Best Wild Turkey Bow Hunting Tips for the Archery Hunter

Whether your chasing after that trophy gobbler in the Spring or Fall hunting season, these hunting tips will serve you well. Most seasoned wild turkey hunters will already know many of the tips I am going to share. On the other hand, many may be expert rifle hunters and new to archery hunting the wild turkey. Hopefully amateurs and pros alike can learn a thing or two and find more success, where it matters...in the field.

Calling turkeys while bow hunting takes more time in comparison with other hunting methods. Because hunters need to get the turkey closer to their position to guarantee a kill shot, more patience is required. Much work with turkey calling skills is vital to ensure the right call is used for the season as well as the right technique when calling. So patience while sitting and calling may not be every hunter's cup of tea, but is extremely important in bringing the bird to your desired yardage.

Much thought should be given to the type of blind that you would like to use. Permanent blinds are fine if you have an established area that turkey are know to frequent. Fortunately, turkeys are creatures of habit and will appear in the same areas regularly.

If a permanent blind is not an option, there are many popup blinds available. Roll up blinds should also be considered for a fast easy solution to hide your profile when the turkeys come into the spread. Consideration must be given to the size of the blind, ESPECIALLY when using a bow inside the blind. More room is often needed to maneuver inside.

Two more helpful tips to remember:

1. The blackness inside a regular blind, that helps to disguise the hunter, can often make seeing sight pins rather difficult. High quality fiber optic or lighted sights solve this dilemma in most cases.

2. Shooting ports provide the hunter with shooting lanes. Therefore, it is imperative to double check the arrow trajectory in order to avoid nicking a window edge and possibly deflecting the arrow.

Decoys provide a visual cue that pulls a responding gobbler closer and positions the bird for an effective shot. When hunting without blinds, the decoy is an especially important diversion to draw the gobblers attention away from the hunter to the fake bird. In most cases, gobblers will try to establish eye contact with the decoy by swinging around to face it.

The positioning of the decoy depends on the hunting situation. When in a blind, the hunter must set his decoys outside the front wall (about five yards). If the bird decides to strut right up to the decoy, the possibility of a kill shot can be quickly realized. If the bird tarries, wait patiently for a steady shot and be sure of the approximate yardage before releasing the string.

The wide variety of mechanical broadheads used by turkey hunters today are custom-made particularly for this type of hunting. Customization of these broad heads makes it possible to achieve remarkable cutting diameters and accurate flight. Obviously, turkeys don't present a large target. Small vital areas demand pin-point shooting, and that type of accuracy is best seen when using quality mechanical broadheads. Leave your fixed blade tips at home for the best likelihood of success.

Angle of Attack

On a facing shot, the hunter must aim for the base of the turkey’s neck. A rear facing shot can be more challenging and should be avoided if possible. If there is no other alternative, this shot should be properly placed so that the arrow enters the backend at an angle that will take it clear through to the heart and lungs.

If a hunter misses the mark just a little bit, the wide cutting diameters of a good mechanical tip will provide a slight advantage over fixed blades by cutting something vital or at least creating a devastating hole that assures a quick kill.

All things considered, bow hunting turkey is more complicated in comparison with the other hunting methods. With proper equipment, serious training, and patience when turkey calling, you will find that the next problem you face is finding the best recipe to cook your trophy tom.

Hopefully, these tips will be a big help to novices and seasoned hunters alike. That certainly is my goal. If you have enjoyed this article or want to add your own two cents, please feel free to do so below in the comments section.