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Over the years, I have tagged a couple birds with a bow but I have also gone home empty-handed several times. If the challenge of harvesting a spring gobbler with a stick and string appeals to you, realize there is no easy way to tag a tom. There are, however, a few things you can do to increase your odds of sending an arrow through the drumsticks.

Practice makes perfect. The vital area on a tom isn’t much bigger than a softball. If you hit that tiny spot, it is glory days and plenty of smiles. If you miss the vital area, your chance of finding the bird are very slim. Try to practice like you are really hunting. Wear a face mask, practice from inside your blind if you plan to hunt from one, which I recommend. Coming to full draw without a blind is tough; not impossible, but darn close. When you come to full draw while practicing, hold steady as long as you can. Toms rarely sit still and you might need to remain at full draw for a long time while waiting for the perfect shot. Purchase a 3D turkey target so your practice is accurate as possible. If you don’t have the cash for a 3D target, buy a Master Target. Master Target is a Michigan-based company that makes photographic paper-thin plastic targets that have a waterproof UV coating on them. Hang the turkey target in front of your block style target and practice. Having to shoot at a real turkey will force you to pick a spot so when the moment of truth arrives, you are ready.

If you have time before the season opens, pattern the birds you plan to hunt. Sometimes running, gunning and calling can be difficult when bowhunting. If you have the pattern of the birds you are hunting down you can set up near their roost tree or feeding location and shoot one as they walk by. You might want to go as far as hanging scouting cameras out before the season to locate exactly when and where they travel. Turkeys often do the same thing every day. If you know their pattern, you can tag one even if they aren’t talking much.

Having the right gear is also important. I’m not always a big fan of turkey decoys; I’ve had mixed results with them. However, I always use them when bowhunting. They make a great range marker and when they work well, they will bring a tom within twenty yards of me which is where I like them to be when bowhunting.

A rangefinder is another great tool to bring on a hunt. Since the vitals on turkeys are so small, if you misjudge slightly, you might miss the vitals or the bird completely. Many rangefinders like the Opti-Logic and Nikon have built-in angle compensation which is a great feature if you are hunting in hilly terrain.

Making sure you have a great broadhead is critical. Many companies in the past five years have designed turkey broadheads that impede penetration which keeps the arrow in the vitals and shocks the bird at the same time. Some of these broadheads are great but I prefer a broadhead with a large cutting diameter. The larger the cutting diameter, the more the bird will bleed and the more vitals it will cut. If I make a marginal shot, a large broadhead will likely still kill the bird because at least one blade will penetrate the vitals. If I use a broadhead that shocks the bird, I might be out of luck if I make a bad hit.

EP Hunting is a Michigan company that makes a great broadhead that works well on turkeys. They make the Reign broadhead which swivels on the ferule and cuts through anything. The Reign has a 1 3/8” cutting diameter which creates a good hole so the bird will bleed a lot.

Shot placement is critical. Many people say the best place to aim is at the butt of the wing. This is a good place to aim but I prefer to aim where the legs meet the body. Hitting the bird slightly above the legs breaks the birds legs and penetrates the back edge of the chest cavity at the same time. Often the reason hunters go home empty handed isn’t because they didn’t kill the bird they shot but because the bird ran off after the shot and died where it couldn’t be found. If you break a birds’ legs, it can no longer walk and the tracking job is eliminated.

If you shoot a bird and it runs off, don’t run after it. A wounded turkey is like David Copperfield. It can disappear into thin air if it is pushed. Instead, give it forty-five minutes and it will likely wander off a short distance, hide under some brush and die. They always hide under brush when they die which is why many hunters use a string tracker when bowhunting turkeys.

You will need lots of patience. When gun hunting, many hunters tag a turkey in a day or two of hunting. When bowhunting, it is not uncommon to hunt for days without getting a shot. Mike Mix from EP Hunting tested the Reign broadhead last spring on gobblers. His patience was wearing thing when he finally got a shot. “I hunted for days without getting a shot. Almost every day I hunted I could have harvested one with a gun but getting them to come those last few yards can be tough,” Mix said. “Eventually my patience paid off and I harvested a nice gobbler with my bow. I can see why so many hunters try bowhunting turkeys for a few days and give up and get the shotgun out. Turkeys can test a man’s patience.”

Turkey hunting with a bow is challenging and rewarding. It is hard to believe that a bird with a brain the size of a walnut that feeds by the side of the road as cars go by can be so difficult to take with a bow. The fact that it is so difficult is what makes it so much fun. If you are looking for a challenge this spring, put your shotgun in it’s case and pull your bow out of the closet.

Bow Bird Gadgets
If you are going to hunt from a pop-up blind, consider taping your hunt. Pine Ridge Archery has a ground blind camera mount designed to be directly attached to a pop-up ground blind so you can easily adjust your camera while keeping it steady and tape your hunt even if you are hunting alone. Check it out at www.pineridgearchery.com. If you would rather run and gun with your bow and not use a ground blind, consider buying Carnivore Hunting Products Branch Fan. The device has spikes that push into the ground that have branch holders on them. You push the unit into the ground, put a few branches in the branch holders and your outline is broken up by the branches. It sets up in seconds and gives you enough cover to draw your bow. Check it out at www.carnivorehp.com.