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Looking to ramp up your turkey season excitement? Give bowhunting a try.

Turkey On The Draw

Is spring gobbler hunting becoming routine? Do you need a bigger adrenaline rush? Forget the next level. Punch your excitement elevator to the top floor by outfoxing a long beard with stick and string. Today’s compound bows and specialty gear makes the goal achievable...and one heck of a challenge.

Shots at turkeys are often 10-15 yards, so you can practice now, in your backyard or in the barn, in bad weather. Plus, you can use the same calls, camouflage and many of the same tactics you use when shotgun hunting. If you are up to the bow-bird challenge, take these steps.

First, set up a bow for gobblers. Crank down the poundage of your compound until you can draw it slowly and smoothly from a sitting position. This will also help get your shooting muscles in shape if you’ve not been shooting regularly. Next, install a containment rest (like a Whisker Biscuit) to ensure the arrow stays put, and tip your arrows with the largest broadhead you can shoot accurately. Check out the Gobbler Guillotine (www.arrowds.com) and the Tom-A-Hawk (www.trophyridge.com), a three-blade expandable that opens to a 3.5-inch diameter. The Guillotine provides a 4-inch margin-of-error and incapacitates the gobbler with a neck or head shot. The Tom-O-Hawk delivers a lethal body shot from almost any angle.

Practicing on a 3-D decoy is a tremendous help. Archers must aim at exact shooting points, which takes practice and discipline. Aim just above the beard when a gobbler approaches, in the vent when departing, and at the wing butt when broadside. Additionally, many archers report good success aiming high in the thigh which often disables the bird instantly, and gives a blood trail like a deer.

Step three is to use decoys. The Hazel Creek “stuffers” work well and are a good investment, but the folding and inflatable models also work. Opinion varies on deployment, but two or three hens in a flock is almost irresistible. More importantly, approaching toms often freeze in full strut, making them an easier target.

Next, you will need a pop-up blind. Although this sounds cumbersome, today’s models by Ameristep, Double Bull and Archer’s Choice are relatively light and set up in a minute or less. When considering a blind, choose one slightly larger than you think you will need. The extra room comes in handy. Scout for and roost turkeys in traditional ways, yet be on the lookout for small openings to pop up your blind and display decoys the next morning. Some archers roost a gobbler, and do this just before dark.

Finally, resolve to be patient. A gobbler may fly down and come right to your set-up, or hens may ambush it on the way. In any event, seductive calls will not be ignored, and you can bet that a randy gobbler will be checking out your entourage of hot hens.

Gobblers are clueless about pop-up blinds, and will sometimes brush their feathers on the material. Wear full camo in the blind, move slowly and try to maintain your composure. Expect to feel (and hear) your heart beating like a drum at the moment of truth. Misses at point blank range are maddening and inevitable, but success with a bow is sweeeeet!

—Joe Byers