So I have been shooting really well on target. Hitting cans at 10-20 yards. Been really happy with my shooting practice and psyched with my first year hunting with a trad bow...

Turkeys....I cant hit one if my life depended on it. I"ve not fried 2 broadheads and lost arrows. I've hit within 6" of a few. I"ve shot probably a dozen times...they are all over my yard almost daily.

Thoughts? TP? Having a hard time judging distance? Do I just suck at this? I"ve whacked them with compounds in the past no problem. Honestly, getting a little frustrated and want to put some meat on the table, but am holding back from going back to the compound, if I do it now, when will I commit again?

Biggest problem is killing my confidence to let an arrow fly at a deer if I see one...no shot is better than a bad shot to me.

You have to be confident in your shot, visualize that arrow in flight to the target, and make sure you focus on a small spot, not the whole bird/animal.

Don't be afraid to shoot. Be confident. Fear is what destroys everything. It is what makes you miss. I know, I've been there. When you are very confident with your ability, you will hit what your are shooting at. Don't cave to the CP urge. Don't give up on the trad gear. It takes time. I am the poster child for this, believe me.

Thanks Live2hunt I think the focus on the animal gets me with the turkeys in a flock...with 30 targets my mind is everywhere. you're right...need to remember that from the beginning of the sequence. THanks.

There are a lot of archers who can shoot lights out until the target moves or the tail twitches. My brother (RIP Jim) was a national champion archer as an intermediate class (age 16 ) contender. Placed 1st in one event and 2nd in three events at Watkins Glen New York back in the day, killed one deer. He just turned into a mess when bow hunting.

BTW, I never used cp much, and hated it when I did, way back in the late '70s- early 80s. Just shoot a lot and build up your confidence and ability, strength.

Pick A Spot

On the 3D circuit a lot of shooters dread the turkey targets. Not just trad shooters either, many high-level compounders hate the small scoring zones.

For myself, I hate all dark targets, hard to pick a 'spot' when it's just all black.

Try head shots, if you still miss at least you'll do so with style ;-)

Thanks guys, appreciate the encouragement.

Don’t over think it homeboy

It’s called hunting not easy Stick to your,,,,ah,,stick you’ll get it done

Your arrows are flying right with broad heads on practice targets?? You sticking to one bow or shooting multiple bows?

Turkeys are incredibly quick in reaction to the noise of a bow especially if they are alert to your presence. Try to get closer and pick a spot.

Forgot to mention. Pick a spot on the animal and don't look at the whole animal. I have a bad habit of looking at the deer to see if it is looking at me rather than picking a spot and shoot. I miss more than I like because of doing that.

As mentioned above, turkey targets give some guys fits...I'm one of em...lol.

I've been shooting and hunting with sticks for a loooong time, since the 60's, fill my freezer with venison every year, but.....turkeys!

I think in my case, I just struggle with my spot...I dunno. It's weird. Then again, I don't have a turkey target...but I have turkey SIZE targets and have no problems with them...lol.

What I do know is, confidence is the key. Really, in any sport related activity. I taught my son during his archery years to NEVER shoot if his thoughts are "I think I can". Shoot ONLY when it's "you're dead!".

That's been my mantra from then (which I learned the hard way) to now.

Keep going, mate...if it was easy, everybody would do it.

FOCUS on a spot !!!

Also, avoid the "flock shooting" effect when you have more than a few birds close. The shape of a turkey, like on a target, and mess you up since it's not the typical shape of big game. Pheasant and goose targets always gave me fits on the animal round too. The best way to learn is to shoot...a foam critter may help too but you need to only see the oval that is the body and then pick a spot on that oval. Easier said than done.

YOU MUST FOCUS ON ONE TINY SPOT!!! Have confidence in yourself and your shot sequence and it WILL happen.

I take head shots at turkeys. I have taken two of them, and missed several others by a hair. Just so close... I don't feel too bad about missing those close head shots actually. At least I got a shot off. I just keep plugging away. Bird season opens up soon.

