I don’t remember the exact year when I killed my first Maine gobbler. I do recall spring hunting hours were a half-hour before sunrise to noon, a second spring turkey permit was required to take another bearded bird, and it cost $5 to register a bird. So it was a number of years ago.
Back then, hunting wild turkeys was relatively new for most folks, including me. I was still learning, hunting with my Remington Model 870 loaded with the heaviest shotshells the law allowed — and my shoulder would tolerate.
It didn’t take long to figure out that killing a spring gobbler wasn’t that difficult. The biggest challenge, after finding birds, was beating their constant head movement and monocular vision that lets them see in all directions, along with their keen hearing and ability to pinpoint movement and sound at a distance.
Before long, I started looking for a bigger challenge. I switched to a bow and eventually a crossbow when it became legal.
Over the years I experimented with a variety of broadhead types, weights and sizes, including turkey-specific, so-called head-lopper designs. I’ve killed birds with both fixed and expandable heads.
The bottom line is turkeys can be killed with the same broadheads used for deer and other game, but some are better than others.
Many hunters focus on arrow speed and kinetic energy. That’s fine. Speed and arrow weight translate into energy, and the faster an arrow reaches the target, the better.
But turkeys are thin-skinned and, except for some in the wings, small- and hollow-boned. Even with dense feathers, penetrating the vitals isn’t difficult with equipment suitable for deer.
My crossbow setup — a 170-pound draw firing a 22-inch carbon arrow with a 125-grain broadhead at close to 400 feet per second — has taken turkeys, deer and black bear. Within normal range, the arrow reaches its mark before the sound of the shot.
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A two-blade mechanical broadhead with blades deployed. These are known for field-point accuracy and larger cutting diameters. Credit: Courtesy of Al Raychard -
A two-blade mechanical broadhead after impact. Larger cutting diameters can create more forgiving wound channels on turkeys. Credit: Courtesy of Al Raychard -
A fixed-blade broadhead, left, and a mechanical broadhead. Hunters often debate cutting diameter, flight and penetration when choosing models. Credit: Courtesy of Al Raychard
I don’t give much thought to speed and energy. Nor should any archer using gear capable of taking larger game.
What really matters is cutting diameter.
A tom’s vitals are small — roughly the size of a baseball or softball, depending on angle and distance. Between their constant movement and feathered camouflage, hitting the heart or lungs consistently is tough.
That’s why I prefer broadheads with at least a 1⅞-inch cutting diameter, and ideally 2 inches.
The larger cut is more forgiving on shots that aren’t perfect. It creates a bigger wound channel, more tissue damage and quicker kills.
I’ve come to favor mechanical broadheads for turkeys. They fly like a field point, open reliably and offer larger cutting diameters.
Two-blade mechanicals have been more than sufficient in most situations. Three-blade models add cutting surface, but with similar diameters, I haven’t seen much difference.
Fixed-blade broadheads will kill turkeys, but most have smaller cutting diameters — often around 1 to 1 3/16 inches — which leaves less margin for error on less-than-perfect shots.
There are exceptions. Turkey-specific heads like the Bullhead and Guillotine offer massive cutting diameters and are designed for head shots. They’re effective, but I found they don’t fly as well and can cause excessive damage, which I didn’t care for.
In the end, broadhead choice comes down to preference. Like shotgun hunting, success with a bow comes down to shot placement and making that one shot count.
