No, it’s not NCAA basketball wins, but something we think is even better. Two women from Alabama recently were recognized for their individual accomplishments stemming from their dedication to their outdoor lifestyle.
We first heard word from The Outdoor Wire that 19-year-old Mari Gracie Brooks from Ramer, Alabama, has achieved two turkey Grand Slams, taking the four subspecies—Eastern, Osceola, Rio and Merriam’s—in the United States. If that’s not impressive enough, Brooks has two Double Grand Slams, where she harvested two of each of those species in one year. One year, she harvested a Royal Slam that added the Gould’s from Mexico.
Photo courtesy Robby Brooks
The Wire reported that the crowning achievement of her relatively short career came last year when she added the World Slam to her resume by taking the four U.S. species, the Gould’s and the Ocellated from the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico. Two weeks ago, she added two more Osceolas for a grand total of 101 turkeys harvested so far in her turkey hunting career.
According to the story, she inherited her turkey obsession from her dad, Robby Brooks, who was at her side during all of her Slams, holding her in his lap when she took her first turkey at age 4 on the family farm south of Montgomery. You can see more fabulous photos of Mari's gobblers and read the entire story on Outdoor Alabama.
The smiles on our faces were just as wide when we saw Ashley Ammons’ award-winning photo of her Boykin Spaniel, Fancy, which was photographed carrying a pheasant during a shoot sponsored by the Central Alabama Shooting Dog Association. Ammon’s action shot won the Alabama Black Belt Adventures Best Sporting Dog Contest, garnering about 750 online votes.
Photo by Ashley Ammons
Ammons, a Baldwin County resident, will receive a prize package valued at $185, including a Filson shelter cloth dog coat, including monogramming, designed for upland bird and small game hunting and a copy of “Black Belt Bounty,” the award-winning coffee table book filled with incredible wildlife photography and artwork, spell-binding stories by award-winning writers and mouth-watering wild game recipes.
Ammons said she and her husband routinely travel to the Black Belt to visit family, including an annual fall visit to take part in a CASDA pheasant shoot each November. She often snaps photos of the dogs working, and that’s how she shot the winning photo of Fancy. “It’s a fun thing to bring your dog to train and do what they love to do,” she said.
NRA Women extends hearty congratulations to both outstanding high-achieving outdoor women!
