Hunting wild turkeys is hard work. It takes a ton of skill and more than a little luck to locate a gobbler, sneak within calling range, and then convince him you\u2019re a hot hen looking for love. The last thing you want to do is ruin all that hard work with a poorly placed shot. In this guide, we’ll show you where to shoot a turkey with both firearms and bows for a clean kill.<\/p>\n
Turkey hunters spend hours honing their calling skills but those skills won\u2019t matter a hill of beans if you screw everything up with a bad shot. Proper shot placement is arguably more crucial to punching game tags than your calling prowess.<\/p>\n
Not sure where to place your crosshairs, bead, or sight pin? We\u2019ll walk you through everything you need to know.<\/p>\n
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Serious deer hunters have been conditioned to aim for the heart and lungs when attempting to put meat on the table. However, turkeys and whitetails don\u2019t share a ton of similarities. Using standard deer shooting strategies just isn\u2019t going to work during turkey season.<\/p>\n
Turkeys have thick feathers and heavy muscles that often work against decent shot penetration. Plenty of experienced turkey hunters have stories of their #5 shot bouncing off a big gobbler\u2019s side like he was made of rubber.<\/p>\n
Aiming for a longbeard\u2019s heart and lungs is only going to leave you frustrated. Even worse, it will probably end with a crippled bird heading off to die a slow, agonizing death.<\/p>\n
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When shooting wild turkeys, aiming for the head and neck is generally the best course of action. Although the head is small, it is the bird\u2019s most vulnerable spot. The neck, which contains the spine, nerves, and blood vessels, is also a point of weakness.<\/p>\n
A spray of shot to the head and neck will shatter the turkey\u2019s central nervous system. While residual reflexes can cause some frantic flopping, when you put pellets in a boss tom\u2019s head and neck brings death almost instantaneously.<\/p>\n
A good shot will kill a turkey on a dime, but making a good shot isn\u2019t easy. Turkey heads are almost constantly in motion. That means your target is about the size of a tennis ball and it\u2019s perched on a stick and bobbing around in the woods.<\/p>\n
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Aiming directly for the turkey\u2019s head is a common rookie mistake. Not only does a wary gobbler move his head erratically, placing your end bead on a turkey\u2019s noggin will send most of your pellets sailing right over the top of the bird.<\/p>\n
Instead of covering a tom\u2019s head with your bead, aim for the bird\u2019s lower caruncles. Caruncles are those wrinkly, wart-like blobs of skin that cover a turkey\u2019s head. Males have some extra bulbous caruncles right above the line of feathers that separates the bird\u2019s neck and body.<\/p>\n
During breeding season, a gobbler\u2019s lower caruncles turn candy apple red. A savvy hunter will treat that flaming crimson spot just like a bullseye.<\/p>\n
Align your sights with those red caruncles, but keep the bird\u2019s head above your gun\u2019s bead. This allows your shot spread to blanket the entire head and neck area. Not only does this point of aim provide the most shot coverage, it also allows for a slight margin of error. Having even the tiniest bit of wiggle room is an asset in situations where adrenaline and excitement can throw off a shot.<\/p>\n
Turkey\u2019s have amazing eyesight. Unlike deer, they see in vivid colors. They can also see a full 270 degrees and can spot even the slightest bit of movement. It\u2019s no wonder it is so darned hard to put one on the dining room table.<\/p>\n
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Sitting still in the woods is absolutely essential when you\u2019re turkey hunting. Even when it doesn\u2019t seem like the turkey is looking at you, chances are good he can still see you. Add several turkeys, all searching the woods with their extra keen eyes, and you\u2019ll need to be stiller than a statue.<\/p>\n
If you need to adjust the position of your shotgun to make an effective shot, wait until the turkey\u2019s head is obscured, either by a tree, thick brush, or his own strutting fantail.<\/p>\n
Wait to pull the trigger until his head and neck are extended. Shooting a broadside gobbler in full strut is a bad idea. When a tom struts, he pulls his head and neck tight against his body. As he pulls in his head, he also puffs out his chest to impress the ladies, which can block your pellets from reaching your intended target.<\/p>\n
If a strutting longbeard is facing you head on, a shot to the head and neck can still be effective. However, be prepared to break some teeth on pellets in your meat. There\u2019s also a good chance you\u2019ll ruin that boss tom\u2019s beard.<\/p>\n
It is almost always better to wait until the gobbler falls out of the strut. If you can\u2019t wait for that to happen, you can pull him out of it with a few \u201cputts\u201d on a mouth call. Usually a tom will lift his head to see what made the sound, providing the perfect shot opportunity. You\u2019ll just want to act quickly before the gobbler discovers it wasn\u2019t his new girlfriend that made the call.<\/p>\n
Before opening day, it\u2019s a good idea to pattern your scattergun. This will verify your point of aim and provide visual confirmation of how your pellets will impact a turkey\u2019s head and neck.<\/p>\n
When choosing a turkey load, don\u2019t just grab whatever brand your buddies shoot. You\u2019ll want to test a few different loads at varying distances to see what produces the best results from your shotgun. Patterning your shotgun will also help you determine your maximum effective range. You might even consider checking out a few shotgun chokes<\/a>.<\/p>\n Some states have fall turkey seasons that allow hunters to take both toms and hens with a rifle. If you’re lucky enough to have a rafter of turkeys approaches your deer stand, it\u2019s going to be very tempting to take a shot with your rifle. If you do, decide to take a shot, aim for the base of the turkey\u2019s neck. Although a turkey\u2019s body is a much larger target, hitting a turkey square in the midsection with a .30-06 isn\u2019t going to leave you with enough turkey for your Thanksgiving dinner.<\/p>\n Bagging a turkey with a broadhead is one of the biggest challenges in hunting. Getting a turkey within bow range without spooking him on the draw isn\u2019t an easy task.<\/p>\n Not only is it more difficult to get a shot on a turkey with your bow, proper shot placement can be even more problematic than it is with a shotgun.<\/p>\n Some bowhunters endorse a head-and-neck shot with the goal of decapitating the bird. However, there are a ton of things that can go wrong with that shot. Honestly, few expert archers can pull it off. It\u2019s more of a trick shot than an effective way to bag a bird.<\/p>\n When shooting a turkey with a bow, it\u2019s actually a smarter option to aim for the bird\u2019s heart and lungs.<\/p>\n If the turkey is broadside, place your sight pin right at the base of the wing. If your arrow hits its mark, it will bust the wing bones and punch through the lungs. Even if the arrow doesn\u2019t pass clean through the turkey, it will pin the bird\u2019s wing, preventing it from flying off.<\/p>\nShooting a Turkey with a Rifle<\/h2>\n
Shooting a Turkey with a Bow<\/h2>\n
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<\/p>\nThe Broadside Shot<\/h4>\n
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