Timing your shot

Whether you’re turkey hunting with a bow or shotgun, you’ll need to know when to take the shot. If you’re using a shotgun, the best shot will be at the head, preferably when it’s outstretched away from the bird’s body. Bowhunters will want to know something about turkey anatomy so they’ll recognize when they have a clear kill shot to a vital organ.

Make sure it’s safe to shoot

In addition to having a good shot at a bird, you’ll want to make sure there are no other hunters, livestock or other turkeys nearby that you could hit by mistake. In the spring, multiple turkeys may come to your calls and decoy. As you pick out a tom to shoot, pay attention to other turkeys that may move close to or behind it.

In the fall, turkeys often travel in large flocks that bring the birds very close to one another. Pick out a single bird shoot, and make sure you’re shot hits only one bird.

A cardinal rule of hunting safety is to be aware of what’s in front of and behind your target. In addition, the daily bag limit for both the spring and fall seasons is one bird, so killing two birds with one shot is not a legal accomplishment.

For bowhunters

When bowhunting, the closer you can get a turkey to your ground blind, the better the chance of a clean kill shot. Don’t be in a hurry to shoot at an incoming bird. Turkeys are nervous and anxious birds, likely to jump when they hear a bow string release. Let the bird approach the decoy and calm down. Once a tom starts strutting around a decoy, it’s less likely to flinch at the shot.

For shotgun hunters

Shotgun hunters also will benefit from letting a turkey chill for a bit. The more relaxed a bird is, the less it will be bobbing and moving its head (your target).

For both styles of hunting, shooting at a relaxed turkey increases the odds of hitting its small vital zone.

Shotgun hunters who get tired of waiting for a tom to break out of a strut can offer a cluck or putt call. This will often alert the tom, forcing it to lift its head and present a shot. Using a mouth call here will leave both hands free to hold your shotgun in a ready position.