I understand that anytime you hunt shot placement is key but I was curious as to what some of you veteran turkey hunters think about broadheads for birds. I've never shot a turkey with a bow before, heck for that matter I've never even killed a turkey. Anyway, I was wondering just how tuff the fabled thunder chicken is. If I have good two blade broadheads could I be comfortable with a good shot or should I set up some arrows with a three or four blade broadhead for good measures?
Turkeys are very tough and their lungs are different than a deer lung. A broadhead through them takes much longer to kill them. You want the biggest head that will do the most damage possible IMO.
depends how you cook them ,, stuff and cook slow
Gordon, David nailed it. Four years ago I got a new shotgun(BPS 10 Ga.) that had a fancy sight on it. I shot a full grown gobbler low and hit him in the breast. It knocked him backwards but he got up and FLEW OFF. I was very lucky and found him about a 100 yards away. When I cleaned him his insides were mush. In my opinion, IMHO, you should shoot the biggest head you can shoot and aim for the butt of the wing or the base of the tail. A string tracker should be mandatory. Michael
Any razor sharp broadhead will dispatch a turkey through the vitals. Shoot the most accurate broadhead you have and thats probably the head you deer hunt with. Give them time to expire. This is not my IMO but my experience ;)
If you're going to hunt from a blind, shots tend to be close if you set-up properly and you can get away with a much larger head than you may be comfortable with on your deer set-up. You don't get blood trails with turkeys if they fly away and very little when they don't, so the string tracker is a great idea. I've hunted for many years with out one though(I will be changing that) and a turkey can travel a long ways in the air with a vital shot and where I hunt that makes for beyond tough recovery because the woods are so thick.
They are very tough ... if you shoot one and it just tips over, run like the wind and grab it because they can recover quickly even though it looks dead. I had my first bow kill do that and my hunting partner had warned me ... but I did the slow walk over to my dead bird and off he flew down the canyon. Fortunately I found him laying dead. I shoot three blades for turkey the bigger the hole the better.
I opt for a head shot ,similar in size to the vitals but a miss is not a wounded bird, and a hit is a easy recovery!
Turkeys do leave a blood trail just like any other animal that has a large blood vessel severed. Thats pretty much basic Bowhunter Ed. I tracked Rio one time over 200 yards and found him dead curled up in a treetop, an eastern 150 yards in a dry bayou, etc. From my experience 99% of bow shot turkeys fly only after they have been spooked by the hunter after it has been shot.Stay put and give it time. Buckeye your current deer hunting head is fine plus it's your most accurate.
You must have a lot more relaxed birds than we do here then.
Just put a reel on your bow and reel them in after the shot! LOL I am just kidding :eek:
Go to You Tube and look up bowhunting for turkeys. There's some great vids of the new turkey broadhead in action. The broad head I am talking about has 3 or 4 blades about 4 inches in diameter (cabelas has them). Head shots are impressive and DEADLY! It's what I would use if I was able to go on a turkey hunt (I think).
Maybe some one else on here will have some experience with these? I would like to know if they work ok without the training wheels.
Thanks for the help so far guys. Right now I'm thinkin about maybe trying a 150 gr. woodsman with a string tracker(I shoot a 150 gr. stinger for deer). Out of a ground blind. Great advice. Keep it coming.
I think I am leaning towards the guilotine for a first shot. If I miss, uninjured bird, if i don't dead bird, though the pics after will have to hide the head/neck area.
Nope ,just experience from personal traditional bow kills on all 5 species. That all react the same mostly.
I shot one through the chest with a three bladed muzzy, still didn't get him. One tough bird. String trackers are a good tool for recovery.
You wont find many just shot through the chest muscles either. If you shoot a game tracker thread which comes stock 17# test, it's important to have a setup to shoot through the bird because your 17# tracker thread becomes 34# when it's double lined. Otherwise a mature gobbler can snap sometimes a single lined 17# thread. I have had it happen. If i use a game tracker, i shoot 30# test line and shoot through my birds therefore i have 60#
Since I'm shooting a 150 gr. stinger two blade for deer would I be better of with a 150 gr. stinger four blade? The bleeders aren't that big plus it's still the same broadhead I shoot for deer.
what do you shoot most accurately? Buckeye, it's really no trick bell and whistles about broadheads for turkeys.It's about placing an arrow in the vitals. I love a cut on contact 2 blade because it will cut through quills and shoot through the body.
Big 2 blade broadheads and a string tracker are the best/only way to go. They are hard to put down with body shots. Wing butts are a good shot from the side. From behind the center of the back a little low and from the fron the beard makes a good aiming point.
A well hit turkey is not gonna die any slower than anything else if hit in the vitals....Hit'um right and they hardly go anywhere and die in seconds....
But the margin of error is very,very small...
A well hit turkey, as Joey said, will bleed just like other critters, they do have a lot of feathers that will soak some up, but blood will hit the ground if something major is cut....
Again, like Joey said,breast meat(muscle)hit birds are horrendous to track and find....
I agree with Joey too about shooting your most accurate BH...BUT...there's no reason, with proper tuning, that it can't be a big multi blade head with a string tracker attached....
You mentioned a 150 WW or a 4bl Stinger and a string tracker...good medicine :thumbsup:
I like'um even bigger and prefer a big 160 Snuffer....
Joey, I still don't buy the doubling the strength by shooting thru them :goldtooth:
That single strand running thru the bird rubbing on bone and quills is still only 17#...and a single strand can still break rubbing against treebark or something else even though there might be another strand right next to it.... ;)
The biggest thing on shot placement is to keep you shots in the upper third of the body....totally different than what we're used to shooting on mammals(lower third).
High they die, low they go!
On a broadside bird, keep it behind the wingbutt just in front of the thighs, upper 1/3 and you'll be right dead center vitals....
Sorry Curt, i have never been able to convince you that double line is stronger than one so just pick up your bow scale and tie one end to bow scal and one end to wooden dowel and pull.Single strand 30# will break between 20-30#..now take same bow scale and wrap 30# around wooden handle half dozen times and thread through bow scale end and back to wooden handle..now pull apart.. 30# test will break roughly between 45# and 60#.....The reason behind this is simple string stretch. A turkey running through the woods that is shot through has 2 lines to stretch than 1 if not shot through. Thats where it is twice as strong a system when you have 2 lines to anchor. A sharp bone will cut a 17# almost as quick as a 30#...they are almost the same diameter...try it! :goldtooth:
This doesn't really have to do with the toughness of a turkey, but which string trackers do you guys use and what store/website do you get them from?
Gametracker 2500
Google it for vendors
Do any traditional guys shoot the Guillotine Heads or the Magnus Bullheads. I figured it was designed for the training wheel guys because they have the speed to stabalize those big blades?
does anyone have some pics of Turkeys showing vitals and correct shot placement? thanks
I ain`t the Turkey slayer that JoeBuck and Guru are but I have killed a few and here is my opinion. I shoot BIG heads.I`ve used Simmons with the bleeder as well as Magnus I heads without a bleeder. The last bird I killed I used a Muzzy Phantom with bleeders . I`ve only shot through one bird using a zwickey eskimo 4 blade . I hit him in the breast and he is the only bird I`ve lost.I plan on using Simmons tree sharks and Big Snuffers this year.
I shoot for the "hips" on Turkeys and have never lost a bird since I started doing that. I once got a bird I hit too low and broke both his leggs. He did`nt fly or run.As far as blood trails I never had one go out of sight except the one I lost and he flew across the river.
Personaly I would shoot a bigger head then the stinger. I`m sure it would work but I know a big Tree shark or Snuffer or phantom would work better.
I`m willing to bet if there was a way to know that more Turkeys taken with a bow were not hit in the "vitals" like lungs or heart but were "broken" down and actually killed after the shot.Might be wrong.Bigger head means more stuff tore up .RC
Aw heck guys.....it's only a bird......
Yeah, Biggie, but it's the coolest bird there is :thumbsup:
Go ahead and admit you love hunting them every year too :pray:
How's the huntin' goin'?
Hopefully I can catch some weather this weekend and go. Our peak gobbling is 2-3 weeks away. Our woods right now are full of spring break teenagers "running and gunning"...i have been laying low :scared:
Well......I Guess this will be Year 2 of "Turkey-Chasin'". I heard one, Once . Then they just faded away :banghead: .......My "Turkey Knowledge" IS increasing by the Month,Good Luck To ALL who hunt that Wiley Bird!! :archer:
I've killed 7 gogglers with 2 blands 2 with flint tips.All with selfbows so your 2 bladed heads will work if sharp.They have a much smaller kill zone than other animals.
Remember indains killed them for 10,000 years with 2 bladed flint tips.
DEAD is DEAD no matter how fast your arrow gets there.
Here are some shot placement guides I've shared with a lot of other archery turkey hunters. It helps give you a better perspective on where the vitals are.
(http://i279.photobucket.com/albums/kk140/oldtwohairs/572_turkey01_1.jpg)
(http://i279.photobucket.com/albums/kk140/oldtwohairs/572_turkey02_1.jpg)
(http://i279.photobucket.com/albums/kk140/oldtwohairs/572_turkey03_1.jpg)
(http://i279.photobucket.com/albums/kk140/oldtwohairs/572_turkey04_1.jpg)
(http://i279.photobucket.com/albums/kk140/oldtwohairs/turkey20vitals.jpg)
(http://i279.photobucket.com/albums/kk140/oldtwohairs/turkey20vitals202.jpg)
Wow thanks guys. Those pictures are really helpful and really do change your perspective on turkey vitals. All this great advice from all these great people, :thumbsup: :archer:
So Guru was saying he shoots big broadheads, so would you be able to shoot the Guillotine and still have good arrow flight?
Curtis, If you're asking me....I have no idea. Never tried them. There's a huge difference between a 160 Snuffer and a GG...
