A Few More Turkeys

We got out for one more trip to Nebraska. I knew the hunting would be tough as the shotgunners had been after them for a few weeks, but boy...it was TOUGH! It was the first time that I have ever been skunked in Nebraska.

I hid under a thick cedar tree with my leafy shirt on and called in a few jakes. The largest was 25 yards away from me, and had no idea I was in the vicinity until an arrow passed through his feathers. I was livid with myself for missing. 

This set up produced a 7 yard shot. Unfortunately it did not produce a bird. My buddy Paul was set up here, and he gave off a few of the softest yelps he could muster. 15 minutes later a few jakes showed up. Any loud calling would make every gobbling turkey in the country shut up.

 

I was so confident in this set up that I took pictures of it counting on this being the last thing a turkey saw. Unfortunately all the turkeys stayed on some private land about 1/2 mile away.
 

Colorado Turkey Hunting:

Danny had shoulder surgery a few months ago. He cannot shoot his bow but that doesn't stop him from getting out and hunting and scouting new country. Last week Danny made a 10.5 mile hike according to the GPS, and in that hike he turned up two gobbling turkeys. They were on him so fast that both toms busted him.

Yesterday Danny went up with our good friend Andy. They saw a group of about 30 bull elk. A few of them looked like they are going to be dandies!

 

 

Like the previous week, they heard some gobbling but not much. There just aren't many turkeys in this area. Early in the morning they called in a gobbler from at least a 1/2 mile away. He hung up at 50 yards and they weren't able to close the deal.

After a big hike they were heading back to the truck and spotted a group of 5 jakes. The jakes were unresponsive to calling, so they circled wide and ambushed them. Two shots later Danny and Andy doubled up on mountain birds. 

Danny put in over 20 miles of hiking to kill these turkeys.

Danny and I are heading to Idaho in three days for a spot and stalk bear hunt. We have never been up there and are going completely on our own. A good friend pointed out a few drainages on a map and said there are bears there. We'll see! Be sure to check back because at the very least I count on having some great pictures of beautiful country.

Turkey Videos and Shot Placement Commentary

Well I finally got the turkey videos from opening weekend up on YouTube.

Lets take a look at these shots, and I will offer my comments on the shot placement and the effects of each shot.

Let me start by saying that it is extremely difficult to guarantee shot placement on an animal this small, and one that moves around as much as turkeys do. For this reason I shoot the largest broadhead that I can get to fly well. Because the chances are high that an arrow will go through non-vital portions of the turkey, I want to cause as much damage as possible to create as quick of a death as possible. It's not like turkeys are large birds, so a large broadhead does a lot of damage. But at the same time they can be incredibly difficult to kill. My experience has led me to become a firm, firm believer in LARGE broadheads for turkeys.

We'll start with the turkey that I killed on opening morning. Watch the video first and then we'll discuss the outcome.



The turkey died at the spot last seen in the video.

You can see that I missed by shooting higher and to the left of where I would ideally like to shoot.

Having seen several turkeys shot in this exact same place I knew that this turkey would not go too far. You can see the damage done to the turkeys leg by the way he was walking. It would have been difficult or impossible for him to fly away.

I was shooting an extremely wide four bladed broadhead. The bloodtrail from the spot of the shot to where the turkey died would make any deer hunter happy. You can even see the blood pumping out of him in the video. So, while I don't recommend this spot to shoot a turkey in, I have seen it be quite lethal, several different times.

Next lets take a look at the turkey my Dad shot.

This turkey required a follow up arrow a short time after the initial shot.

This was a breast shot and did not pass through any vitals. The shot should have been further back, towards the intersection drawn.

We knew right away that it would require some time to recover this turkey. Lucky for us he stayed within our sight for the entire time. The turkey laid down on a hill, so Dad came up the back side of the hill, while I walked straight towards the turkey. He ran up the hill and Dad met him on the other side. The turkey was too weak to fly and had a hard time running.

I truly believe that if we had pursued this turkey right away we would have never gotten him. He would have had the strength to run or fly well out of our sight. Also, I think it helped that we were able to watch him for a long time and see where he laid down. Had he wanted to I am sure he could have covered quite a bit of ground before laying down.

All in all, I hate this spot to shoot a turkey, it usually leads to very difficult recoveries, and almost always requires a follow up shot. But sometimes you get lucky!

Now lets take a look at the turkey that Ashley shot.



As you can see Ashley made a great shot (third time's a charm!) and the turkey died on the spot. She completely took out the far leg and it was barely salvageable to eat.





I would also like to share my thoughts on shot placement, and my reasons why. I have been a part of around 50 turkeys shot with traditional archery gear and my opinions are based off of my observations from those experiences, as well as research I have done on my own.

I shoot at turkeys from any angle the shot presents itself, and I aim at the intersection of an imaginary line drawn straight up from the legs, and horizontal from just above the beard. Essentially this is the top of the hips for a broadside shot. I shoot here for two main reasons. One: I have a hard time picking a spot on a turkey, especially a tom in full strut. So looking straight up from the legs gives me a good reference to where his body actually is, and helps me zone in on a small aiming point. And Two: I have found that from any angle the turkey is standing, this intersection is very lethal, and kills the turkeys quite quickly.

