Head shot with a guilitine or body with a standard broadhead? I've shot 5 or 6 with a standard broadhead and made a mess on the last 2 big ugly holes was thinking of going the decapitation method this spring Dan
I shoot for body shoots with my nap killzones. I like body better with regular heads cause i can shoot them further. And a body shoot is easier to me at longer distances then a head neck shot but thats me.
I prefer the decap method over the body. I did have a bird get away from me last year with what I though was a excellent body shot. Skip the Gobbler Guillotines and go with Magnus Bullheads. Bullheads - Magnus Broadheads
I found this to be a pretty good video to see a live shot placement. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g9z7wb-iv5U
The following is a cut and paste of a recent post that I made in the Turkey Forum on here regarding this exact topic. Shooting a turkey in the head and neck is the easiest shot in all of bow hunting. It is literally a "head game" ... meaning it is all in your head. 1) It is a larger kill zone. The head and neck comprise a larger area in terms of square inches than the heart/lungs/liver area inside of a turkey. 2) It is a clearly defined target. Nothing looks like a turkey's head and neck. It is clearly defined at most every angle a turkey can present to you (the exception being facing away while he is strutting). On a body shot, the target is not defined. It is visually confusing as he turns and his feathers go up and down. There is no "spot" to pick to aim at. The head and neck is the "spot". 3) Guys claim that they never stop moving their head and neck. Absolutely not true. Put a bird in the decoys and let him settle in and he will stop moving many times for long enough to draw, anchor, and shoot. 4) It is kill or miss 99.999% of the time. Many birds are lost every year to body shots mainly because of shot placement. Body shot birds are tough to track if they don't go down right away as blood is soaked up by the feathers. Head neck shot birds generally drop where they stand and if they are grazed they bleed excessively not going too far and providing an easy blood trail to track. 5) No damaged meat on a head/neck shot bird. Body shot birds most always have at least one of the breasts damaged. Get that arrow in the guts and you have feces leaking into the meat. I once watched as one of my hunting buddies had to throw out 2/3 of a bird because the bird was rotting from the inside out by the time we found it and he could get another arrow in it. 6) Easiest shot in all of archery. You don't believe me, I know it. But what if I took a Coke can and tossed it 20 yards out on the ground and said "I will give you this $100 bill if you hit it." You'd take that bet and 95% of the time I'd have to give up that $100 bill to you. So then why do you feel that you cannot hit a turkey in the head/neck? The target is 2X the size of a Coke can and you are often using a head chopping broadhead that is about 4" cutting diameter, giving you a huge margin of error. Again ... the game is in YOUR head. Personally, given the choice, I'll take a 15 yard shot at a turkey's head over a 15 yard shot at a broadside deer any day of the week. It boils down to a clearly defined point of aim. 7) It is just too much fun to shoot them in the head. That "CRACK" sound upon impact is worth the price of admission alone! Commit to shooting them in the head ... you won't regret making the decision ... I guarantee it!
Ive been bow hunting turkeys now for 7 years and i havent lost one yet with a body shot but im using the biggest cut mechanicals i can. The birds never go more than 20 yards before they expire if that. plus i dont wanna retune my bow to a turkey head id rather just shoot what im comfortable with knowing itll work. But my opinion plus i think its really cool hitting one at 40 yards and watching the feathers expload off of it when it gets hit. Im also in the northern part of illinois so not to many turkeys and they dont always get close the ones we do have . They like to stay 20 30 yards out even with decoys out very rarely do we get them at 6 or 10 yards i think my closet so far is 18 yards.
You must have birds out there with graduate degrees in decoy preventative management. The birds around here are less knowledgeable in decoy awareness and after committing... get VERY close. Can't wait to lop off a head this year!
I've never had to take more than about a 9 yard shot with my bow at a turkey. It is all in the set up.
Shoot enough birds in the body and you will lose one in wooded country even on well placed shots. If you have not lost any you probably have not killed many. Head shots are far and away the better option.
Great video and excellent review before going hunting. It always is a great idea to review vitals for shot placement on the game you are going after before you go out to hunt. I work at a gun and archery range and I can't tell you how many people come in and say I need to get this sighted in before I go out tomorrow to hunt. Real hunters practice with their equipment all year round and in the clothes they hunt in. Again excellent video!
They just started releasing wild turkeys out here 6 years ago once a year they do it before then you wouldnt see one. We dont have many where im at i kill 3 to 7 and our season is like a month thats it. On our best days we'll maybe see 3 or 4 if that they usually stick in twos for some reason alot of days we dont see or hear any nor can we get any to respond and for some reason there very warry of our decoys they dont like to come by the and we try not to kill them all so we can keep doing it.
Indeed, however there is a trade off to almost everything. A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush! I'd rather it be headless and harvest the bird then it run off. I don't want to eat the head. My taxidermist told me he had rather it be missing a head then a boat load of feathers both from the broad head and it doing the flippity flop. Makes for perfectly dressed out bird rather then a bird with a gaping hole. Possible tainted meat do to blowing through guts and bowel. And.... I am good with Photoshop. LMAO!
1. I've never had a body shot turkey end up in the bush and not in the hand Why don't you get some decapitating deer broadheads? :D
