Bowhunting for turkey has become an increasingly popular pursuit among hunters in recent years. While shotguns have traditionally been the weapon of choice for pursuing these wary birds, more and more hunters are discovering the unique challenges and rewards of taking a tom turkey with archery equipment.
Is It Legal to Hunt Turkeys with a Bow?
The first question many hunters have is whether it is legal to hunt turkeys with a bow The answer is yes – bowhunting turkey is legal throughout most of the U.S during established turkey hunting seasons. However, some states may have restrictions, such as minimum draw weights for bows or not allowing crossbows. Be sure to consult your state’s hunting regulations.
Choosing the Right Bow
You don’t need an expensive, specialized bow setup to effectively bowhunt turkeys Many hunters simply use their deer hunting compound bows. However, given the close-range shots on turkeys, most bowhunters opt to shoot lighter draw weights between 40-50 lbs This allows them to hold at full draw longer while waiting for a shot.
While compound bows are the most popular choice, traditional archers using recurve bows and longbows can also find success. Shooting lighter arrows with expandable broadheads helps increase their effective range.
One type of bow that is restricted is the crossbow. Many states prohibit using crossbows to hunt turkeys. Always check your regulations.
Effective Range and Shot Placement
Judging distance and proper shot placement are critical if bowhunting turkeys. The effective killing range for most bow setups is 30 yards or less on turkeys. Without the knockdown power of a shotgun, precise arrow placement is key.
The most lethal shots are aimed at the head and neck area. This destroys the critical nervous system and anchors the bird quickly. However, the head and neck present a very small target. Most bowhunters opt for a body shot aiming for the vitals behind the wing on the side facing them.
Arrow and Broadhead Selection
Choosing the right arrows and broadheads is also important when bowhunting turkeys. Most hunters prefer a lighter arrow around the 500 grain range combined with expandable broadheads. The lighter arrow speeds deliver better accuracy and more kinetic energy on impact.
Smaller cutting diameter expandable broadheads between 1-1.5 inches are ideal for penetrating through a turkey’s feathers and still delivering fatal damage to vitals. Mechanical broadheads are typically more lethal on turkeys than fixed blade models.
Using Blinds effectively
Because of a turkey’s sharp eyesight, staying concealed is one of the main challenges of bowhunting them. Ground blinds help hide hunter movement when drawing the bow and allow you to sit still for long periods waiting for shots.
There are many options for ground blinds including pop-up hub-style blinds as well as DIY natural blinds made from camo netting and materials found in the field. Set up your blind in areas you expect turkey traffic and give yourself shooting lanes in multiple directions.
Blinds close to the ground usually work best. You can brush them in with surrounding vegetation to better match the surroundings. Avoid windows, mesh or fabric that will catch and prematurely deploy mechanical broadheads.
Calling is Crucial
To consistently bowhunt turkeys, you need to become an effective turkey caller. Unlike running and gunning, you often can’t afford a quick sneak up and shot. You need to use calling skills to draw in warier birds and convince them to close the distance into bow range.
Locating real turkeys and studying their vocalizations teaches you to mimic them correctly. A mouth call like a diaphragm is vital for realistic yelps, clucks and purrs to interact with birds that hang up just outside of effective bow range. Calling skills truly make or break your success bowhunting.
Proper Concealment and Decoys Help
Aside from using ground blinds, you must conceal yourself fully when bowhunting turkeys. Use full camo clothing as well as facemasks and gloves to hide exposed skin. Small details like watch bands or jewelry can catch light and alert turkeys passing by your blind.
Setting up decoys adds realism and entices stubborn toms to come investigate. Lifelike decoys that don’t flare birds are critical for bowhunters wanting to draw them in tight. Pay attention to your decoy setup depending on the time of season and behaviors you are observing in real turkeys.
Be Prepared for Close Encounters
Perhaps the biggest thrill of bowhunting turkeys happens when you call in a fired-up gobbler at close range. Be prepared for turkeys to suddenly appear next to your blind as they scout for the source of your calls.
Practice drawing, aiming and shooting from various positions while seated in your blind at home so you can smoothly execute shots when turkeys pop up unexpectedly nearby. Nothing gets the heart pumping like a tom turkey strutting 10 yards away!
Patience and Scouting Are Rewarded
Successfully taking a turkey with archery tackle requires determination and patience. You can’t rush the process. Spending as much time scouting as possible to find where active birds are using pays off tremendously.
Observe turkey behaviors and patterns at different times of day. Then set up according where you expect them to be. Calling turkeys in and coaxing them into bow range involves plenty of fruitless days – don’t get discouraged. Eventually your persistence will be rewarded!
Bowhunting for turkeys is an extremely challenging but rewarding experience for hunters looking to up their game and take their turkey hunting skills to the next level. With the right bow setup, effective concealment, and expert calling abilities, you can absolutely hunt turkeys successfully with a bow. If you have primarily shotgun hunted in the past, give bowhunting turkeys a try – you might just get hooked!
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Take a page from the shotgun hunting playbook and run-and-gun for spring gobblers — and, yes, do it with your bow!
