Thinking about trying to take a turkey with my bow this year. What are some tips or tactics y'all can give to tackle this feat. I'm an avid whitetail bowhunter and this would be a big check mark on my turkey and whitetail bucket list.
I can't give you any tips, but will be watching this thread closely. I'm thinking about hanging up my Mossberg in favor of my bow this year. I, also, bow hunt deer a lot, but haven't tried much for a turkey.
Keep shots under 20yrds. in the open. Look at the leg,go up,and shoot the upper third of the bird. This pic shows a typical hunt for me. Although a Fall hunt,same tactics apply in Spring. I use mechanical heads. Birds go less than 20 yrds. but most drop in there tracks when shot. The new head from Grimm Reaper is on my radar this year. It's called the Mini Mag. 4 blade over the top deploy,like my old Roket sidewinder. Not using a blind will limit options and opportunity. Best if luck.(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20190118/16a7d17cef2f92a7b80acec07ca24b7f.jpg)(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20190118/35fa6010c85e7367850d2240aae75ef8.jpg)
Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk
Keep your decoys close, like 5-7 yards close. If you use a blnd, keep it black dark inside.
I take all but my 20 yard pin off the bow to limit my range.
Would it be best to set up a blind somewhere I see a bunch of scratching in the timber or on a road where I see a lot of strut marks and dusting, places like this? Bc it's a lot of run and gun in the mornings in Ms. guess some early season scouting and trying to find a travel path and put a blind and decoys out in that area could work for timber.
There's some good information about bow hunting turkeys on The Turkey Hunter Podcast Episode 117. Tim Knight is the guest and he mainly bowhunts turkeys without a blind. Good stuff.
My biggest suggestion is before the hunt, get yourself a 3D turkey target or 2 in different body positions and get used to shooting them at the range you are comfortable shooting at. It will make it a little more mechanical for you when you get ready for the real shot and help your confidence for shooting a much smaller animal.
I would say blind yes, maybe get rid of it after your first year or so when you feel you can do it without one. I know there are guys here that do it with no blind and a recurve so it can be done without.
Quote from: RiverRoost on January 18, 2019, 12:17:06 PM
Would it be best to set up a blind somewhere I see a bunch of scratching in the timber or on a road where I see a lot of strut marks and dusting, places like this? Bc it's a lot of run and gun in the mornings in Ms. guess some early season scouting and trying to find a travel path and put a blind and decoys out in that area could work for timber.
I don't put much into sign during Spring. Hen movement dictates where a gobbler is most of the time. Roosting birds in the afternoon helps if you can't hunt all day in your state. It seems easy to me but I've been using archery gear before commercial blinds were available. You learn a lot by going. I was able to hunt every day before work during a 30 plus day Spring season and I Fall turkey hunt 3 plus months. Always on public land.
Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk
Quote from: SinGin on January 18, 2019, 07:48:11 AM
Keep your decoys close, like 5-7 yards close. If you use a blnd, keep it black dark inside.
Good advice!! And wear black clothing inside the blind so you blend in. Turks don't seem to pay attention to blinds. So if you have access to fields where they like to bug, and eat grass, etc. Set up right out in the middle of the field where your dekes can be seen.
Are you hunting from a blind? Using decoys? Open fields?
I ask this as this is how we have great success killing birds with the bow and of course you can do this without any of the above if you so choose.
So here are my pointers, know where your birds enter the field, you don't need to be right on them but I like to set within in sight and on the nearest high point, decoys are set on the crown and 10 yards from the blind. Always think of you blind as a diamond when you set not a square, it gives you more room inside and be sure to be blacked-out inside. Set your decoys to your strong side RH means left set. If you are going to shoot from knees (We do this) practice this way and make sure you have arrow path clearance of the blind. Also as a RH shooter you will be set left of center in blind so when you draw and shoot you are completely in the blind and your arm will not hit during draw. Always set your "dominant" decoy closest. I use a DSD White Headed Gobbler decoy I developed/designed and have had amazing luck with it, we back this up with a DSD Jake set as sub, and yes there is a skill set to hunting decoys right. We like to use expandable broadheads with a 2" plus cut, learn shot placement from many angle and positions.
A few pics from the 2018 season!!
MK M GOBL
Agree with the others advice. If you don't have a good set of decoys already, I would invest in some DSDs and keep them in close (7-10 yards). They have been a game changer for me from what I have used in the past. Good luck!
A whole book could be written about the this, your about to embark on one of the most challenging
But most gratifying of all bow hunts. There has been some really good advice posted already, I'll add a few tips that's worked for me over the last 30 years.
