Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Bowhunting Question about completing a "Super Slam"

A Super Slam in bowhunting is getting all North American big game animals correct? Here in PA, turkeys are classified as big game. Why aren't turkeys part of the Super Slam?

Also, why isn't the Aoudad of New Mexico and west Texas part of the Super Slam. These are considered the #1 hardest bowhunt in North America.

Aoudad are feral.

Kent

There not feral. Feral means domesticated animals that have gone back into the wild. Aoudad were imported from Ethiopia in the '20s to Calif. and the 60's to New Mexico. But they're wild, so I figured they should count.

Aoudad are not feral, but they are exotics, which means they are not native to this country. Therefore they are not part of the Slam.

Well, in southern Az a guy had some 'domesticated' with some other animals, ostriches, pigs, and such. He left the property, died or something, they escaped or was let go in the country. I was helping on Coues hunt and we kept having this Aoudad around us, thought about shooting it but wasn't sure. Asked the warden when we seen him and he told how they escaped and to kill it, called it feral. It came by camp and one of the guys shot it with a pistol.

I guess it just depends how they came to be in NM, I haven't heard the story. Did the G&F actually release them or did they escape from a ranch or migrate from TX.

Anyway, feral or exotic, they're not native to NA, they're not big game.

Kent

I see what you mean KRP.

I wouldn't call them feral though, like the warden did. I hunted aoudads for several years and IMO they make deer seem slighttly stupid, where they run wild they are wilder than any deer I've seen.

Any wild animal can be tamed to an extent, I guess if someone raises a deer and it's tame as can be, would it be considered feral if it left the property? I guess if you think about it, it would. But no one would call a deer "feral", tame or not.

Feral means a domesticated breed of animal that has gone wild. Aoudads were never domesticated animals.

I guess defining if they were feral would depend on if the original stain introduced were caught in the wild and immediately shipped/released with as little intrusion as possible or if they were bought from breeders and shipped/released, any subsequent introductions also catch/release or purchased from breeders. Looks as there are aoudad for sale in Texas as breeding pairs.

If any non native species is introduced by private sources and not official government sources, seems they would be classified as livestock. That they escaped beyond the personal property borders and reverted back to wild is basically the hog situation and they are considered feral even after a couple hundred years of generations being wild, they can be very wild.

Hunting introduced species on private land and then escaped animals on public land, no matter how wild, is an entire different classification and has no place in the NA hunting books for recognition compared to indigenous species.... An Atta boy is in order, but that's about it.

Not really trying to argue, I just like interesting topics that make you think beyond everyday issues, good conversation.

Kent

I wasn't trying to argue either Kent, just conversation.

You make good points, and I agree.

Bill

I knew you were and just wanted to say I was too, good talking with you Bill.

Kent

The way I understand it, if you want to be recognized as taking an "official" Archery Super Slam, you must take all the species Pope and Young recognize in their record book. They don't all have to make the minimums for entry, but Aoudad and turkeys aren't in P&Y.