If I was going to try a decapitation type head it would be a Magnus Bullhead. I know "Steve O" from TG tried them last year and found them to tune and fly very well at turkey killin' range.....
Lota of good info here & just in time for the Season......
Guru or Joey, where do you guys get the 30lb line? I can't find it anywhere. I have shot a few birds with the 17lb line and luckily haven't had the line break on me yet but would use the 30 if I could find it.
I've got an idea - using my AMS Retriever with 400# test gator line and a fish arrow, using a Sting-a-ree head that you can put field points in, and using a Razorcap broadhead on the front of the Sting-a-ree in place of a field point. What do ya think? I think that's the set-up for killing shots on gators.....
Ok Thanks.
Steve, Unfortunately it's not available anymore bud. I wish I'da known, I'd bought the place out!
But the 17# is certainly way better than nothing in my book.
QuoteOriginally posted by Curtis Roberts:
So Guru was saying he shoots big broadheads, so would you be able to shoot the Guillotine and still have good arrow flight?
I'm gonna use the GG or the Bullhead this year. I set up the GG for my 49# shrew last year and had great flight at 20yds...I didn't try any farther. I set up a cucumber with a cedar shaft through it to sorta replicate the head and neck of a turkey and it blew rigt through like it wasn't there. I'm sure the neck is tougher but I have no doubts the head will do it's job.....
Plus, lets just say a turkeys neck is 8" long and 2" wide(probably bigger). The head has a 4" cut, each blade is 2". That gives you about a 6" window left to right and another 2" high(low probably wouldn't work as the body will get in the way. Your are looking at roughly a 6x10 kill zone....WAY bigger than the vitals and you can clearly see where you have to aim. Of course you want to be shooting dead center, but things do happen.
Here is the GG
(http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g167/skipmaster1/IMG_0604.jpg)
With the straws for best flight
(http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g167/skipmaster1/IMG_0594.jpg)
My "turkey head"
(http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g167/skipmaster1/IMG_0597.jpg)
(http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g167/skipmaster1/IMG_0599.jpg)
what happened the first shot at 20yds with my 49# shrew
(http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g167/skipmaster1/IMG_0601.jpg)
Great point and great pics Skip....
Only thing I would be worried about is their ability to move their head/neck so fast...
Otherwise, seems like a grea concept for turks.
Thr one caption says with the straws for best flight. Do you actually shoot the GG head with the straws on? Wouldn't that hinder the ability to cut?
Turkeys are very tough. Keep in mind "hit em high, watch em die- hit em low , watch 'em go.
I had great luck last spring as my Wensel Woodsman took a nice Tom in southwest NE. I hit him out of the "zone" but left a nice hole big enough to push a banana thru
QuoteOriginally posted by Buckeye Trad Hunter:
Thr one caption says with the straws for best flight. Do you actually shoot the GG head with the straws on? Wouldn't that hinder the ability to cut?
The straws do make them fly much better, just like a FP. No the straws don't hurt their ability to cut. They blow right off at impact
The W.W.s say to "Sharpen before Use". The 6 Brandly-New I Bought have each taken Hair!! This 3 Blade is New To Me!
they are extremely tuff mainly do to the small vitals. Just use a head you can shoot accurately any amount of blades in my opinion and thru my experience try to hit them above legs. Theres a lot of good stuff to hit there and a little room for error.
Last year I hit one in the wing butt or very close, using a 44# recurve with a very sharp Wensel Woodsman head on a 500 grain Axis arrow, and got a bounce out! This is the socond time taht this has happened to me. The year before, I hit one in the same spot with the same bow-arrow-head combination and got a complete pass-through, bird ran 25 yards and tipped over !! Go figure!! Trying a two blade head this year.
This thread has me remembering the three turkeys I have shot with a bow(insert wheeled contraption here).
First one, a fall hen. 84# ,Thunderhead 125...hit her just behind the wing butt broadside. Wing fell off, arrow skipped into the tree tops, never to be seen again. She bled out after 30 yards.
Second, 74#, Muzzy 3 blade 100. Fall tom, out of a deer stand. Drilled him...perfect shot, as the autopsy showed. Arrow made it out the other side, but stayed in him. He tried to flee, but the arrow held him up on branches and such. Had to get down and deliver a coupe de gras.
Third, another fall hen. 74# one of those bleepety bleep expandables from a deer stand. Bought them specifically for turkey. HUGE diameter. Drilled her about four inches below where the feathers stop growing...No blood, no sign. Got my brittany from home...no luck, she was confused by the amount of fresh scent from the flock I think. I found that bird a week later(never gave up). She had crawled into a multiflora rose bush that would make JLMBH hunters blush. The impact was a bit high, but did hit the vitals( the higher angle I had on the shot from the stand). She made it about 150 yards before expiring.
I know, the shots were in the fall, and with a contraption. But I figured it shows just how tough these birds can be.
Does the string tracker come with a clip of some type to attach the string to the arrow.
Terry