HELP! TURKEY DOWN BUT LOST!

[irishevox]

Last night I shot my first turkey, least to say I was excited.  So what happend was I shot this bird with my bow full pass through the wings.  He ran in to some brush and I looked last night and couldn;t find it.  It got dark out and no light so I called it quits and then headed home.  I am at work and i can;t look for until this evening.  so two questions.   the Temp was 49 degrees and Rainy and it is still raining and the temp will go up to 56 but will still rain so dew point will stay lower to mid 40's
When I find it will the meat still be good or did I just eat a tag?
How long does it usually take for a shot like that to have the bird expire?
Thank ya'll

[jackmaster]

you should have called in sick, a coyote will find that bird before you get off work, that i can promise you, or a ratcoon or possum... good luck though

[jackelope]

Pretty sure that bird will not be edible.

It's poultry, like chicken. You wouldn't eat that after letting it sit all night with temps in the 40's. At least I wouldn't.
Red meat is different.
 

[turkeyfeather]

Turkeys don't really have alot of blood in them. It wouldn't take very long for a bird to expire from a mortal wound. Everyone I have shot with a bow died within a couple yards. Are you absolutely sure you hit it? But at this point it's probably not edible.

[TheHunt]

I bet it was a coyote meal.   Sorry to say....   

[Gringo31]

Several years ago I shot a turkey with my bow and it took off flying.  The next morning I was able to find it although it was still alive.  You need to go look, find it and the answer to some of these questions will be fairly evident.   

[Fowlweather25]

  you should at least be able to find feathers. If you hit him in the body hes a hurtin unit if not dead. If hes still alive then the meat is good. If hes dead and still warm to the touch hes good. If hes dead and not warm then dont risk eating him.

[buglebuster]

People hang ducks and pheasants in 40 degree weather for a week... Why wouldn't the meat be good

[irishevox]

He is def hit.  I found blood and feathers and my arrow.  It was a complete pass through fletchings covered in blood and featehers i hit him broad side

[irishevox]

i am praying the meat is good.  I hate to waste.... 

[3dvapor]

Go back and use a bird dog to help u find it.  A good bird dog will make short work of finding that turkey.  I will say they are tough birds I've seen them fly down the canyon after being shot with a bow.  I use a gobbler stopper made by spitfire for a broadhead.  Its a mecheanical that has a blunt tip and 3 blades that open up on impact.  It does a number on turkeys.

[jblackburn]

turkeys are tough and the vitals are small.  I watched a buddy put an arrow through what looked like the sweet spot, it flew off, we found in another field, still alive.  It took off flying and we never found it.

After that we switched to Magnus Bullheads. Shoot them in the head with a 3 inch wide broad head and they don't go anywhere.  that or its a clean miss.

[The Gobble-stopper]

Probably coyote meat, but I would beg to differ, I turkey  at that temp I not like a store bought one. Where it might be disposed to ecoli etc. Your turkey actually will end up better. Aging a turkey is much like aging a deer. Much more tender! There has been many a time, hunting grouse that I will shoot a grouse in the morning, leave em in the back of the truck on a 65 degree day, not gutted. Take em home and eat em. I pretty much guarantee it will be fine. Just my opinion

[rosscrazyelk]

Go back and use a bird dog to help u find it.  A good bird dog will make short work of finding that turkey.  I will say they are tough birds I've seen them fly down the canyon after being shot with a bow.  I use a gobbler stopper made by spitfire for a broadhead.  Its a mecheanical that has a blunt tip and 3 blades that open up on impact.  It does a number on turkeys.

Boykin spaniels specialize in this.. I have one , Where did you shoot it? if its not to far I can bring mine and help

[WAPatriot]

I always hang my turkeys with guts in upside down for at least 24 hours after shooting um tenderizes the meat

[jblackburn]

 

I always hang my turkeys with guts in upside down for at least 24 hours after shooting um tenderizes the meat

 

Guts in?

[WAPatriot]

ya the birds I shoot are usually full of acorns, I know it sounds weird but I think its the best way to go. Don't knock it til you try it

[ICEMAN]

I thought there was a difference between hanging meat versus hanging meat with guts still sloshing around after a shot...

