pitching arrows at turkeys???

[pondscum2]

anyone else out there going to try turkeys with their bow this spring? i aint got a shot with my 10 gauge the last 2 seasons; & it weighs 9 1/2 lb. missed 2 with my bow last year. so, i figure if i aint gonna kill one, i might as well not kill him with a 14 oz recurve instead; easier on my feet & shoulders carrying it. by the end of most turkey seasons, my left shoulder is hanging 3 inchs lower than my right from lugging the big SOB around. thoughts & criticisms welcome; i ask not that you agree with me, only that you not kick me in the teeth whilst disagreeing.... :p ps2

[OZ in MT]

I like to pursue the gobblers, too, PS, but I do it on the other side of the country (Montana) in the fall. Out there, I'm able to move around in heavy Miriam turkey areas and do short "spot and stalks." Most of the shots are 25-35 yards, but I'd guess you'll have some closer ones in the spring if you plan to sit and call. Used to bowhunt them like that in WVa, and it was tough drawing a recurve at short range without the turkey spooking at the movement. There are a variety of viewpoints regarding arrows and points for turkeys. IMO, you can't beat a fixed 3-blade on a light carbon or aluminum. In an attempt to keep the arrow in the bird (they'll fly on many passthrus unless it's a direct wing hit, and they will almost always run a ways) I round the tip of the point- ) - and sharpen the edges like I would for deer. I'm always surprised at the resistance of their thick feathers: a head on full breast hit or a thick-of-the-wing hit often means the arrow stays in without a full passthru. The only one I've hit and lost was a bad shot - high breast hit and just cut the back of the neck. No idea whether the bird survived, but he took off and flew all the way across a mile-wide coulee. Love to hunt them - good luck!

[swampy]

I've never killed a turkey and never hunted them with a gun either LOL In fact so far I'm perfect since I've never missed a turkey either LOL

Ofcourse one of these days I'll actually get a shot at one HAHAHAHAHA
Good luck!!I'll probably only get out 1 or 2 times myself but I will be carring my LB....killin a bird would just be iceing on the cake

[Lane Puckett]

I've never killed a turkey and never hunted them with a gun either LOL In fact so far I'm perfect since I've never missed a turkey either LOL

Ofcourse one of these days I'll actually get a shot at one HAHAHAHAHA
Good luck!!I'll probably only get out 1 or 2 times myself but I will be carring my LB....killin a bird would just be iceing on the cake


Swampy's got it for me. I've taken one with the scatter gun and hunted them with the bow but never missed(never shot). I just love getting out in the spring time and it is the perfect excuse.

Lane

[Pinelander]

I started hunting them in the early 80's when I lived in southern Iowa. The DNR was trading pheasants to Missouri for turkeys... population exploded. I hunted with 12-ga. lightweight Ithaca Auto, 6-shot buffered loads, modified choke and never had a problem at 20 yds. and in. Changed weapons to a 35mm Yashica for awhile, then used a recurve. Wasn't successful with bow until I started to setup natural blinds that were very concealing.

Last year, I started hunting them again up here in Illinois... used a Bull blind and almost seemed like it was too easy. Dang tom came struttin' right up to the dekes and circled the Jake one, which was the closest to the blind. I didn't even have the window screens on and he never knew I was there, stupid bird. He was hot... came straight in right after fly-down after I did some extreme cutting. Nearly missed him at a mere 5 yards.

Just received my TWO turkey tags in the mail today! Wooheee!! April 27th through May 12th, gonna have some fun....

I've got more turkey stories than you can shake a gobble box at. There was the time I took a long shot at a tom standing right next to the deke (I was stupid then, and had it out in the field about 25 yards). First arrow hit the plastic deke and went WHACK! Turkey stuck his head up and looked around like a periscope. Second arrow went wizzing by his head by about 6 inches, and then he decided to get out of there.

