with peep sights, 3 targets – two at 50 yards with scores of a clean 49 and 50 with 2Xs. The last target was at 100 yards and she shot a 49 with 2Xs, for a total aggregate score of 148 with 4Xs. Second Place was a 147 with 3Xs and third place was a 147 with 2Xs. The 50 yard target of 50 with 2Xs won first place in the women’s individual match and the 100 yard target of 49 with 2Xs gave her second in that individual match. There were approximately 25 women competing in this aggregate.

Rounding out the week, Michelle finished second in the women’s scoped-slug gun individual match, shooting a 100 with 5X’s at 100 yards. The winner was Donna Hearn, shooting a 100 with 9Xs. Branch and Michelle finished 3rd in the couples individual match at 50 yards with a combined score of 97 with 4Xs.

Michelle stated, “The best part for me was that I had never sat behind a target rifle of any kind before last week! Branch is a great coach and helped me dope the wind and mirage conditions! It is amazing how any slight miss-adjustment or wind shift can move that heavy roundball or slug! Even squinting your eyes or flinching at the trigger can cause you to drop points without even thinking about it! It was exciting and great fun and something I look forward to competing in the future! I would love for all of my SHE Safari members to experience this event!”

Lisa Metheny Wins SEOPA Green Ribbon Award

Lisa Metheny of Terre Haute, Indiana, was presented with the Green Ribbon/Dave Meredith Award by the Southeastern Outdoor Press Association.

The Green Ribbon Award was renamed last year in honor of Dave Meredith. Now called the Dave Meredith Award, it is presented to the first-time conference attendee who exhibits great enthusiasm for the conference; someone who gets involved in the activities and makes a special effort to get to know – and learn from – other members.

Dave Meredith is the customer service/public relations manager for BPI Brands, a leading manufacturer of black powder guns and related equipment. BPI has been a SEOPA member since 1996. Dave attends SEOPA’s annual conference on behalf of BPI, and he does so with a passion for making newcomers feel welcome – just as he was welcomed so many years ago. Dave makes a special effort to make sure young members get involved and take full advantage of being with such a fine group of outdoor communicators and industry leaders.

The Southeastern Outdoor Press Association (SEOPA) was founded in 1964 to help outdoor communicators excel in their profession. Today, it consists of 332 media members who communicate about traditional outdoor sports like fishing, hunting, camping and boating, and 234 corporate members with allied interests. SEOPA members gather once a year to hone all aspects of their communication skills from basic writing and Web site production to digital photography and copyright law. They also learn about new products available to outdoor enthusiasts, and they are awarded honors in an annual communications contest.

Media Contact: Brenda Potts, brendapotts@hughes.net

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