Advice needed for bowhunting turkeys

[Brad]

I have my first season next week and will be using my compound bow to try and take one, at least until the last day or two anyways. I figure there are bound to be some experts here on the subject and thought some might be willing to share some tips such as blind placement, decoy placement, bow advice (draw weight and broadhead choice etc).

I will be hunting in Sauk County Wi on a very large chunk of private with tons of turkeys, a lot of open fields with hay coming up but in strips, and some hill country that is still fairly open as of now. If you guys were to have your choice of set ups with a bow, would you prefer timber or fields? I have always set up more in the fields but have had a lot of birds hang up at the 100 yard mark and not come in, that could be bad decoy placement on my part etc. but I want to have the best odds in my favor. My dad will be hunting this spot at the same time but there is plenty of land and birds for the both of us so I am not worried about that. Right now I am thinking of sitting opposite sides of the field kind of catecorner from one another that way if a tom goes one way he is headed in the right direction as one of us.

I put out two trail cams last night to try and get an idea where they are hanging out the most and roughly what time of day they like to stop by.

[BigHunt]

Be really really still and don't move an inch

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[Uncle Lou]

And, get really close.

That is pretty good that you will have your dad on the opposite side of the field from you. I like that technique, I could scare birds all day long to your dad with my calling.

Good luck to you and Stan

[Ack]

-Not sure what you are shooting for broadheads, but I would strongly recommend getting yourself a large (1.5" or bigger) cut mechanical head to use for turkeys. Smaller fixed blade heads will work, but are probably one of the main reasons for most of the lost birds that you hear about.

-Study and KNOW where to shoot that bird from all different angles. Turkeys so not look that big, but there is a lot of "dead space" on a bird that simply will not kill him. Vitals are small......know where they are, and also learn to take the hips out to anchor the bird.

-Set up decoys close to your blind....7 yards is good. Place a hen closest to your blind quartering to, then a jake or strutter behind her a few yards. Try to face them away from the direction the birds will be coming from (gives birds the feeling that they need to play "catch up" with your dekes.)

-The single most important thing is to know where the turkeys travel on the piece of property you hunt. It is very important to know where they roost, where they feed, where they dust, where they strut......travel patterns on turkeys is no different than travel patterns of deer. Don't get too wrapped up in hunting a roost site because honestly they do not spend much time there at fly down or fly up.....know where they want to go and set up IN FRONT OF THEM.

-Patterning your birds is probably 75% of bowhunting turkeys. Calling, decoys, and everything else doesn't help one bit if you don't know what or where the birds are traveling. Now package the calling, decoys, decoy placement, blind placement with the knowledge of your turkeys....dead turkey. Remember that just because the birds are not gobbling DOES NOT mean they are not there. Trust your homework, and stay in one spot...they will be there!

-If you have enough property to do so or are hunting public land, don't be afraid to run-and-gun with your bow and blind....it can be done. You would do this the same as you would with your shotgun, but as soon as locating a hot bird you need to set up your blind IMMEDIATELY and be ready to shoot....don't even mess with your dekes if he is close. Practice setting up your blind and preparing for a shot before season.....go through all the steps over and over in your backyard until you can get set up as quickly as possible. This way you will be ready when the situation comes up in the woods...you won't have to search for that tree to sit up against like you would if you had your shotgun. You can pretty much set your blind up anywhere and the birds will pay no attention to it when they come through.

-If your schedule allows, definitely get out and hunt during the middle of the day. Many times after hanging with the hens all morning the toms will wander off by themselves or in small groups....this is normally when they are the hottest and the most willing to commit to a call. I would say that all of my birds from the last 10 years or so have been taken between the hours of 10:00 am and 2:00 pm. Don't give up if they've duped you in the morning...get back out there and put some mid-day time in.

-Mid-day hours are the best time to hunt near a dusting area, whether it is in a field or some other sandy area on your property. Hens will visit this area after feeding in the morning and typically drag a tom or two with them.

-If I'm trying to set up on a specific bird and the terrain allows, I like to get into a position that will give me a shot as soon as that bird comes over the top of a hill, around a corner and so-on. If that bird can hear you but cannot see you many times he will come looking, and you will almost always get a shot as soon as he comes into view if your setup is right. If you can tell that he is getting close, STOP CALLING...he will usually stay on a straight path right into your setup.

There is also a lot more information here....maybe you've already read this......http://www.archerytalk.com/vb/showthrea ... 1063322346

[Bigdaddy-yoyo]

Right on Ack......

Brad , I have had really good luck with Scwhacker blades for turkeys. The biggest one they make. I think is 2 or 2.25.

I have killed 2 birds with them, both went a total of no more than 5 yards each. One I shot at 15 yards the other 30 yards ,both were pass thrus

The 30 yrd shot stuck in a tree 10 yrds from him.

I am sold on them for turkey

I have some of them if you want a couple, I could swing them by on my way to my place next week. I can go thru Madison or Near Watertown area.

[Southern Man]

-The single most important thing is to know where the turkeys travel on the piece of property you hunt. It is very important to know where they roost, where they feed, where they dust, where they strut......travel patterns on turkeys is no different than travel patterns of deer. Don't get too wrapped up in hunting a roost site because honestly they do not spend much time there at fly down or fly up.....know where they want to go and set up IN FRONT OF THEM.

-Patterning your birds is probably 75% of bowhunting turkeys. Calling, decoys, and everything else doesn't help one bit if you don't know what or where the birds are traveling. Now package the calling, decoys, decoy placement, blind placement with the knowledge of your turkeys....dead turkey. Remember that just because the birds are not gobbling DOES NOT mean they are not there. Trust your homework, and stay in one spot...they will be there!

