Turkey Tour | Pt. 2
SEASON 26 | EPISODE 02
Quick Summary
- What happened: The Cianciarulos continue their Turkey Tour, traveling through Illinois, Texas, and Colorado to chase Eastern, Rio Grande, and Merriam turkeys in a quest to complete the Turkey Grand Slam in a single spring.
- Why it mattered: Few accomplishments in turkey hunting rival a single-spring Grand Slam — four subspecies, thousands of miles, and a weather window that waits for no one.
- What made it tough: Hung-up Rios just out of range, a camera malfunction in the middle of Ralph's kill, slow Colorado weather, and birds that refused to cooperate until the very last day.
- Best takeaway: The Grand Slam isn't won on one hunt — it's won by staying the course when tech fails, birds hang up, and the clock starts running out.
Outfitter Information
G5 Outfitters TX
Texas — Rio Grande Turkeys
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Episode Breakdown
Picking up where Part 1 left off, the Cianciarulos push north, west, and back home in their chase for a single-spring Turkey Grand Slam. Three states, three subspecies, and one very tight calendar — the Turkey Tour rolls on, and the pressure is on.
Illinois — Ralph & Vicki Double on Easterns
The crew leaves Florida and heads to Illinois in search of Eastern turkeys. After a morning campfire spent listening to gobbles and pinning down the birds' travel routes, Ralph and Vicki set up a blind right in the bird's path. A group of longbeards files in, Jake works the call to perfection, and Ralph and Vicki drop a double — one of the cleanest openings the tour could have asked for. Recovery follows, Dean rolls in to celebrate, and the crew is already eyeing Texas.
Texas — Vicki & RJ Seal the Rio Grandes
Down in Texas with G5 Outfitters, the hunt doesn't come easy. After patterning the Browning Maxus II and Cynergy and rolling into camp, the first morning turns into a "watch but don't shoot" affair — toms strut just out of reach and behind brush. That afternoon, Ralph and Vicki get hustled back into a hasty setup, exotics parade through, and a tom finally commits hard to the decoy. Vicki takes her shot and seals the Rio. The next morning, RJ and Aubrey get their own shot at the action — exotic game moves through, toms attack the decoy, and RJ drops a longbeard on his own at the back of a full-strut group.
Ralph's Rio & the Camera Meltdown
Ralph's Rio hunt starts simple — short build, light calling, a tom steps into range. The only problem? The camera decides it has other plans, and the kill footage comes out glitchy with no audio. What should have been a victory lap turns into a very honest conversation about the headaches of filming hunts when technology fails at the worst possible moment. The crew salvages the story, plays up the hate on gear that quits mid-hunt, and gets Ralph on the board. Aubrey's tag stays open, leaving the door cracked for one last run.
Colorado — Ralph Closes the Slam on Merriams
Back home in Colorado, the tour should feel like a victory lap. It doesn't. The weather is rough, encounters are few, and the week grinds down to the last day with the Merriam tag still open. On the final morning a group of curious Jakes circles the blind trying to figure out what the crew is — then peels off. Minutes later, a group of Toms comes running in. Ralph makes the shot with the .410, the Turkey Slam is sealed, and the tour finally breathes.
The episode closes on the reason this crew does what they do: miles driven together, birds earned the hard way, and a Grand Slam that came down to a last-day Merriam in Colorado.
Location & Conditions
Illinois, Texas & Colorado
Illinois hardwoods and ag edges; Texas brush country with mixed exotics; high plains and foothills in Colorado.
Full spring variability — mild Illinois mornings, warm Texas afternoons, and cool, unsettled weather in Colorado that slowed the final push.
Classic spring turkey behavior — gobbling off the roost at dawn, strutting through mid-morning, and the occasional mid-day bird willing to come back to the call.
Animal Descriptives
A Turkey Grand Slam requires all four North American subspecies — Eastern, Osceola, Rio Grande, and Merriam. This episode covers three of them. The Eastern is the largest and most widely distributed, thriving in hardwoods and ag country with loud, aggressive gobbling that carries through the timber. The Rio Grande is the bird of open brush, mesquite, and mixed exotic country — lighter in the body, with tan-tipped tail feathers, and a reputation for hanging up just out of range. The Merriam is the mountain bird — bright white-tipped tail and rump feathers, at home in ponderosa pines and high plains, and often the most weather-dependent bird of the bunch. Stacking all three in a single spring, on top of an Osceola, is what makes a one-season Grand Slam so rare — and so worth it.
