Bowhunting turkey advice needed

[MJB]

No blinds here run and gun!
I use natural cover, pinch points and lots of shade to hide myself.........Know your birds movements, learn to mouth call, box and slate and only draw when the heads of all birds can't be seen. I've let lots of birds walk off so I could draw, the TX heart shot works! broad side I aim for the wing or base of the neck, head on mid chest.

 

[Coveyleader]

Nothing like head choppers. I used my old full length arrows I shot off my longbows and they fly like missiles. You don't even have to hit them in the head (still recommended). I've hit one in the wing butt, and one way low below the waddle, both toast. There is nothing more disappointing getting a bird 5-7 yds out in front of the blind, and mess the shot up. Seen it, done it, sucks. Head choppers have been 100% on over a dozen birds.

 

[JEEF]

As most people have mentioned, a blind is often the way to go - turkeys have incredible eyesight as most birds do. Drawing a bow is a whole lot of movement to conceal behind a tree, it's own fan, etc. It's awesome to see the dedication to bow hunting, I am 100% on the shotgun side of things when it comes to turkeys (run n gun public land mostly) just because of how hard they can be to kill. Best of luck with your hunts!

 

[dtrkyman]

I can not think of anything besides a blind that would be more important for bow killing turkeys than quality decoys! I bow hunted them exclusively for ten years. A taxidermy hen was deadly and then a DSD jake.

I used head loppers and large mechanicals, probably preferred the mechanical, The guy who invented the original gobbler guillotine has a new version out I would look into, Veteran broadheads I think is the company.

Went back to the shotgun, just something about sitting against a tree and calling them in, just something about that style of hunt that appeals to me! Have done it with the bow as well but turkeys were made to be shot in the face with a scatter gun in my opinion!

 

[Coveyleader]

I agree on the blind. Don’t get me wrong, it’s exciting having them gobble all the way in and shoot them at 10 yds or closer, but the blind takes away everything a turkey has, everything.

 

[sharpk]

All my success with bowhunting turkey has come from using a blind. Ive never tried to spot and stalk. As far as broadheads I use the same ones I use for whitetail, Montec G5. I've never had issue with it but I am aware most prefer mechanical or those guillotine broadheads

 

[MitchellNJ]

Magnus Bullhead broadheads. Setup is the same as using a shotgun. Short blind and a chair.

 

[Venandi]

With deer season over, i am looking forward to turkey hunting. I am exclusively a bow hunter (for reasons too complicated to list here). I shoot a Hoyt RX4 65# 29in draw length with 530g 27.5inch arrows with 125g broadheads. I also have 29inch easton 6.5 carbon 340 spine laying around.
I have tried bow hunting turkey in the past with no luck and i would appreciate any tips or advice that others can give me.
Anything from broadheads, bow set up, blind set up vs ghillie suit.
I am a saddle/one stick hunter and am particularly curious if anyone bowhunts turkey from trees?
The couple of attempts i have made at turkey has been from tree stands during past deer seasons and they did not seem to notice me until an arrow clipped their feathers.

With deer season over, i am looking forward to turkey hunting. I am exclusively a bow hunter (for reasons too complicated to list here). I shoot a Hoyt RX4 65# 29in draw length with 530g 27.5inch arrows with 125g broadheads. I also have 29inch easton 6.5 carbon 340 spine laying around.
I have tried bow hunting turkey in the past with no luck and i would appreciate any tips or advice that others can give me.
Anything from broadheads, bow set up, blind set up vs ghillie suit.
I am a saddle/one stick hunter and am particularly curious if anyone bowhunts turkey from trees?
The couple of attempts i have made at turkey has been from tree stands during past deer seasons and they did not seem to notice me until an arrow clipped their feathers.

I use the same bow set up, including broad heads, as I hunt whitetails with. I hunt out of a pop up blind and set my decoys close, 10 yards from the blind or less. A well placed arrow at this range is not difficult to do and it is a much more intense hunt having a Tom in close! I would not hunt from a tree assuming you are hunting Spring Turkeys

 

[khunter1]

A blind is going to be the easiest route (I do not prefer this and have never killed one from a blind but have witnessed it plenty of times). Obviously this is easier if you have fields to hunt. Other than that, you will have to plan a little more for your bow hunt than just finding a tree to sit against with a gun when you hear a fired up bird closing the distance.

