i am already thinking about turkey season. i am thinking about using my new martin hunter but its only 43# at my draw. i have fine tuned some beman ics 500's full length with 150gr. points. they shoot great and total wght is around 425grs. so how would this setup fair with the use of wensel woodsman heads? my other setup is my hoyt gamemaster2 50# using 2018's and 100gr heads. total wght-525grs. i have used this setup for everything for a couple years now. its great and i know it will work...but im starting to grow fond of this lil one piece recurve:)

thanks for the help
brandon

Penetration on turkeys is a lot harder than on deer.  That's pretty light in my opinion.  If I was going to shoot that light I'd use one of those head shot broadheads.

Bowmania

i figured 43# would be good....even for deer?

the feathers are harder to penetrate than you think they would be.  the other thing is you really wish you could break some bone.  turkey can get of the ground pretty easily when hit right thru the heart and go a long ways on one drop of blood.  

if ya use a light bow, shoot real straight and use a string tracker.  string tracker are the tradbow turkey hunters best friend IMO..

deer are a lot easier to recover than turkey are.  if your turkey get in the air there is no blood trail.  their kill zone is the size of an orange.  


rusty

Bowmania and trashwood are POINT ON for turkeys being tough!  Even toms hit with a 12 ga, if not a head shot, can cover a lot of ground - either by air or on foot - before expiring.  They take a lot of "killin"....

i use a 55# most of the time anymore, used to use 60# but my elbow screams at me too much for good shooting these days. Shot one last year with a 40#er but from straight away angle sohe went down quickly.I'd go with the heaviest bow i could shoot well(within reason) with the heaviest arrows that it can handle

Turkeys are real tough you can get the job done but I would hold out for very close shots and shoot a carbon arrow with smaller cutting surface. String tracker would be a big plus I am using one this spring myself.

Last year I shot a Jake in the wing with a 44# recurve and Woodsman head (SHARP), the arrow bounced out and the bird flew away, no penetration! This year I am going to two blade heads for turkeys. Have had great penetration on deer, bear, and antelope with the Woodsman heads.

Do they sell a string tracker that doesnt need inserts to use on a bow, I would like to get one for turkey hunting.

I think there is a way to attach the string tracker to your bow quiver, if you have one. Guru had a how-to on that in TBM and on this site awhile back. I think the April 08 issue?

2nd all the above, turkeys are tough and I use the same setup I shoot for deer and rarely, if ever get a pass thru and that is shooting 54 and 56# bows with 520gr arrows and 4 bl broadheads, no adders or stoppers, normally my arrow is hanging in the bird, halfway thru or just the broadhead in, shot a big bird last year at 24 yds angling away and only got about 3in of penetration on it.  I would not scrimp too much on performance when shooting turkeys!  Good luck!  Mark

"arrow bounced out and the bird flew away"

Well I wish I could say that never happened to me but it did happen one time to me also. This spring I am going to 550gr carbon arrows from my 475gr to 490gr in the past and a good two blade head with 1.25 inch cut.

ok im gonna stick with my hoyt then and i'll just use my steel force 2blades w. bleeders.

String tracker is the only way to go. These guys can go along way unless you put them out of commission by busting them up pretty good. If I'm shooting a bow that doesn't have a bushing I use one of the Great Northern TGA's. They work great for trackers or bow reels on a bow without bushings. Click on the link below and go to "Other Stuff".

http://greatnorthernquivers.com/

I had the same experience as Snuffer; watched my Muzzy broadhead on a light graphite shaft from a 42# recurve bounce right off a bird.  I haven't shot anything but wood since and grab the 50# bow for turkey.  42# is for stumps and deer.  Except for hogs, I think turkeys are probably one of the toughest critters to kill.

well im glad i asked you guys. last season i missed a tom at 25yrds...good thing i guess...because i was shooting a 44# black widow. i also learned a lesson that day. dont get too excited and carry a brand new bow out hunting, when you havent gotten fully adjusted to it. for me, i have learned if im gonna hunt with a bow, then thats the only bow i need to be shooting. i guess thats why i always go back to the hoyt:)   thanks guys

Use a popup blind and set the jake decoy up 12 yards away facing you. When big boy comes in 99% of the time he'll go the the jake nose to nose to run him off. Gives you a 10 yard shot with his back to you. These things don't even pay attention to a popup. As long as something isn't moving they could care less.

where can you find the string trackers at? also does anyone now if they make one that would strap to a bow since i dont have an adapter.

I shoot 43# @ 28"recurve. Total arow weight is 400 grains.
I killed a gobbler last spring with a 15 yard quarting away shot. Complete passthrough.
I wasn't really expecting a pass-thru, but beleive with a broadside/qtrn away shot you'll be fine.