If your up for a challenge this spring, try mixing archery tackle into your upcoming spring turkey hunt!
Its comforting having the ability to settle the butt end of a 12 gage shotgun into the shoulder and touch off the trigger, watching as my Tom folds up in the chisel plowed field that lies ahead, but for me it was the discovery of the challenge in tagging a turkey with bow that has me more hooked on turkey hunting then ever before.
Ive been hunting turkeys with a bow for three seasons now, and believe that it truly requires the right amount of hope, luck, patience and a little bit of preparation. Turkey by bow is arguably one of the fastest growing archery hunts to date, and tags are generally fairly easy to get your hands on with a little bit of research. Thus part of the reason its becoming so popular. I was able to plan out two hunts in two different states this spring without having to applying for tags in either.
It has been through trial and error, that Ive come to realize like so many other fellow turkey bow hunters, that beating the odds boils down to preparation. With preparation came trial and error where I quickly learned like so many other archery hunters, a ground blind is typically your best option when in rout to closing the distance of that Spring Gobbler. When turkey season is near, Ive always taken the time to plan out where Ill be setting up my blind by advanced scouting. In doing this I can be sure to have all necessary shooting lanes cut and every scenario planned out before it ever happens.
Personally Im always looking for areas to set up an ambush site, that turkeys are frequenting often. This typically for me means places that are close to roosting and strutting areas. By placing my blind near a “roost” I know I’ll have the most action right away at first light and again at last light. Setting up on a “strut zone” gets me close to the birds mid day where I tend to sit long into the morning and often late into the afternoon as I wait for the Toms to appear. By using the areas often frequented by turkeys I know that with patience I could have action at any point in the day, which is an important factor when taking into account all the equipment and gear a bowhunter carries into the field.
I often here that getting a shot with archery equipment often means that the shots must be easy to make. But that statement is far from the truth! Even though shots are typically closer in distance than normal you must keep in mind that a turkeys eye sight is amazing and vitals are very small, making this task the challenge it is! Harvesting a turkey via bow means that there is little margin for error, which caters to the reason Ive become so addicted to the sport! The best tip I could give any new turkey archer would be Practice, practice, practice along with advanced scouting and preparation!
