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Youth setup for turkey suggestion

1. How far were both shots?

2. Had he practiced on a turkey target, paper of foam?

3. Did he know the anatomy of the bird?

4. What did the toms do after the shot?

5. What did the hunter do after the shot?

6. Some might feel that after two lost birds, it was time to hang it up (tag soup and lesson learned) and practice more.

7. Yea, reality check for sure.

My best, Paul

Gotta agree with Paul... Maybe time to bring out the shotgun. Not trying to be a jerk, but you need to get your son's confidence back and get a bird under his belt.

It sucks to loose a bird, we've all done it. Things happen, and it hurts for days. Birds are tougher to kill with such a lite poundage bow, and prolly very lite arrows. Truth be told, an aluminum shaft would give him more arrow weight then the Axis shaft. Something to think about...

Scott, my wife shoots a Mission Craze. Draw weight set at 40 lbs, draw length 23", and she shoots Gold Tip 35/55's cut to 26" tipped with an 85gr Slick Trick standard. Total arrow weight is most likely in the 290 gr range, don't know for sure but I bet that's close. She doesn't have any problem killing turkeys, I've seen 2 complete pass throughs and DOA turkeys. I think Ryan's set-up is fine. Make sure he stays away from the wing butt for sure otherwise you'll end up with a picture like this (hopefully the little lady never sees that I posted that on here or I'll be sleeping in my blind)! This pic was immediately after she hit one in the wing butt, he snapped her arrow, and according to her just gave her "the feather" and walked away.

Scott, just pondering your situation and I know you guys will figure it out.

Fathers and sons hunting together is very special so keep the passion growing.

My best, Paul

Scott, his setup sounds fine to me as well. But it couldn't hurt to dr some weight up front to his arrows or shoot 125's if he's shooting 100's. Turkeys are tough and If you can shoot heavier arrows or draw weight imo it's beneficial. On a broadside bird if he hits him in the vital zone, the small spot in the zone where the wing joint is could cause havoc for his light setup. One option could be bullheads until he gets a few dead and his setup gets heavier with him getting older and stronger stronger. Keep at it he'll start putting them down.

My girlfriend shoots a similar setup and when she hits them she hasn't had any problems. But of the two she hasn't had a complete pass through. She shot one with a nap spitfire and only got about 2" penetration and the other with a stinger and the arrow stuck in the off side.

If he is shooting them in strut that could be some of the problem. Mainly for picking a spot. I have shot a fair share and I always struggle with birds in strut. Most likely if I wasn't shooting expandables I would have lost a few of them.

I just think of all the animals I have killed turkeys have given me the most trouble killing. Until I started shooting at there heads . Hunt

Scoot,

My daughter is shooting 32lbs and about a 400 grain total arrow tipped with Bullheads for turkey. IMHO once one reaches 30 lbs you can safely use bullheads on turkeys. I prefer body shots myself but for new hunters or kids I believe the only way to go is to head shoot them. I consider Bowsite to be made up of the best bowhunters on the planet and the topic comes up every year about lost birds due to poor shot placement. It is just really hard to place your arrow in a relatively odd, when compared to other animals, location.

Also....don't even consider asking him to hang it up because of 2 lost birds. It happens and at his age it is important that he be able to shake off the lows and have fun.

Scott, thinking I may switch my daughter over to bullheads next year as well. I actually thought about having her use them this year but thought the body shot would be easier for her, incorrectly it seems. It does take all of the guess work out of it, just shoot them in the red!

I also wanted to add....I had her turkey hunting with Bullheads shooting much less weight in the past. I did a lot of testing with the heads and I was comfortable that her setup would work @ 25 lbs with her long draw length (for a kid). That low poundage freaks people out but it takes very little poundage to kill animals with good shot placement.

If deer and elk were as tough as turkeys, archers would not kill nearly as many. Just think of the size of a brodhead compared to a turkeys body, and the way they can soak up a shot. I have never actually measured but I would guess it would be like a 6" cutting diameter on a deer and 10" to 12" on an elk. Just some food for thought.

Feathers I think adsorb a lot of the arrows momentum due to the puffyness of them, like a bag target.

Lungs sit against the back, instead of hanging down along the ribs.

Body cavity is way smaller than what it looks like it should be. (on a live bird)

My 12 year old daughter took one with her bow this year. Her arrows weigh 450 grains, with a 3 blade 125 grain VPA, 49 pound draw weight, 25" draw, hit right in the top of the thigh. The arrow got 5" of penetration, it was enough to kill the bird, but I was surprised it didn't pass through. Even with hitting bones.

Biggest thing is don't let your son get disappointed to the point he wants to stop hunting birds with his bow. They are tough critters. I will say this tho, personally I think 40 pounds might be a little light for taking a body shot, If he is shooting a youth bow. Kids bows are forgiving, but not overly fast, which dose have an effect on penetration.

The Texas heart shot would be the best option for a body shot because of the lack of dense feathers in that area.

Good luck, Jesse

Jake, the kid I mentor, used the 100 grain Bullheads on about a 26" adult carbon arrow, that was fletched wit three big feathers, while only shooting 37#. (The kid has pencil arms.)

Mike Sohm at Magnus recommended against the full-sized, 125-grain bullhead because of the low poundage, and how a full-length, heavily-spined arrow would fly. Mike said 40# seemed to be the magic minimum.

Jake shot both of his birds the same day. One a limb-hanger that went about 20 yards, and took a few to die because of the slight hit, but we watched it fall.

That afternoon the next bird fell straight down like a dropped rag. He shoots a Craze.

I wasn't a fan of loppers...until I saw his smiles.

Turkey's aren't as tough as they are problemattic. It's much harder to teach someone where to aim, and they have those wing-thingies that can help them get away and they don't normally leave much of a blood trail.

Chances are your son will probably add 3-5# to his bow over the next 10 months which will help if he does want to move up to Bullhead, or a wider, heavier head..

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