turkey hunting problem

[bm22]

after some misfortune this weekend i want some advice as to what kind of broadhead and what shots do you guys take on turkeys, i shot a turkey with a grizzly 190 and the arrow passed through so fast the bird flew straight into the air and over a tree never to be seen from again, the i shot one broadside in the little triangle area on the wings with a snuffer and he ran 150 yards and was unrecovered, i want to know if my broadhead selection was wrong or if my shot placement was off or if it was just bad luck. i have never hunted turkey before. and am looking for any advice. i was hunting deer so i don't want to add a string tracker or something of the sort to my deer hunting bow. i was thinking about using a large Sasquatch 4 blade broadhead or even keep a mechanical head in my quiver just for turkeys. i shoot grizzly's on deer and on the second shot i saw the birds coming so i got the snuffer out.
thanks guys

[MSwickard]

It is better to use a multi-bladed BH on turkey.  Snuffers work well.  But large head and 3-4 blade is the ticket.  Also, if you can shoot them in thru the thighs they can't jump in the air and fly off.

[Steel]

Well don't feel to bad I had about the same luck this fall on turkey. Things have been slow as far as deer hunting the last month so I desided I would sit in a ground blind and try for a fall archery turkey.I had a small flock within about 15 yards from the DB blind picked out a nice bird and focused on the spot just about the wing butt and sent a carbon arrow tipped with a 150gr snuffer right to the spot. The arrow looked like it only went in a few inches I watch the bird run with arrow sticking out about 75 yards before it went into the woods. I waited about 45 minutes trailed the bird and looked for over a hour never could find it. I was really disapointed to say the least. I was shooting a well tuned 46lb bow the arrows fly like darts and I have put down a 170 inch buck and about 1/2 dozen wild hogs this fall using Mangus 150gr Stinger buzz cuts and AD carbon shafts. I went to the 150gr Snuffers for more cut on the turkeys now I am second guessing if I should have stayed with my bread and butter Stingers.I know I hit something hard to stop the arrow and maybe the 2 blade would have been able to push through and drop the bird. My buddy killed a turkey using a Sasquatch broadhead a few weeks back he was very pleased with the hole and quick recovery of his bird. He shot the Sasquatch as a 2 blade using a upper 48-50 lb bow also.

[razorsharptokill]

I shot my turkey with a snuffer and it went about 50 yards I was shooting my 60lb BBO longbow, the shot was about 12-15 yards and only the tip of the broadhead made it out the other side. They have very tough bones I've heard.

[MikeW]

160 Snuffers, I have yet to kill one but a couple fiends have killed a bunch and that's all they use.
They tend to not penetrate all the way and stay in the bird. Of course I guess a lot would depend on your bow's poundage too, they both shoot 50#'s

The only time I had a real chance of killing one I had 4 arrows with me and shot all four. You couldn't come any closer and not hit one. After my last arrow one came right up to the blind to check it out. I could have whacked him in the head with my bow. Frustrating to say the least.

[Orion]

The kill area on a turkey is quite small.  Add to that a lot of times the arrow doesn't hit exactly where we think it does.  Penetration on bone hits can also be a problem with turkeys.  Because they only weigh about 20-25 pounds or so, their entire body moves when hit in the wing butt for example, giving with/moving with the arrow's impact, and thus reducing penetration.  The head is just about as big a kill area as the vitals.  Some folks shoot for it.  That usually results in a kill or clean miss.  

IMO, methanicals are worthless.  Turkey feathers are tough, and they open and deflect the mechanicals quite easily.  I have a friend who shoots a 60-pound compound who has had two mechanicals bounce back at him after hitting the turkey.

[OkKeith]

I have killed turkeys with snuffers, woodsmen, magnus and ace heads. My experience is that long and pointy is better than short and wide. The longer, slimmer head jets through the feathers better, for me.

Turkeys are smaller than deer and a lot of folks think that as long as they hit the bird, it will drop. Again, in my experience this is not so. I think shot placement on a turkey is just as important as on a deer.

Many hunters pick their spot at the wing butt or at the "elbow". When I have cleaned birds, my eyes tell me the kill zone is actually a little forward and below this area. From what I can see, an arrow through the wing amounts to a gut shot.

I pick my spot forward and slightly below the wing base. I try to picture a softball right in the center of the chest and hit that. The spherical softball visualization helps with shots other than broadsides.

Turkeys, like most birds, generally die from shock after serious injury, but they can cover some good distance on auto pilot. I hit a bird once, dead in the elbow of the wing (NOT what I was trying to do). Total pass through. It managed to take wing and coast for 250 yards. It made a crash landing and stuffed itself under a log 20 yards farther on. Baxter, my black lab, was the hero that day. He found it after 30 min. of searching.

I use the woodsmans for the most part these days. A few helpful hints have been given to me by fellas with far more experience than I, and I will pass them on. First, an alerted turkey is more likely to fly or run off a distance after a hit than a turkey that is unaware of a hunter. Hard to do? Absolutely! Second, a pass through is always better than no pass through (two holes bleeding freely is better than one). Last, don’t just pick a spot, pick a moment. Shooting a full strut bird is always a bad idea (unless you go straight up the tailpipe so to speak). A spooked or running bird is also less than an ideal target.

Stay after it. Practice up some. A target with a turkey or some sort of 3-d target is good practice to train your eye for where your arrow needs to go.

Good luck, have fun!
OkKeith