Turkey hunting with a bow can be an extremely rewarding experience. Unlike hunting with a shotgun, bowhunting turkeys requires stealth, skill, and patience. While challenging, arrowing a longbeard at close range is a huge adrenaline rush.
In this complete guide, we will cover everything you need to know as a beginner to be successful bowhunting turkeys
Choosing the Right Bow Setup
You don’t need a specialized bow to hunt turkeys. Most modern compound bows designed for deer hunting will work fine. Here are a few tips for choosing the right bow setup:
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Reduce your draw weight if shooting over 60 lbs. You may have to hold at full draw for several minutes waiting for a shot. A lighter draw weight will help prevent fatigue.
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Use a mechanical broadhead for wider cutting diameter and more tissue damage. Popular choices include Rage, NAP Spitfire, and G5 Striker.
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Make sure your bow is properly tuned and sighted in prior to the season. Broadhead accuracy is critical.
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Use arrows with a lighter spine, around .500, for increased kinetic energy on impact.
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Consider adding a bow sight light if hunting from a ground blind. Low light conditions can make sights harder to see.
Using Proper Concealment
Turkeys have incredible vision so remaining hidden and concealed is critical until the moment of truth. Here are some concealment options to consider:
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Ground Blinds: Pop up blinds allow you to draw your bow and take the shot while hidden. Place decoys within 10 yards of blind opening.
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Ghillie Suits: Offer concealment when covering up in brush or tree. Restricts mobility compared to blinds.
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Camouflage: Use head-to-toe camo including gloves, facemask, and hat. Cover fletching with arrow wraps or netting.
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Brush: Quick natural option but limits ability to draw bow without being seen.
Calling Turkeys into Bow Range
To get a tom within archery range, a hunter needs to use turkey calls effectively. Follow these tips when calling:
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Use locator calls first like owl, crow, or peacock to get gobblers to shock gobble and reveal position.
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Start calling softly and increase volume if needed. Loud aggressive calling often backfires.
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Alternate calling sequences with 5-10 minutes of silence. This builds curiosity and avoids overcalling.
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Use a mouth call like a diaphragm or slate call for most realistic sounding yelps, clucks, and purrs.
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Add a gobbler, hen, and jake decoy to create interest and draw the tom in.
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Be patient and do not overcall! Softly yelp 2-3 times every 10-15 minutes to create realism.
Shot Placement Vital for Lethal Hits
With turkeys, shot placement is critical as you do not have the room for error that you do with larger game. Here are some shot placement tips:
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The head and neck offer the smallest targets but allow for the least tracking if hit properly. Use a dedicated turkey head to practice.
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The best broadside body shot is through the center of the chest, impacting the vital organs.
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A broadside shot hitting the wing butts will break them down preventing escape.
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Limit shots to 25 yards or less. Practice out to 40 yards in case they hang up.
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Only take high percentage shots you are confident in making. A miss means a lost opportunity.
Using Decoys Properly
Decoys can make a huge difference in drawing in more curious dominant toms to your set up. Follow these decoy tips:
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Use at least one hen and one jake decoy. The jake provides jealousy while the hen offers a breeding target.
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Make sure your decoys are visible from 50+ yards out to attract attention early.
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Place decoys 10-15 yards from blind opening to draw the tom in close.
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Add slight movement using decoy poles or special motorized decoys. This adds realism.
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Carry collapsible decoys to set up quickly if run and gun hunting.
Scouting and Setting Up Properly
To maximize your odds of tagging a tom, smart scouting and set up is key. Here are some scouting tips:
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Locate active roost trees by listening for gobbles at fly up and fly down times.
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Scout open fields early in the morning to spot strutting toms displaying for hens.
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Look for tracks, scratching’s, and droppings to identify prime turkey areas.
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Use game cameras to pattern turkey movement and find preferred feeding and loafing areas.
Once you find where the birds want to be, set up your blind and decoys accordingly:
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Set up along major travel corridors between roosting and feeding sites.
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Conceal blind in brush on field edges smart turkeys avoid walking across open areas.
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Place blind uphill allowing you to see approaching birds before they see you.
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Have the sun at your back to avoid being silhouetted.
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Give yourself shooting lanes trimming only what is absolutely necessary.
Be Patient and Hunt All Day
Many hunters make the mistake of giving up too early if they don’t hear gobbles first thing in the morning. But smart turkey bowhunters know that the mid-day and evening hunts can produce.
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Be ready to hunt all day. Toms can become more responsive again late morning or mid afternoon.
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Expect calling to be less effective as the day progresses. Shift to more waiting game.
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Monitor weather forecasts closely. Rainy or cloudy days often leads to improved mid-day movement.
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Consider using a turkey fan or Jake decoy to catch the eye of a tom passing by your location.
