Archery Turkey....

[Dag_1979]

Alright guys, I have some questions for any of you that have hunted turkey with a bow. My group did not get drawn this year, so it looks as though we will attempt taking one with a bow.

-Whats a good broad-head? Expandable/guillotine?

-How many pounds should I be pulling?

Thanks for the pointers in advance!

[Nova]

I did it last year for the first time with a bow. I used the exact same set up as for deer. Got a good shot made it and the bird went about 60 yards and expired. I used expandables and 65lbs draw weight. Arrow went in the rear and out the chest at 25 yards. There was a decent trail to follow, but it was open feild. I didn't have a blind, so getting draw on him without being seen was tough. A blind would have been ideal, then I could have had a 10 yard shot.

[HateHumminbird]

Dag:

I've done it once, unsuccessfully, but have been in the blind on several occassions when a bird has been taken with a bow. So all I can offer is from second-hand experience and the few times I've been part of the hunt. That said, I'll try to answer your questions as best I can.

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-Whats a good broad-head? Expandable/guillotine?

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I'm hunting in a few states this year, and if I decide to take my bow along, I'll be shooting the guillotine without a doubt. I've been along on two hunts where the bird was wounded and not recovered. Both shots looked stellar to me, and both were under 15 yards from a blind. On one occassion, the wounded bird came strutting to another hunter in our party using a shotgun, later that same day. The right breast of the bird was almost detatched from the body, and the arrow hit the breastbone and stopped penetration. This bird was walking, gobbling, and strutting just fine apparently.

Thus, my attraction to the guillotine is a clean kill or a clean miss. Even if you body shoot the bird, you'll only scare it, and barely wound it at all. When you do connect, there's little if any chance that you will not recover it.

With the right setup, they fly straight, and you actually have a larger "kill-zone" than you have with expandables. As it's been explained to me, when shooting fixed or expandable broadheads at the birds body, your kill zone is a little larger than your fist. Unless you hit back-bone, heart/lungs, or wingbone, you don't have much. And when they're strutting, it looks like a can't-miss target that is all-too missable.

With the guillotine, we're talking about a taller, oval, kill-zone that extends two inches left and right of the birds head (the guillotine is 4"X4") including the head for about a 6" wide kill zone, and about an 8-10" tall kill zone for the length of the head. Put your arrow in this kill zone and the turkey dies. That simple.

The head on a turkey is often moving, usually more than the body, which is why it's critical to cutt at the bird with a mouth call at full draw, or stop it some other way. That way it's holding still and you're shooting at a stationary target that's large.

Expandable/fixed blade broadheads have killed many birds, and still are very effective; but only in the hands of someone who's a better shot with a bow than me....like Nova! I just think the guillotine gives you more room for error, and kills more cleanly.

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-How many pounds should I be pulling?

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Alot of guys who shoot the expandables crank down as low as 45-50lbs to avoid too much penetration. The goal with a body shot is to keep that arrow in the turkey for maximum shock and hemmorage. A pass-thru isn't the end of the world however from what I've seen on the hunting shows, but I do notice that when that happens, the area they find the bird in compared to the area it was shot looks drastically different. That tells me something.

If you do shoot the guillotine, I don't think you need to crank down, but I'll check on that.

Good luck, and let us know what you learn!

Anyone else with suggestions on heads? I'm curious as to what others have used as well. Opinions?

Joel

[TomBow]

I have bagged one bird with a Rocket Hammerhead 2" cut expandable, the bird was hit in the thighs, dropped on the spot and never got up. I was shooting approx. 64-65lbs. of KE and the broadhead JUST passed through the body and stopped in the offside feathers. I witnessed my friend kill a bird with a NAP Gobbler Getter, which was shot with similar KE, no pass through and the bird was killed quickly within sight. I have no experience with the Guillotine. This is a head shot only head as the huge diameter would probably not penetrate feathers if you try a body shot. You would have to shoot through an open window (if in a blind) as the big diameter would probably not fly well through shoot-through netting. I plan on sticking to the expandable and attempting a head shot if I get the opportunity on the first day.

Shot placement is the key: 1. Head or neck shot will damage the brain or spine and the bird will not go far. 2. In the wing butt, aiming for the where the wings attach to the body on a broadside bird will disable the wings but the bird may be able to run for quite some distance. 3. Up da poop-chute, aka "Texas Heart shot" (sorry If I offend) will hit spine and should drop the bird on the spot. 4. Shot in the thighs will disable the legs and turkeys need legs to fly because they need the jump or run to get their big-selves airborne. NAP archery has a diagram which shows points of aim on turkeys, check out their website.

That's my one-and-a-half cents!

Good Luck,

TomBow

[Nova]

Tom, "Texas heart shot" That is HILARIOUS