turkey with a bow

[bankwalker]

so this year i plan on hunting turkeys for the first time ever. im really excited to get out and get me a turkey. BUT im gonna go about it with a bow...
ive seen alot of turkey while archery hunting elk in september, so i know some good areas. and every single turkey i have seen has been well within bow range.

so i figure if im calling them in and im actually sitting and waiting i should have no problem getting one. every time i have seen them i have been walking, and they let me get in close.

so my question...

anyone else hunt them with a bow? and have you had any luck?

also some tips would be awesome.

thanks

[bowhuntin]

Turkeys have really good eye sight so you might want to find a natural blind where they won't see you draw or buy one and bring it with you. I have never personally tried it with a bow, but I am sure it is doable. My friend tried it with a bow a couple years ago with no success. Your best bet is going to be in the Northeast for gobblers because there sure aren't that many around Central Washington. Where ever it is you hunt for elk in September may not be accessible come April first either, so the turkeys may not be where you think they are.

[LongTatLaw]

Ive "tried" this before and plan to try agai this year with Head-shot...

You WILL NOT succeed without a decoy to distract it while u draw.

Getting within 40 yards isnt hard. drawing without spooking it is step one and hitting it when the damn birds seem to be able to see the arrow coming and MATRIX bend away from them...thats the problem.

but it can be done by all means.

good luck and Ill keep ya posted on my efforts!

dave

[LongTatLaw]

Here is a bird or 2 of mine...from North Carolina... taken with a shotgun.

[LongTatLaw]

Another

[bankwalker]

i hunt kittitas county for elk...and have seen alot of birds. 3 or 4 flocks a season...

but strange enough only one gobbler out of all the birds i have ever seen. my buddie gets a bird every year out of our elk hunting area though.

im gonna buy all the calls and decoys and stuff real soon. and start practicing my calling.

[bowhuntin]

I have also hunted in Kittitas County the last 4 or so years with little success. The number of birds you are going to see is going to be a lot higher up around Colville, which could help increase your chances of taking a bird with your bow. I get into birds every year out in reecer creek and I have heard there is even more over by liberty but have not seen any over their myself. My buddy elk hunts over there and sees flocks during the rifle season. I have seen a good amount of birds on private property as you drive up Cooke Canyon. I think the biggest reason you don't see a whole lot of gobblers is the fact people are poaching these turkeys all year long.

[jackelope]

the biggest reason you are not seeing a lot of gobblers with the flocks is because of the time of year i think. when you see them in the early spring, you will see flocks of many many birds..hens jakes toms, etc. then the breeding starts and they start to split up a bit and don't come back together in the big flocks till winter.  i think.
i'd be real impressed if someone could intentionally call a turkey in to bow range and draw a bow and shoot one without getting busted and without a double bull type blind. yeah it can probably be done 1 in 50 times...but good luck. you might want to get a couple less calls and a couple less decoys and get yourself a blind for starters...or try it with  a shotgun for starters.
just my .02

[wastickslinger]

I usually try for a day or two and then bust out the shotgun. It is very difficult!! I will give it a go again this year. I think what has already been said will help you.
1. use decoys
2. use a blind
3. make sure you can hit one at 40 yards (this is where i fail)
4. maybe even have a buddy call and you set up a ways from him?
5. draw in strut when they are looking away.

[bankwalker]

im very confident i can get one with a bow...up until i actually get some first hand experience with turkeys im gonna stay confident. lol

no really i will of course have my buddie with me who uses a shotgun.

ive seen alot of turkeys around the liberty area as well. the farthest west i have seen them was in cabin creek area a couple years ago. seen them everyday for 4 days of camping. then i have seen a few flocks in the teanum creek area.

but most of them have been north of i-90 going up blewett pass on the west side of the highway

if there is anyone who knows that area or wants to hunt that area and knows how to hunt turkeys, and wouldnt mind taking a newbie on his first turkey hunt that would be awesome. hopefully there wont be any snow...or much snow left in the area i want to hunt.

[klickriverchromer]

it's just like call'n up a bull elk, u and a buddy partner up works the best.  and use decoy's's's's couple jakes and a hen?

[bankwalker]

yeah i plan on hunting with a couple guys...

what my buddies do is locate the birds. then the 3 of them sit at different areas of where the birds are. and the one guy in the middle starts calling. with the 2 outside guys chirping a few times here and there. and they always get their birds.

it just sucks you are only allowed 1 bird out of that county...grrr

[ICEMAN]

of course always watching for crossfire... (duh)

[bankwalker]

lol no way man. chicks dig bird shot scars lol

yeah they usually setup about 100yds apart and set shooting lanes to make sure no one is in eachothers cross fire.

i know i sure would be making sure that im not. sence i have a bow i wont have any way to really shoot back if one of those morons shoot me lmfao 

[ICEMAN]

Yeah, since I started duck hunting, I havent been directly sprayed yet, with any force to it atleast. Shot can sure carry farther than I figured, especially a magnum turkey load thru a 2X choke....

