Legalize "Blunt tip heads" for turkey hunting??

[Valley Station]

A thread was started on Ky Bowsite.com , discussing legalizing the use of blunts and "bird wire loop" heads for turkey hunting.
Currently in Ky, minimum 7/8" wide,2-blade broadhead is only head legal.The turkey body "kill zone" is very small and difficult target with a bow for the average archer in a "real hunting situation". Each fall there are more turkey shot with a bow and not recovered than we would like to admit.
Some of our better archery turkey hunters, beleive we should encourage head/neck shots with blunts. You would either make a "clean kill or clean miss", cut down on crippling.
Anybody here ever shoot turkey using "tracker string"?? How did it work?? Anybody ever shoot turkey with "blunt" in a state that it's legal??
I am for legalizing blunts , what do you think?? Any better ideas??

[Multidigits]

"Arrows with barbless broadhead points at least
seven-eighths inch wide shall be used with any type
of bow equipment."--<i>The head doesn't have to be a 2 blade, just at least 7/8" wide.</i>

I'm for leaving it like it is, but requiring the use of a string tracker. [B)] I don't think you'd ever get most people to shoot at the head. Most are going to go for the higher percentage shot. And then the turkey is going to fly or run. They are hard to find and most of the time it's just pure luck if you do. A string tracker mounted above the arrow rest will not affect yur arrow flight out to 30 yards. It will increase you chance of recovery of both turkey and deer. [^]

[Flintlock54]

I agree with the string tracker especially for turkey. I am not big on the idea of blunts for turkey, although I have taken a few squirrel with a blunt and flu-flu feathers. I don't agree with a head shot either prefering to go for the "higher percentage" shot. Actually the best shot I have taken on a turkey was him going away and I sent an arrow up his poop shoot. He didn't flop much after that.

[Duster]

Has anyone used a string tracker ? I tried one for deer once, didn't care for it. Other than the string getting hung up on something while the critter runs away, the noise of the string being pulled from the container when a shot is taken, Pass thru's that result in a double string trail if it don't break an defeat your efforts makes for a shorter distance you can rely on tracking by string, The string being left in the woods by users who don't take the time to follow the trail back to its starting point an retrieve the used string.. which like fishing line discarded in the water or on the shoreline can make for a trap if another animal gets tangled up in it.

Blunts for turkeys.... Well blunts are made to kill by shock an shock alone. If you want wounded turkeys a thousand times more than you have now use blunts. The wire head if I recall was/is called a snare-o about the same results as a blunt, no penetration into vital organs but the shock factor would be less due to the lightness of the wire an size of area it contacts. The best thing is to learn your target an practice till your able to hit that softball size vital area first time every time.

[Multidigits]

I killed a lot of deer with a string tracker. I love it. And have never had any trouble like you descibe, including gathering the spent string after the shot. I wouldn't think of hunting in the rain without one. I often hunt on days when I'm scheduled to work. If I shoot a deer, it's a quick retrieve.

They work best mounted above the arrow, and cause no distortion of the arrow flight because of added drag.

I've killed 4 turkeys with a bow. Two of them flew after the shot. The two that I used the string on were recovered quick and easy. One of those died at the scene. The other two were just luck that they were found.

[ez]

this could relieve all ideas about having a deer/turkey tracking dog...ez

[Xtreme]

I have seen the string tracker in action. I don't use one but I can see where they would help to recover turkeys.

I think CSS is pushing the blunt tip deal. I saw him at a bow shoot and he had some pretty sound reasons. He has probably killed more turkeys with a bow than anyone in this state. He bears listening to. Darn, I hate saying all these good things about old hard headed CSS[:o)] He is hard headed though, aint that right Multi?[:D][:o)][8]

[GSP]

Just a thought from someone on the sideline on this. Wouldn't anyone that has a blunt-tip or wire-tip nocked up, be out there just to kill a turkey? I have not bow hunted in a long time, but I remember you not having a lot of chances to swap arrows with a bunch of turkeys watching you. I guess my point is, anyone that is out to do this is a hardcore turkey hunter that knows what they are doing. Not a deer hunter, hoping a turkey walks by.

