# turkey broadheads



## bownutz (Jan 12, 2016)

I know there's some guys on here that go after turkeys with a stickbow. What bh's have you had success with. I'm thinking about using some of the mechanical bh's I have left over from my compound days. My thinking is it should kabob them instead of a pass through. Seen alot of videos of guys blowing through a bird only for him to haul tail. What are your thoughts.


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## jerry russell (Jan 12, 2016)

There will be a variety of opinions on this but I am an avocate of head shooting the birds with a bull head when you hunt from a blind over a decoy.  When a bird commits to the decoy I just switch to the bull head.  The shot is 5-6 yards and there is a near zero chance of wounding the bird with a head shot.  Al posted something on here at one time showing the math on kill zone ratios with head shot vs body kill zone.  It is amazing how much more kill zone a head shot provides than trying to hit the vitals.  Remember, you can miss your mark by a couple inches with the bullhead and kill the bird dead.  Miss the vitals by a half inch and the bird will be lost to die somewhere far away.   

Having said that, if you opt for a body shot I would opt for a head that will penetrate fully.  My point being that your goal should be to break the bird down by breaking a leg or wing.  If you miss this objective on the near side, full penetration will give you a chance to get it done on the off side. 

A string tracker will save the day on a turkey sooner or later.  Even with a good shot a bird can fly off and make it several hundreds yards before dying.   Those things can really find places to hide when wounded. 

Lastly, NEVER  shoot a strutting bird.  The bird can shift its plumage up and down making it nearly impossible to tell where the vital region is.  It took me a couple "perfect shots" that resulted in lost or missed birds to figure this out.

IMHO I would never shoot a turkey with a mechanical head.  A trad bow does not have the KE needed to make the head perform.  I think a turkey is THE most wounded animal when talking bowhunting.  

This was most likely more info than you needed but I wanted to post it for those that might just be getting into stickbow turkey hunting.  I hope it helps.


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## bownutz (Jan 12, 2016)

Good stuff Jerry, that's alot to think about. I plan on hunting over decoys out of a blind. Wouldn't hurt to have a head shot arrow ready. I looked at one at bass pro it was like 4".


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## robert carter (Jan 12, 2016)

Like Jerry I don`t shoot strutting birds. A whole lot of false turkey there. I shoot straight up the legs and mid body no matter how he is turned. Fact is with traditional bows and "deer" size broadheads you ain`t gonna shoot through a lot of turkeys unless you breast shoot him and you won`t get that one anyway.
  I`ve killed them with woodsmans,Phantoms,3 blade Muzzy,Simmons,Magnus I, Zwicky Delta and Badger. Point is they all work. RC


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## AllAmerican (Jan 12, 2016)

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=mGbdZOMdJI4


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## AllAmerican (Jan 12, 2016)

*String tracker*



jerry russell said:


> There will be a variety of opinions on this but I am an avocate of head shooting the birds with a bull head when you hunt from a blind over a decoy.  When a bird commits to the decoy I just switch to the bull head.  The shot is 5-6 yards and there is a near zero chance of wounding the bird with a head shot.  Al posted something on here at one time showing the math on kill zone ratios with head shot vs body kill zone.  It is amazing how much more kill zone a head shot provides than trying to hit the vitals.  Remember, you can miss your mark by a couple inches with the bullhead and kill the bird dead.  Miss the vitals by a half inch and the bird will be lost to die somewhere far away.
> 
> Having said that, if you opt for a body shot I would opt for a head that will penetrate fully.  My point being that your goal should be to break the bird down by breaking a leg or wing.  If you miss this objective on the near side, full penetration will give you a chance to get it done on the off side.
> 
> ...



Jerry,

Do you have any footage of a shot into an animal with a string tracker?   

I would like to see it in action, I beleive you make them, is that correct?


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## Mudfeather (Jan 12, 2016)

I have shot several with the head shot broadheads. I still like the guillotines that have the straws on them. I know the bullheads say they dont need them but I put straws on them also and they flew better....One other benefit is it real easy to focus on the head or... the eyeball of the turkey...It has a built in spot to aim at if  you will..


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## Al33 (Jan 13, 2016)

I have used the Guillotine, Simmons Tree Shark, and Magnus Bullhead but will be using the Muzzy "M.O.R.E. head this coming season. It is a well thought out design and I cannot wait to try it out. Do a You Tube search of the M.O.R.E. for more information.

