Visit Gerry Dillon's house just north of Ligonier and one thing is obvious.
The man is nuts about turkeys.
He's got a turkey-shaped mailbox at the end of the drive, full-body mounts of turkeys flying strutting and sitting on a limb on some walls, head, breast and tail fan mounts on others, turkey beards scattered across the top of the piano and coffee table and turkey photos, statues and books filling in the few gaps left.
"I like archery deer hunting, too, but spring turkey hunting is my No. 1," said the 61-year-old. "There's just something about it. When you get out there and hear those birds sing, it gets in your blood. I love it."
Proof is the time and effort Dillon expended to record a "Royal Slam," which in turkey hunting means taking all five North American turkey subspecies: the Eastern, Rio Grande, Florida or Osceola, Merriam's and Gould's. He completed it last year.
Not many earn a slam.
The National Wild Turkey Federation maintains a database of hunters who have done it. It's not free -- there's a $10 processing fee -- and hunters have to get a witness to sign off on their application. Dillon hasn't done all that yet.
But the list gives an idea of how rare the feat is. There are more than 2.6 million turkey hunters in America, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and more than 232,000 in Pennsylvania alone, according to the Pennsylvania Game Commission.
"But on average, we process between 30 and 50 Royal Slams per year," said Melanie Swearingen, a spokesman for the group at its South Carolina headquarters. "And we have 726 Royal Slams to date currently on our website."
That's equivalent to about 3/100 of 1 percent of all the turkey hunters in the United States.
Dillon started his quest to record a Royal Slam after he retired as an educator.
"I just figured that not every turkey hunter accomplishes that, or even has the chance to, so I figured I'd try," he said.
Dillon's taken dozens of Eastern turkeys over the years, but "officially" started his quest when he took a gobbler near home in 2003. He harvested a Merriam's in South Dakota in 2007, a Rio Grande in Texas in 2008, an Osceola in Florida in 2009 and a Gould's last year in Mexico.
The hunt for the Merriam's was fun because it occurred on leased land where Dillon heard 30 gobblers in one hollow. The Rio Grande bird was interesting because of the Texas sagebrush country. The Gould's was his favorite, color-wise -- the tail feathers are almost snow white at the tips - and was taken on a trip where his guides spoke no English.
But there's no doubt the most challenging birds to hunt are those found close to home, he said.
"I like hunting the Eastern birds because they're the toughest," said Dillon, who does almost all of his hunting locally on public land. "I see and hear a lot more turkey hunters around here than I used to. The birds get a lot of pressure, whereas in Mexico, you're hunting places where the birds might never have seen a hunter."
There's only one more level he can reach. Turkey hunting recognizes a "World Slam," which hunters earn by taking the five North American subspecies, plus the Ocellated turkey, found in Central America.
Dillon's not sure whether he'll try for that one or not. But he'll be out in the woods somewhere this year, every chance he gets, looking and listening for turkeys.
"That's what retirement's for, right?" he said.
State slammers
Of the 726 "Royal Slams" recorded by the National Wild Turkey Federation, 37 were taken by Pennsylvania hunters. Three of them have recorded two Royal slams, including Thomas Edgington of Kittanning, one's done it three times and one's done it seven.
Some of the other area hunters on the Royal Slam list are:
• James A. Allera of Apollo
• Hunter Black of Rochester*
• David Burdge of Brookville*
• Judy and John Daddona of Center Valley*
• James A. Davis of Lilly*
• Paul Felix Jr. of Ebensburg*
• Michael Gillespie of Pittsburgh
• Clyde Gouker of Belle Vernon
• Clyde Gouker Jr. of Clairton
• Melvin Gouker of Belle Vernon*
• Roger Miller of Gardners
• Richard Scheller of Rochester
*These hunters are among the dozen or so from Pennsylvania who have also recorded World Slams.
