Now that deer season is over for most of us, let's get a thread started talking each of your xbow turkey setups. This will be my first season hunting turkey with a xbow and I'm very intersted in everyones experience in this area.
Preliminary setup I'm considering:
Double Bull Matrix w/ 3 legged DB stool
Phoenix w/ Steddy Eddy
GT L2's, blazer vanes, tracer nocks, 100 grn spitfire mechanicals w/ those "spring gripper" things on the arrow to keep from over penetrating. O-ring behind the spring gripper to keep it from moving prematurely.
Quaker Boy box call (can't call with a slate call - may try again this year)
Jake & Hen decoy - set up where they are facing towards the blind. (Heard that is the way you were supposed to do it so the birds come in and turn their back on you as they face the decoys.)
Hunting strategy:
Get there before dawn and "hoot" at them to find them in their roost - or go the night before and find out where they are when they go to roost. Setup the blind in the likely "landing zone" or travel path well before first light. Call a few times prior to them leaving the roost to peak the Tom's interest - see if I get a response, if so - quiet down.
What do you think?
Let's talk Turkey!
Moderator: Excalibur Marketing Dude
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Makomachine
- Posts: 150
- Joined: Thu Oct 05, 2006 2:55 pm
- Location: Mustang, OK
Let's talk Turkey!
Excalibur Phoenix
Vari-Zone Scope
Steddy Eddy
Gold Tip LII / Blazer vanes / Tracer Nock / Slick Trick BH
Vari-Zone Scope
Steddy Eddy
Gold Tip LII / Blazer vanes / Tracer Nock / Slick Trick BH
I am a novice, so I am interested in this thread.
Question, I have heard you should hoot like an owl. But what I don't get is what does the Turkey do when it hears this hoot. Does it make a noise or does it come to investigate?
Why does a turkey care about an owl hooting. I would assume they are adversaries of some sort?
I want to shoot a turkey in a real bad way also.
Question, I have heard you should hoot like an owl. But what I don't get is what does the Turkey do when it hears this hoot. Does it make a noise or does it come to investigate?
Why does a turkey care about an owl hooting. I would assume they are adversaries of some sort?
I want to shoot a turkey in a real bad way also.
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Highlander
- Posts: 160
- Joined: Sat Nov 04, 2006 7:40 am
- Location: Central, Ontario
Gobblers will sound off. Yes, they and owls are enemies. Owls are capable of taking young turkeys off of the roost. Crow calls also work to get them vocal.
I've killed turkey with a shotgun but never a crossbow. I will try that this spring too. I'm interested in discussing point of aim with an arrow as well as broadhead selection. I've had one MNR staffer unofficially tell me that you should try and take them where the leg bone meets the body so that they can't fly off as they might with other, even fatal, hits. My source told me that though they think this is good they can't encourage it because it would also be encouraging wounding, as you might need to finish the bird off.
I know one fellow who has shot three with a bow. Each bird has flown off on him and died shortly therefter. He said the hits were good ones. He recovered all of them but with help of a good dog. He said they all went into thick cover to die.
As I said, this is all second hand; I've never killed one with a crossbow myself. I'd be interested to hear opinions from those who have.
I've killed turkey with a shotgun but never a crossbow. I will try that this spring too. I'm interested in discussing point of aim with an arrow as well as broadhead selection. I've had one MNR staffer unofficially tell me that you should try and take them where the leg bone meets the body so that they can't fly off as they might with other, even fatal, hits. My source told me that though they think this is good they can't encourage it because it would also be encouraging wounding, as you might need to finish the bird off.
I know one fellow who has shot three with a bow. Each bird has flown off on him and died shortly therefter. He said the hits were good ones. He recovered all of them but with help of a good dog. He said they all went into thick cover to die.
As I said, this is all second hand; I've never killed one with a crossbow myself. I'd be interested to hear opinions from those who have.
They say turkeys generally respond to all sorts of noises. Most guys use owl hoots or crow calls. All these do is get the turkey to gobble so you can pinpoint thier location. In a perfect world, that is. 
I too would like to hear everyone's strategies.
I hope to get out, but have to find a willing landowner first.
Jay
I too would like to hear everyone's strategies.
I hope to get out, but have to find a willing landowner first.
Jay
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Grizzly Adam
- Posts: 5701
- Joined: Fri Aug 04, 2006 8:36 pm
- Location: Decatur County, Indiana
Hey, Shurite ...
Let me regale you with an owl-hooting story:
It was the eighth day of May, if I correctly recall, in the midst of the Indiana turkey season. As it was a Saturday morning, I had other things to do, and wrestled with the decision: to go, or not to go? I lingered in bed until I could stand the tossing and turning no longer, and hastily got up, got ready, grabbed my gun and set off for a woodlot where in an adjacent pasture I had seen some gobblers strutting two evenings before.