Solid advice. A friend told me a while back, turkeys have an agenda. If you're not part of that agenda they couldn't care less about you. Know where they roost and where they want to go and get in the middle somewhere.

Much like deer hunting. Since I started lookin at them that way, I see alot more turkeys.

[Missionman]

Lately Predatortc and I have been out scouting to hear what general area the turkeys are roosting. When it gets lighter out we look to see where they are coming out into the field from. The we set up our blind 20 yards away from where the turkey trail is. We set the blind up a week earlier than the season so the turkies get used to it being there not that they get spooked from seeing a new object.

[Mountain Man]

Ack made some really good points.

Right now I am thinking of sitting opposite sides of the field kind of catecorner from one another that way if a tom goes one way he is headed in the right direction as one of us.

I think this is a major error b/c to me this says you and your dad are just hoping a tom comes through and that he goes by one of you.

Like Ack said, you need to figure out before your season where the birds like to go after fly down and then set up along that route or at a later destination point like a strut zone or dusting area. Even if they get sidetracked along their preferred route, it is likely they will end up at some destination point, they just might be a little later than normal on any given day. If you know where they want to go and can sit for a while in case they are running a little behind, I think that is your best bet especially with a bow. In addition to figuring out where they want to go patience is a key.

I put out two trail cams last night to try and get an idea where they are hanging out the most and roughly what time of day they like to stop by.

This will help if you’re short on time but if possible I would highly recommend going out before the season (maybe the Saturday and Sunday morning before your season and at other times throughout the weekend) to see first hand what areas the birds like to frequent at different times of the day – especially the areas between the cameras. Two cameras might work but you still need birds to walk by those cameras or you may not have any info to go off of. Scouting from a distance before the season is key if you have the time.

[Mountain Man]

Lately Predatortc and I have been out scouting to hear what general area the turkeys are roosting. When it gets lighter out we look to see where they are coming out into the field from. The we set up our blind 20 yards away from where the turkey trail is. We set the blind up a week earlier than the season so the turkies get used to it being there not that they get spooked from seeing a new object.

That tactic will work, but I would be careful about setting up a blind a week ahead of time in case they decide to change roost areas or travel patterns. Also, while they may roost in the same general area they don't always use the same tree and the day before your hunt they could roost closer to where your pre-set blind is. If that is the case there's the possibility you could get busted setting up decoys if you use them or entering the blind.

I would keep a close eye on them especially the last few days leading up to your season and then adjust your blind location accordingly.

One more tip is to make sure you blind is a safe distance from the roost so you don't get busted either setting up on the morning you hunt or getting into a pre-set blind. If you think you're too close you probably are and should move back a little but obviously stay somewhere along their route. I say this from experience b/c I've set up too close to where I thought the birds were but they had moved a little and were roosting in trees closer to where I set up and I got busted and the game was over before it even started.

In my experience and a lot of others the turkeys don't pay attention to the blind so you could set up the day of the hunt and it shouldn't bother them.

[Brad]

Ok here is an update before I head to bed (getting up[ at 4 am and it comes early!)

I have been using the cameras with little success, I have had them in 6 spots and haven't checked them since Saturday because I have not needed to because I have been seeing the birds in person. All last week in the evenings I saw two toms and a group of hens in the same spot in a field. I got out there in the dark easter morning and watched them come out at 630 am with 3 hens and strut for 2 hours. My father in law has been keeping tabs on them and they seem to be exclusively using this part of a field, and then tonight while I was shooting my bow I looked out there and saw a tom and a hen in full display literally where my blind is going to be in the morning. I watched the tom leave the field and walk up the hill to roost. I will be about 200 yards from him at least and probably more, but every day I have watched at least one tom has been in this spot, so if they do it one more time it might come to an end for one of them. I have never felt more confident going into a morning hunt, and I will have a bow mounted camera and a regular one to hopefully capture all the action. I am confident to 25 yards with my bow on a turkey, any more than that out of the blind and I shake too much to hit my 2 inch square that I aim for. Everything I have read says I need to aim straight up the legs, and then draw a line straight back from the beard and shoot where they meet, and if in doubt aim higher. Everyone seems to say "hit em high, watch them die, hit em low there they go", so this is my strategy for the morning. I hope all goes well, but I do like the feeling knowing I am going to be where the turkey wants to be anyway!

[Ack]

Good luck Brad.....sounds like you've got his pattern nailed down.

[Czabs]

I shoot turkeys with fixed blades 1 1/8" cut (slick tricks) and they work awesome. I tried expandables and the blades never seem to all open. I have had just plain bad luck with expandables I guess. If you hit them in the right spot, they are going to die expandable or fixed blade.

[Czabs]

Also. Always. Always. Always. Make sure you have a nice clear shot and your windows are zipped/rolled down all the way on your blind.

In the heat of the moment you might get caught up in watching the turkeys out of the blind instead of thinking about where the broadhead on the end of your arrow is going, been there done that. If you starting grabbing for your bow quick or moving around it might get caught on the blind or poking a hole through it.

Planning out the scenarios in your blind and making sure you have a clear shot and when you move your bow from resting to shooting position you aren't going to have any issues is a must for me.

[Mountain Man]

It sounds like you have a good idea of where they will be and when. I hope you're successful and posting a picture later. Good luck!

[Brad]

Well I tried with a bow, I got busted yesterday by a huge tom as I was trying to kneel down to shoot instead of using the noisy chair. This am I called in a tom and missed him. I ended up going to my truck and grabbing the shotgun, I killed a decent tom tonight out of the same blind with the gun. I still have a tag for 4th season so I will have plenty of time to try with a bow yet this year. It looks so easy on tv, there is NOTHING easy about bowhunting a turkey!