Here is the thread Jerry spoke of:
http://forum.gon.com/showthread.php?t=607022&highlight=turkey+head+shots


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## jerry russell (Jan 13, 2016)

A bit of clarification...  I just meant the bull head style of point.  There are several other good ones on the market.

Al, that Muzzy M.O.R.E. is a fantastic looking head with its fold down design. That is the #1 problem with that head type. Muzzy nailed it with that one, but they always do.


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## jerry russell (Jan 13, 2016)

AllAmerican said:


> Jerry,
> 
> Do you have any footage of a shot into an animal with a string tracker?
> 
> I would like to see it in action, I beleive you make them, is that correct?



I have several videos of bear, deer, turkey and hogs shot with string trackers on my youtube channel keyword: Russell Outdoor Guides. The best one to watch might be "String Tracker Doe".

Don't want to derail the OP's thread about broadheads here by posting links but you can find them easy enough.

I do not make string trackers. They can be bought on the web. I do know a guy that makes nice covers for them.


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## jerry russell (Jan 13, 2016)

An excerpt from Al's turkey math post.....

"First off, and this is an estimate, looking at a full grown tom (profile) his vitals (heart, lungs, etc.) are not much bigger than a large potato or about the size of one of those small nerf footballs. I'm guessing the square inch area of these vitals encompass somewhere between 12 and 15 inches.

 I drew a life size pattern of a toms head (see below) and marked the neck vertebrae. Using a ruler I then measured two inches from the center of the vertebrae on both sides and 2 inches around the center of the brain. That encompassed an area of 42+ square inches but could be more given I did not take into account the neck arteries or perhaps even a longer neck if the tom is stretched out. That area is nearly 3 times bigger than the body vitals. Why did I measure two inches from the vertebrae? Because I am shooting 4" wide Guillotines and 3-3/4'' wide Magnus Bullheads. Any hit where the point ferrule hits inside the red outline is more than likely a definite kill shot.

 OK, lets say you do not use the big wide turkey heads. You can still use 2" blades like the Treeshark and you will still have a square inch area half that size for 21+ square inches which is still bigger than the body vitals.

 One more factor to consider is the aim small, miss small one. We all know we shoot better when we have to focus on a small target. Shooting at the neck does just that and there is a lot of room for error, especially up and down. I kind of see it as shooting at the bottom of mans boot. If you can hit that boot at 15 or 20 yards consistently you can kill turkeys by shooting at their necks. I need all the margin of error room I can get".

42 sq. inches vs 15 sq. inches with very little chance of wounding is certainly something to consider.


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## Mudfeather (Jan 13, 2016)

I shot one of the bull heads and it did plane really badly...I do like the MORE design as far as delivering to the set up...BUT with thos long blades..Ill bet they will plane also...with my set up at least... The trick I picked up on the straws is to put about an inch of double sided tape down  1 the side of the blades and slip the lightest cheapest straw cut about half of the blade length and slip it over it against the ferrule...  They dont plane and at  15 yds I dont notice a big drop. they will start to fall of after that but if you get the bird to run his old head up like a periscope you have an 8" window up and down..shoot a little low and this happens..not bad..


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## mudcreek (Jan 13, 2016)

I would like to see a photo of a point with a "straw"


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## Mudfeather (Jan 13, 2016)

The photo above has the straws on an old style guillotine...I can take a close up later if you would like to see better...the round straws negate and equalize the planing effect of the long blades


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## mudcreek (Jan 13, 2016)

I see what you're talking about


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## AllAmerican (Jan 13, 2016)

*String*



jerry russell said:


> I have several videos of bear, deer, turkey and hogs shot with string trackers on my youtube channel keyword: Russell Outdoor Guides. The best one to watch might be "String Tracker Doe".
> 
> Don't want to derail the OP's thread about broadheads here by posting links but you can find them easy enough.
> 
> I do not make string trackers. They can be bought on the web. I do know a guy that makes nice covers for them.




Great shot, nice doe, and that string has got me interested...thanks for sharing the link!

-John


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## bownutz (Jan 20, 2016)

Decided to go with muzzy 125 3 blade for turkey hunting. John m. Who developed them shot em out of a trad bow should eat up a bird at 10 to 20.


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## Barebowyer (Jan 20, 2016)

Any sharp broadhead will do the job if put in the right place!!! The Muzzy is a reputable choice and I know of a couple guys back home who shoot the same broadhead from their custom recurves with aluminum shafts with great success!


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