Hunters accept challenge in Upland Slam
Russ Befort now has completed the Nebraska Upland Slam four times in four seasons.
The 43-year-old from Shawnee, Kansas, knows he couldn’t have done it alone. He credits his dog, Otis, for playing a “critical” role.
While hunting the greater prairie-chicken and sharp-tailed grouse, after walking several miles, Befort was presented just one shot on each bird. Otis, a Kliene Munsterlander, was able to retrieve each downed bird.
Befort was randomly drawn as the grand prize winner in the eighth year of the Upland Slam, winning a Winchester SX4 Upland Field 12-gauge shotgun.
The western Kansas drought in the early 2020s sent Befort, who first started hunting birds when he was 5, looking to the north.
“Based off the moisture maps, Nebraska appeared to have gotten the proper moisture for bird hunting, so I did some homework into hunting up there and I saw and advertisement for the Upland Slam,” Befort said. “It was the coolest thing I’d ever heard of in my life since I’ve started bird hunting. I immediately was hooked and was planning trips to Nebraska.
“Back home there really wasn’t much for you if you wanted to bird hunt, but in Nebraska, here was this golden challenge that existed. It was kind of a no-brainer,” he said. “It was very exciting.”
The Upland Slam concluded with hunters from 10 states pursuing four species of upland game birds on Nebraska’s private and public lands. The slam challenges hunters to harvest a ring-necked pheasant, sharp-tailed grouse, greater prairie-chicken and northern bobwhite quail in Nebraska during the season, which ended Jan. 31. The slam is a partnership between the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission and Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever of Nebraska.
The eighth year of the Upland Slam gave 143 hunters, including two youth, a reason to take advantage of the state’s excellent opportunities and growing availability of publicly accessible land. In the slam, hunters upload photos of their harvest to a website and share information about their hunting experience.
Befort harvested his pheasant on a Conservation Reserve Program site in Harlan County, sharp-tailed grouse on an Open Fields and Waters site in Brown County, greater prairie-chicken on private land in Rock County and quail on private land in Franklin County.
The 87 finishers of the slam became eligible for the prize drawings and received an official certificate and pin. Other prize winners were Patrick Lechner of Syracuse, who won the Print of the Year with Medallion: entitled Mr. Pheasant by Christa Dawn, and Lucas Kennedy of Shawnee, Kansas, who won a $100 Scheels gift card. Teal Peterson of Mullen, the only youth finisher, won a Lifetime Habitat Stamp, as he already had a Lifetime Hunt Permit.
Dogs were winners, too. Hunters who completed the slam and uploaded a photo of their hunting dog at work to their submission form received an official “Top Dog” tag and certificate.
Visit OutdoorNebraska.gov and search “Upland Slam” to find the names of all hunters who successfully completed the slam.
In eight years of the Upland Slam:
- 875 hunters participated 1,528 times.
- There were 880 finishers.
- Two hunters finished all eight years.
- 405 hunters recorded 597 first-time harvests.
- 58% of harvests came on public land.
- 30 states have been represented.
- 78% of totals participants come from Nebraska.
Befort, who’s never hunted in Nebraska before participating in the Upland Slam, estimates he’s spent 60 days hunting in the state in four years. He’s experienced the Sandhills and Niobrara River Valley for the first time. He plans to include the Panhandle on future trips. He encourages others to do the same.
“I would recommend they plan on exploring the state for what it is and plan on trying to really discover new territories because Nebraska has a lot of public access,” he said. “There’s a lot to explore here and it’s well worth the time.”