Well the flowers are popping up between clumps of snow and air is warmer, it can only mean one thing. Spring is here! We all know what that means, turkey time. This spring thousands of hunters will dust off their shotguns and head out into the woods in search of an old long beard. As you gather your calls and camo may I make one suggestion? Forget the shotgun and grab your bow case. I know all the guys at FLG have all been shooting in leagues and basements all winter to be ready for this very moment. I agree going after a turkey with archery tackle is a challenge, but thats what makes getting a bird all the more rewarding.
Several tips when taking a bow out after turkeys.
1. Shot placement is critical, shooting turkeys with a bow is made difficult by their small vitals and body shape pulling your shots away from where they should be. Turkey’s vital organs are higher on their back then they should be, if the bird is broadside a line drawn horizontally from the top of the beard should intersect a line drawn vertically from the legs right at the vitals. This can be made more difficult when a Tom is in full strut. Here are some good shot placement diagrams. As you can see the vitals are higher in the body then what feels correct.
Vital Areas on Silhouetted Turkeys
2. Unlike with deer it is beneficial to have the arrow stay in the bird. A pass through is not a good thing, turkeys are taken down with shock as much as they are with hemorrhaging. Couple of reasons, one, turkeys are difficult to blood trail so the wound channel doesn’t really matter. Two, if the arrow stays in the bird it is much more difficult for the bird to run away if the hit isn’t ideal. There are several tactics you can use to slow the arrow quickly in the bird. Several companies make turkey specific broadheads, NAP, American Broadhead Company, and Trophy Ridge Rocket Heads to name a few. The Magnus bullhead and Gobbler Guillotine are made specifically for head and neck shots. They are known to cut the heads of turkey clean off but can be difficult to use. Pictured below is the American Broadhead Company’s Turkey Tearror. You can also add a claw behind your broadhead made by Neet Archery.
American Broadhead Company's Turkey Tearror
3. A ground blind isn’t essential but it can increase your chances of being succesful by ten fold. Drawing your bow while a tom wanders into range can be almost impossible. Turkeys see so well and pick up moment in ways we could only dream of. While in the darkness of your ground blind you can draw completely hidden from the view of the turkey.
Using these tips in combination with your current turkey knowledge and skills will give you a good chance of harvesting a big old tom turkey this spring with archery tackle.
Happy Hunting,
Rocket