As another has said, knowing a half way pattern of the birds helps. If you go in blind you may struggle finding a spot to setup in a hurry for a shot not knowing what you have around you. Although it can certainly be done, its just tougher to do. If you scout an area prior to season you can find several areas or several "blinds" of natural brush, downed trees etc that you can plan to get to in a hurry if you have a bird responding. I hunt with a recurve so drawing for me nearly always gets the birds head up and alert however, I am also letting an arrow go much quicker than I ever could with a compound. With a compound you will want to wait for the prime time to draw, usually as they are in strut and turn away from you. Usually it will happen pretty fast from draw to shoot.

If you have a field that birds use and a blind, In my opinion, its easy peasy with that setup. But the run and "gun" style is more of a challenge for sure, but it can most definitely be done, just takes a little more planning/thought during the hunt.

Almost forgot, DECOYS are certainly your friend with a bow. You need something to keep their attention off of you as much as possible! I know a lot of guys go all out on decoys, but honestly I have killed more birds than I could count over the old foam love triangle decoy set. I have since moved up a bit to some better decoys but in all honesty, I haven't noticed any more success with the more expensive decoys than I did with a three pack that cost me $29. Spend what you can on decoys, but don't let that bother you if you don't have a $200 strutting decoy etc.

Best of luck!

 

[j3butch]

I've had luck up against a tree, in a blind as well as a make shift blind built on the fly. The 5 I've taken w my bow have all been w either shuttle t locks or iron wills. I don't change up anything.

 

[Miflatlander91]

As everyone has already said big cut mechanicals and I aim for the head or just below have killed birds in a blind and just hiding behind a tree the blind is way easier last year I was able to set my phone up to record and film the shot big Tom never knew I was there. I think it's a bigger rush just being behind a tree and waiting for a Tom to turn away then draw and smoke him at 8-10 yards

Sent from my SM-G998U using Tapatalk

 

[mudlickman2]

I've killed 3 gobblers with my bow out of a blind. I suggest using a mechanical with the widest cut you can get. 2" minimum... I've had a couple of different blinds over the years but my favorite is the cheapie ameristep (outhouse - think its called).
Just leave the velcro windows up and shoot right thru with your cut on contact head. You are absolutely invisible as long as you keep the back windows closed and your decoys about 10-15 yards quartered away off your bow hand side. I've never shot one on top of a decoy, they seem to hang up a few yards away to observe before moving in.

 

[JeffRaines]

I've killed 3 gobblers with my bow out of a blind. I suggest using a mechanical with the widest cut you can get. 2" minimum... I've had a couple of different blinds over the years but my favorite is the cheapie ameristep (outhouse - think its called).
Just leave the velcro windows up and shoot right thru with your cut on contact head. You are absolutely invisible as long as you keep the back windows closed and your decoys about 10-15 yards quartered away off your bow hand side. I've never shot one on top of a decoy, they seem to hang up a few yards away to observe before moving in.

I’m gonna be using the three panel pop up deal from Primos, along with Grim Reaper whitetail specials on a 515gr arrow at 60lbs.

Hopefully that’s heavy/slow enough to stop it in the body.

I normally use Sevrs for everything else but I wanted the massive cut.

 

[shawdawg]

Magnus bullheads are just about as tough as it gets. Lifetime warranty that they stand behind. They have sent me 2 new heads after bouncing thru rocks after killing birds. Out past 15 yards I use big cut vortex. Call them close and head shoot em!

 

[wyogray]

Look into your states regs. A lot of states you cannot hunt turkeys from an elevated position like a treestand.

 

[mtnkid85]

This has rapidly became one of my favorite hunts of the year! Spot and stalk turkeys with a bow is a fun challenge, I think of those birds as feathered submarines, there little head para scopes just sticking up through the grass/sage as they cruise through can make it a real chore to get drawn on them.
Some of my success has come from just "shadowing" the flock and coming up from behind them when they crest a little rise, or if you can put some dense vegitatation between you and them to close the distance. Of course calling also works and Ive found setting up in a tighter area with more cover around can help give you a chance to draw back.

Ive shot the last few with the big NAP spitfire 3 blade expandables and aim for the top of the thigh or right at the base of the fan when he's in full strut.

 

[Wheels]

I bought a couple of attachments for my bow several years ago with fake leaves on them, they attach to the upper and lower limb or riser and cover pretty well. They actually work very well allowing me to draw on the bird without spooking them. I did a quick google search and didn't see them, but there are others online that might work.

 

[Wheels]

Here’s one of them. They’re made by Ghost Blind.