[WAcoyotehunter]

USE DULL BROADHEADS!!! Do not take you deer/elk broadheads turkey hunting, they'll pass throught w/out any 'blunt force truama' and the bird will fly into the next county to die. 

I tkae my old crappy broadheads and grind the tip to a blunt end, then file the razors down to DULL  edges.  The arrow will still pass through and it will have WAY MORE energy to ground the bird, be ready to get on them right away...they have a way of running or flying after the shot.

Shot placement is important too...their vitals are actually just above their hips...not up high like people often think.

[bankwalker]

oh go back when i was younger when fishing the humpy run on the snohomish. guys use to hunt pigeons on the railroad tracks across the road from the river. and we use to get sprayed by birdshot all the times.

nothing ever with any force. but it was funny you would hear the shot. and about 10 seconds later it would start "raining" at least thats what it sounded like. lol

took me about 5 times of that happening to figure out what it was.

and yeah i really wouldnt like to have that happen with some of those new turkey loads.

[bankwalker]

USE DULL BROADHEADS!!! Do not take you deer/elk broadheads turkey hunting, they'll pass throught w/out any 'blunt force truama' and the bird will fly into the next county to die. 

I tkae my old crappy broadheads and grind the tip to a blunt end, then file the razors down to DULL  edges.  The arrow will still pass through and it will have WAY MORE energy to ground the bird, be ready to get on them right away...they have a way of running or flying after the shot.

Shot placement is important too...their vitals are actually just above their hips...not up high like people often think.

i got these turkey broadheads in the mail that are like a field point, with 2" blades that stick straight out of them and it makes this huge cd size broadhead. i havent gotten them in the mail yet though...but they should do the trick nicely.

[WAcoyotehunter]

Shot placement in the softball size vital zone.  It's in red, and tough to spot.

[DeKuma]

Wow, thanks for posting that.  After looking at it, it makes perfect sense the vitals would be there, but I never thought about it enough.  I have been practicing to hit higher than that.  I can hit a softball size target at 30 yards now, hopefully will extend that by Turkey season.

[boneaddict]

I've killed two with a bow, one a complete pass through never found the arrow, and the other pinned him to a stump that was just behind him.  That was sort of cool. 

[bankwalker]

yeah i never thought of that shot.

i have been practicing for head/neck shots. and with the broadheads im getting there will room for error with a 4" cutting zone.

[boneaddict]

They move their head so much, its rather difficult. 

[bankwalker]

yeah i figured it would be.

im glad that pic got posted. i thought about shooting them in the bodie and stuff. but yeah i figured going for a head shot would have been the best way. at least with the broadheads im going to be using...

[jimkirk]

are mechanicals legal. something like a vortex expanding head seems like it'd be especially deadly on a bird.

[DeKuma]

What about field tip or slick trick with a small game adder behind it?  I was thinking if pass throughs are an issue, and as posted above to use a dulled BH, that this might work.  Similar to a G5 SGH?

[WAcoueshunter]

I'm considering trying with my bow this year too.  What about something simple (and cheap) like a judo point?  I've shot grouse with them and they worked like a champ.  Assume they'd still pass through just fine and leave a nice fat hole.

I've seen those 4" turkey guillotines, and they sure look deadly.  But aren't they like $40 a pop?

[jackelope]

you'd still have to hit them in the head.
those adders work from what i've read.

[bowhuntin]

I've seen those 4" turkey guillotines, and they sure look deadly.  But aren't they like $40 a pop?

I checked on cabelas and it said you get three turkey guillotines for 40 bucks. That is about the same for most broad heads and you can buy replacement blades, but that can get spendy. There is also an alternative for the same price that magnus came out with, called the bullhead. Is anyone going to use the guillotine, I have heard mixed reviews, that they work really well and didn't work well for others. I think I would just use some dull broadheads that I have shot for target practice, the body is a much bigger target than the head.

[WAcoueshunter]

I've seen those 4" turkey guillotines, and they sure look deadly.  But aren't they like $40 a pop?

I checked on cabelas and it said you get three turkey guillotines for 40 bucks. That is about the same for most broad heads and you can buy replacement blades, but that can get spendy.

That's probably what was thinking of (3-pack for $40)...thanks for the info.  Definitely makes it more palatable. 

I like the idea of using dulled broadheads.  Got plenty of those laying around.

[bankwalker]

yeah they are $40 for 3 of them...and you can buy replacable blades for them.

i got a set of them in the mail. and they shoot good out of my recurve.

