Bow Hunting Turkeys: How do I get a solid kill shot

[fishermanjoe]

Ok guys, I am out to bag a turkey with a bow, and I have run into a problem and I need some help. There is no problem getting a shot or what kind of setup to use. It is my question on how to kill them. I have taken a shot at a bird last year and nailed it just below the wing, or for a better term in the armpit. It was not a pass though shot, l but I could see that the arrow was sticking out both sides. So I sat and waited for it to die, but the dang thing flew off and i never saw it again. As a hunter i feel bad for shooting game and not recovering it. Now this year I want to do it right. I have been asking around on the best way to kill a bird. I could use the guillotine but I don't want to shrink my kill zone to just the head and neck. So i talked with the guys at the Lacey sportsman's warehouse archery dept. and they said use expendables. I looked into it and was getting mixed messages on how legal they are. I ended up calling wdfw and they said that expendables are illegal. So I am resulting to a broad head. Where the heck should i shoot them? What are your successes with turkeys and bows?

[Turkeyman]

I have taken two with a bow 10 to 12 yard shots over a Jake decoy. I was using expendables spit fire gobbler getter's. This was in Kansas. There is a thread on here some where about expendables depends on who you talk to if they are legal.

[Turkeyman]

I am right above the beard on frontal shots, wing butt on broad side shots, and the Texas heart shot if strutting.

[Tom Tamer]

I have taken two with a bow 10 to 12 yard shots over a Jake decoy. I was using expendables spit fire gobbler getter's. This was in Kansas. There is a thread on here some where about expendables depends on who you talk to if they are legal.

It is legal in this state to use mechanicals for turkey, we got the WDFW's response on this. Since there is no weapon specific season for birds the archery reg do not apply in this case. I changed over to those becuse I can get a two inch cut and two years ago I hit one about a half inch lower then I wanted and my boradhead just missed the vitals by that half inch.

 As for shots the aforementioned are ideal, also aim right at the the hip joint, one it disables their legs to keep them from getting away and two it should take out the Femoral artery thus well draining them out rather quickly. I use a standard ol Montec and practice head shots at 20 yard religously. That way if I miss I miss and I hope to NOT hit one and it get away again. It killed me too and still does.

[big ed]

Hunted turkey down in Calif.a few years ago with a friend .He said best to stop a bird with a bow was to shoot it in the back.I shot mine in the side it ran a ways and dropped he shot  his a day later in the back and it dropped in it's tracks.What i guess is it cuts the spine for a quick kill.

[fishermanjoe]

It is legal in this state to use mechanicals for turkey, we got the WDFW's response on this.

OK so i would like to know where you got your info about expendables, because i called WDFW and they said that they are illegal. Maybe it was because i was talking to a person at a desk and not a real game warden. I would like to be legal. Are there any wardens that use this site to help me figure this out. The reason I am so specific on being legal is because my father is a police officer and he gives me all these guilt trips about being legal and if i get nailed with an illegal method it will screw up my life down the road. "Ahhhh..... all the nice cop to son talks they never get old"

Anyways i would like to get some hard evidence to show him that expandable are legal. Because if they are i will use them in a heartbeat. I dont think it would be a good enough excuse telling the warden that a website told me it is legal, while he is writing me a ticket

[ICEMAN]

fishermanjoe, the problem is with interpretting the law. Go here and check out the WAC associated with this topic:

http://apps.leg.wa.gov/WAC/default.aspx?cite=232-12-054

You still need a lawyer to help figure it out.

Changes are happening with this law as seen and discussed here, like the firearms issue. I am not a bowhunter and am not "up" with other changes proposed.

Do your own research. If "bob" says it is "OK", will he also pay the fine if you get cited?

[Tom Tamer]

It is legal in this state to use mechanicals for turkey, we got the WDFW's response on this.

OK so i would like to know where you got your info about expendables, because i called WDFW and they said that they are illegal. Maybe it was because i was talking to a person at a desk and not a real game warden. I would like to be legal. Are there any wardens that use this site to help me figure this out. The reason I am so specific on being legal is because my father is a police officer and he gives me all these guilt trips about being legal and if i get nailed with an illegal method it will screw up my life down the road. "Ahhhh..... all the nice cop to son talks they never get old"

Anyways i would like to get some hard evidence to show him that expandable are legal. Because if they are i will use them in a heartbeat. I dont think it would be a good enough excuse telling the warden that a website told me it is legal, while he is writing me a ticket

Hi David.
 
Sorry about the delay in getting back to you. I had to run your question past a few different people before I could get a definate answer. What I found out though is that there are no restrictions on small game hunting with archery equipment. This would include adding a washer behind your broadhead.

Your question will be discussed in the weekly regional enforcement meeting to be sure that all the officers are on the same page with this.
 
