Utah Wildlife Forum banner

Have you caught a turkey in southern or Northern Utah

  • Yes Southern, multiple times (with a blind)

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Yes Southern, once (with a blind)

    Votes: 0 0.0%

Spring Utah Turkey Hunt

5K views 17 replies 11 participants last post by  Finnegan 
#1 · (Edited)
I'm new to hunting and this spring I'm going turkey hunting with a bow and was wondering, not just the general area where turkeys hang out, but where you have personally shot a turkey and if it would be better if I use a blind or ghillie suit/camo?
 
#2 ·
My friendly advice to any new turkey hunter is to learn with a shotgun and no blind or decoys first. The best things about the sport have to do with calling one in one on one, as opposed to turning it into a shooting skill thing or changing the game by taking away his primary defenses with decoys or a blind.
 
#4 ·
Thank you for the advice, but I am not using a shotgun like I said in my question I am using a bow and it's not that easy to draw back without moving that much. This also makes it impossible to lay down or get really low to the ground because I have to have room to draw and aim which is not as simple or as motionless as a shotgun.
 
#5 · (Edited)
Like Skally said No Movement is the biggest key in calling in spring turkeys. It doesn’t matter what camo pattern or if you are wearing ghillie suit or old school flannel and denim, if you move when the birds can see you they will run away. Eye sight is there greatest defense. Because of this allot of archery hunters choose to hunt from blinds. The disadvantage to blinds is it makes it difficult change locations if a particular setup doesn’t work out. It also requires more patterning of flocks and if hunting public land and the potential of other hunters it is sort of putting all your eggs in one basket and setting yourself up for a higher rate of failure. If you choose not to use a blind I would recommend the use of one or more decoys to distract him. Placement is the key with decoys, he will strut for the decoy and when he turns away from you his fan will block his vision and allow you to draw and shoot. If you don't use decoys he is coming to the call he last heard and will not likely turn away. Decoys can tie you down a little as well but not to the extent of a blind. I personally don't use them much when using a shotgun but Decoys would be my recommendation for an archery hunter.
 
#6 ·
If you're dead set on using a bow, you should use a blind. If you're new to this, turkeys can be a very tough instructor. Better to have a blind and help cover your movements than trying to do it out in the open. Watch and learn how the birds come in and react, then try it without a blind next year. I could be wrong, but if you're new to this, and want to do it with a bow and no blind, you'll be party to a lot of disappointment up front.
 
#8 ·
As for your poll, I have never caught a turkey but I have shot a number of them.

All have been while I have been wearing camo with a shotgun. The first couple could of been shot with a bow and arrow even if I wasn't in a blind. I had hens within 5' of me and they never noticed me bringing the shotgun up to my shoulder to shoot the tom at 20' for my first turkey.
 
#10 ·
I've killed turkeys bout every way you can think of and I'll tell you hunting them out of a blind is the least satisfying way. Turkeys, and deer for that matter, just don't see blinds, now I am talking ground blinds that you hide inside of, not natural vegetation hide behind blinds.. They'll walk right up to them and let you shoot them. Using a bow, or cross bow, or pocket knife for that matter...it's still cheatin!
 
#12 ·
No, but that doesn't surprise me. Turkeys just don't recognise blinds as a danger. I watch those videos about turkey hunting where the guys are all camo'd up, hiding inside a blind quivering like a teenage bride when a turkey comes walking right up, and they shoot it. Then they burst from the blinds all postal like, pumping their fists, belly bumpin, hooting and hollerin congrats all around...please. count me out, I ain't that guy.
 
#18 ·
I tried hunting with a compound bow. Turned the let-off down to 80% and draw weight to 55#, thinking I could hold forever. Didn't work out that way. Bow hand still gets real shaky after about 40 seconds.

This year I'm hunting with a longbow. The difference is being ready to shoot when the moment comes (compound) or shooting in the moment (longbow).

I'm guessing that if I'm successful with a longbow, it's because the bird won't react to my draw fast enough. Contrary to common belief, turkeys have a couple blind spots. One is when you're directly behind them. The other is when they're paying attention to something else. So, yup, I'm using a decoy.

Got to admit, a turkey's heart is a dang small target. His head ain't much bigger. So there's some ethical issues, here. I understand exactly what some guys are saying when they say shotgun is the only way to go. They're right. But seems to me that if you shoot a shotgun anything like the guys in that video, a good archer trumps the shotgun.

I ain't a good archer, yet. But still got a couple months to get there.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top