As a diehard whitetail hunter since the age of 12, I enjoy surrounding myself with others who have the same passion. Now there’s a community of deer hunters joining together with one unified goal in mind: to complete their Whitetail SLAM!
Growing up, I hunted central Minnesota and dreamed of a day when I could hunt whitetails across the country. I was completely mesmerized with deer and wanted to learn everything there was to know about hunting them. My parents did a great job teaching me about hunting whitetails in Minnesota, but as I began to travel I realized this was just the tip of the iceberg. Of course, some of the same hunting principles apply wherever you go, but the fun thing about chasing whitetails is that every hunt is different. As a whitetail enthusiast, this adds an extra challenge and makes every hunt unique! The Whitetail SLAM has been created to commend those hunters who have successfully taken bucks from a variety of territories across the United States.
For the first 4 years of my hunting career I shot doe after doe, and couldn’t have been happier, but when I finally shot my first buck I was beside myself! The joy and thrill of the entire hunt with my mom and dad was beyond words. It’s absolutely true—there is more to a hunt than antler size, but that buck hooked me for life. Granted, he wasn’t going to break any records, but he was a mature deer that I successfully harvested. Everyone knows that the older a whitetail gets, the smarter it becomes, so I felt it was the ultimate accomplishment at 16 years old.
The Whitetail SLAM community wants to recognize those who’ve experienced the same accomplishments across the country. The creators of Whitetail SLAM worked with renowned whitetail experts to break American whitetails into eight distinguishable subgroups based on unique territories to make up the SLAM. Members are encouraged to register any four legal bucks to earn a Whitetail SLAM, or register all eight bucks for the Ultimate Whitetail SLAM.
Becoming a member is free; all you have to do is sign up on the website to get an official SLAM Community page, then you can start registering your bucks. By adding your bucks you will also have a chance to win a dream hunt filmed and featured on "Whitetail SLAM TV" airing on NBC Sports and The Sportsman Channel. You can’t beat that! By becoming a "SLAMMER," you'll also get to interact with other hunters through the forums and gain access to the weekly gear giveaway.
You can register bucks that you harvest in upcoming seasons, or bucks you've taken in the past. Even if you don’t have any bucks to register yet, you can still join the Whitetail SLAM community and receive the weekly SLAM e-newsletter full of tips, techniques and hunting reports from all eight SLAM Zones.
Once you complete your quest for the Whitetail SLAM or the Ultimate Whitetail SLAM, you will be honored with a framed certificate and entered into the SLAM archive and annual publication for the year your SLAM is registered. An official SLAMMER achievement package will also be sent out to commemorate your hard work and success!
I have three bucks to register and can’t wait to continue my quest next fall. Check out the Whitetail SLAM website and start registering your bucks today!