Archery Hunting for Turkey
Turkey
Although it was many years ago, I wounded and failed to recover my first two turkeys. Since then I switched to shotgun, as I hate wounding any game. I would very much like to hunt exclusively with my bow, and always use a blind anyway due to WI ticks. So I was wanting to get some tips on switching over. I bowhunt almost exclusively for big game, but the turkey have such a small kill zone I have been hesitant to make the change. I am a better than everage shot with my bow. Any advice?
A large expandable for body shots or go for the head shot with the bullhead type heads.
If making body shots, aim for the middle of the bird or slightly above center. Use the legs for reference.
When using dekes, set them close to the blind and if you have a jake or strutter in your set up, put him where you want to shoot. I like 8-10 yards.
same advice as Midwest
"hit 'em high, watch 'em die...hit 'em low, watch 'em go"
I don't use decoys as most my tags are late season leftovers and the toms avoid them. But I do have great close-in setups where dekes are not needed.
Was wondering if there are any meat quality issues as a result of gaping holes in the breast meat that an expandable head would leave.
I'd personally rather deal with a little cut up breast meat than have to worry about biting into a stray BB. I got my first archery turkey this spring and, while I can't say I enjoyed the hunt any more or less than with a shotgun, I really liked not having to worry about breaking a tooth. I'll almost certainly be bowhunting next spring. I used a NAP Gobbler Getter head and it knocked the tom right off his feet. He got up, ran a few steps, and was done for. Fun stuff!! I might try a Bullhead next year.
I gun hunt them but have taken a couple with archery equipment. I used a large expandable head, the Buckblaster, minus the fixed blades. Aim mid body straight up from the legs and it's more of a gut shot and you avoid the breast meat. This area also has wing and leg joints so a little high or low and you hit those spots.
I would rather eat breast with gaping hole than worry about chomping down on turkey shot from shot gun ! I killed my first two with shot gun and will never go back . Bow only for me ! Good luck!
Mid body straight up from the legs is not guts...it's lung and liver. Just in front of the legs is heart and just behind is gizzard then guts close to the tail. Any high hit is good. I sight in to hit an inch or two above where I an aiming to ensure I always hit the high side of a Turkey. Don't be discouraged...a lot of successful big game bowhunters cant kill turkeys with archer gear.
I've never gun hunted turkeys and don't plan on it. If you breast shoot a bird it's a bad shot from most angles and the gaping whole will be the least of your worries. If you can hit them in the wing butt they will not travel far, usually less than 20 yards.
Big mechanicals can be beneficial. The actual vitals on a turkey are quite small. I had a few packs of Slick Trick Grizztrick 2's (large fixed blade) on hand and used them on all three birds this spring. They worked great. What you want to avoid is a non vital body shot with a very small BH that zips through the bird. If they can fly after the hit, finding them will be very difficult.
weekender beat me to it. If you tear up much breast meat, you made a bad shot to begin with, and probably won't have to worry about eating anything. Turkey anatomy is completely different from big game. At least the location when viewed from the outside. Use a large mech. (it's really all they're good for ;-)), and learn where to aim. The kill zone may be small, but if you set up well and are patient, shots will be close.
A sight with bright pins, is more important in my opinion, than the broadhead. In a blind, if your pins are not bright enough, it's hard to pick a spot on the black body of a turkey.
There hard to find but crosshair sights are the bomb for turkeys out if blinds...pin sights are the worst. You can siloutte the harizintal line with the upper third of the turkeys body and line the veriacal up with the legs.
"If you can hit them in the wing butt they will not travel far, usually less than 20 yards."
In my experience, the wing butt is about the worst place you can hit a turkey other than a breast shot. The one and only turkey I've lost was shot in the wing butt. It is above and in front of the vitals and is like hitting a rock. I learned my lesson, did a little more research and learned where to aim after that loss.
Agree with Midwest on the thighs or head shot.Both are deadly. Agree with Ziek in that a breast shot is never deadly, although I have ran down a few that had their pectorals damaged enough that they couldn't fly. TBM has an interesting point in that almost ALL turkeys hit low get away so it isnt a bad idea to hit 1" high at 15 yards when sighting in with mechs each spring. When hit high they are either dead or live to see another day. When hit low they can die later or be crippled.
Id say my favorite shot with a mechanical is quartering away or straight up the back when not in strut. Works very well. I never shoot them facing me anymore as its like shooting a V-bottomed boat-to easy to glace of that breast bone and go right or left...right through breast again isnt going to touch them. They really aren't right and are as tough as mountain goats :)
PS ...Stay away from the wing butt :)
My favorite shot is when they are walking away in back. They go no where !
X2 Venison Junky!!
Waiting till they turn around and shoot square in the back.
You are getting some great information.
As it has already been said....low is BAD. Don't shoot low and don't shoot forward. I always aim for my arrow to pass between the hips. If you hit them there you will never lose a bird. The wing but can kill birds BUT I would never aim there. Stick with anchoring them at the hips or with a head shot and you will have no issues.
I attempted a head/neck shot this spring with a wasp jak hammer. At 4 yards I caught the left side of the neck, one blade slit his throat basically. He went 10 yards.
I still prefer body shots, but can see the head and neck shot working very well with head choppers. I just like the versatility of mechanicals, if they are going by at 30 yards, I can still shoot.