The author enjoys runnin-and-gunnin for spring gobblers — no shotguns, no ground blinds, and most of the time no decoys! (Author photos)
When it comes to turkey hunting tactics, being mobile and efficient is about as good as anything out there to fill your tag. Many use the “run-and-gun” method with a shotgun, but then change their technique when it comes time to grab the bow. In my opinion, this is a vital mistake and a missed opportunity on a ton of fun. Being mobile and bowhunting turkeys is about as exciting and thrilling as it gets for a turkey hunter. But where do we start? Do we use decoys? How do we set up for an incoming tom? And what kind of calls are most effective for this method of madness with the bow in hand? For the last five years or so, this is the only kind of turkey hunting that Ive done, so lets dive right in and talk about a few keys to success for your next bowhunting adventure — run-and-gun style!
In order to be successful at bowhunting birds with no blind and no shotgun, we need to think about mobility more than anything else. I want to be as mobile and lightweight as possible when chasing turkeys with my bow and I want to be efficient. What that means is I do not carry anything with me or in my vest that I will not need. For me, I carry a few calls — which include a slate and glass call, one box call and numerous mouth calls. Mouth calls are very important because they allow me to be hands-free while holding or drawing my bow during the moment of truth. Learn the basics on a mouth call — yelps, clucks, purrs and how to cut.
Your turkey calls are one thing you can’t leave behind. The author carries a slate call, a glass call, a box call, and numerous mouth calls each time he heads afield.
When it comes to decoys, more times than not I dont bring them. Decoys do have an advantage in certain scenarios, but due to the bulk and weight I typically leave them behind. If I do bring a decoy, I will either run a collapsible hen or jake that I can stuff in the back of my vest. For my bow, its very important that I have a limb leg of some sort on my bow so I can sit it down and be hands-free, all while allowing it to be in the upright position and ready to strike.
With running and gunning bow birds, I typically like to do most of my hunting later in the morning. If Im hunting at first light, I try to pick a good fly-down location and let the woods come alive on their own. It can be challenging to break a tom away from his hens right away in the morning, so I dont get too aggressive. If this is the only time I have available to hunt, I will try to cut off the flock and get ahead of them. Only if its necessary will I try to pull the tom from his hen by calling to him. If I can hunt all morning I will sit back and watch/listen to make further plans for later when toms tend to break away from then hens on his own in search for a new girlfriend. Nine oclock in the morning to noon is usually the time this will occur. Advertisement
Mimicking turkey movements and changing locations can give you a major advantage by keeping any incoming toms guessing.
During this timeframe, my goal is to cover as much ground as I can on foot while glassing along the way. This is how you can oftentimes find a tom that wants to play the game. I typically will make a large circle around the property that Im able to hunt and will blind call while doing so. What Im attempting to do is sound like a real hen, walking around feeding and calling. This mimics what a real turkey would be doing at this time of the day and my hopes are that a lonely tom hears my calls and decides to talk back.
Sometimes I will also use a “shock” call like an owl hoot, or a crow call during this time of the day to try to trick a tom into giving away his location by gobbling. This is similar to getting a bird on the roost to gobble, only now theyre on the ground. Typically, once a bird gobbles once, he can be coaxed into getting fired up and this is exactly what were looking for.
So, heres the scenario — weve finally found a bird that wants to play our game and is gobbling back to our calls. Hes now figured out where our location is and weve figured out his as well, so half of the battle is already won. From here, we must now make a few educated guesses to further set the trap to get the bird killed. What I mean by this is that we need him to commit to bow range, so we now have a few options for our setup. Advertisement
If youve decided to bring a decoy with you and are in semi-open or open terrain, they can be used to our advantage. This can be a very deadly tactic, as youll want to set the decoy up 10 to 15 yards away and facing you. That way, the bird will circle the decoy and give you a great opportunity to draw your bow undetected.
If youre in the timber, or decided to not bring a decoy — which is typically what I do — then you must have a very strategic plan on how to get drawn. What I like to do is scan the surrounding area and think like a turkey would. Ill look for game trails, holes in fences, openings in the timber, logging roads, or anything that will make a tom want to come in to that spot. Turkeys like to see and they like open terrain features inside the timber so they can use their keen eyes to their advantage. Stay away from super thick areas of vegetation, or places that make it difficult for a turkey to get to. Fences, deep creeks, and steep ravine walls can all make a bird think twice about coming in.
Once Ive figured out a few easy routes that the bird can take I now take a minute to range spots and pick my ambush location. I want to be in a spot where Im concealed and where I can get drawn, as the bird is either walking past me or walking away from me. Drawing as the bird is facing you will almost always end in him busting you, so keep that in mind.
Its now the 4th quarter and we need a score. If the bird has gobbled back and is now on his way, I like to give them the silent treatment to finish the deal. Once hes fired up youre not forced to call any longer — his curiosity alone will lure him in. His mind will be on finding the hen and hell be walking around doing just that. This gives bowhunters a perfect opportunity to get drawn on him. Remember, he doesnt know exactly where we are at, so use that to your advantage.
If the bird is gobbling, but not committing after some time of waitin, its a sign that we need to back out and change locations. Sometimes by doing just that we sound more like a real hen moving around and thats enough to drive him into a frenzy.
In closing, running-and-gunning for bow birds can be as exciting as turkey hunting can get. Its a great tactic and one that I really hope all of you will try out this spring, especially if youve never done it before. Good luck and have fun!
Bowhunting Turkeys Guide – 5 Best Tips To Get You Started
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