Sport Place

Arrows are a very important part of your archery equipment, and although they look the same at first glance, today’s modern technology gives manufacturers the ability to make arrows out of many types of materials.  Let’s take a look at some options when choosing an arrow.

Wood arrows have been around hundreds of years when you look back at archery’s history. Today, however, wood arrows are seldom used because they offer little durability and they are not a consistently straight arrow compared to others.

Aluminum was a very popular choice up until recently, although many archers still prefer aluminum especially with target archers. The biggest con of using aluminum arrows is they are easily bendable when they hit an object other than the target. In a hunting situation, when the arrow passes through the animal and strikes the ground, rocks, or trees, they can bend slightly without the hunter knowing. The next time the arrow is shot, you will have inconsistent results.

Carbon has become the popular choice of bow hunters because it is very durable and will not bend. The arrow is either straight or will break from hitting a hard object. Carbon is very light weight for the amount of material actually needed to make an arrow. Some companies also combine other materials to the carbon such as Kevlar, which makes the arrow even more durable. One thing to keep in mind when using carbon arrows is to make sure the arrows hasn’t splintered from use. This can cause injury if a splintered arrow decides to break apart on the shot.

Whitetail season is now officially over in Illinois. The stands are packed away and the layers of late season gear are back in their scent free totes, and its time to transition to the next season. Throw away the scent free shampoo and hang up the rattling antlers. In only a couple months it will be time to fill the pre-dawn woods with the hoot of the barred owl in pursuit of turkeys!

In preparation for the season, I’ve stripped my bow down and am beginning to start the tuning process all over again. I’ve turned the poundage as low as my bow can handle and have switched to a full containment rest due to the possibility of having to put a stalk on a strutting tom. The lower poundage allows the hunter to stay stable at full draw for a longer period of time which is vital to bow hunting turkeys. They seem to never stand still for more than a split second and when they do their often at an awkward angle.

Along with the decrease in poundage, a different broadhead can be utilized. Archery turkey hunters usually turn to large diameter mechanicals. These heads leave room for error when shooting at on the go turkey. They will also loose energy quickly when hitting your target. A hunter is better off shooting a bird and the bird running off with the arrow in the bird than blowing right through. With the arrow still in, the blades are still cutting if the bird runs off. Chasing birds with archery equipment is best suited for hunting out of a ground blind. To prepare, the hunter should always practice shooting out of the blind from a seated position. As funny as it sounds, sitting in a chair in a small enclosed blind is a challenge especially with another hunter and camera in the blind. Chasing spring turkeys is a blast and a heck of challenge for a bow, but with some practice and preparation you can not only have fun hunting these beautiful birds, but also be successful.

 

For many of us, opening day of Spring turkey season finds our birds still “bunched up” and just starting to break out of their Winter flocks. There are a couple of good things about this: 1 – if you can find one of these big flocks, you are going to be treated to quite a show! It’s not uncommon to see multiple mature Toms strutting, gobbling, and even fighting as they start to establish dominance around dozens of hens. And, 2 – multiple gobblers means multiple opportunities.

 Obviously, the bad thing about hunting big flocks of turkeys is, well… you’re hunting a big flock of turkeys! It doesn’t matter how good your call sounds, chances are you are not going to call a Gobbler away from 40 or 50 hens. I like to hunt these early season birds with the same mentality that I use for deer season. Scout, scout, and scout some more. Once I’ve found a flock of birds, I try to be there at fly-down time every single morning for at least 2 weeks before season opens. If you have the opportunity to watch some turkeys day-in and day-out like this, I think you’ll find that often, they are fairly easy to pattern. Even though they may roost in different spots and rarely travel the exact same path 2 days in a row, they normally will end up in the same general area every morning. So like the saying goes, “don’t hunt ‘em where they are, hunt ‘em where they’re going to be”. For this type of hunt, I almost always use a portable blind.

In my opinion there is no better way to kill a turkey with archery gear than using a pop-up blind. Once I’ve patterned my birds, I like to set a blind up a day or two before season. I really only do this out of convenience, there is no need let the birds “get used to the blind” or “brush it in”. More often than not, I’ll set my turkey blind in the middle of an open field, with no cover around what so ever. It’s funny how a turkey will walk right past a blind that was not there the day before, without ever even giving it a second look – very different from deer! Once you’ve got your blind set, it’s really just a waiting game. Again, think of it more like deer hunting – sit back, call a little, and let the birds come to you. If your patient and you have done your homework, I think you’ll find this to be a fun and successful way of hunting early season gobblers!