Julius
Shoot all the poundage you can...65 to 80 pounds. Quartering shots are good. Break a thigh entering and a wing on exit and they are done done. Vortex, buckblasters, and Tom o hawks are top heads for Turkey. Avoid frontal shots and straight away shots unless they are really close. A little right or left spells disaster on these shots. Quartering shots give the widest margin for error as you can miss to the right or left 4 inches and still not be in trouble. Modify your blind windows and make them small. 5 wide and 10 tall at the largest. Never shoot from a stool...kick it out of the way and shoot from your knees.
I hit mine right above the legs. they couldn't fly, and it sure slowed down the running because the arrow stayed in them.
TBB
I use bullheads, clean miss or clean kill.
Bullheads are not a clean miss or a clean kill.
Hit the turkey in the body and it's not a kill, and not a miss. At least with the 125-grain head it's also not a dead turkey.
A buddy hit one low, and within two hours it came back following some hens and he got the job done right.
Great head, amazing customer service...and made in Kansas.
Surprised no one has said it. Get some top quality decoys they make a huge difference on how a bird acts when they come into your setup. We use dsd and they are best in the business no comparison. I am sure others will back me up on that. Also shot placement is everything. My hunting partner an I shoot coc 3 blade fixed bh. Same setup we use for big game. Big heads can help but if you take selective shots and know where to aim you'll be ahead of the game. Good decoys allow for us to get those high percentage shots. Hope that helps some. Good luck
DSD's sucked in and held most of all the birds I whacked this past season. I wanted those birds close and took them at 6.5, 9, 11, 12.5 yards.
Turkeys with a Bow and Arrow is tough.
I actually killed and recovered a body shot Turkey with a Bullhead. The head impacted directly on the thigh and shattered it, bouncing back out at impact and doing very little damage in terms of cutting. The big Tom flew and fortunate for me landed in a freshlycleared clearcut. I took chase fairly soon after the shot and the Tom flew again when I approached, this time heading into thick planted pines. A road dissected through the pines and I found where the turkey crashed landed on the road. I followed his tracks to where he went into a thick brior thicket and spotted him in a place a rabbit wouldn't go. I got up a head of steam and dove in on top of him. He died instantly from fright more than the damage done with the head.
Ive seen a bullhead shot from an 80# setup that hit a bird in kill zone where youd shootm with a broadhead and the thing penetrated through feathers and rib/back bones into the carcass killing the bird... If it wasnt for 80# and heavy arrow bird wouldve lived.... Oh and the shot was low and not intended for that spot it hit so a little lucky
slr...was it the 4" Bullhead or smaller version?
There might be a little breast damage using mech BH but not much to worry about, as pictured.
You might consider using a 10 yard pin on your bow for more accurate arrow placement at closer ranges, as many of the shot are less than 20 yards. There is usually only an inch or two difference of shot placement between shooting at 10 yards vs 20 yards, but using a ten yard pin might help.
Also, get a turkey 3d turkey target and practice out of the blind's shooting ports. The view and range estimation, from inside a blind seems to be very different that shooting out in the open.
A realistic paper picture target (available in a couple of angles) can also be use much cheaper and this will allow you to take your time and pick a spot and learn the tom's anatomy.
Not all blind's shooting port are created equal so practicing from inside the blind will make a good difference, ie, shooting from your knees, a chair, etc. Ranger finders are handy but if you do or do not have one, pace off 10, 15, and 20 yards and place a stick in the ground. Another way is to place your decoys at 10 and/or then a 15 yards, then you will know the range.
Some in the past some bow hunters have reduced their bow's poundage for turkey hunting thus allowing them to hold at full draw longer if needed. A reduction of a few pounds will not reduce arrow flight, trajectory, or penetration at 10-20 yards.
And then what most others have stated.
My best, Paul
My body shot was the big version. He small one would have went deeper into the bird.
Bullheads don't look to me like they'd fly very well unless you tuned and practiced with them. But how can you tune an practice w/ something like that w/o tearing them up?
I sight my bullheads in using some old foam pillows stuffed into a cardboard box. They tear the pillows up fairly quickly but you can move the stuffing around & get several more shots that way.
An old couch cushion works good too. Neither of these targets seem to tear up the bullheads. They also have a lifetime warranty with very good customer service.
Poly fill in the arts and crafts section at Wal-Mart has poly fill. Get about 5 pounds of that. Then go get a big garbage can and stuff the poly in a he can. Turn it over on its side and shoot into the polyfill. A leaf stuck in makes an aiming point. This will last for about 20 years. The heads don't bend even shot a hundred times..keep the poly loose and fluffy. This is better than anything mentioned above. You can also shoot Mechanicals in it with no problems. This is the best, cheapest , longest lasting bh target. For better penetrating bh pack about 20 pounds of the fill. Also reinforce the bottom with 9 pound of ethafoam. It last for billions of shots...literally.
Paul,put some clothes on that bird! :)
Lost my first two when the internet standard was erroneously declared WING BUTT
Under the new standard of high/bone busting I've done much better.
Great thread!
I have had awesome results the last couple years with a home made strutting decoy using a faded out flambeau covered with a old mount I made years ago. I can spin the deke with a line from the blind. I don't know if it is the movement or what but it has been amazing. Usually set it 10 yards. When bird commits to it I just turn it broadside to the blind and so far every bird has come in head on to the deke, which gives a awesome broadside chip shot.
Honestly....the best advice I could give to killing birds with a bow is patience. Nothing will put birds down consistently more than old fashioned blind time. Couple that with the proper aiming point and not calling too much and you pretty much have it covered.
