headshots...

[bluegrassbowhunter]

I can deer & turkey hunt at the same time in the Fall & find it easier to use the netted windows.In the Spring I leave the netting up....

[Jim Rocole]

I have tried the headshot on turkeys. After missing at five yards three times on the same bird I decided that centerpunching the vitals was a much more effective way to get a turkey. Everytime I shot he ducked his head and grab another acorn to eat. I did have a real nice grouping in the dirt.

[swampbuck]

If your gonna shoot thru the screen don't take somebody else's word do it yourself so that ya know,heck if your gonna shoot thru an open window get in there and do that too LOL

I shot 3 times thru the screen and came to the conclusion that for "me" I don't need to even think about it being there it didn't effect flight at all

[Jeff Strubberg]

I've seen a lot of posts here saying head shots are a bad idea.  Let me ask...what's the downside?

I guarantee there ain't no such thing as a wound on a turkey if you are taking headshots.  The bird is dead in front of you or you missed.

Yeah, you will miss more.  A clean miss doesn't leave you tracking a wounded bird, though.

[rg176bnc]

Heres the wrap on mine and my buddies experience on blinds and head shooting.

Leave the netting up!!  About 50% of our birds would skirt the setup when it was left down.  The ones that came in still acted alittle shakey.  I know the videos show them wackin birds w/ them down and you can but once you start watchin their behavior they are seldom totally calm when in close.

It seems they come in better if the blind is in the brush and not in the open.  Again they will come in but sometimes they just dont like it in the open.

As for the head shots its not always a direct hit.  After some coaxing from me my buddy took a head shot.  We both swore he shot low after the bird ran off.  No blood on the arrow.  I found one litte speck of blood after picking up the arrow so we started looking.  The bird ran about 70 yards before his death flop started.  The blade of the 2 blade head caught him right behind the beak and just under the eye.  That was it.  

No more head shots for us unless their strutting straight into us.  As for the blunt it sounds good, but if you hit him other than in the head and break a wing or ribs you still end up w/ a dead bird your not gonna get.

Think of all the angles a bird can turn, thiers alot more noninstant nonlethal body surface than anything else.

[Guru]

With all due respect Jeff, do you really think there's such a thing as  "guaranteed" dead or not dead? Whenever I hear someone use that word, in any walk of life, but especially bowhunting, I have to question where it's coming from.....

How many turkeys have you killed? And how many by shooting them in the head?  

What happens if you shoot his beak off...that isn't anywhere near a dead turkey. You may knock him off his feet, but I bet he'd be up and gone before you could get to him. Then what kind of shape would he be in?

How about if you just slice the skin and he ends up with a festering wound?


If you cut the hoses running down the neck, or break some bone(neck, skull), then yes,you've got a dead turkey. But there are always variables that "guarantee" nothing....

I'm not against head shots at all. Personally I just can't get myself to try it....

My Dad told me long ago that "there are no guarantees in life"....

[selfbowyer]

I have to agree with GURU. I've shot lots of turkeys and have had a few that had cuts on their heads and necks. I'm assuming they were made from broadheads. These birds looked to he healthy except for the cuts. I'm not sure there is a perfect shot for turkeys. But I think the head shots should be left for the specialized broadheads and then have plenty of arrow weight behind them.

[Dartwick]

More likely the cuts are from fighting with other turkeys. They are a lot like chickens.

[Jeff Strubberg]

Point taken.  Guarantee is way too strong a word.

Let's say the chances of a wound are greatly diminished with a head shot.

[adeeden]

I aim for the base of the wing butt myself, those heads move to much for my skills! In fact this wing butt moved to much for me last fall!

 

He still ran/flopped 20 yards with that arrow about 1" under the head!

[Divinecedar]

I'm actually surprised all you traditional folk are hunting out of blinds---heck I couldn't even fit my bow into one if I tried! Where are all the Ishii's?

   

[Dartwick]

Im not hunting out of blinds - but Im not getting any turkeys either.

Modern wild turkeys dont behave like the turkeys Indians hunted.

[Guru]

Ishi's dead dude...   :rolleyes:

[No-sage]

Izzy and I were practicing this shot at our last 3D shoot.  Now Izzy is a pretty good shot, and even so, I don't think too many birds would have been tagged from that experience.... and they weren't moving.

I figure maybe 1 in 6 or so would have connected.

I still like the idea of a head shot though, but I think one of those big broadheads made for them would be in order.

[overbo]

I take only head shots also.At very close range,that baseball is alot easier for to concentrate on than the big blood of feathers.Killed a tom 2 years ago at 6 stepts.160 snuffer thru his eye.Cut a huge V out of the top of his head.

[ishiwannabe]

I dunno. I keep thinking about all the stories I read about a bird getting away after a bad hit...
Bad hits happen to all of us. I keep thinking about the birds I have killed with a bow(contraption)...NONE of them died easy. Tough birds for sure.

I think a GG or a magnus bullhead and a head/neck shot is what I will go with...

[White Ape]

I took one two years ago with a 54# Liberty Chief and a cedar arrow w/HH Broadhead. Shot the base of the neck (less movement) it dropped like a rock and never moved. It was 15yds away. Tasted good too. White Ape

[Dave Worden]

I agree with the base of the neck theory.  It's worked for me.  If you actually hit right where you're aiming, it doesn't mess up the meat either!