Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Bowhunting Never and always don't apply to archery hunting

I've killed a lot of turkeys with arrows. I think I have the facts down pretty good with what works what doesn't and where to shoot them.

I even think I can predict shot placement very good and the reaction to the shot. Having said this, I believed that if you take the legs away they cannot run and cannot jump for lift off to fly. I've seen this 100% of the time in 30 plus years of shooting them with archery kit.

I had a buddy hunting my farm this year. He switched to rage hypodermics based on my success with them. He had to show me the video of his last hunt here.

18 yards broadside shot, through the meat of the drumstick and exiting the opposite drumstick. Both legs broken. Turkey flops end over end and lays still. Game over right?

Nope .......now turkey starts flapping wings hard.....lifting off the ground and flys 200 yards across my west pasture. Crash lands and lays still. He stops video and walks over. As he approaches from 20 yards turkey begins flapping hard then lifting off and flying several hundred yards across the river. There is blood feathers and chunks of blood clots and meat all around the spot it landed.

Drive around and see the turkey laying again in neighbors pasture. Another shot puts him down for good.

Looking at the first hit, I don't know how the organs remained inside. The back 25% of the bird is wide open from that 2" wide broad head.

New "fact" turkeys are not likely to be able to fly with legs taken out. However if you're unlucky enough to kill one of these terminator turkeys that can repair itself and continue to escape. Then it may have the "guts" to figure out how to get away leaving you scratching your head in disbelief!

They are tough birds. I help a friend look for one. It was facing him when he shot it in the crop, with a .30-06 IIRC. It flopped around leaving bloody grain in a 5 foot circle, then ran off, leaving a blood trail like a deer for 50 yards. The trail stopped, I guess as he took off flying. We never found him.

It took me a while to figure it out, but never and always don't apply to much in life.

always don't say never

Turkeys shot with expendables always remind me of a PEZ dispenser.

I have killed at least 20 turkeys with archery equipment. And I have seen quite a few others arrow them. Unlike the OP, I used fixed heads.
I have shot and have seen several other guys take out both legs of Tom turkeys. In all our cases, that has been "game over" for the turkey. I am not at all dismissing the OP experience.
I'm glad to know that is some cases they can still get air borne.
They are very tough birds.

Thanks for sharing this information. I am always amazed how tough these birds are.