[Zephrotyke]

So I have a renewed enjoyment of archery and I want to take it one step further by going hunting this November for turkey. I was wondering if turkey hunting is the best place to start for someone who has never killed anything larger than a fly?

 

[sgrem]

hey great you are back into it. it only gets worse as the obsession grows. where are you.

 

[Zephrotyke]

I live in California so hunting is very limited. I want to move east...

 

[minnow]

Turkeys can be tough to get drawn back on without being spotted. The general consensus is that you need to hunt them from a blind if you're using a bow. They have a rather small kill zone also so you'll need to sharpen your shooting. Maybe you can start with small game such as rabbits where you live. There is usually more opportunities for shooting rabbits. Bags limits often allow 5 or 10 a day. Welcome to the hunting fraternity.:darkbeer: Keep us posted on your success.

 

[BRONZ]

minnow is right, turkey can be tough because of their eyesight, but man are they a lot of fun! If I HAD to pick one species to bowhunt, it'd be longbeards.
You have to put something between you and the bird to get your bow drawn consistently. I've only come to full draw on one out in the open. A lot of guys use blinds, I don't like them because, to me, they're confining. I prefer to "run and gun" using natural cover.

Decoys can be a big help, because they distract his eyes. I've had a lot of good success with mating decoy setups.

I try to limit calling, because then he's looking for you and that puts the odds in his favor (unless you're in a blind).

I agree with minnow, I'd hunt everything you can with your bow to build confidence and do a lot of stump shooting.

Do some searches on the Bowhunting Forum and load up on info. Good luck and welcome to the addiction!!

 

[Cornfed]

Firstly, let me say, welcome to the sport of Bowhunting and the begining of an addiction! As mentioned, do a search here on bowhunting Gobblers are you'll get some great threads to research. Bowhunting turkey is certainly a challenge and considered by many to be the supreme test and challenge of a bowhunter! There are MANY big game species that are MUCH easier to bowhunt that turkey. However, for the best results with turkey I'd suggest you invest in a quality blind like a Double Bull Matrix, they can make a huge difference on the outcome of your hunt. Also, perfect you accuracy and shooting skills from odd positions because a turkey will test them to the max! Also, study the turkey kill zones and proper arrow placement because they can be a very difficult target. Not much room for error on a bird. If you have any deer or hogs in your area, I'd suggest warming up on a few of them first. Best of luck to ya and good huntin'

 

[Zephrotyke]

Thanks so much for the tips, I'll start shooting in my back yard right away (and go into my field and shoot some of the jackrabbits :wink: )