I was wanting to try to kill a turkey this year with my bow, and I was wondering if I needed a lower poundage on my bow. I have one bow that I hunt deer with that is at 60#, and another bow that I just shoot around. So would my deer hunting bow be okay for turkeys, or should I set up my other bow for turkeys? If so, what poundage would you recommend? Then another question, could I use expandable broadheads, or 3 blade fixed blades that are used for deer, or should I just go out and buy new broadheads?
I'm not sure if there are any bow regulations for turkey here in NC, but I think that if you're pulling atleast 40#, that should be plenty good. I would just keep in mind - the lower the poundage of your bow, the slower you will shoot - therefore, your arrow will have more of an arch which would play a 'bigger' factor if you didn't have a rangefinder or weren't in a blind where you could use one. Just food for thought
Your deer hunting bow is just fine. Ideally on turkeys, you don't necessarily want the arrow to zip through the bird. That is why mechanical broadheads like the NAP Gobbler Getter have been developed. They have a rounded tip to deliver more shock into the bird, generally I still get passthroughs with these heads. Also keep in mind, you may want to keep your bow drawn for longer periods of time than when deer hunting (typically). It really doesn't matter how slow your bow is as long as the arrow hits where you place your pin.
If you change your bow you'll have to relearn your bow... don't do it. I run my deer hunting setup with aluminum arrows (slower than carbon arrows) and mechanical turkey broadheads... those two things will help result in a non pass through, which is my goal.
I was relay looking at guillotine style broadhead with a 40-50 pound bow. Don't need all the speed with that style. I was also told there is more area to hit a turkey on the head and neck then the vitals.
Turkeys vitals are small ,that's for sure. I started hunting with the guillotine style broadheads and I haven't turned back. I use paper towel rolls to practice, and it's really helped me nail them. Some people say it's harder, but I'll tell you this, I've never had a turkey get away after losing it's head.
