A Celebration for the Books: NWTF Convention and Sport Show Celebrated 50 Years in 2026!
Each year, the National Wild Turkey Federation Convention and Sport Show celebrates the achievements that advance our mission and unites people through the life-changing power of the outdoors. 2026 marked the 50th anniversary of this incredible event, and we’re went bigger than ever. Please see below for coverage, including award recipients, contest winners and more!
See You at the 2027 Convention and Sport Show:
Feb. 11-13, 2027
Event Schedule
Plan your Convention and Sport Show experience by viewing the schedule prior to your arrival.
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Book a Room
We recommend staying at the Gaylord Opryland hotel so you have everything you need under one roof.
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Purchase Event Tickets
Get your tickets for award ceremonies, nightly entertainment and auction and raffle events.
Purchase Tickets
Sport Show Wristbands
Pre-register for the Sport Show and skip the registration lines. Wristbands are free for current members.
Register Today
Exhibitor Info
Promote your business to more than 55,000 individuals who attend the weekend's festivities.
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Calling Competitions
Callers of all ages compete for more than $25,000 in cash and prizes in eight divisions
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Callmaking Competitions
The NWTF's Grand National Call making Competition is the premier competition of its kind in North America.
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Taxidermy Competitions
Gobblers strut, big chests and beards puff out, attracting attention.
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Auctions and Raffles
With thousands of live and silent auction items, you’re sure to find the perfect takeaway.
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Convention and Sport Show Schedule
Plan your 2027 Convention and Sport Show experience ahead of time by learning the dates and times of your favorite events, seminar, auctions and more!
2027 Convention and Sport Show information coming soon!
Book a Room
2027 Convention and Sport Show information coming soon!
2027 Convention Overflow Hotels
2027 Convention and Sport Show information coming soon!
Exhibitor Information
Be one of the companies to showcase your products and services in our 90,000 square feet of exhibiting space during one of the biggest shows in Nashville, TN. Promote your business to more than 55,000 individuals who attend the weekend’s festivities. Our available booth spaces disappear as quickly as those free promotional items you hand out.
Grand National Competitions
Test your calling, callmaking and taxidermy skills against some of the best competitors in the nation right here at the NWTF Convention and Sport Show. Contests are open to entry level and advanced individuals. This is your chance to support the NWTF and gain national recognition by competing in exciting and challenging categories and divisions. Showcase your talents and compete to receive trophies, medallions, ribbons, cash prizes and championship rings.
NWTF Grand National Calling Championships
Callers of all ages compete for more than $25,000 in cash and prizes in eight divisions. Competitions are held in Nashville, Tennessee, at the Gaylord Opryland Hotel. The best callers in the world use natural voices, latex mouth calls, pot and peg friction calls, box calls, owl hooting tubes and more to yelp, cluck, putt, gobble and hoot their way to the top spot on stage.
Adult competitions are sponsored by: Primos and TETRA
Youth competitions are sponsored by: Mossy Oak
Register for GNCC Here
2027 Tentative Schedule of Events:
2027 Convention and Sport Show information coming soon!
2026 Winners:
GNCC Gobbling Championship
Sponsored by: Primos and TETRA
Winner: Ryan Greathouse, West Point, GA (237.5)
1st Runner up: Kerry Elliott, Paris, KY (237)
2nd Runner up: Russell Andrews, Tuscaloosa, AL (235.5)
3rd Runner up: Jed Paronish, Northern Cambria, PA (233.5)
4th Runner up: Mitchell Johnston, Purlear, NC (232, 234 call off)
GNCC Owl Championship
Sponsored by: Primos and TETRA
Winner: Kaleb Payton, Central City, KY (240)
1st Runner up: Travis Ham, Ruth, MS (234)
2nd Runner up: Ryan Kube, Fairmount City, PA (233.5, 236 call off)
3rd Runner up: Conrad, Union, MS (233.5, 235 call off)
4th Runner up: Tyler Presley, Front Royal, VA (233.5, 234.5 call off)
GNCC Team Air & Friction Challenge
Sponsored by: Primos and TETRA
Winner: Tyler Presley and Matthew Presley(562.5)
1st Runner up: Hunter Wallis and Terence Williamson (559.5)
2nd Runner up: Josh Grossenbacher and Pat Strawser (559, 560 call off)
3rd Runner up: Dave Owens and Zach Conaway (559, 559 call off)
4th Runner up: Jesse Martin and Sadie Martin (556.5, 560.5 call off)
GNCC Friction Championship
Sponsored by: Primos and TETRA
Winner: Dylan Bearden, Reidsville, NC (466.5)
1st Runner up: Zach Conaway, Guyton, GA (464)
2nd Runner up: Matt Van Cise, Brookville, PA (459.5)
3rd Runner up: Brad Robers, Knoxville, TN (459)
4th Runner up: Tyler Presley, Front Royal, VA (457, 462 call off)
GNCC Senior Division Championship
Sponsored by: Primos and TETRA
