Sports Parents

For many of us, opening day of Spring turkey season finds our birds still “bunched up” and just starting to break out of their Winter flocks. There are a couple of good things about this: 1 – if you can find one of these big flocks, you are going to be treated to quite a show! It’s not uncommon to see multiple mature Toms strutting, gobbling, and even fighting as they start to establish dominance around dozens of hens. And, 2 – multiple gobblers means multiple opportunities.

 Obviously, the bad thing about hunting big flocks of turkeys is, well… you’re hunting a big flock of turkeys! It doesn’t matter how good your call sounds, chances are you are not going to call a Gobbler away from 40 or 50 hens. I like to hunt these early season birds with the same mentality that I use for deer season. Scout, scout, and scout some more. Once I’ve found a flock of birds, I try to be there at fly-down time every single morning for at least 2 weeks before season opens. If you have the opportunity to watch some turkeys day-in and day-out like this, I think you’ll find that often, they are fairly easy to pattern. Even though they may roost in different spots and rarely travel the exact same path 2 days in a row, they normally will end up in the same general area every morning. So like the saying goes, “don’t hunt ‘em where they are, hunt ‘em where they’re going to be”. For this type of hunt, I almost always use a portable blind.

In my opinion there is no better way to kill a turkey with archery gear than using a pop-up blind. Once I’ve patterned my birds, I like to set a blind up a day or two before season. I really only do this out of convenience, there is no need let the birds “get used to the blind” or “brush it in”. More often than not, I’ll set my turkey blind in the middle of an open field, with no cover around what so ever. It’s funny how a turkey will walk right past a blind that was not there the day before, without ever even giving it a second look – very different from deer! Once you’ve got your blind set, it’s really just a waiting game. Again, think of it more like deer hunting – sit back, call a little, and let the birds come to you. If your patient and you have done your homework, I think you’ll find this to be a fun and successful way of hunting early season gobblers!

 

After reading countless positive experiences from people who have used Rage broadheads, I decided to give them a try this season and have been thoroughly impressed so far.

 Upon receiving the two packages I ordered, I installed the practice tip that is included with each pack of heads. The arrow flew perfectly with my field tips at distances out to forty yards. The practice heads look the same as the real heads themselves but the blades don’t open up which ensures easy removal from your target. I was shooting into a bag target and the heads were easy pulled out after shooting. I would be hesitant to use the practice heads in a 3-d or foam target for fear they would really take some chunks out of it and decrease it life of use.

 I weighed the heads to check for grain consistency and found them to be all relatively close. The range between the heaviest and lightest of the 6 heads was only 1.9 grains. These blades are easily locked into the place when the blades fold back and click into the rubber o-rings that come with them. The buyer is also supplied with 3 replacement o-rings.

My first experience with the real head was this past week when a couple does traveled into an oak ridge. Both shots were at distances of around 30 yards. The first doe was shot slightly quartering away and the second was perfectly broadside. Neither traveled far and left remarkable blood trails that made for easy tracking even in the dim light of the overcast morning. Upon recovery of the arrows, the blades were all still intact and could probably be re-sharpened for further use, but Rage now offers replacement blades for their heads. The blood trails started within 5 yards of the location of the shot. It looked as though someone took a glass of red paint and threw it down the trail. I’ve seen great blood trails in the past from archery kills, but these topped them all.

The entry and exit holes that the 2 blade Rage created were very impressive. With a cutting diameter of 2.5 inches, there were two huge holes in both deer. In the first doe, both lungs were completely gone, and the second one nearly had her heart cut in two. Neither shot was affected by the ribs when it entered the deer. Due to the design of the head, a hunter must be conscious of shot placement. Hitting the shoulder bone would greatly decrease penetration, but that is an issue with nearly every head on the market. Both shots easily passed through coming from a 63 lbs. Switchback and 380 grain arrow. I’m excited to see the next wound these heads create!

Arrows are a very important part of your archery equipment, and although they look the same at first glance, today’s modern technology gives manufacturers the ability to make arrows out of many types of materials.  Let’s take a look at some options when choosing an arrow.

Wood arrows have been around hundreds of years when you look back at archery’s history. Today, however, wood arrows are seldom used because they offer little durability and they are not a consistently straight arrow compared to others.

Aluminum was a very popular choice up until recently, although many archers still prefer aluminum especially with target archers. The biggest con of using aluminum arrows is they are easily bendable when they hit an object other than the target. In a hunting situation, when the arrow passes through the animal and strikes the ground, rocks, or trees, they can bend slightly without the hunter knowing. The next time the arrow is shot, you will have inconsistent results.

Carbon has become the popular choice of bow hunters because it is very durable and will not bend. The arrow is either straight or will break from hitting a hard object. Carbon is very light weight for the amount of material actually needed to make an arrow. Some companies also combine other materials to the carbon such as Kevlar, which makes the arrow even more durable. One thing to keep in mind when using carbon arrows is to make sure the arrows hasn’t splintered from use. This can cause injury if a splintered arrow decides to break apart on the shot.