Dont shoot the flock. Pick out 1 single turkey and concentrate on a particlar spot where you want the arrow, not the whole turkey. Dont see the turkey as a turkey. See it as one of those cans you ve been shooting and try to relax your body. Good hunting!

Dang it...my son's EARLY archery years! He's a fine bowhunter and LOVES that WhippenStick longbow.

I'm an expert at missing Turkeys, I shoot over them mostly because I'm trying to hit them high at the base of the neck. The last straw was when I shot a nice Gobler through the chest and he still ran into a swamp and I lost him. I was shooting them with a 12 gauge but lately quit hunting them.

Broadheads and arrows are shooting great out of the bosw--like darts. I have been switching bows up a little--but this bow is the one I leave hanging on the porch ready to go because I always shoot great with it. I think I just need to do what everyone is saying...dont over think it, concentrate on a smaller spot, and let the arrow fly. Again, thanks for all the input.

I have a bunchof extra poket hen decoys. I think I'll fill one with foam and take some shots at random distance too...

You’ll get one Smooth is fast It might be your fuzzy slippers and bathrobe screwing ya up ; )

""Having a hard time judging distance? Do I just suck at this?" I had to laugh at this line because I have been there. Turks are tough."

I"m laughing too! Just get mad cause I walk out my door in the morning and they're roosting in my trees! Hell they'r pooping on my tuck. I grab a bow and say, doesnt get any easier...well, still aint easy! HA!

Pooping on truck Hell no!! Conibare trap under a pile of corn

HAHA...Shotgun opens Saturday...I raced biathlon at an international level--not gonna lie, I shoot pretty straight...they and the ducks in my pond really have no chance at that point...

I once hit a turkey through the neck at 42 yards in a 40 mph wind. I was so cold I couldn't even get the bow back....twice. It dropped like a stone and never even twitched.

Probably the luckiest shot in the history of bowhunting. Sometimes it's better to be lucky than good.

I had 3 nice Toms under me at less than 15 yards last evening, one was actually more like 6 yards... I was so worried about them busting me that when the shot presented itself I ended up shooting wide right and just clipping feathers on a bird facing away. They'll be back.

Turkeys?? Haha, if my count is correct, I'm 1 / 21 of birds shot at with all bows incl compound, recurve and LB. My one kill was with my LB at 16 yards, on the ground with no blind. I took feathers off of a few, but they just don't hold still enough.

You guys are definitely making me feel better :-)

Dont feel bad folks miss turkeys with shotguns all the time. Dont give up it will happen.

To me the biggest thing to remember is to pick the smallest spot that you can see. Sounds easy but when you are excited it is easy to forget and just aim at the whole bird. Same as on a deer. You need to get to where you have a kind of tunnel vision. You first are looking at the whole deer getting ready for the shot. When you get ready to actually draw you should be focusing on a hair or dark spot or the ripple of a muscle. That is all that you should be looking at. If you see the whole deer or a whole flock of turkeys then you never got to that tunnel vision.

Do you practice shooting from the same positions you are actually taking the shots from at Turkeys. That can make all the difference in the world and are you practicing with the same cloths on and mask, you'd be surprised there also. As mentioned focus on the spot you actually want to hit. That compound's sight pin forced you to focus on it and where you placed it on the Turkey's body. You don't have that now, YOU have to focus your eyes on the smallest thing you can see where you want the arrow to impact, instead of having a site pin do it for you, through out the whole shot process. Toss multiple golf balls or tennis balls at random distances in your yard where the turkey may be and shoot them with judo points. Those small balls are going to make you focus on a small spot to be able to hit them. They will be at no set yardage all over your yard, when you can start hitting them consistently, you chances of shooting a turkey will greatly improve at unmarked distances. Aim small miss small. DANNY

Hey Linecutter, thanks! I Really like the random golf/tennis balls throughout the yard idea!!!

I went a few years of missing all my shots on game too. As many have said its the different of shooting for a spot, verses shooting "at" an animal.

Once I began zoning in on a spot - the success rate drastically changed!!!