It seems you would want to get all guts out to avoid the possibility of contaminating the meat with "sheeeesh"... 

[irishevox]

Ok so i found him.... he is hard as a rock  weight was about 21lbs.  It;s like rigermortis set in fast.  and he is soaked wet... i think the meat is bad i am not even gonna try with my wife being prego... so ... i am going to try and at least keep the fan and the beard.... the tail feathers are even a little jacked up b/c of the brush and he must have been in some fights.  So tomorrow i am going to cut the fan, beard and wings off... i hate having any type of game meat ruined.  I am a little upset about it... i feel so bad about the meat, but it is what it is...

[ICEMAN]

Good for you for recovering it and salvaging what you can...

[blacktailcody]

Way to follow through! Glad to hear you found the bird. Sorry you didn't get any meat though.

[irishevox]

yeah... it pains me but i would hate just to have it go to waste :\  so i am going when i can not sure but i know for sure i will be  may 10 ... i might be in Spoakne area if someone would like to take me to an area or tell me where to go to get me a big ole tom hit me up i am shooting shotgun... not letting this happen again this year

[irishevox]

Way to follow through! Glad to hear you found the bird. Sorry you didn't get any meat though.

yeah... i am a little hurt by that

[buglebuster]

Congrats on finding him... Pics?

[lokidog]

I'd probably eat it, but that's just me.  How far did he go and where did you hit him?

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[irishevox]

trying to get decent pics but like i said i can even open him up i will post something soon.. i hit him in the wing... and when i found him it was clean bone cut from the arrow and two open holes one entry and one exit.  and kind of exposed to the ground... i will see what i can do as far as pics... i will at least get the fan i will work on removing it tomorrow... and the beard.

[JLS]

I'd probably eat it, but that's just me. 

I agree.  I've left countless numbers of pheasants and ducks in the back of my truck for one to several days with the guts in them.  I've left them in the fridge for a week.  I've never had one go bad and I've eaten every one.

[lokidog]

I'd probably eat it, but that's just me. 

I agree.  I've left countless numbers of pheasants and ducks in the back of my truck for one to several days with the guts in them.  I've left them in the fridge for a week.  I've never had one go bad and I've eaten every one.

Yep. Ducks anyways, I don't shoot many pheasants.

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[RadSav]

I'd probably eat it, but that's just me. 

I agree.  I've left countless numbers of pheasants and ducks in the back of my truck for one to several days with the guts in them.  I've left them in the fridge for a week.  I've never had one go bad and I've eaten every one.

Yeah, I might not make jerky out of it, but I wouldn't be too worked up about eating it.  Temps were plenty cold enough if you ask me.  All turkey smell like garbage so that would make it a little hard to tell.  But the skin and feathers keep any nasties out.  Doesn't sound like it went through the intestines   Might even make it better than normal tasting wild turkey, which doesn't rank too high on my best eating chart.  Not like mass processed store bought chicken that that baths in a bacteria filled processing line.  But if you are uncomfortable with it I'm not sure anyone is going to give you too much grief.

Nice that you stuck with it and recovered the bird.  Well done!

[Gobble Doc]

Nice job tracking down your bird. 

[Tom Tamer]

The meat would still be fine at 40* temps, look at how many guys hang them i  a tree around camp at night. I hung mine from a tree after plucking him and let him cool til nightfall then laid him i  the cooler. Done it many times, even let them hang outside over night amd never had an issue.

[irishevox]

As far as finding it it was laying in extremely thick brush,... thats why i couldn;t find it the first day.. i went and got a really good machete and found it after cutting away almost one side of the brush

[BOWHUNTER45]

It happens ..even with a shotgun .. If it only layed over night I would think it would be fine ...it is cold over there at night and I can not see it not being edible ...if it was more 12 hours then I would most likely sheet can it ...Glad you found it ...where are the pictures 

[irishevox]

pictures are coming they are on my phone.... i didn't take pictures except of the head spurs beard and fan... the rest of  him was hard as a rock i couldn;t even like open him for a pic

[irishevox]

here are the pics.  odd thing the tail feathers look a little odd to me..... i dunno... they don;t look right.  and they are in rough shape i am gonna fix them after a awhile when i get the thing to mount it on.