Winner: Hunter Wallis, Greenfield, PA (575)
1st Runner up: Jared Lowe, Gadsden, AL (574.5)
2nd Runner up: Tyler Presley, Front Royal, VA 573.5)
3rd Runner up: JR Lanham, Bunker, MO (572.5)
4th Runner up: Jesse Martin, Mt. Sterling, KY (568)
Youth Grand National Turkey Calling Championships
Sponsored by: Mossy Oak
GNCC Poult Division Championship (10 and under)
Winner: Ben Dozier, Dickinson, AL (374)
1st Runner up: Kinlee Bryan, Ruffin, SC (364.5)
2nd Runner up: Grayson Roberts, Leighton, AL (358)
3rd Runner up: Boone Miller, Morganton, NC (357)
4th Runner up: Trace Kimbrough, Town Creek, AL (356.5, 360 call off)
GNCC Junior Division Championship (11 to 15)
Winner: Hudson McGarity, Hartwell, GA (373)
1st Runner up: William Ridgely, Fuquay Varina, NC (370.5)
2nd Runner up: Levi Pruitt, Reidsville, NC (368, 370 call off)
3rd Runner up: Mason Johnston, Purlear, NC (368, 364.5 call off)
4th Runner up: River Lamb, Sylvania, GA (365.5)
GNCC Intermediate Division Championship (16 to 20)
Winner: Bo Bartlebaugh, Armagh, PA (374.5)
1st Runner up: Aden Dively, Duncansville, PA (374)
2nd Runner up: Ethan Jones, Beaver, OH (373)
3rd Runner up: Lane Cathe, Birmingham, AL (366)
4th Runner up: Tristen Hargreaves, Coy, AL (361)
Taxidermy Competition
Gobblers strut, big chests and beards puff out, attracting attention. Spring hens nest hidden in shadow-casting edge cover. Predators attack the wild turkeys we love, engaged in dramatic duels. Walk through the Grand National Wild Turkey and White-Tailed Deer Taxidermy Competition display at the NWTF’s annual Convention and Sport Show, and you’ll experience unrivaled artistic renditions, crafty design elements and supreme efforts to re-create moments from times afield like you’ve never seen before. After all, wildlife taxidermy aims at putting a memory on the wall you can return to whenever you want, just by looking up there. – Steve Hickoff, “Mounting Talent,” Turkey Call
This annual taxidermy competition held at the NWTF Convention and Sport Show is sponsored by: HuntStand
Enter the competition today at taxidermy.nwtf.org/
2026 Winners:
People’s Choice Award
Winner: Robert Schmac
Wild Turkey Master of Masters Division
Winner: Brett Miller
Wild Turkey Masters Division
Best of Show: Robert Schmack
Best Standing: Russel Coble
Best Strutting: Russel Coble
Wild Turkey Professional Division
Best of Show: Evan Mosley
Best Strutting: Evan Mosley
Best Standing: Evan Mosley
Wild Turkey Commercial Division
1st Place: N/A
Wild Turkey Youth and Amateur Division
Winner: Piper Faulkner
White-tailed Deer Master of Masters Division
Winner: Tommy Rogers
White-tailed Deer Masters Division
Best of Show: Dustin Vaine
Best Open Mouth Deer: Dustin Vaine
White-tailed Deer Professional Division
Best of Show: Brendon Miller
Best Open Mouth Deer: Walker Kelly
White-tailed Deer Commercial Division
Winner: Steven Gregory
White-tailed Deer Amateur and Youth Division
Youth: Eli Daniels
Amateur: Camden Brown
Callmaking Competition
The NWTF’s Grand National Call making Competition is the premier competition of its kind in North America. A panel of experts in the fields of call making, calling and hunting evaluate entries and present more than 80 awards. A weekend filled with perpetuating the fine tradition of this folk art is celebrated by a competition, live auction and silent auction.
This annual competition held at the NWTF Convention and Sport Show is sponsored by: Redneck Blinds
The Custom Call are available at customcalls.nwtf.org.
2026 National Award Winners
Click the specific award for in-depth coverage.
- Wisconsin Women in the Outdoors Chapter
- Franklin County Longbeards
- Southern Maryland Chapter
- Sand Dunes Gobblers Chapter
- NJ Women in the Outdoors Chapter
- Georgia State Chapter
- Ohio WITO Chapter
- Sun Area Local Chapter
Partnership Achievement Awards
- Minnesota State Chapter
- Houston Chapter
- Illinois State Chapter
- Nisqually River Chapter
- Missouri State Chapter
- Peyton Pugh
- David Potter
Wheelin’ Sportsmen Volunteer of the Year
- Tad and Kathy Jacobs
- Coleen Skaife
- Matt Smith
- Cody Campbell
USDA Forest Service Making Tracks Awards
- Cecily Mui
- Mark Twain National Forest
- Boise National Forest, Deer Point Timber Project
- Eldorado National Forest
- Kelle Reynolds
- Shawnee National Forest
- Fire on the Forty Initiative
Joe Kurz Wildlife Manager of the Year
- Marcus Thibodeau
- MaryJo Casalena
- NWTF Florida State Chapter
- NWTF Mississippi State Chapter
- Glenn “G.T.” Thompson
- LaCrosse
- Brent Rogers
- wildturkeyDNA
- Will Primos
- Bob Long
C. B. McLeod Distinguished Service Award
- Ron Regan
Wildlife Officer of the Year Award
- Amanda McKune
- Dave Boston
- Roy Crain
- Keith Fritze
- Mike McKernan
- Greg Shermo
Lynn Boykin Hunting Heritage Award
- ALPS Outdoorz
Auctions
Convention is the best way to find one-of-a-kind NWTF merchandise, firearms, hunts, vacations and more! Begin bidding today to find those items you can’t live without, while supporting the mission of the NWTF!
2027 National Convention and Sport Show Silent & Live Auctions:
2027 Convention and Sport Show information coming soon!
Raffles
2027 Convention and Sport Show information coming soon!
2026 Convention Sponsors
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