When I arrived, it was already dawn ... still early, but there was no hope of clinching the classic "roosting tree" setup, or anything resembling it ... so I decided to walk along the edge of the pasture and see if I could establish communication with a gobbler. I eased down along the woods-line, stopping every 50 yards or so to hoot like a Barred Owl: "Hoo, hoo, hoo-hoo ... hoo, hoo, hoo-hoooo!" On the third try, I heard what I was listening for: the thunder of an answering gobbler rolling down the valley.
He sounded like he was around 200 yards in the woods, so I rushed up the ridge about 100 yards, and sat down against a tree just below the crest ... not the best situation: far away, downhill from the bird, not yet talking turkey to him ... but I was bound and determined to try.
I got out my Quaker Boy box call and gave it a lusty caress, intending to sound like a dripping-hot hen turkey with an obvious lack of restraint and a thing for big boss gobblers: "Yelp, yelp, yelllp, yellp, yelp!" Before the sound of the last plaintive yelp died away, it was drowned out by a long, drawn-out, LOUD double-gobble: "Baaaby! Baby! Sha-ba-ba-dooby-baby! Baaaby!"
And he was on the move! I yelped again. I pleaded. I invited. I promised. I said things to that tom turkey that I can't repeat on this family forum. I appealed to his baser instincts ... I asked him: "Hey, Big-boy, won't you come and do me like you did all those other hens?" And his answer was yes ... yes, yes, yes, yes, YES! He came a runnin' and a'gobblin' ... and hung up just beyond the crest of the ridge, out of sight, where he proceeded to strut back and forth, calling for his lady love.
Not good. He was locked up ... uphill ... out of sight ... and there was absolutely no chance of moving on him! What to do? He answered every amorous yelp with a passionate gobble ... often a gobble-gobble! He was clearly beside himself ... but he wasn't coming any further!
I fretted.
I fumed.
I fussed.
And then I turned that Quaker Boy around, slipped the band over it's striker, took it in hand ... and I shook it like a terrier shaking a rat ... producing a reasonable fascimile of a tom-turkey gobble.
As I had expected, Big Daddy couldn't stand that ... the very idea that some skinny-legged jake had come slipping in on his siren infuriated him ... and he ripped the spring air apart with a thunderous challenge to the rival ... and came on.
I saw the sun shining on that red and blue head. I raised the Winchester pump, set it midway down his neck, and pulled the trigger: KA-BOOM!
He went down like a bag of lead, and started spinning circles. I raised to my knees: KA-BOOM! I ran toward him: KA-BOOM!
The deed was done. He was beautiful. And, though he was mine ... he could never be mine. He lives in my memory.
28.5 lbs
12" beard
1.75" spurs
And guess what?
That owl-hoot he first answered to?
It could as easily have been a hawk-scream, a dog-bark, a rooster-crow, a horse-neigh ... or a honking horn or a slamming car door!
It's called a "shock-gobble," and tom turkeys will do it in reply to just about any loud noise in the springtime. Many hunters think it's important to use something like an owl-hoot, but I couldn't prove it by what I've seen and heard. Hoot if you want to, but feel free to experiment!
Let me regale you with an owl-hooting story:
It was the eighth day of May, if I correctly recall, in the midst of the Indiana turkey season. As it was a Saturday morning, I had other things to do, and wrestled with the decision: to go, or not to go? I lingered in bed until I could stand the tossing and turning no longer, and hastily got up, got ready, grabbed my gun and set off for a woodlot where in an adjacent pasture I had seen some gobblers strutting two evenings before.
When I arrived, it was already dawn ... still early, but there was no hope of clinching the classic "roosting tree" setup, or anything resembling it ... so I decided to walk along the edge of the pasture and see if I could establish communication with a gobbler. I eased down along the woods-line, stopping every 50 yards or so to hoot like a Barred Owl: "Hoo, hoo, hoo-hoo ... hoo, hoo, hoo-hoooo!" On the third try, I heard what I was listening for: the thunder of an answering gobbler rolling down the valley.
He sounded like he was around 200 yards in the woods, so I rushed up the ridge about 100 yards, and sat down against a tree just below the crest ... not the best situation: far away, downhill from the bird, not yet talking turkey to him ... but I was bound and determined to try.
I got out my Quaker Boy box call and gave it a lusty caress, intending to sound like a dripping-hot hen turkey with an obvious lack of restraint and a thing for big boss gobblers: "Yelp, yelp, yelllp, yellp, yelp!" Before the sound of the last plaintive yelp died away, it was drowned out by a long, drawn-out, LOUD double-gobble: "Baaaby! Baby! Sha-ba-ba-dooby-baby! Baaaby!"
