What’s the best setup for turkey bowhunting?

Turkey season is once again fast approaching, and unless this is your first year ditching the gun, you’ve no doubt had fellow hunters tell you over and over again how difficult using a bow for gobblers can be. It’s challenging, sure, but with the right setup with you in the field, you should have no problem bagging some birds this spring.

When prepping your ideal setup, here are some of the things you need to know.

Choose the right broadhead

There is an ongoing debate in the bowhunting community about what type of broadhead is best for turkey hunting. In our experience, when it comes to taking down a turkey, the focus should be more on cutting diameter than a clean pass-through. You still need a broadhead that can easily penetrate that feathery exterior, but an arrow that remains in the bird will only help in keeping the wounded turkey grounded and unable to escape.

When it comes to punching a large hole, you want the 1 3/4-inch cutting diameter of the Jak-Hammer or the 1 5/8-inch rip of the Z-Force. Both are going to inflict the damage you need and give you a much better chance to hit those tiny kill zones on a turkey.

If you prefer fixed blade heads, or your state prohibits mechanicals, then the 1 3/16 cutting diameter of the Hammer SST is a great choice for turkeys.

Tune your bow for shorter range (and test it!)

Unlike with most big game animals, you’re going to have to get much more up close and personal when bowhunting gobblers, which means you’re going to need to tune your bow accordingly. Get yourself a life-sized 3D turkey target and make sure you’re familiar with the best shot placement for turkeys from every angle.

Practice from every position (standing, kneeling, sitting, etc.) and also from multiple distances. Then just keep firing until your form feels good and you can hit the target where you need to consistently and accurately.

Use a quality decoy

In order to get as close as you can to your feathery foe, you’re going to need to employ a combination of scouting, stealth, convincing mouth calls (just make sure you get a hands-free one), and a good quality turkey decoy. We suggest picking one out from Montana Decoy’s excellent field-tested collection.

These decoy(s) will attract the birds to your location and—more importantly—keep their keen eyes off of you. Just place them 5-10 yards beyond the line of sight for your location and wait for them to do their job!

Gear up like a pro with Wasp apparel

Nothing strikes fear in the heart of a turkey quite like the sting of a Wasp. Show the world you only shoot with the best by donning a comfortable and stylish Wasp hoodie or hat.

Now that you look the part and have your ideal broadhead, dialed-in bow, and quality decoy(s) all set to go, you’re more than ready to hit this turkey season at full sprint. Good luck, and happy hunting!

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