What You Need to Hunt Turkey's this Spring
/ April 1st, 2017All across the country hunters are able to get out and enjoy the springtime weather, chasing turkeys, thanks to the tremendous conservation efforts of the Nation Wild Turkey Federation (NWTF) and other similar organizations. Increasing in popularity it to use archery equipment to make these harvests. It adds a whole new element in terms of HOW you have to hunt these birds.
It’s no problem to reach out and pop a big ol’ gobbler at 50 and 60 yards with a shotgun, but archery hunting is much more difficult. Rather than hunting with a spread of lead, you have one pointed object flying through the air, making marksmanship an even bigger factor. Add in the extra movement of drawing a vertical bow and you’re pretty limited to hunting from a blind and only shooting 30 yards at most.
Enter the hunting crossbow. The perfect archery tool for hunting turkeys. No movement to draw required, now you can go out and simply allow yourself to blend in to the environment, like you would with a shotgun, and sweet talk Mr. Tom Turkey.
Effectively, the range of a crossbow is the same as any vertical bow, especially on a target of vitals as small as that of a turkey, but you are able to be a little more versatile in terms of your setup. Regardless you’ll want a good sturdy crossbow arrow with enough weight to carry ample kinetic energy down range and a sharp broadhead to do the damage once it reaches its destination.
In addition, it might be helpful to have some sort of rest device, like a Steddy Eddy monopod to help provide you with a nice and stable shooting platform. Lastly, illuminated scopes come in pretty handy when hunting turkeys. The normal black reticle dot of most scopes is extremely difficult to see on the dark feathers of a turkey. Something like the 3x Pro View 2 scope with both red and green illumination settings will make target acquisition on a big tom that much easier.
Keep these tips in mind as we gear up for turkey seasons across the Midwest and when you lay the hammer down on a thunder chicken, be sure to share your photos with us!
Happy Hunting!