[Multidigits]

CSS is like comparing a Lexus to an 85 Olds Skylark(my back in forth to work car). 99% of the people out there won't shoot a bow like he does. I'd say 95% of the people would aim for the body, unless the turkeys with in 15 yards, which you won't get drawn anyway. GSP right too, in most cases it would be hard to switch arrows. How many people actually go out only bow turkey hunting???

[Valley Station]

A "high percentage" of the deer hunters, who aim for the "higher percentage shot", after the shot quite often say " Damn. Shot plumb thru him and he just flew off". I hear the same stories, time and time again.
If this "young pup" CSS has a better way , I'm all for it. He must be doing somethin' right, seems he's always got a bow in one hand and a turkey slung over his shoalder!

[Multidigits]

I while back, there was a discussion on "if" shooting at a turkey with archery gear is even ethical. The chance of wounding or mortally hitting a turkey is as great as making a clean kill. I believe it was during that discussion that CSS stated that he often shoots at turkeys at 40 yards. He also stated that he shoots for the head or neck only. How many can hit a turkey head at 40 yards???

Now, as for as this discussion goes, I don't see the difference if your going to shoot at the head or neck area only between a broadhead or a blunt. Assuming I was going to try that shot, I'd just soon have the broadhead on.

[Valley Station]

If the snaro/wire loop type is stiff enough to kill , with it's "big pattern" , would make the head shot easier.
Would be like a shotgun, put the bead under the waddles and turn it loose. If you miss, so what. Dang, I've missed um' with a shotgun at 10 steps.
If it's lethal , make it legal and give the archer his choice.

[KY_Xcutter]

Let me say first that I've never shot a turkey with a bow yet, this is just my own opinion (2cents)
I would not think that the Snaro loop is stiff enough to do the job but I could be wrong. In my opinion If you are going to shoot them with a broadhead then the larger the diameter the better, that makes sense to me!!! There are some pretty large heads on the market.

[KY_Xcutter]

.

[Strutter]

I'm going to shoot my turkey with my longbow. Not only that, but I'm going to shoot him in the eye. Who needs a target as big as their head anyway. Now all I have to decide on is the left eye or right eye. Which eye you reckon would be more sporting?

[GSP]

What damage would a "blunt tip" do to a turkey at 15 yd if it was body shot?

Also about to "rug beaters", would those wires kill a turkey? They are one tough bird.

[Ky Headhunter]

At our club's last 3-d shoot, a friend of mine brought a cedar arrow with a snaro tip, and we shot it at a piece of 1" pine stuck in the ground. Inconclusive to say the least. Both the arrow & the pine board were destroyed on impact. The blunt portion of the tip hit the board, but we really wanted to see what the wire would do. We pretty much knew the blunt would do the job if it hit dead center. Frankly, it was a pretty flawed "test" anyway, since a turkey's head/neck would have much more give than that pine board did.

I'm trying to come up with a better simulation... maybe a length of garden hose, with a piece of copper wire running up the middle. It could be surrounded inside the hose with packing peanuts or some of that expanding foam insulation. Sounds silly, but that's the best I can think of!

Most of us would have to change our entire arrow setup, since that snaro felt like it weighed 200 grains (glue on). The wire used on it was pretty stout, much more than I envisioned.

At this point, I have to agree with Multi, the stringtracker/broadhead combo seems like the best option, provided you still have good arrow flight.

The bow is my favorite hunting tool by far, but I've heard enough horror stories (way out of proportion to lost deer stories) to scare me off using it for turkeys until I find setup I'm confident in.

