3-D Archery Practice

Recently a friend of mine, Mike, introduced me to a 3-D course in our area, Country Woods Archery and 3-D range (Saint Johns, MI). I have had my bow for a few months now, and jump at every chance I get to practice. Until I made the trek to Country Woods, my practice consisted mainly of shooting at targets from known distances (20-60 yards). I had shot an indoor screen course a few times at another archery shop in the area, Arrowhead Archery (Eaton Rapids, MI), and really liked the concept behind 3-D practice. The screen course features animals in different hunting situations, and your objective is to identify the vital area, and place your arrow within it. After your shot, the "target zone" displays on the screen and your shot is scored depending on where your arrow hits. This really appealed to me because it trains you to identify the vitals on various game animals.

Since the weather here in MI has finally broke, outdoor 3-D is a new practice option available. I have shot the outdoor 3-D at Country Woods twice now, and am really impressed at the quality of practice it delivers. There are 30 targets in the course and they are each at varying distances (20-50 yards) within the woodlot. Whitetail deer, turkey, javelina, bear, elk, caribou, mountain lion, and wild pig are among the targets featured at the range. Also, the course features 3 elevated platforms as well as a couple of different blind shots.

One of the practice skills that I hope to improve on by shooting 3-D is distance recognition. It is easy to group arrows tightly at a known shot distance, but more difficult if the distance is unknown. Mike and I decided to utilize his rangefinder at the course, but not in the manner most of you might think. Both of us hoped to sharpen our distance gauging abilities, so we would both shoot at the target, and then tell each other what distance we thought the target to be at. Then, Mike would scope the target with his range finder to give the actual distance. Most of the time we both were within 5 yards of our guesses, but a few shots appeared to be closer or farther than expected. This really helps you improve your distance estimation, and I hope to see the results this fall on stand.

As mentioned earlier, the ability to identify an animal's vital area is crucial when bow hunting. Like indoor screen 3-D, the outdoor targets feature vital zones which are identified by a series of rings. Each ring corresponds to a given point value, and that is how you score your shots. Not only does this hone your vital zone recognition, but it gives you a way to measure your improvement, plus adds a little friendly competition amongst pals. I would encourage anyone who shoots a bow to try out 3-D archery practice. It presents you with the traditional benefits of practice such as form and repetition, and adds new elements like distance estimation and vital zone recognition. By shooting your bow throughout the off season, you should become more accurate in your hunting pursuits.

Turkey Broadhead Selection

Turkeys may not be as large as a whitetail, but they are just as tough. Despite their small stature, a turkey can take an arrow hit like a champ. When pursuing turkey with archery gear, the broad-head you chose to use can have a big impact on whether you close the deal. There are two common "schools of thought" out there for which type of broad-head to use: big juicy mechanical heads or decapitator heads.

Decapitator heads are designed to do just what their name implies, to take a turkey's head off. When using these broad-heads, you want to aim for the turkey's head and neck area. Decapitator heads often feature a cutting diameter of 3" and feature two perpendicular blades. Two of the most popular ones are: The Gobbler Guillotine and the Magnus Bullhead. Although effective at achieving their goal, these types of broad-heads can be challenging to tune and do not fly well at distances over 20 yards.

Big mechanical broad-heads are another popular choice for turkey. Some popular models include: G5 Tekan, Rage 2 Blade, Grim Reaper, and NAP Spitfire Gobbler Getter. These broad-heads feature blades that deploy upon impact, and feature larger cutting diameters than most fixed blades. They are easier to tune and most have "field tip" flight characteristics allowing them to be shot at greater distances. Because turkey's have a small vital area, it is to your advantage to use a large cutting diameter broad-head of at least 1.5". Turkeys do not bleed very much, so it is imperative to make contact with the vitals or a main artery. When shooting this type of broad-head, there are three shot opportunities that will allow you to place a fatal shot. When standing broadside, you should aim for the vitals, which are located directly above the leg near the center of the wing. If the tom is facing you, you should aim for his beard. The third shot is from behind, in which case you should place your arrow in the middle of it's back, or give it the ole Texas heart shot.


As I mentioned above, a large cutting diameter mechanical broad-head is optimal for turkey. Because of this, I have chosen to run the Rage 2 blade (100 grain) in my pursuits this spring. The biggest selling point here is the large cutting diameter of 2+ inches, and it actually hyper-extends to 2.5 inches while deploying. Essentially, this expands your kill zone greatly, and increases your odds of hitting vitals or arteries while leaving a nasty wound channel. Another reason I chose to go with the Rage 2's is that they fly more like field tips than a decapitator head would, and they are much easier to tune. The other thing that sold me on the Rage's were their "slip cam" design, which allows the blades to fully deploy before piercing the hide.


When choosing a turkey broad-head, you must first consider what type of shot you are going to be taking and at what distance. The decapitator heads offer great performance when aiming for a turkey's head or neck, and large diameter mechanical broad-heads work best for body shots. Whatever broad-head you choose, make sure you select one that will fulfill your needs.

Archery Turkey Challenges

T-minus 5 days until my turkey season begins and it looks like the weather here in MI is going to warm up just in time. I have been seeing more and more thunder chickens and I don't know whose fired up more, the toms or me! This will be my first year pursuing turkey and I am going to try to take one with my bow. Lately, I have been absorbing all the information I can and have a plan of attack in place. Because of their keen eye sight, bow hunting turkeys can present extra challenges. The biggest obstacle is being able to draw back your bow undetected. The best way to counter this is to hop into a blind. Unfortunately, I do not have this luxury.....yet.

In order to conceal my movement while drawing my bow, I will have to use natural features to my advantage. One possibility is to look for a "natural blind." This can be anything from a downed treetop to an area with thick vegetation. A small pair of clippers can come in real handy, and you can cut branches or boughs to help conceal yourself, plus they can help you "trim" up a shooting lane. Another tactic I may try is to line up a large tree between myself and a approaching turkey, as this would give a brief chance to draw.

I have learned that decoys are imperative to helping an archer. These give the tom something else to focus on, and can also aid in getting them into range. If you face your decoy towards you, a turkey will naturally want to walk around and face it head on. For bow-hunting, this can be an excellent moment to draw, especially if the tom is in full strut with his tail feathers obscuring his view.

In order to minimize movement, I have decided to use a mouth call if I am out solo. Turkey calling is new to me, but I am no longer sounding like a sick bird! I keep my call in my truck and practice while driving, this definitely will solicit some funny looks. However, I have been listening to turkey sounds and am fairly confident I have the Yelp down.

Well, now that I have a plan laid out to overcome the challenges associated with archery hunting turkey, I feel more confident. Hopefully in the next couple weeks, I will have a success post. After all, I love it when a plan comes together!!