World Champion turkey caller Emily Oliver gets lots <strong>of</strong> invit<strong>at</strong>ions to hunt with the boys. Just be sure you let her shoot! 16 For UAM student Emily Oliver <strong>of</strong> Hamburg, hunting is a “family thing.” Her grandf<strong>at</strong>her, Larry Linder, placed a turkey call in her hands when she was old enough to hold it and l<strong>at</strong>er gave her a mouth call over the protests <strong>of</strong> her grandmother, who was afraid young Emily might swallow it. UAM MAGAZINE It’s A Family Thing Emily’s mother, Jamie Linder Oliver, a 1989 UAM gradu<strong>at</strong>e, is still the only woman to finish in the top five <strong>at</strong> the N<strong>at</strong>ional Wild Turkey Feder<strong>at</strong>ion’s Grand N<strong>at</strong>ional Turkey Calling Competition. Emily has killed turkeys in <strong>Arkansas</strong>, Texas, Florida and New Mexico and has mastered as many as 10 different calls, so it shouldn’t have come as a big surprise when she became the first girl to win the 18-and-under division <strong>of</strong> the World Turkey Calling Championship held March 10-11 in Mobile, Ala. A freshman wildlife management major, Oliver was the best <strong>of</strong> 12 callers in the 18-and-under division. Nine <strong>of</strong> the contestants were boys and not all <strong>of</strong> them were thrilled by the notion <strong>of</strong> losing to a girl. “The ones th<strong>at</strong> don’t like it are the ones th<strong>at</strong> don’t know me,” says Oliver with the hint <strong>of</strong> a smile. Oliver and the other contestants were required to demonstr<strong>at</strong>e their pr<strong>of</strong>iciency in five different calls – the cutting call <strong>of</strong> an excited hen, the plain yelp <strong>of</strong> a hen, the cluck and purr, the keeke run call <strong>of</strong> a baby turkey th<strong>at</strong> has lost its mother, and the fly down cackle. Judges s<strong>at</strong> behind curtains and were unaware <strong>of</strong> the identity – or gender – <strong>of</strong> the callers. Oliver’s skill as a caller has <strong>at</strong>tracted the <strong>at</strong>tention <strong>of</strong> many <strong>of</strong> her fellow students in UAM’s School <strong>of</strong> Forest Resources and has elicited numerous invit<strong>at</strong>ions to go hunting with the boys. “Oh yeah, I get invited a lot,” she says. “But some <strong>of</strong> them say ‘Let’s put her 20 feet behind us and let her call.’ I tell them I’ll call for you as long as you let me shoot, too.” Oliver has been shooting since she was old enough to hold a gun. She was five when her grandf<strong>at</strong>her took her on her first deer hunt and killed her first deer <strong>at</strong> the age <strong>of</strong> eight. She is an avid duck hunter and killed a bearded hen on her first weekend <strong>of</strong> turkey hunting. She’s been hooked on the sport ever since and admits she’ll “shoot anything th<strong>at</strong> won’t shoot me back.” Oliver killed a 132-class 10-point buck deer in Texas <strong>at</strong> the age <strong>of</strong> 14 and has traveled far and wide in pursuit <strong>of</strong> turkeys. She recently completed the turkey hunting grand slam – killing each <strong>of</strong> the four wild turkey species n<strong>at</strong>ive to the 48 contiguous st<strong>at</strong>es – by killing a Merriam’s Turkey in New Mexico. She has killed numerous Eastern Wild Turkeys n<strong>at</strong>ive to <strong>Arkansas</strong> and the eastern United St<strong>at</strong>es, a Rio Grande Turkey in Texas, and an Osceola Turkey during a trip to the Florida panhandle. On the same trip she also shot a seven-and-a-half-foot allig<strong>at</strong>or. She wants to complete the Royal Slam, which requires bagging a Gould Turkey in Mexico, and a Super Slam – shooting a turkey in each <strong>of</strong> the 48 contiguous st<strong>at</strong>es. Oliver also has her sights set on a trip to Africa, where she hopes to bag a Kudu antelope. Oliver’s skill as a turkey caller has been noticed as far away as Hollywood. A producer from the television show Animal Planet called recently. The network is interested in doing a show on turkey callers and wanted the top female caller. “They said they’d be in touch,” says Oliver. Stay tuned and pass the ammunition.
SERIOUS COMPETITOR Emily Oliver displays her skill <strong>at</strong> the World Turkey Calling Championship. Summer 2012 17
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