[Ralph]

Well, I am going after a turkey this weekend. The blind is already in place & the turkeys are there. Now, where do I aim? Head? Neck? Going away shot at the poop-shooter? Going away shot at the base of the neck? I hate the thought of shooting something & not getting it. Guess I'll know this weekend.

[shogan]

Strutter is the man!

Yall are killing me shoot a turkey head with a bow from 20 yards.

No I just wanna hunt!

[Xtreme]

I thought CSS would descend on this but it looks like he is not lurking. Supposedly some state or college or whatever had documentation on the blunts causing little permanent damage on body hit turkeys.

I'm not much of a turkey hunter either but I know for a fact that some of the huge mechanicals like the Rocket Sledgehammer[3 and one half inch cut!!!] cuts way down on the loss rate. I've saw a few shot with these heads and it looked like they had been shot with a grenade!

When shooting for a turkeys head, regardless of how far. You are either going to hit or miss. Most of the folks that shoot a lot of turkeys in this manner will readily tell you they miss more than they hit. I know more die hard bow turkey hunters than just CSS. Just talk to Keith and Brooks from Double Bull blinds. They live eat and breath turkey hunting with a bow. If you miss your head shot you go get your arrow and wipe it off and laugh till the next chance.

It's like Joe Louis once said"when the head dies the body goes with it"[;)]

[GSP]

Ok, for a debate standpoint, why don't we legalize "blunt point" arrows for turkey? Seems to me only turkey archers would be using them. It also seems that it is a "kill or miss" shot.

[Multidigits]

Could do like they do with high power rifles, let the shooter make the choice. Any centerfire---Any hunting tip???

[Xtreme]

Multi: Have you ever noticed CSS ia never around when we need him? He's always around to argue with us and remind us we are wrong. Never when we need his knowlege[:o)][:o)][:D]

[CSS archer]

I don't think steel blunts should be allowed, the plastic or rubber bludgeons should be though. They are about 1/2 to 3/4 inch wide. I use them on grouse out west.

The neck and head are the best target to shoot, you can see where it is! So many people think it's best to shoot the body and they watch the bird run or fly away, BUT they didn't miss. I've gotten as many as 3 shots shooting at the neck. I do miss many more than I hit but I've never lost one. I've only taken 15 with my bow. I've had 2 birds that I severed the spine between the legs and wings from the back that flew over 200 yards, I was lucky to find them, I knew they were dead when the arrow hit.

Bludgeons simply allow people to shoot an effective projectile at a reasonable target that doesn't cost 6-8 dollars each, and they are easy to find cause they don't go under grass and leaves too bad. The only thing would be the flight through the shoot-through-mesh of blinds!

I've been away from the pc. My ears were burning and I knew it was an Extreme burn!

[Xtreme]

I knew CSS would come around if I poked enough needles in my voo doo doll[:D][:o)]....Have you or Lora got any more varmints? Don't be such a stranger....Multi and me miss you[:o)][:o)][:o)]

[shogan]

I agree with MULTI. (This is almost scary)

Speaking of which I saw a turkey today (no deer) next time I gonna reposition myself to get the little btards.

On my turkey hunting videos I've never seen them shoot for the head. Nor have a I ever seen a big deal about finding the birds. Then again Bill Dance catches a whole lot of big fish in an hour.

[GSP]

<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">I've only taken 15 with my bow. <hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"></font id="quote">

I don't know many people that have ever drew down on that many turkeys! Good job CSS.

[KY_Xcutter]

My thoughts exactly GSP
15 birds thats impressive!!!

[KYhunter]

"Only" 15 birds. Gosh-O! I have probably pulled back on that many if you count "starting" as a pull, as I have gotten busted more times than I have ever released an arrow. I did miss three birds one afternoon last winter(five in two days) and never touched a feather. To harvest 15 is really something.

[Xtreme]

That's why I said when CSS states an opinion about turkey hunting with a bow we need to listen......God, it kills me to brag on him this much[xx(]......Just kiddin[:D][:o)]......Xtreme