Another time, a buddy and I were hunkered down behind some small gooseberry bushes at the edge of a field on a VERY windy day. He with his compound and me with my recurve. We had already flipped to see who would get first crack, he won. Around 10 a.m. I was laying on the ground scratchin' that box, yelping as loud as I could... after about 10 minutes of this, my buddy turns around and kicks me in the leg and says "shussh" and points out towards the field. There's a big tom all struttin' up and walking towards the deke we had placed about 10 yards out in front of the bushes. He showed up without gobbling whatsoever. Tom is struttin' right next to the deke, nearly brushing up against it. My buddy slowy draws and eases up above the bushes when the bird is facing away. Takes the shot and arrow sticks in the ground no more than 6 inches away from his feet, bird has no idea... it was windy and sounds were carrying away. He nocks another arrow, takes another shot... same thing. I was splittin' a gut by that time. ROTGLMAO.

I would strongly recommend to anyone hunting turkeys to use a string-tracker. Take two different calls with you, and above all else... have enormous amounts of patience. It may seem rather discouraging during the mid-morning hours since there's not much gobbling going on, but they are out there and they will come in to a call after they've finished doing their thing with their lady friends.

I like using a big fat aluminum arrow with a big 4-blade head. Of course I have a sight placed on the bow for the 20-30 yard shots if it happens that way. Target area is pretty small. Ain't nothing wrong with shooting them in strut... just have to pay attention to where the body really is and forget about all those ruffled-up feathers. Lots of guys say they only take head shots... not me, that makes target area even smaller. Using a string-tracker and most body hits end up with recovery. And yes, they will FLY AWAY if arrow goes through them and doesn't destroy a wing. All the more reason to use a string tracker... that way you can just haul 'em like a kite, LOL.

[pondscum2]

love it, piney! can just see some yahoo crankin' one in on his bow fishing rig now..."dang it, now he's got me hung up in that d##n maple over thar..." :p ps2

[OZ in MT]

STring tracker is a great idea, Piney. Wish I'd thought of it! :)

[Pinelander]

Baby-sitting the grand daughter and up in the middle of the night....

Forgot to post these photos, can't think of a better way to get everyone all riled up about upcoming spring turkey seasons. Took these photos on April 24, 1983 with a 35mm Yashica before anyone ever heard of a digital camera, LOL.

[Ronin]

I started hunting turkeys two years ago when I move to my current location and saw more turkeys than deer. The last two seasons I have hunted the late season and started out with my bow. The first year I hunted with a bow for a week out of a make shift blind and the birds busted me before I even got them within range. Switched to the 12 guage and shot a nice bird a week later. Last season I pulled a stalk on a huge strutting tom to about 30 yards on opening day before the hen he was with busted me. After two weeks of playing hide and seek, I shot the tom with the 12 guage. He had a 11 3/4' beard.

My wife bought me a pop up blind for Christmas and I will put a lot more effort into getting one with a bow this year. The good part is that I have the whole month of May to hunt. The bad part is that by the late season here in Michigan, the birds in my area are pretty wise and hard to decoy. The two I got, I had to quickly move to intercept the birds, set up my decoys, and call them in for an ambush.

[Brian L]

I've never killed a turkey by gun or bow but will be hitting the woods with bow in hand come April. Considering that I'm not exactly an experienced turkey hunter, I'll probably try and keep things as simple as possible. A good blind really seems the way to go but I don't know if it's in my cards for this year. I will be hunting some fairly hilly terrain so will probably use the terrain to my advantage. I'll probably bring one of the smaller blind setups which at least blocks most of your body. Other than that, I'm going to keep my calls at a minimum and use a couple of decoys.

Pinelander: I noticed that you mentioned hunting the birds later in the day. Do you normally just set up in an area that you feel holds birds, call, and wait it out?

