Growing up, bow hunting turkey was something that you rarely heard of, but it was always a challenge that I wanted to accomplish. Each year I would gear up to chase birds with the bow, and then would quickly get the itch to switch back over to my much easier weapon of choice to make it happen. Finally, after several failed attempts I was able to get my first bird with the bow in 2020. It was such a rewarding feeling, and definitely a challenge I have always wanted to continue to take on.
Arrow Setup
One of the biggest questions and controversy is what broad head is best for turkey. While there is definitely no right or wrong answer, I’ll just say from my experiences what has worked great for me and others I know.
Turkey have an extremely small kill zone if you’re aiming for a body shot. When I used to shoot a lighter poundage bow I always used a fixed blade broad head to insure good penetration into the bird. Turkey feathers, especially the wing feathers can really take the kinetic energy out of an arrow, as their feathers act as body armor. With today’s much faster bows and my heavier poundage setup I gear more towards a larger rear deploying mechanical broad head. This allows you to get as much cutting diameter as possible; especially if you are slightly off your mark you have a better chance in recovering the bird.
If you don’t want to take the chance on taking a body shot on a bird, you can always go for a head shot. This is much more of a challenge, especially since the bird’s head is constantly moving, but you will either kill the bird immediately or the bird will go un-touched. There are many guillotine style broad heads for head shots, but they are usually a heavier grain weight and require some setup changes.
Shot Placement
This is the part where you hear a lot of mixed opinions. Shot placement on a turkey can be really tough to figure out, especially depending on the angle of the bird and if the bird is in full strut or not.
There are two guarantee shots that never change on a bird regardless of their position. This would be a head shot and a straight on frontal shot between the base of the neck and the top of the beard. Regardless if the bird is in full strut or not, these two shot placement positions remain the same. There is also a third shot placement that is always non questionable, and that is when the bird is in full strut and facing straight away. Aiming at the base of the tail/anal vent area makes for a very lethal shot as this is perfectly level with the vitals inside.
When it comes to taking a broadside shot, this is where it can be most challenging depending on the birds position and if the bird is in full strut or not. You definitely don’t want to accidently hit the point of the wing bone because your arrow will likely deflect or bounce right back off of the bird completely, which I have had happen before. Be sure to study the anatomy of the bird and watch shot placement videos on “YouTube” as this will really help make you a more proficient shot when it comes to broadside or angled body shots.
When all else fails follow the legs of the bird up into the body. The legs are always visible when shooting a bird. If you take out a turkey’s legs it makes them immobile and they cannot fly or run, which guarantees you in being able to locate the bird and if need be getting another arrow into the bird. A lot of times even when hitting the bird in the vitals they will still fly or run off leaving little to no blood trail and making it difficult to locate your bird.
The Setup
Having a good hunting setup can make a world of difference in getting a close shot at a distracted gobbler. If just getting started, I definitely recommend a ground blind setup with a good clear viewing area and placing the decoys close. I usually place my decoys around 10 yards away from the blind. Turkey are constantly moving, so setting your decoys at farther distances decreases your chances of making a lethal hit. When placing decoys I love to run a half strut jake, a laydown hen, and a feeding hen. This causes the gobbler to get distracted with wanting to beat up the jake decoy and gives you some time to take the shot.
When hunting from a ground blind, also remember to practice shooting your bow from the sitting position and make sure your positioning allows for your arrow to clear the ground blind windows. I usually also wear black when turkey hunting out of a ground blind in order to blend in better with the inside of the blind to prevent detection when drawing back.
In summary, turkey hunting with the bow can be stressful and challenging and it doesn’t always go as planned so don’t give up! Just be sure to practice how you are going to hunt, be confident in your setup, and be sure to slow down and take your time to make sure you have the best chance in making an ethical and lethal shot.