Take a look at where I would aim at any one of these turkeys:

If I miss my aiming spot low or high I have a good chance of taking out the turkeys hips, and a turkey that cannot run very well cannot fly, so recovery is easier. A shot that is a little too far forward is still within the body of the bird, and a shot that is a little too far back will shoot through the guts of the bird and allow for an easy recovery. In two of the videos below you'll see shots that were both too far forward and too far back. Both turkeys were recovered without problem, one dying in sight, and one requiring a follow up shot (but the bird was too weak to fly).

I have lost too many turkeys over the years. However, since aiming for the birds hips, my success rate in killing turkeys has been 100% for the last few years. Losing a wounded bird can, unfortunately, be easy. A turkey that flies away is very hard to find, and they can hide as good as a pheasant. By taking out their hips I have seen a dramatic increase in the ease of recovering my own turkeys.

Hopefully I'll have some more videos later on this season! Check back in the next few weeks!

>>---->Tommy

Anniversary Hunt

My first turkey hunt was over the last few days of March and the first few days of April in 1992. We had a great hunt and got in to birds left and right. At one point a big tom ran up and gobbled 5 yards away from me (that's a big deal to a 10 year old!). On the last day of the hunt, April 2nd, my 10th birthday, Dad and I hid under a big cedar tree and called a flock of turkeys right to us. My Dad shot his first turkey that day with a Bighorn recurve. What a birthday present for me! To say that I was excited wouldn't do it justice. I remember driving in the truck, looking at the stars, and telling my Dad that it was the best day of my life.

That recurve made it's way around the country to a few different states and in the hands of a few different owners. Earlier this year we got a call from a gentlemen in Arizona (I think) who said he had a recurve to sell to us. Well dang if it wasn't that same bow from 20 years ago. I had to have it, so I bought it myself, and vowed that I would kill a turkey with that bow this year.

After a great opening weekend in Nebraska we headed back out for round two. This time it was just my Dad, my Mom, and I. I really wanted my Mom to get a turkey, and it was just pure dumb luck that I ended up shooting one myself. I guess it was fate.

On this particular morning we had toms coming and going from a lot of different directions. A low pitched "vrooom" got all of our attention. My Mom had never heard a turkey drum before, so when I told her there were some turkeys behind us she thought I was crazy. But sure enough, three big gobblers were making their way down the hill behind us.

The turkeys made their way to the front of our blind and were approaching our decoys. My Mom had her bow ready to go! The toms were mere steps from walking in to the window of the blind and giving my mom a shot when they suddenly turned around. I couldn't take it, so I grabbed my bow while Dad dropped the side window on the blind. I pulled that 20 year old bow back and let fly a cedar arrow with a big Snuffer leading the way.

The shot was perfect, the turkey was facing away when I hit him. He flipped around, flew across a small creek, and died on the bank not five seconds after I shot him.

Just as I was watching him lay down I hear a put, turn around, and see that we have another big tom in our decoys. As I sat down mom got few shots off, but all she hit were feathers. Bummer! She has never shot a turkey with a recurve and it would have been something else to shoot a double with my Mom (how many people can say that?).

The turkey died on the bank, we could just see him through the trees from our blind.

 

Quite a birthday present, both then, and now, 20 years later.

Dad and I had talked about doing this hunt for a few years now. What good luck that I was able to shoot the same bow that he did all those years ago. This time the bow is not leaving the family!

No better moments than walking back to the truck after a successful morning with my parents! I can not wait until I'm making these kinds of memories with my own son. 

2012 Nebraska Opener

Man! Cabin fever was really starting to set in, a trip to Nebraska for their opening weekend of turkey season was the perfect prescription. We went out and hunted with my cousin, Chad. This was an exceptionally good opener as the weather was extremely nice and the large winter flocks are already starting to really break up.

The season opened on Sunday. On Saturday the local range was having a 3D shoot, no better way to warm up for turkey season than hitting the range! We had a great time, and the weather was almost too nice.

Dad bearing down on a javi

 Chad whipped up on all of us 

 Ashley has pretty solid form for a newer shooter!

On to the hunting! 

Day 1:

We have hunted this place quite a bit so we were familiar with how the turkeys moved about this property and where their main roosts were. We came up with a plan that we thought would be solid. 

The first morning of the hunt I sat in the blind with my Dad while Danny and his girlfriend Ashley went a few hundred yards down the field in the opposite direction. There were extremely large flocks roosting at both ends of the field, as well as large flocks in adjacent properties. They all usually converge in this corn field to do their morning feeding before heading up in the open hills to spend their days.

Here's a look at our general plan and how we set up on opening morning.

As you can see, we did not want to set up too close to the roost. These birds are in their gigantic winter flocks at the moment, but they utilize these roosts throughout the year. We wanted to hunt them a few days in a row, so we tried to coax some in after fly-down, and once they left the field we went and hunted somewhere else until the following morning.