[Pinelander]

Yeah, that's pretty much it. Some reading material to help pass the time is good. It can get very boring and discouraging at times, but then all of a sudden things happen out of nowhere. I usually do a series of yelps about every 15 minutes, sometimes do some cutting maybe once an hour. Don't get nose too deep in a book though, sometimes they arrive without making a sound. The turkeys where I hunt will forage widely during the day... lots of open fields and they tend to just wander around. Pretty much the same thing in heavy timber, scratching around for most of the morning looking for bugs, acorns, tubers, and the like. Pre-scouting is important.... finding areas in the timber where it's all scratched up means a likely place they visit during the day. Places where toms strut and hang out first thing in the morning is also a place where they will easily return later in the morning. I must admit, when that first 2 hours of a morning has passed... your odds of bringing a bird in to a call dramaticlly drops off. But, you just don't know what could happen... if you're not there.

I've got some more stories for later (factual I might add). They might lend some thoughtful aspects as to what can happen if you just stick with it and don't give up easily... like most turkey hunters do when they head back to the truck at 10 a.m.

[James Wrenn]

4 years ago I bought one of the videos and then went and called in one for my buddy and later one for myself.I have been trying to get one with a bow ever since. :) There are very few turkeys on the land I hunt and I have not had a shot yet.I have had one drumming and strutting 10yds from me for almost an hour one morning but a grapevine between me and him made getting an arrow to him doubtfull at best.Last year I never saw or even heard a bird.Maybe this year. :)

[pondscum2]

they may not be there opening day, but the farm i hunt is slap eat up with turkeys right now! was over 65 birds, & 15 of them were strutting longbeards this past sunday. tough place to hunt though. had seven gobblers running together in one bunch there all last spring. could'nt do a d##n thing with them..... :sbrug: ps2

[pondscum2]

leaving for 'bama at 8 in the AM. taking my 10 gauge & my mahaska both; hopefully get to use each one... :p ps2

[pondscum2]

well, 'bama still has more than their fair share of turkeys, & we didn't hurt the population any. :p scared a few, but no shots other than a suicidal jake that walked between my buddy's blind & his dekes! if anyone is interested in hogs though, choccolocco wma is starting to show signs of a swine infestation. been going there for 14 years, but this was first sign of piggies we have found. a couple of creekbeds on the northern end of the area are really taking a rooting... :help: needed to keep the deer & turkeys from losing their forage base. kill a pig today for the hunters of tomorrow. :amen: ps2

[Brian L]

Well, no bird today. This was the first hunt of my 2 day lottery hunt that I was drawn to hunt on this public property. This morning I traveled to an area that I had scouted and found some good sign. Right at first light I pretty much just sat on a ridge and tried to listen for some birds. I did hear a couple gobble fairly far away but unfortunately well on the other side of the public property. For about the next 45 minutes I traveled across a ridge top and kept any calling to a minimum since I'm not very experienced. I finally did get a bird to gobble fairly close to my area yet heard a hen both well to my right and well out in front of me. I'm fairly certain it was hens and not other hunters. At any rate, that one gobble was all I heard out of him.

I took an opposite way back to where I left the truck this a.m. just to try some occasional calls along a different route and in a different area. I did happen to run right into a couple jakes and hens running right across a trail. Ha. What was funny was that as I came out of the woods and started to meet up with the main trail, my buddy who went in his own direction this a.m., waved me to sit down. He was actually working a big tom right at the trails edge that was with some hens. He called repeatedly yet besides letting out a gobble, he wouldn't leave the hens. We circled out ahead of the birds to come in from another angle and did pick him up again but he refused to deviate from his current path. Still fun though.

I'd imagine tomorrow that I'm going back to the same area I started this morning yet maybe just setup in a good area and hold my ground. At this point I don't have much confidence in my calling ability so that's definitely a hinderance. I'm guessing I'll just stick with an occassional soft yelp and see what happens. Any other tips?

[Pinelander]

Lots of different tricks to try... but I'm no expert by any means. If I was, I'd being out doing calling contests, lecturing tours, and endorsing for some call company. But I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night, LOL.

Some toms can be very patternable in the spring, and other toms very unpredictable. I think it mostly depends if it's early season or late season. Too me, predictablity tends to show early on in the season and unpredictability later on. As each hen takes and then goes to nesting... there are less of them available, more chance to get a bird to come to you. Early on in the season, it seems like a tom has a 'first of the morning' ritual. Fly down to a favorite spot and gobble his head off for at least an hour and see how many hens he can attract. He doesn't venture too far that first hour, then starts to move away with the hens after they've accumulated in his area. I think that's why you hear about hunters that try to put a bird to bed the evening before, so they can be setup pretty close to their ritual strutting area come first light.