Follow Proper Recovery Techniques
Even when making a well-placed double lung shot, a turkey can still cover a lot of ground before expiring. Here are some tips to minimize tracking and loss:
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Watch the turkey closely after the shot and note exact direction it traveled.
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Give adequate time before trailing, at least 1-2 hours, to allow it to expire. Go get lunch or take a nap.
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Look for visual clues during trailing like scattered feathers and blood specks.
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Use a high quality lighted arrow nock to help follow blood trail in low light.
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Bring a wing bone call to do occasional calling while trailing. A fatally hit bird may shock gobble.
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Use a dog suited for tracking if available. Their nose can be a real asset.
Be Safe and Respect Private Land
Some final tips every turkey hunter should keep in mind:
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Always be sure of your target and what lies beyond it. Accidents happen quickly.
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If hunting private land, be sure to thank the landowner afterwards. Respect their property.
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Understand the regulations thoroughly and only take legal birds. Avoid fines and license revocation.
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Represent bowhunting in a positive ethical way to improve perceptions of sportsmen.
Have reasonable expectations your first seasons. The more time you spend in the spring woods, the more proficient you will become at the specialized art of bowhunting gobblers. Don’t get discouraged. With sound fundamentals, scouting, and smart set up, you will be rewarded with a longbeard in bow range.
Where to Shoot a Turkey With a Bow: Head-On
For this shot, aim dead-center, just above the beard. John Hafner Photography
This is my favorite shot of all because itâs 100 percent lethal, and the beard gives you a precise aiming point whether the bird is in full strut or not. Itâs a common angle in the field, too. Often a tom will approach a gobbler decoy
from behind and walk up alongside the imposter, giving you a perfect head-on shot. Also, 90 percent of your shots will be frontal if you use a bow-mounted decoy.Â
While at full draw, find the beard and settle your pin about an inch above it. If youâre a little high, you hit the neck, which is fatal; if youâre a little low, you cut through the beard and drive the arrow through the vitals.
Where to Shoot a Turkey With a Bow: Head/Neck
If you get a face-on head shot, aim a little low on the neck, so your arrow can punch through and hit vitals as a backup. John Hafner Photography
Donât shy away from this shot, and donât worry if you donât have a decapitating-style broadhead on the end of your arrow. Yes, decapitating broadheads like a Magnus Bullhead give you more room for error because of their huge blades, and they kill like crazyâbut chopping off a turkeyâs head isnât my style. Plus, if I need to take a little longer shot, I would rather have a standard 2-inch cut expandable broadhead on the end of my arrow, which will fly much better.Â
This is an all-or-nothing shot, which is a good thing. Hit, and itâs game over. Miss, and you mostly likely miss the bird altogether, with no harm done. I prefer the bird to be in full strut for a head shot, because that way, the head rests against the dark black back feathers, giving you clear target. I donât mind a head/neck shot if the bird is not in strut; but for this, I like the shot distance to be 10 yards or less.Â
Bowhunting Turkeys Guide – 5 Best Tips To Get You Started
FAQ
Is a gun or bow better for turkey hunting?
It’s not uncommon to hear turkey hunters say, “Gobblers are meant to be shot in the face with a load of 5s.” The general sentiment there is that if you’re going to turkey hunt, a 12 gauge is a hell of a lot better of a choice than a bow.
How long to wait after shooting a turkey with a bow?
“Shooting a turkey with a bow isn’t like shooting it with a shotgun,” Johnson said. “After the shot, hunters should wait until all the turkeys, including the one that was shot, have left the area.” In many cases, if left alone, a wounded bird will walk a short distance and bed down.
Where to aim when turkey hunting?
Aiming for the upper part of the head is a gamble as turkey heads are in constant motion. Most turkey target images mark the fourth cervical vertebrae from the top of the head as the ideal target. This is the area where the neck connects with the black feathers of the body.
Is it harder to hunt with a bow?
The rifle hunter can kill in five times (or more) the area a bowhunter could kill in. It’s no secret that extended range equals more opportunity, and in this case, rifle hunting is a hell of a lot easier than bowhunting.
How do I choose a bow for turkey hunting?
Selecting a bow for hunting in the turkey woods can be a challenging process because there are so many different brands as well as styles on the market today. If you’re bowhunting turkeys, the first aspect to look at is fit. The fit of a bow means riser height, draw weight, and draw length, which plays a huge role in accuracy for turkey hunters.
Can you hunt Turkey with a bow?
Hunting turkey with a bow is an accomplishment in its self and is very challenging. Having the best equipment for the job can improve the odds when the time comes to release the arrow. In regard to archery equipment, knowing which bow fits your exact needs is crucial.
What is the perfect distance for bowhunting a Turkey?
However, exactly what the perfect distance is depends on the turkey, the terrain, and the hunter. Yet another key factor to successfully bowhunting turkeys is to understand their anatomy as well as proper shot placement.