I shot a nice turkey last week with a grizzly. I aimed for the wing butt, but I think I centered the breast. The turkey flew off never to be seen again. I just got some tree sharks and I'm going to try them after Christmas and wait for a going away shot. Any other suggestions on shot placement or broadhead?
I've used Snuffers on a number of birds with good results. They cut a wide hole and most often the arrow penetrates completely without passing through the bird, helping retard it's movement. As for placement, I shoot for the wingbutt when broadside with the top of the drumstick of the leg another good target to break them down and prevent flight. Good luck with the next one!
Check out this thread I did a while back...
http://tradgang.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=1;t=100985#000000
160 Snuffer because I have them. In any case, something big.
I was wandering this myself, Have you seen the turkey broadhead from vpa, looks evil. I will have them in my quiver this spring
1. Centaur 'Battle Axe' 214 gn 2 1/8" 2Bl
2. Big Jim's 'Big 3' 300 gn 1.5" 3Bl
3. Magnus 'Snuffer' 185 gn 1 15/32" 3Bl
I have tried several broadheads over the past 3 yrs on turkeys.I took my first tom with a large 3 blade and it performed well.When I saw the tree shark I had to try it.The first tom I shot was quartering toward me and it anchored him in his tracks.The second tom was quartering away and he didn't go far.The third tom I shot was nearly broadside and I hit him directly in the wing butt knocking him over, he quickly regained his feet and hastened away apparently unscathed.Luckily my wife was with me filming and when we watched the video I was stunned.We found 2 wing feathers on the ground . One was completely severed, the other was 3/4 cut thru and had been pulled out.The video revealed what happened.One curved wing of the treeshark had cut thru a wing feather, the other only cut partially thru causing a hooking effect and deviated the arrow
90 degrees . It deflected straight up into the air never penetrating the turkey. The following spring I had a similar episode when the treeshark hooked the humerus causing it to angle forward with only superficial penetration but did enough damage that I quickly recovered the turkey.I switched to large swickey 4 blades and have had great results downing 3 toms quickly. I want to try the 4 blade interceptors this spring, they are not so radically winged. I think they will work great.
VPA terminator,(175) I'd like to try the Simmons Tree Shark. It looks deadly. Thanks!!! God bless.
simmons 165,muzzy phantom 220,never had one go over 20 yds.
No matter what you use placement is key. With that being said I've used Wensel woodsman for years and vpa 3 blades and this year took a very nice bird with a Simmons safari. The Simmons performed great as the bird was broadside and only went about 5 yards. Good luck and remember to pick a spot.
I've had good luck with Phantoms and Razorcaps. The Razorcaps in particular. Have filled 6 consecutive turkey tags here in NH. Every bird I hit went down.
I killed 2 this past spring with a Simmon's Treeshark. It was awsome that is all I will use now.LCH
Thanks a lot for the input!
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Ginger shot the Tom with a Wensel Woodsman Elite, the two hens I shot with Grizzly single bevel. I think with turkeys, shot placement is more important than broadhead - I prefer to aim for the thigh - if you hit there you break both legs, often hit the spine and internal organs - without legs they can't get off the ground or run off. If your hit is forward you break a wing or two, maybe the spine, or hit the heart lungs, back and you get the guts - which may take a while to recover. Low and you break the legs. The problem with the "wing butt" shot is that if you're a little forward or low you shoot through the breast, which is a muscle hit that you'll seldom recover.
Things don't always go as planned, but sometimes work out - the one hen in the picture, my shot wasn't where I wanted, but put the Grizzly through her head - they don't go far then!
great job Dan, do you use a ground blind and shoot through netting?
Snuffers with a stringtracker work great
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Silver Flame XXL
Yes, I use a Double Bull and generally shoot through the netting. The only thing I don't like about shooting through the netting is that it makes distances difficult to judge - I usually think things are farther than they really are, and tend to shoot high - a good excuse I could use for shooting the one in the head!
I think when it's real brightoutside, unless the sun is shining in the blind, the netting isn't too important, as it's dark in the blind. When there's less light, I think the netting is more important. My opinion, anyway.
I have shot a number of birds with snuffers with great results. More recently I have used tree sharks with all the birds down in sight. I think placement is much more important than broadhead but a bigger head gives more margin for error.
I've killed them with everything from a Grizzly to a Snuffer, but I've had the best results with a Simmons Tree Shark. I wouldn't hesitate to shoot them with anything large though, placement is more important IMO.
I use the same broadheads for turkeys as I do deer a 175 grain VPA 3 blade. Those tree sharks though are tempting me for turkey season.
Hey Don Batten, holy crow it looks like you hit that bird with a throwing axe. Wow!
160 grain Snuffers.... :thumbsup: