Turkey Hunting With A Bow

I have been Turkey hunting several times with my bow and they all have proved to be a success and a failure. The success was getting close enough for a shot. The failure is that I have yet to hit one with an arrow.

I have two hunts that went the same way. The Gobblers come in and I had gotten impatient and decided to shoot at 40 yards. Both arrows were spot on but the critters ducked the arrows. This is a true story!

One day I was deer hunting from a tree stand (this was after the state law changed and treestand hunting for turkeys became legal) and had 3 Gobblers walk up a logging road and stop in a large clearing. I ranged them at 50 yards. I raised my bow and came to full draw, settled the pin on the base of the largest birds neck, which by this time was looking straight at me. My arrow left and seemed like a guided missile headed for this long beard. About 10 yards before arrival the turkey dropped its head 3 inches and the carbon missile buried up in a rotted log!

Now, for those of you who think a 50 yard shot is unethical bear this in mind. I practice out to 55 yards with good results. 5 arrows in a 3 inch spot at 50 yards is my goal. Believe me I can hit a turkey at 50 yards standing flat footed in a treestand at eye level.

After being discouraged from this practice, a friend calls me a couple of weeks ago and asked me to shoot a bird from a ground blind with my bow. Hmmm... OK! We are allowed to use decoys now in Alabama and he ensures me that getting a 10 yard chip shot is easy. I guess we'll see!

I am scheduled to hunt with him in April and have gotten somewhat excited about it. I am not really a turkey hunter but things can change. I will keep you posted on the results.

Aiming:Spot Versus Animal

Have you ever been shooting on a bag target and find that the arrow impacts to the right of the spot? When you are shooting at an animal the arrow seems to hit right where you are aiming, why? If you are a right handed archer theoretically the only way that this can happen is shooter error. This assumes that one's bow is tuned properly.

Years ago when I used to compete with pin sights this little issue showed up. I would stand and pound a bag target at 30 yards and my impact was always to the right. Not much mind, maybe an inch or two. Step into the woods and I would hit exactly where I was aiming. WHY!?

Year or so earlier a very well known archer on the ASA archery circuit had recommended that I sight my bow in on a 3D range instead of a bag target. His explanation was quite simple "things change in the woods". Yes, my friend, they do.

I was posting good scores for my shooting ability at the time but was still a little frustrated about the bag issue. It seemed to worsen at 40-50 yards. Determined to figure this little glitch out I started paying attention to my shooting habits. 20 yards good, 30 yards in the sun, good. 30 yards in the shade or low light, impact to the right.

After shooting what seemed to be thousands of arrows I came up with this solution. At 20 yards the spot on my morrel bag was larger than my pin sight. At 30 yards in the sun I could still make out the spot ok. In the shade or at a longer distance the spot would vanish and I would drift out to the right in order to see the spot.

When shooting at a 3D animal or a real one, I would just set the pin where the arrow should impact. If the target was a short Javalina for instance and the twelve ring was visible I would almost always impact to the right.

Today you will find me shooting a 3x scope with an up pin. Why you ask? It allows me to see a little more definition on the target. Do you still have trouble with the pin covering the spot? Now I normally add 2 yards and hold just under what I am trying to hit whether it be a spot on a bag target or a 12 ring at 40 yards.

Outdoor Celebrity Jeff Murray

You may or may not have heard of Jeff Murray. Chances are if you are reading this, you probably have. Outdoor writer, best selling author and an accompolished bowhunter for the last 30 years. He passed away recently after battling cancer.

The first book I ever read about whitetailed deer hunting was written by him. Since then I have made a point to read as much of his writings as possible. Although I've not met him I have a great deal of respect for the man.

Just thought I would take a minute and make mention of this just in case you haven't heard the news already.