Number 1, you must have the patience of Job. Get a great pop up blind, I don't worry about the black out effect, I shoot through the screen, which means a good fixed blade head, I'm old school, been shooting a recurve for 58 years just don't see the need for a lot of this modern equipment. Bring a lunch
And plenty to drink and plan on spending from daylight to dark in your blind. I've killed turkeys at every hour of the day, you never know when they may come by.
Forget about the roosting birds, set up in feeding areas with plenty of fresh sign, grain fields, acorn flats etc... use two first class decoys, a hen and a Jake, the Jake is most important, the only reason I use a hen at all is because I'm hen calling to attract the Tom. A boss gobbler will not tolerate a Jake in his territory, once he sees him he will forget about the the hen and come in and just kill the Jake. Set the Jake about 10 yds facing you, the hen about 12 yds off to one side facing away, why you ask, good question, the Gobbler will come in strutting and displaying and circle the Jake and face him head on, this gives you a shot at his back, in my opinion, the best shot on a Turkey with a bow. So why face the hen away, if for some unknown reason the Gobbler wants sex more than fighting, when he try's to top the hen his back is again facing away from you.
A few basic principles on calling, be more aggressive in the morning, soft call in the afternoon and don't give up. Patience will get you more shots than being a great caller. Sorry for the rambling, like I said you could write a book on this, best of luck to you, if you thought killing a gobbler with a gun was exciting, you have a revelation in front of you.
RW
Thanks for all the tips so far! I've got a hen and jake avian x and a ground kind already from deer hunting. I know several areas in some of our open timber with oaks that always have a lot of scratching during the spring during turkey season. I've killed birds the past two years in a row in the same type woods except with pecan trees and not oaks. Always a hot spot so I may set up a groundblind in there. The birds I've killed out of there have all been when I was just set up calling and waiting, one at noon and one around 4:15 in the afternoon. The block of land I hunt has several food plots planted in wheat for deer scattered around so may try them as well. Anything else y'all can think of based off what I've said about my hunting area is greatly appreciated. As said earlier, thanks for the tips already and looking forward to the adventure.
Get you a good ground blind that has good windows where your able to shot your bow out of good. Set you decoys about 20 yards from your blind that way your looking at a good 20 yard shot and get you a big cutting diameter broadhead i use the Magnus bull head that's really good head for turkey which I try to head shot the birds at 20 yards I've harvest a couple like that just takes a little practice. If your not comfortable with head shooting one just get a big cutting diameter broadhead and you still be in good shape.
Two things I wanna say you really need to consider. One is turkey anatomy. More birds are shot but not recovered w a bow than I think should be. It happens just study how to hit the vitals from dif angles.
2nd you need to draw unnoticed. Either when it passes behind a tree,when it's fan blocks it's eyes or from a blind .
The rest imo is pretty similar except a closer range and more challenging sport.
I also wouldn't and don't care about sign. It means nothing, especially in states where you have half day hunts. You don't want to hunt where the birds were but where they are now. With so many factors including hunter pressure, coyotes, foxes, bobcats, etc moving them around I'll also say roosting is the way to go.
Sign is good to locate areas where to look generally maybe not where to set up. Course it could be great there as well. My advise and some guys disagree don't put tracks all over the woods just before season. Long range and audible scouting is best as it disturbs the least imo
See post #3 for shot placement.
Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk
Decoys and a good ground blind will make it a little more feasible.
But I also wonder if you can't make a natural blind between two trees and hunt standing up the whole time. I believe it is easier to shoot a bow standing up.
A friend of mine got on this kick to kill and Osceola in FL with a bow. So he went to a lot of trouble and put the guide to the trouble of hauling a ground blind out, setting it up, trimming it with natural vegetation, and setting up a decoy or two in place that had been scouted. While he sat in the blind, he watched a Florida panther sniff his scent on the trail he had walked in on, and then saw the cat stalk and pounce on his decoys. It's too bad there was no one there to film it.
Needless to say that after than unnerving experience he was not that keen on the idea of hunting the FL woods, and certainly no keen on being among the panthers without a shotgun.
Run through your set up, stool, blind bow and do some dry runs before you go to the fiekd.I set my Jake at 10 and my hen at my furthest range. Good Luck :smiley-patriotic-flagwaver-an
I've only hunted once with a bow and I was fortunate enough to take one. I was on public land and the spot I was in was only open for bow hunting that day. I mainly went to scout for a future gun hunt but it just worked out for me. It was my first multi-bearded bird and one of my most memorable hunts.
I used a Primos stake blind and a lone hen decoy. You don't need a fully enclosed blind..since I was on public land the stake blind was easier for me to carry and I could set it up in no time. I set the decoy up at 15 yards. I just happened to catch him strutting away from me and was able to draw and make the shot. It's tough but it can be done!