Should You Try Bowhunting Turkeys?

Wild turkeys see in full color, they have telescopic vision, their meat is delicious, and they often eagerly respond to calling. The largest of North America’s game birds, wild turkeys are exciting to bowhunt, and can be pursued in spring, which coincides with their breeding season.

Whether you have taken turkeys with a gun or it’s your first time in the turkey woods, there is a challenge out there waiting for you. Archery hunting spring longbeards is popular, but it’s not easy. Getting a bead on a tom with a shotgun can be hard enough but when you decide to do it with your bow, that challenge becomes significantly higher. With a little preparation and the right archery, decoying, and calling gear, getting a close shot on a turkey with a bow is easier than you think.

If you love bowhunting whitetail, you will love bowhunting for turkeys.

The Beauty of the Bow

Bowhunting turkeys is similar to bowhunting deer. Bowhunters can use the same equipment used to hunt deer or other big game animals, just takes some tweaking to adapt and get set up to rock and roll once spring rolls around. You don’t have to break the bank getting all new gear just to hunt turkeys.

There are numerous challenges to calling in and taking a long beard the old fashion way with a stick and string. Bowhunters do not have the luxury of using run-and-gun tactics like the typical shotgun hunter does. You must know the land, how the gobblers are using the land, and how to ambush the turkeys from natural cover or a ground blind. There are fundamental differences between turkey hunting with a bow and a shotgun, including effective range, shot placement, and set up.

What You Will Need

Bowhunting seasons for turkeys are often generous, offered in spring, fall, and winter, state depending. While turkey hunting might seem as simple as popping up a blind in a field and yelping until a gobbler struts in, there’s usually a lot more that goes into a successful turkey bowhunt. Here are some of the basics for getting into bowhunting turkey:

Bows & Broadheads

You can use the same bow, arrows, and broadheads you use for deer. However, some bowhunters prefer broadheads made specifically for turkeys.

You do not need a special bow to hunt turkeys, although a shorter axle-to-axle length and less poundage is more manageable in the tight confines of a blind. What you do need to ensure a kill is the biggest mechanical broadhead you can find. For turkeys, think close shots and large cutting diameter broadheads to assure hitting the small vitals.

Camo

It is said that a turkey’s eyesight is five times better than that of humans. The turkey’s color vision and 180-degree peripheral vision help it see the woods in vivid detail. To fool that keen eyesight, hunters need full camo that blends with their surroundings. That requires a facemask or face paint, and camouflage hat, gloves, pants, and long sleeves. And because the turkey’s head is red, white, and blue, for safety never wear those colors while hunting them.

Blind

Bowhunters must raise their bow, reach full draw and release an arrow, which is hard to do without a turkey noticing. Therefore, most bowhunters like to hunt from a ground blind that will hide all the moving parts of an archery shot.

Unlike a deer, you don’t need to set up your pop-up ground blind days or even weeks ahead of time. You can pop up a ground blind and literally minutes later turkeys can walk within feet of you and won’t pay any attention to the blind. if you are going to be using a pop-up ground blind that you need to get one that is big enough for you to draw your bow back without hitting the walls or having parts of your bow sticking out. Also, keep in mind the weight of your blind. If you hunt areas that have a further walk to get to your desired location, you’re going to want a lighter blind.

Calls

You can’t shoot a bow holding a call, so the hands-free diaphragm calls are a necessity. Pick one up and learn to make the basic yelp, purr, and cutt. But calling is not a substitute for scouting. No matter how good of a turkey caller you are, you can’t call a bird where he does not want to go. Use calls to get the attention of turkeys and trigger them to search or pursue your decoys.

Decoys

For bowhunters, the use of decoys is almost mandatory. Their strategic use will consistently pull birds into range and, just as importantly, into position for a clean shot. A decoy attracts the birds to your location and takes their eyes off of you. Place the decoys close (5-10 yards) and out of the line of sight of your blind or natural cover.

Tips for Bowhunting Gobblers

Scouting

When it comes to bowhunting and blinds, the mobility is gone, which means you better be in a spot that the birds want to be in. The only way to ensure this is through scouting.

Once you identify the general area in which you intend to turkey hunt, spend some time e-scouting those areas from the comfort of home using HuntWise. Use the satellite and topographic map layers to identify choke points, funnels, benches, and other topographical features that influence turkey movement. Identify a few areas where you expect to find birds and mark those locations with markers.

In the field, you can download and use your maps offline and keep tabs of property lines by using the public and private land layers.

Practice, Practice, Practice

Turkeys have a small “vitals” area, which requires careful shooting and practice. Get a life-sized turkey target and make sure you know the best shot placement for turkeys. Practice from a hunting stool, standing, kneeling, and sitting positions until you are sure your form is solid and you can hit the target with the broadhead consistently.

As with deer, the best place to shoot is the turkey’s heart and lung area. Turkeys present this shot when in profile, or broadside. A turkey’s heart and lungs are just behind where the wing joins the body. Think of it as the turkey’s shoulder. As with a deer, the ideal shot strikes a turkey right behind the shoulder. Headshots, frontal shots, and even rear shots can also be lethal.

Spring turkey season is a great time to be in the woods. It’s also an excellent way to practice bowhunting techniques before trying big-game hunting. Turkeys are a challenging species to bowhunt. Even if you don’t release an arrow, hearing a gobble and seeing their tracks in the woods is worth those 4 a.m. wake-up calls.

To start your turkey hunting adventure, check your state wildlife agency’s website for laws and season dates. Becoming a competent, ethical bowhunter requires a lot of practice and a lot of trial-and-error. All in all, bowhunting turkey requires more patience than the typical shotgun hunting but is incredibly rewarding.