Turkeys with a Bow - A Hunter's Lament

[Hotspotter]

Several friends have been at the turkey bow-hunting thing for a few days now, and I'm already hearing some groaning. So this goes out to them, and you guys who are after the same prize.....a bow-killed turkey.

Keep the faith/confidence. You’re trying your hand at a very difficult game.

Bow-hunting for turkeys is definitely about the hunt itself, and less to do with shooting/killing. To put it in perspective, avg. success rates for seasons G & H are 21.3% and 22.3%, respectively. Last year (2005), it got as low as 11.1 for season G (bad weather). These are the stats for the GUN SEASON!!! Cut your effective range in half, limit your mobility (which isn’t everything), and lower your killing “power” with a more primitive weapon, and odds are less than that. Less than 2% of the people that got the archery-only turkey tag last year filled it. Most archery turkey hunters eat tag-soup at season's-end, but that doesn't have to be you!

These words/statistics are not meant to drown you in despair!!! They’re meant to help temper expectations, and keep you confident that it’s not anything you’re probably doing wrong! It’s a major accomplishment to kill one with a bow. These birds are tough, hear well, and see better than they hear. Beating their instincts adds yet another quick-tiwst to an already-difficult game.

I think that confidence in your tactics and locations is key at this point in the game. You will likely get close, making things even more difficult. The trick is simply to realize it only takes one! Good luck, and keep hunting hard out there.

Joel

[mnmuzzleloader]

Tell me about it I had two jakes at 15 yards on friday and gave one a hair cut. Only hens on saturday and sunday the toms held up at 50 yards. This morning I had a longbeard work in. He circled the blind but would stay out at 20 yards in the brush. He finally after 25 minutes provided a shot and I managed to place my arrow right over his back into the awaiting trees behind him. What a blast!!!

[Powerstroke]

I never had a shot at the 'beards I saw this weekend. I coulda used the ultimate in primative methods on a curious hen who walked right up to the large open window on my blind. I just wanted to reach out and grab her but I let her go and she ran circles around my hen decoy instead.

[harvey lee]

It is worth the wait for a bow kill.As J. Nelson stated that this is a true trophy.I have shot 5 birds with a gun and 1 with a bow.My bow kill is worth more to me than all the others together.I was lucky in killing mine the first year bow hunting on the second day so I cannot feel the pain of waiting but it will be worth the wait.

[mnmuzzleloader]

After some calling the other day I found these two strutting in the decoys!! I am going to take them out again friday afternoon.

[elevatorguy]

I know the pain. 2 years in a row with a miss each year and and 2 hits each year with no bird to be found. Can be very frustrating. But it is a good feeling to even get the chance to even take a shot. Even though this year I was lucky to even get a chance when it rained 3 days out of a 4 day hunt.