[bowhuntin]

USE DULL BROADHEADS!!! Do not take you deer/elk broadheads turkey hunting, they'll pass throught w/out any 'blunt force truama' and the bird will fly into the next county to die. 

There is a better alternative than using dull broadheads. I was reading a magazine today about bowhunting turkeys and found that Muzzy and Zwickey make a couple products that will remedy your problem of a pass through. They fit behind your broadhead and will stop your arrow from penetrating. The muzzy grasshopper and the zwickey scorpion. I never knew these products existed and will save you from having to dull a good broadhead.

[jackelope]

same concept as the small game adders we mentioned earlier.

http://www.cabelas.com/information/Archery/AdderPoints.html

[bowhuntin]

I must have missed that post

[bankwalker]

i do have some small game heads that should work good on turkeys...

i forget the name of them though. they are a fieldpoint with some little spring things that stick out of them.

[jackelope]

judo points...and you'd still have to hit them in the head.

use the broadheads and shoot them in the body. once you kill one, you'll learn a lot more about them and what they do when they come into the calls and stuff, then next year, or your 2nd tag, take the guillotine and try them if you still think you wanna try it. their head never sits still, keep that in mind.

[DeKuma]

anyone thought of these?  Wondering how they might work in place of dulling a broadhead.

http://g5outdoors.com/#sec_montecpreseason

[huntnphool]

Oh for crying out loud guys, your not really worried about ruining blades on a broadhead are you? They can be replaced without killing your life savings. I would venture to guess that your not killing more than 2 birds a year with your bow, and even if your broadhead went through your first bird and stuck in the ground, is it really not going to go all the way through your second bird with dull blades? If it wont, maybe you need to increase your upper body strength and crank down your bow a bit Even if it costs you $10.00 to replace, just add it to the cost of your hunt. You should be far more worried about the additional cost of fuel on your hunt than three broadhead blades

[DeKuma]

I am not at all worried about it, or the fuel, since I will be on my property over there anyway.  I just posted the question since there was so much conversation about it and dulling your blades.
To me, a slick trick and some judo springs or small game adder seems about perfect.....

[huntnphool]

I hear ya, and some of these guys are going for head shots too, they must be very very good shots compared to me, I'm happy to hit an elk at 40 yards

To me, a slick trick and some judo springs or small game adder seems about perfect.....

[bowhuntin]

same concept as the small game adders we mentioned earlier.

http://www.cabelas.com/information/Archery/AdderPoints.html

I have used the actual montec G5 broadhead, they fly great, but check out jackelope's link to that product that will save you from dulling a good broadhead.

[DeKuma]

same concept as the small game adders we mentioned earlier.

http://www.cabelas.com/information/Archery/AdderPoints.html

I have used the actual montec G5 broadhead, they fly great, but check out jackelope's link to that product that will save you from dulling a good broadhead.

I hear ya on those.  I originally asked about those in the beginning, Jackelope posted the link from there.  That is what I believe I will use.

[jackelope]

Oh for crying out loud guys....

i've never heard of a problem using sharp broadheads before, but a lot of folks know better than me. 

[bowhuntin]

Oh for crying out loud guys, your not really worried about ruining blades on a broadhead are you? They can be replaced without killing your life savings. I would venture to guess that your not killing more than 2 birds a year with your bow, and even if your broadhead went through your first bird and stuck in the ground, is it really not going to go all the way through your second bird with dull blades? If it wont, maybe you need to increase your upper body strength and crank down your bow a bit Even if it costs you $10.00 to replace, just add it to the cost of your hunt. You should be far more worried about the additional cost of fuel on your hunt than three broadhead blades

Who ever started the whole dull broadhead issue I don't believe is worried about the cost of the broadhead, but the gobbler flying away. The theory that the if the arrow is sticking out of the bird not completely passing through will make it hard for it to fly away. I never have tried turkey with a bow, but it sure would suck if you made clean fatal shot on the bird and it flew away and you never recovered that. IMO I think it sounds like using a game adder or a similar product would be a good idea.

[andrew_12gauge]

what about a muzzy 100 with practice blades on it instead of the real thing, because i have those montec practice heads and they are pretty sharp for a practice head, but when i was shooting muzzys the practice blades were more like a piece of sheet metal not sharp at all, seems like youd be less likely to pass through

[popeshawnpaul]

Just shoot them with a gun Bankwalker...    Much easier.  Turkey are extremely tough to hunt as is and it will be really tough to draw on one.

[bankwalker]

Just shoot them with a gun Bankwalker...    Much easier.  Turkey are extremely tough to hunt as is and it will be really tough to draw on one.

i figure that will be the case after a couple days of trying to get one with a bow.