Don't Shoot for the Wing Butt
Turkey
I thought most people knew not to aim for the wing butt by now. But I still occasionally hear somebody say they aim for the wing butt and of course we know most 3D targets have it wrong. I did a post mortem to better understand shot placement. Pic one is with the wing and skin removed. You can see the wing joint. pic two shows the rib cage remove and location of the heart, lungs and liver. Pic three shows that that the vitals are about 4-5" behind the wing butt. Pic four shows the 4-5 inches back with the wing reattached.
Having a hard time adding pics to the post. resizing and submitting under separate posts
Does anyone know the maximum size for image posting
Vitals
Vitals
I aim middle of the middle.
Hence the challenge with picking the correct location for body shots. Especially when you add in the feathers puffed up in a strut and a variety of angles. Which is why I prefer neck shot with Magnus Bullhead 125, per other current thread.
Thx for posting your info and photos.
I like the frontal shot on turkeys. If the tom is strutting, the Texas heart shot is my favorite.
Texas heart shot knocks em dead for sure…
Main thing to remember. Hit em high and they die, hit em low and they go.
Every one I've hit in the head or neck with a Bullhead has dropped immediately, no tracking, no lost birds, no guessing about where the vitals are. Not so with ones shot with a mech in the body.
An online search of images turns up A LOT of variability of dots on a turkey as to where to aim. When you take into account the airspace around the neck and head that is overlapped by the diameter of a Bullhead, the vitals of the head/neck are every bit as large if not mores o than the body. And much easier to identify and aim at, no matter the angle. From directly behind in full strut there is no shot for a Bullhead, but all you need to do is draw and wait for him to turn. From every other angle it's very easy to select a head/neck aiming point. I always aim mid-neck: little high or low it's still an instant kill.
I personally don’t find it that difficult. As Glunt said, big mechanical, middle of the middle and it’s a pretty much done deal. Middle of the middle from any angle.
To be fair I’ve never killed one with a bullhead, bought some and shot them in the yard. Just decided I preferred body shots.
—Jim
Middle of the middle for me too. All angles.
“Every one I've hit in the head or neck with a Bullhead has dropped immediately, no tracking, no lost birds, no guessing about where the vitals are. Not so with ones shot with a mech in the body”
Q: (Or several, if you have any data) How’s the body-shot penetration with your recurve & a 2-blade? And have you tried a guillotine head with a stickbow?
I do like a tall, skinny target to focus on, but you can line up on/between the legs and get the same benefit.
Honestly, I think my best bet would be the tailpipe at full strut, but I have to wonder how well their vision serves them when their beak is pointed straight at you. They probably don’t have great depth perception…
“but all you need to do is draw and wait for him to turn. ”
That works better with a compound ;)
I actually aim a little back from middle when broadside. You run the risk of getting all breast. Best to follow up the leg.
I'm with Sivart on this. I like the broadside shot, up the leg, like in the pictures in the thread "Turkey head or body shot". I believe that's the best shot on a body shot turkey.. Frontal right in where the beard comes out. Back side middle of the middle. Fanned out, well you know :)
"Best to follow up the leg."
Yup
Sorry, the dreaded “delayed double post”…
—Jim
Sivart, 100%....good advice to follow straight up the leg.
"Straight up the leg" is good advice for several different situations....
Lost several in the last few years. One facing directly away and put the shaft between the shoulder blades. Another just below the neck in the beard area while facing me, third was broadside and did a backflip before running off. Not saying I didn't kill them (I did find the broadside bird a week later) but you need to be able to find them too.
About 25 years ago was hunting in a spot at the base of the ridge when I had a bird come sailing down from the top, crashed into the woods below me. A short while later a bowhunter who had been hunting the field and ridgetop walked down the hill. I motioned him over to help find the bird. Pretty sure if I hadn't seen it he would not have recovered it. They will hide and expire in some interesting places sometimes.
Trying the Bullhead and Zwickey Scorpions that keep the arrow in the bird this year. Will let you know how it ends up.
Top of the Drumstick for me. Always w a muzzy grasshopper behind the broadhead to keep the arrow in the bird. Pushing 60 birds now and only lost 1 or 2
Shoot them in the shiny spot. I've never lost one when I've taken the top of their legs out.
Thanks for the pictures, haven’t seen a dissection of a turkey before
Wonder how different vitals are on a goose. I’ve shot a lot of those and the ones where I cut through the drumstick and actually Sevr it close to the top seem to die the fastest and go nowhere.
https://youtu.be/jzRJ0yWI300
No affiliation with this guy, or even know him, but I agree with him and find it informative. Take it for what it's worth.
“Wonder how different vitals are on a goose. ”
Minimally, would be my guess. Bigger lungs for sustained flight. But evolution is really conservative, and changes from the basic blueprint usually only occur when there’s a specific benefit associated.
Good video Twine, but you can’t aim for that spot at all angles and he doesn’t really address that.
I agree with Midwest and usually aim to the middle and an inch above the “bronze”. I feel if you lean toward the front apex of the “bronze plate” and you’re off just an inch forward—you’re in low breast. By aiming above the bronze and in the middle—you capture spine above (can’t miss a turkey too high) and tough to shoot them too far back. If hit low still take out legs which I agree with him on.
But too far forward…or low…is trouble IMO. Splitting hairs and not trying to be picky as overall good vid.
The second bird in video that is shot…at the 1:20 mark..that’s where I believe is a better point of aim and more margin for error.
I know I wouldn't fly far if at all after a TX heart shot......
