OK this is behind my house from my trail camera. I have hunted a couple of times with my bow and no turkey for me. I don’t expect to go out and just shoot one but what the heck. All these toms and nothing for me. Maybe Im setting up wrong? Any suggestions?
If you’re hunting with a bow do you use a ground blind? If not you might want to give that a try. Otherwise, have you considered a good shotgun? If you’re just starting out the best advise I could give you is to scout these birds from afar and before your season. Pattern their movements…where they roost, where they go once out of the roost and find there strutting zones. Once you find these things out you’ve increased your chances big time. Slip in during the evening to set up a blind and then slip in in the a.m. just before light! I think these little tips will help you be more successful out in the turkey woods. Good luck!
Great Pics b4hawk! 
My dog keeps on chasing all the birds out of the yard. 
I’m still a Turkey novice myself but will be looking to knock one in the Metro Zone this year with my bow. Keep us posted how your season goes!
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Maybe Im setting up wrong? Any suggestions?
Oh yeah, one more suggestion…set up by this trail camera!! 
It is amazing that a bird with a brain the size of a pea continues to elude me as well.
My best advise is to keep at it and good things will happen
I’ll be happy to come up and show you how I would do it….. 
A pop up blind should be left up for some time so the turkeys get used to it being there. Turkeys have an extremely small kill zone with a bow so make sure you know where the vitals are (wing butt) and I also suggest some kind of Turkey Stopper arrowhead .
Use a hen decoy and draw before the gobbler enters your shooting lane…Practice, Practice, Practice, so you can hit a tennis ball size spot every time from 15-20 yds.
hawk, you have to remember that all the toms you see together now will disperse throughout the spring. Just like bucks in bachelor groups, they eventually break up.As far as putting up a pop up blind i disagree with putting it up early so they get used to it. I have put my double bull up on opening morning and had turkeys walk by within steps of the blind like it has been there forever.Just remember paitence.
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A pop up blind should be left up for some time so the turkeys get used to it being there.
That is great advise for deer Tom, but turkeys really don’t mind them. The bird I shot in this video was shot in the middle of the field with my Covert blind that I popped up that morning. I shot him at 8 yards and he never bothered looking at the blind!
Dart:
Videotaping my hunts has always been a chore. I’ve tried it for years, but have always erred on the side of getting the bird vs. worrying about good footage.
Seeing this video always makes me rethink that strategy. Great stuff!
Joel
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OK this is behind my house from my trail camera. I have hunted a couple of times with my bow and no turkey for me. I don’t expect to go out and just shoot one but what the heck. All these toms and nothing for me. Maybe Im setting up wrong? Any suggestions?
A blind is a near must-have. I’ve been tempted over the years many times to sneak out of the blind and take after them on foot, and everytime but once has it worked out where the bird sees my draw and is gone before I have a shot. The one time it did work, I had the bird working from left to right, and I had a massive tree trunk I was hiding behind where I could draw on him.
The reason lots of guys won’t stay in the blind is that they want to be mobile. I say great, just take the blind with you and set it up each time. Locator calls become more important, as the last thing you want to do is hen-call to a nearby hot tom that catches you setting up your blind.
Like Dart said, pattern those bad boys. Start at the roost, find fly-down, strut zones, mid-late day loafing areas, water, and dusting sites. If I’m hunting all day, my progression on a bow-hunt usually is the fly-down/strut zones, then moving to mid-slope benches or woodsy loafing areas like oak flats, then to a field side dusting site for the rest of the day. If I got a good nap in, then I’ll find a bottleneck, fencline, or other travel corridor I think they might use on their way back to the roost site.
Otherwise, like they said, patience is key. Part of patience is not burning out. Sounds tough to do on a 5 day hunt, but it’s actually quite easy. If you feel yourself giving up, getting lazy, whatever……by all means take your hard earned days off and have fun in the afternoon at least. Take it easy, go to town and treat yourself to lunch/dinner. Better to hunt harder when you’re out there, than to put in more time poorly afield.
Joel
That one never gets old Dart. 
I bet I have watched that clip 20 some times and still gets me excited and doing that with your boy along side ya, must really make it special.
Wooo hooo Tom awesome video and what a way to spend time with your boy. That bird scores 59 and just a few years back it would have been the new state record with a bow. Thanks for all the advice and I cant wait to get out there and get me one lol
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Seeing this video always makes me rethink that strategy. Great stuff!
Joel
Joel, it’s always nice to have a camera guy with you. My son is now 11 and this will be his 2nd year videoing for me…we will be working on the zoom this year! Next year I’ll be the camera guy since he’ll be old enough to hunt! Can’t wait for that!
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