Compound or Trad Bow Without Blind

[Brandon Pattison]

I have a hatred for sitting in a blind or treestand. How many of you consistently kill turkeys without a blind and what techniques do you employ? I am all ears.

 

[hobbes]

Watch trkyslr's video in the "which decoy......" thread. I would suspect the traditional bow's length would require some serious cant to draw in the seated position that they employ in the video.

 

[Brandon Pattison]

Thank you. I was thinking along the lines of a Heads Up Decoy. How much do they weigh though? Is it a lot of torque?

 

[justin davis]

I've killed handful of birds in Colorado with my bow. I used a blind on one of them. The others were killed "run and gun" style as well as stalking.

I usually don't evn carry decoys. I hunt a lot in the timber and find that the timber hides the decoys a bit.

The heads up decoy is cool thou! That's forsure

 

[StrutNut]

I too have had luck running and gunning without a blind. I often think we limit ourselves because we mentally think we need a blind. Archers really dont. The biggest issue is not getting them in close and drawing your bow, its being on your knees or standing up for extended periods of time. I have also had success in open prairies sneaking on them from behind. Typically the tom is at the rear following in full strut and makes for a great shield on your approach. If its really flat it is not as easy as I can make up ground quickly if there are small cuts or hills. If you busted pull back quickly, seems like slow movement is worse than moving really quickly. Also, I never really put myself in thick cover. I want to be able to draw my bow back. Its more timing than anything. You will make mistakes but its a lot more fun than sitting in a blind all day.

 

[Brandon Pattison]

I hunt in a flat area.

 

[Jimss]

What state are you planning on hunting and what months? Where I've hunted in Nebraska things change dramatically from the archery season through the end of the season in May. Generally speaking the turkeys are in large flocks early in April which can be a challenge. Toms generally are a little tougher to call or decoy away from large turkey groups until they start scattering later in the spring. With that many sets of turkey eyes they are also a lot tougher to stalk early in the season. Just about anything can happen towards the middle of the season. By the end of the season the hens have started laying eggs and toms are often wandering around in the late morning/afternoon searching for hens. Obviously different times of year offer different tactics. With that said, you can run and gun the entire season but it can be tougher early. If you have lots of country to hunt it's pretty easy to hike around until you spot birds, set up a decoy or 2 and try to call them to you.

 

[Brandon Pattison]

Michigan. Thanks, Jimss.