Shot Placement & Tips
Turkey hunting lives and dies by the shotgun. On this leg of the tour the crew ran the Browning 12GA Maxus II and Browning 12GA Cynergy for the bulk of the hunts, with Ralph closing out the Slam on Merriams using a .410. Regardless of gauge, the rule is the same: aim where the neck meets the body, or tight to the head-and-neck junction, and keep shots inside 40 yards. Pattern your gun before the season so you know exactly where the dense core of your pattern actually prints — and if you're running a sub-gauge like a .410 on Merriams, tighten that discipline up even more. Use quality magnum turkey loads, match them to a choke that's been tested on paper, and wait for the bird to be broadside or alert with his head up before you squeeze.
Field Notes & Takeaways
- Tech will fail at the worst time: Ralph's Rio kill got recorded by a camera that decided to quit mid-hunt. Have backups, check your gear obsessively, and be ready to tell the story even when the footage doesn't cooperate.
- Adapt your setup on the fly: The biggest wins of this trip came from moves that weren't in the plan — a hasty afternoon blind in Texas, a last-day audible in Colorado. When the birds change the game, change with them.
- The Slam is a marathon: Three states, three subspecies, and a calendar that won't wait. Pace yourself, take care of your crew, and don't let a bad morning talk you out of the afternoon sit.
Hunt Information
Eastern, Rio Grande & Merriam Turkeys
Browning 12GA Maxus II, Browning 12GA Cynergy & .410 (Merriam)
Spring Turkey 2025
Multi-state tour — guided with G5 Outfitters in Texas
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FAQ
What is a Turkey Grand Slam?
A Turkey Grand Slam is harvesting all four North American wild turkey subspecies — Eastern, Osceola, Rio Grande, and Merriam — in a single spring or across a lifetime. Doing it in one spring, like the crew chased here, takes planning, travel, and a whole lot of luck.
What weapons were used on this leg?
We ran the Browning Maxus II in 12GA and the Browning Cynergy in 12GA for most of the hunts, with Ralph sealing the Slam on his Merriam using a .410.
What was the toughest part of this episode?
A tie between the camera giving out mid-kill on Ralph's Rio and the slow Colorado weather that pushed the Merriam hunt all the way to the last day of the week.
From the Field
"The Slam isn't about one perfect hunt — it's about showing up, state after state, until the job's done."
Ralph CianciaruloBring It Home: Chicken-Fried Wild Turkey & Pepper Mill Gravy
Cast iron, a good pound-out, and a peppery gravy — this one's a full plate worth earning.
Ingredients
- Turkey
- 1 wild turkey breast, halved and tenderized to 1/4" thickness
- 1 cup milk
- 1 egg
- 1 cup flour
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Vegetable oil for frying
- Pepper Mill Gravy
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 1/4 cup reserved frying oil
- 1/4 cup flour
- 1 to 1.5 cups milk
- Salt to taste
- Fresh cracked black pepper, generous amount
Recipe
- Trim any fat from the breast, pat dry, then cut in half. Place each piece between plastic wrap and pound to 1/4" thickness, working from the center outward.
- Whisk together the milk, egg, salt, and pepper in a shallow bowl. Set up a second shallow dish with flour.
- Coat each piece in flour, dip into the egg wash, then coat in flour again. Let rest a minute while the oil heats.
- Heat 1/2" to 1" of vegetable oil in a cast iron skillet to 300°F. Fry each piece about 8 minutes, flipping once, until deep golden brown and internal temp hits 160°F.
- Transfer to a 200°F oven to keep warm while you make the gravy.
- Remove most of the oil from the pan, reserving 1/4 cup. Return pan to medium-high heat, add butter, and whisk constantly.
- Add reserved oil and mix in, then gradually whisk in flour for 2–3 minutes without letting it burn.
- Slowly pour in milk while whisking out any lumps. Lower heat, season with salt and a generous amount of fresh cracked pepper.
- Pull the turkey from the oven, pour gravy over the top, and serve immediately.
Chef Tips
- Pound the breast evenly — uneven thickness means one part dries out before the other cooks through.
- Double-dredging in flour (flour → egg → flour) is what gives you that thick, crispy crust.
- Don't rush the gravy — low and slow after adding milk keeps it silky instead of lumpy.
- Fresh cracked pepper in the gravy is the whole move — don't swap it for pre-ground.
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