Thanks for the inquiry. If I should come across any new information I will let you know.
 
Respectfully,
 
Melani R. Gonzalez
Customer Service Spc
Region 5 - Vancouver
360.906.6701
 
This to a response of the question about expandables and those sticker back washers you put behind a field point. So after getting that i stuck the expandables back on.

[Tom Tamer]

And I think where it is legal is I read the reg you posted Iceman and it all states 'Big Game" like the response I posted above, there isn't the same restrictions on" Small game"

Now it's all clear as mud....right

[ICEMAN]

Youve got to hate this kind of crap for any type weapon.... We had class instructors tossing a few laws back and forth trying to get everyone on the same page in my kids class last summer....

[bow4elk]

On the WDFW Regulations.  I'm a NBEF Hunter Ed Instructor and we work with the WDFW in coordination with their Hunter Ed program.  My name badge is an WDFW official badge.  Point being, this is what I was told, and have taught:

The regulations are written such that legal means and "unlawful" means are written explicitly.  So for each set of regulations, Fishing, Big Game, Turkey - they are specific to that activity.  You don't apply Big Game Rules to Turkey, for example.  And here's the key point - if it is not explicitly stated as "unlawful", it is presumed legal.

If it is NOT written in the Turkey Regulations that you CAN'T use expandable broadheads, then you CAN.  Think about it: how can you be held liable for breaking the law when the Regulations make no mention of the law you broke?!
I have two friends who are wardens.  It is likely I would get two different answers because I'm guessing with all the changes annually on regs that they have a hard time staying current for each and every specie they patrol.

 

[fishermanjoe]

Wow I like the little discussion I have started here, not bad for a first time post. Well I do agree with you guys on the legality of expandables for small game. I was on my way home from classes this morning and i saw two game wardens in a parking lot. So I thought i would pay the local warden a visit. There were two wardens with two trucks so I am assuming both have experience, and one is just not a trainee. I asked them the golden question "are expandables legal for turkey?" Both of them were a little hesitant to give me an answer, one said that off the top of his head he would have to say illegal. Then they both wanted to look it up in the regs, one armed with the laptop and one armed with the magazine. They were looking at the basic archery regulations and they said that it says illegal for expandables to be used in WA state. But I am assuming they ware looking under the big game regulations. They also said that if you are asking around most likely when someone says that something is barely legal on a technicality it is most likely illegal. So I would like to see what happens at the weekly regional enforcement meeting. That would be nice to know that all wardens are on the same page. Alot of the fine line laws depend on what warden you are dealing with.

So the major conflict is that expandables are never mentioned in the turkey or small game regulations. So where do we go from here?  I would really like to hear back from you Tom Tamer about that meeting.

Thanks for involving yourselves in my frustration.

[Pathfinder101]

Good thread.  I had this problem 3 years ago (shot right thru 2 turkeys up in Colville-didn't find either of them.  One of them I shot twice).  I went back to shotgun.

[SpokaneSlayer]

I spoke to my local warden and he said they were illegal.  Since he would be the one writing my ticket, I'm erroring on the side of caution.  I'll be using a Muzzy MX3 with a Muzzy Grasshopper to slow the arrow down. 

[bow4elk]

Wow I like the little discussion I have started here, not bad for a first time post. Well I do agree with you guys on the legality of expandables for small game. I was on my way home from classes this morning and i saw two game wardens in a parking lot. So I thought i would pay the local warden a visit. There were two wardens with two trucks so I am assuming both have experience, and one is just not a trainee. I asked them the golden question "are expandables legal for turkey?" Both of them were a little hesitant to give me an answer, one said that off the top of his head he would have to say illegal. Then they both wanted to look it up in the regs, one armed with the laptop and one armed with the magazine. They were looking at the basic archery regulations and they said that it says illegal for expandables to be used in WA state. But I am assuming they ware looking under the big game regulations. They also said that if you are asking around most likely when someone says that something is barely legal on a technicality it is most likely illegal. So I would like to see what happens at the weekly regional enforcement meeting. That would be nice to know that all wardens are on the same page. Alot of the fine line laws depend on what warden you are dealing with.

They both went to the regs for the answer.  If it isn't written down clearly and exclusively, they have no case to say it is illegal.  The WDFW needs to get their act together and be clear.  That is the least they can do for the law-abiding hunters in this state.  Nobody here is looking to fudge on the law - quite the contrary - you just want a CLEAR ANSWER!!

Call the main office in Olympia and escalate the call until you get someone on the phone who will give you a clear answer.  Then demand the WDFW print a supplement to the Turkey Regulations so they don't make criminals and law breakers out of the thousands of bowhunters who are using EFFECTIVE but illegal broadheads.  I love STUPIDITY!!