Broadheads for Turkeys

[Friend]

Started traditional in 1969 and fell into the compound craze around 1977. I have been shooting year around for the past 25 years. My hunting partners shoot traditional and together we work hard at pursuing turkeys. These guys are great at getting close to birds, however their success rate is extremely poor. To better qualify what I mean by 'great' is that they average 12 shots a piece during a 3 week season.  They are lucky if they harvest one.  Two seasons ago the one partner shot 16 times with no score. We must have called him Sweet Sixteen until the next season.


For years now, I have wanted to go back to traditional equipment. One of the major hindrances was the witnessing of the low shot to kill rate. I have actually harvested 31 birds, however, they were taken with a compound.  I attribute one significant reason for my success rate increase over the passed 12 yrs was due to switching to a 2 ¾" wide head. My misses have not gone away, however these broadheads have delivered birds 21 out of 21 hits.

In July, I made a commitment to switch back to Traditional without having shot one in nearly 31 years. I sold my compound, acquired a couple of nice bows and have been shooting 5 to 7 days a week, sometimes twice a day.  The challenge has been great yet sometimes the torment of poor shootings obsesses me. I even sacrificed much deer hunting time in order to be proficient by this spring. While my skill level has risen significantly, and I remain on target to acquire adequate competency by spring, I am extremely concerned with regard to broadhead selection for turkeys.


I would appreciate seeing some postings regarding traditional broadheads that others have used to consistently harvest turkeys.


The reason I am sharing so much information is that I do post on Trad Gang and would like others within the forum to be more familiar with me as I have come to know others through their postings.

[Soilarch]

Were your buddies missing the turkeys that often or where they not able to anchor one and were unsuccessful in tracking/recovery?

Not a turkey hunter, (yet) and am pretty new to trad myself but have you used or thought of using a "tracker" string?  Seems like the idea lends itself much better to trad archery.

I'll be interested to see what guys use. I've gathered the impression a lot of guys use the same thing they do for everything.

[Gehrke145]

160 snuffers are my fav.  I've shot them with little 90 grain first cuts to.  I've never had a bird fly or lost (knock on wood) I've shot 10 birds with a bow.  I think most people who loose birds shoot them to far forward in the breast meat area, just my 2 cents.  Hit them in the top half or even the third or in the drummies and your good to go!

[acolobowhunter]

Most of the time I use a 2 bld BH such as Zwikey Eskimo or Eclipe, however many times I have used a 125 gr. Muzzy 3 bld.  This is usually when I get to lazy to sharpen some heads.  They really work good on turkeys though.  I also have shot many turkeys and shot placement is paramount!!!

[SlowBowinMO]

Big Snuffers have Turkey written all over them.       This is a 125, if I was specifically building arrows for Turkeys I'd use a 160.

[Morning Star]

You just can't beat what those 160 Snuffers do to a big ol Tom!

[lt-m-grow]

First off, be patient with your accuracy, it will come.  I made the switch 4 years ago and the best advice I have read is patience.   Of course form matters too, yet you have to have good form no matter what weapon you shoot.  It just takes time other than that - the same practice techniques that you used to be a good compound shooter -  translates to trad bows.

Regarding your broadhead choice, in my opinion, shoot the head you shot before.  Like most things label "traditional" it is debable what that means as is the case with broadheads.  You said you had a head that worked great for turkeys before, use it.

- Dave

[Friend]

My partners probably have a 40% hit rate on birds. Of these hits, possibly only 20% are recovered. This is only an estimate.

[Friend]

It-m-grow,

Your advice is well-taken and appreciated.

Have seriously considered using my current head, however I wanted to explore the traditional possibilities first.

[Bowmania]

I'm wondering what you call "close to birds".  I put a decoy at 3 yds and 2 at 8 yds.  My shots are "close" 8 to 12 yds and rarely miss.

Don't use a two blade head - you can miss a spine with a 2 blade that you'd cut with a three.  Don't hunt without a string tracker and a 160 gr snuffer.

[BMOELLER]

I've got the Magnus Bullheads (guillotine) style.  I lost one two years ago with a 160 snuffer.  I figure I'll shoot for the head with the magnus and if I miss oh well.  At least there won't be a wounded or lost turkey out there.

[Big Riser]

BMOELLER You`ve got it man. Magnus bullheads, Head and neck shots only.DEAD TOM OR NOTHING.
DOUBLE BULL BLIND AND NO DECOYS.Try it .I`ve killed My last few turkey this way. One at 3yds.
Blackthunder slate call,every striker I can find and I`m gone ALL DAY .Come on SPRING

                     good huntin

[Kevin Evans]

I agree with Brian and thats what I am doing(guillotine)practice everyday 60 days before season.Think Close!! Close!! Close!!!

[Don Batten]

I use simmons tree shark with a reverse v (very small) filed into the tip. I got the idea from Cory Mattson. The thought is that the sharp tip will deflect a small amount off the quill of the feather. The v insures the head keeps going straight. Not an expert but Ive shot a bunch of tukeys with trad bows. We are 3 for 3 with this type of head. These shots were out of a blind with no nets . Don

[Friend]

Bowmania,

Typical short range distances are anywhere from 5 to 15 yds. We don't use decoys.

[Orion]

If your buddies are averaging 12 shots per three weeks, you have a helluva lot of turkeys and they're shooting well beyond their effective range.

I've killed turkeys with two-blade heads, but will be using a three blade this year, probably a Woodsman or Snuffer.

IMO, 15 yards is a long shot on turkeys with trad gear.  10 yards is better.  The kill zone isn't much larger than a baseball.  The head/neck is almost the same size as the heart/lungs on a turkey.  A hit that doesn't take out the vitals might still kill the turkey eventually, but it likely won't be recovered.

[Friend]

Orion,
Hopefully my set-ups will produce 10 to 15 yard shot opportunities.  I have not practiced at 5 yds yet and will doing so soon.

My successes in the past were in-part due to recognizing and accepting my limitatons.
Accurately definining and living by your more restricted limitations in the field vs. the range is paramount.

[Gary Logsdon]

I shot these two 2008 KY longbeards with big 2" wide Simmons Treesharks (shown in quiver) If the pix don't come up you may need to refresh your page (Hit F5 key).

[Friend]

Gary,

Very impressive and what wonderful pictures.

[Friend]

Gary,

Did these birds go down quick?