Come up the leg on turkey and shoot for mid body a little forward of the head of the wing. Stop aiming for the neck! Center of Back bird facing away. Fanned in center of Circle.

What you may want to try is study the prey anatomy and shoot accordingly. Bare down and follow through and don't look up or swing bow.

My buddy a couple years ago when I had my hip done sitting in chair I screwed up a shot on one of the biggest birds in my life i am still sick over it. I should have used the lighter bow I brought down but was in truck. I used my heavier bow and while sitting in chair I just could not get lined up right and I pushed the shot. I had 2 toms standing like book ends. The big one was huge and I shot to the left of his breast. Perfect up and down just to the left by a few inchs. I was happy I didn't hit him and wound such a good bird.

Never me sad on a clean mis because there's enough heart ack in a wound that do happen at times.

Work on your nerves and then baring down and get the eye of the Predator and don't be over bowed. Leave a few animals go when you draw down on them so you know you can kill at will and get the feeling of that what it might feel like to you.

This is to get over the got to get him attitude that we get when we are inexperienced in killing. Once you get a few under your belt you will get what it takes to consistently kill things .

Its a posture the killer / hunter takes on. Now why did I put Killer / Hunter first. Hmm I wonder if you want to be a killer then think like a killer.

A killer hunts for the shot not the other way around!

Once you learn how to line up on the body you can zone in on the spot.

A lot of guys don't get this though as the animal walks in, in low light how you going to pick the spot when you can't see it but see the animal well enough.LOL

Learn the anatomy of the prey we are shooting.

Thank you everyone, all good suggestions and thoughts, I appreciate it!

HA! Man I'm sorry I just busted out laughing in my tree (morning is slooowww)

Don't worry about it man. Let it fly. Turkey are my nemisis too. Can't hit the suckers. Not sure why. Deer, no problem. Hogs and other big game, not really an issue. It's just those dang non-stop moving turkeys. Man, they really get me going though.

Step up your practice at home, push yourself in shot difficulty and distance while also keeping it FUN, so when you're in the woods those hunting shots don't intimidate you so much.

Strong mind will give you stronger shots.

on targets you can see a clearly defined center. for practice use a target, with one solid color say a 14 inch black circle, and practice on learning to hit the center. I know it sounds different, but it worked for me.

you are probably shooting at the entire bird & not picking a spot on the bird. this is very common for new to instinctive shooters

Become one with the arrow, use the force, zen and the art of archery. Bullcrap.

If your missing l or r it's form, up and down it's aiming. That's general of course there are exceptions, but it's pretty accurate.

Let's say it's aiming - how do you aim. Instinctive it's very understandable. Although I occationally shoot a shot (if I have to ) instinctively I don't understand it and can't figure why anyone would want to (learn instinctive before gapping).

If you gap with inches then you're estimating the yardage or the gap wrong. Pretty simple compared to the above!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

If you gap without knowing the yardage then it's just more practice. Picking a spot and knowing the gap at one particular yardage is the key.

The spot on a turkey is the same size as it is on an elk.

Bowmania

I'm currently shooting kinda split vision is what I think people call it...in between gap and instinctive. I"m generally missing low--kind of like shooting ducks on the water with a shot gun...you consistently see your bbs scatter across the water in front of the bird when you havent been hunting in a while...

I like the dark target idea. The lack of contrast could definitely be getting me. I think people are pretty spot on that I really need to FOCUS on a SMALL spot. I also thinnk the shooting"down" to something so much smaller to me isnt helping. I'm a hell of a lot closer when I drop to a knee and shoot...

I"m going to try to get a bunch of tennis balls at the thrift store and spray paint them black and throw them randomly throughout the yard.

I would ask if you're intimate with key distances 10, 15 and 20y. Get to know these distances by shooting them marked, ingrain them to a point where you know what it looks and feels like, then practice unmarked shots to confirm what you ingrained.

Just to practice unmarked random shots will work but learning what the actual known distance looks and feels like can speed up the learning process.

I forgot to add knowing the distance can also help establish if your problems are more of a Form issue or distance estimating problem, that info can help you tackle the problem faster and better.

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