And he was on the move! I yelped again. I pleaded. I invited. I promised. I said things to that tom turkey that I can't repeat on this family forum. I appealed to his baser instincts ... I asked him: "Hey, Big-boy, won't you come and do me like you did all those other hens?" And his answer was yes ... yes, yes, yes, yes, YES! He came a runnin' and a'gobblin' ... and hung up just beyond the crest of the ridge, out of sight, where he proceeded to strut back and forth, calling for his lady love.
Not good. He was locked up ... uphill ... out of sight ... and there was absolutely no chance of moving on him! What to do? He answered every amorous yelp with a passionate gobble ... often a gobble-gobble! He was clearly beside himself ... but he wasn't coming any further!
I fretted.
I fumed.
I fussed.
And then I turned that Quaker Boy around, slipped the band over it's striker, took it in hand ... and I shook it like a terrier shaking a rat ... producing a reasonable fascimile of a tom-turkey gobble.
As I had expected, Big Daddy couldn't stand that ... the very idea that some skinny-legged jake had come slipping in on his siren infuriated him ... and he ripped the spring air apart with a thunderous challenge to the rival ... and came on.
I saw the sun shining on that red and blue head. I raised the Winchester pump, set it midway down his neck, and pulled the trigger: KA-BOOM!
He went down like a bag of lead, and started spinning circles. I raised to my knees: KA-BOOM! I ran toward him: KA-BOOM!
The deed was done. He was beautiful. And, though he was mine ... he could never be mine. He lives in my memory.
28.5 lbs
12" beard
1.75" spurs
And guess what?
That owl-hoot he first answered to?
It could as easily have been a hawk-scream, a dog-bark, a rooster-crow, a horse-neigh ... or a honking horn or a slamming car door!
It's called a "shock-gobble," and tom turkeys will do it in reply to just about any loud noise in the springtime. Many hunters think it's important to use something like an owl-hoot, but I couldn't prove it by what I've seen and heard. Hoot if you want to, but feel free to experiment!
Grizz
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scratcherky
- Posts: 84
- Joined: Mon Dec 26, 2005 1:31 pm
- Location: Kentucky
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bait pile willie
- Posts: 657
- Joined: Wed Mar 22, 2006 7:56 pm
- Location: london ontario.
I hunt small wood lots,so i sneak in the dark and set up facing into the woods.in the past I have had to many toms come in behind me when I faced the field.This will depend on your situation.I dontuse a locator call. i wait for them to gobble first.if he doesnt gobble within 30 min. I will start calling.BEWARE they dont always gobble when they are cming in so dont be in a hurray to leave if you are not getting a response.for crossbow I set my decoy out 10 yds in frot ,I want my shot to be well within 20 yds.i have my tree location picked in pre season,and have already built a ground blind.taik to other hunter s and pick their for info.TECHNIQUES fo gun an crcssbow are the same except shot placement and distance of shot for bow is critical.you have to place your arrow in a 3" circle for a sure kill.IF possible go to a 3-D shoot anlook close at the turkey and you will see what I mean .GOOD LUCK AND HAVE FUN.I cant wait for apr.25.
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Grizzly Adam
- Posts: 5701
- Joined: Fri Aug 04, 2006 8:36 pm
- Location: Decatur County, Indiana
Skeeter, he was a big one ... the biggest that had been killed in the tri-county region at that time. When I hailed my conservation officer friend later that morning and said I had something to show him (I had the turkey hidden under a sleeping bag), he looked in the truck bed and said, "Tell me that's not a TURKEY under there!"
But it was! And he's the biggest I ever expect to kill.
Guess what?
He was also my first!
That was in 1995. His mount is standing in my study today.
But it was! And he's the biggest I ever expect to kill.
Guess what?
He was also my first!
That was in 1995. His mount is standing in my study today.
Grizz
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Highlander
- Posts: 160
- Joined: Sat Nov 04, 2006 7:40 am
- Location: Central, Ontario
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wild willie
- Posts: 17
- Joined: Tue Sep 12, 2006 3:23 pm
turkey
hi baitepili willie i have my blind fold ready 
The scorpio is designed to slide on the shaft, but have some resistance. It will still allow the broadhead to penetrate, but it slows penetration and in my shooting at targets usually hangs up on the fletching and prevents a pass-through. The broadhead would penetrate 12 or 13" if this happens, which would put it through the turkey but the arrow would still be in the bird to interfere with escape attempts.I wonder if a small aluminum washer behind the broad head would work?
A washer behind the broadhead would remain behind the head and impede broadhead penetration severely I'd think. - Be somewhat like shooting them with a blunt.
wabi