Here's one trick I used when shotgunning one year. For 3 days straight, the same bird was gobbling on the same ridge. Would fly down and stay on top of that same ridge for at least an hour or more. On the 4th day I was fed up and decided to move in on him a good half hour AFTER fly-down. I snuck up through a low spot in a ravine that paralleled the ridge. When I got about even to where he was, I started belly-crawling very slowly up the ridge. Made no calls whatsoever before or during all this. When I finally got near the top, he was still there. He finally heard the leaves rustling as I was crawling. He quit gobbling and I could hear him coming my way to investigate. I just waited until his head appeared and let him have it. Not sure how this could be associated with bowhunting him, but he definitely had a pattern. There was no way he was leaving that ridge.... I had to get within his "space".

Back later this evening for more H.I.E. wisdom....

[Pinelander]

If it's windy, I'm not afraid to call really loud. You can be the worst hen yelper in the woods, and there will a tom out there that will love you all the same. Some hens are the worst "turkey callers" on earth.

If a tom is gobbling far away, I'm not afraid to call really loud to get his attention. If he does advance, I don't continue to call and let him know my exact location at all times, would rather let him do a bit of searching.... usually ends right up in your lap anyways. It's fun to hear them respond to each of your calls, but after awhile I think that is what hangs them up more than anything.

If a tom answers my call immediately, I only call once more, then shut-up and see what he does. Some are more impatient than others, he may gobble quite a bit for awhile, but when he realizes the hen may have moved off, he might just shut up and come in to investigate. Look for that snowball forehead bobbing around in the woods.

Jakes are really stupid and will sometimes fall all over each other to get in on some action. You won't see much of a beard, but they're black as coal and shiny like the mature toms. When they gobble on the roost, it is very short and broken. When they call on the ground, they give out a very long squeeky, high-pitched kind of yelping that sounds really weird. Yaaaawk, yaaaawk, yaaawwk. A very intrusive, rude-sounding call as turkeys go.

Never be fooled into thinking what might be a turkey, is a hunter. And in the same token, never think what might be a turkey, is actually a hunter. You can never be sure unless you see them or the movement of their calling seems to indicate it isn't a hunter. Although, I've seen hunters move through the woods calling as they walk. Not a good idea in my opinion.

[Brian L]

Thanx for the tips Piney! Considering tomorrow is the last day of the lottery, I'll probably try everything other than throwing the kitchen sink at em'. Stumbling across as many birds as I did on the way back to the truck does give creedance to holding your ground with some occassional light calling. Ha, that's pretty much how my buddy got that one bird's attention; he was on his way out of the woods and let out a few yelps for giggles. We'll see what happens.

[pondscum2]

from evidence from a good friend of mine, those pop-up blinds are all they are cracked up to be! he has killed 2 birds from his already, both on the opening weekend here. one had inch & a quarter spurs, the other one was inch & three eighths. both beards were near 10 inches, & both birds were around 21 lb. oh, & the lowlife shot both of them in his back yard here in kingsport tennessee. this same swine kills whitetails there too, from a treestand that he can watch TV out of if the Vols are on the tube...some of us got it rough! he had his 6 year old daughter with him for the second bird. they got in the blind yesterday afternoon, he called twice on a slate, & she says "here come some turkeys, daddy". john looks out, there stand 3 jakes & the longbeard looking at his decoys.... :sbrug: ps2

[Brian L]

I have heard that some states are now going to require that there's a hunter's orange band around the blind while hunting on public land. I had a buddy tell me this the other day.

I definitely believe a blind is a huge help although would be somewhat difficult to use on the public land that I hunt considering you might need to move around quite a bit. In all honesty, I don't know if I'd want to be enclosed in a blind on public land......you never know who's out there!