The vocalization was intense, the first three hours of the day was non-stop hen talk. The toms and jakes were yackin' it up as well. Before they flew down the gobbling sounded like a constant thunderstorm. Once they hit the ground the gobbling slowed down more and more as the morning went on. After a few hours of being on the ground they all but quit gobbling.

The toms were not really that callable. They were perfectly content to stick close to the hens spitting and drumming their hearts out. As we have done in the past, we called a lot hoping to bring the hens our way. Our plans worked out well.

After an hour or so of observing the turkeys they finally made their way to our end of the field. Once some of the hens got close we picked up our calling tempo which brought them to within feet of our decoys. Naturally, some jakes and toms followed them over.

I am not picky on shooting turkeys, jake or tom it does not matter one bit to me. With a few jakes at 15 yards and a nice tom at 20 yards, I shot at the jakes. I think I had a pebble in my shoe which was greatly distracting me ;) so my first shot went high/left by a few inches. The jakes all ran out a few yards further and were now standing next to the tom, 20 yards away. I quickly grabbed another arrow and put it on the string. This time I took aim at the tom sitting there strutting.

I usually aim straight up from the legs, at about beard height. My arrow hit him a little behind the legs. The turkey gimped out 75 yards or so with blood absolutely pooring out of him. He bedded down and died a very short time later.

 

I was shooting my Rampart longbow and a Sasquatch broadhead. I'm a big fan of the largest broadhead I can find for turkeys. I think that it paid off on this tom with my "less than ideal" shot placement.

A big ol' Sasquatch broadhead. I am sure happy I had this wide broadhead on the end of my arrow, it did its job.

I love when the guys are waiting at the truck, and I round the corner with a bird on my shoulder! :) I love it just as much when I can see another bird on the ground at the truck. The camaraderie is one of the best parts about hunting!

A few hundred yards down the field Ashley was getting quite the introduction to turkey hunting. Ashley played DI softball at Purdue University, and she is one tough gal. Danny was just four days out of shoulder surgery, so Ashley was the one who had to carry in the pack with two chairs and the blind.

Wave after wave of turkeys came past the corner of the field where they set their blind. Turkeys can be such easy targets to miss. On Ashley's first shot her arrow sailed harmlessly over the turkeys back. A little while later another jake came by, this time she got some feathers. She was stepping it in. The third jake that came by didn't have a prayer. The third shot was so perfect that the turkey didn't even run 3 yards, it died on the spot.

This was Ashley's first successful bowhunt, or any hunt for that matter. She has been practicing like crazy, and is quite the shot by now. Once she got her nerves under control the turkeys had no chance!

Ashley was shooting a Rampart recurve and a big ol' Magnus 4 blade broadhead. She got her first bow late last winter and has become a great shot in the past few months. 

I was so glad I got to be there on Ashley's first turkey hunt. I only wish I could have been in the blind with her and Danny.

Day 2:

The following morning it was my Dad's turn to shoot. We set up in the same field directly opposite of where we were the first morning. There was some thick fog that allowed us to cross the field, completely confident in doing so without spooking any roosted turkeys.

The second morning we only saw about half of the birds that we saw the first morning. The turkeys took their time flying down from the roost. I am not sure but I think that the thick fog may have had something to do with it. They also took their time making their way in to our field, but they eventually did.

One of the first groups of hens to enter our field had about five toms with them. Two of the toms broke from the group and charged in at our decoys. I had out a Primos Jake-Mobile decoy. The first big tom ran up to it and postured a bit, as if he was going to get to spurring the decoy.

I was about to freak out because Dad was taking his sweet time picking an opportunity to shoot him. I had the video camera running and the turkey wasn't far from leaving the video screen. I hate when somebody urges me to shoot, so I generally try not to do that to others, but my nerves got the best of me as I told my Dad three times to "SHOOT!"

Well he finally shot. We have had a lot of discussions about where to shoot turkeys, and heck, my Dad even wrote an article about it for this blog a year ago. But when you're in the moment sometimes it can be easy to forget to really pick that spot. Dad hit this turkey exactly where he was aiming, problem was, he aimed too far forward and shot the turkey right through the breast. When they are in full strut it can be very deceiving where their body is.

You can see where Dad hit this turkey. His shot was far too forward. He should have aimed straight above the turkey's legs.

I was convinced that he missed and only shot through feathers, but Dad insisted that he hit him. The turkey ran away and joined the main group out in the middle of the field. Around 20 minutes later we noticed one turkey had separated itself from the main group and was just standing there, not looking around, not pecking the ground, just kind of standing there. I started to think that maybe Dad was right, maybe he did hit that tom. Through our binos we kept an eye on that bird. Not too long later and he went up this small hill and bedded down. That was a good sign, and for the first time after the shot I got excited that Dad got him.

The hill across the field where the bird bedded down.

Zommed in and you can see him better. 

After the turkeys left the field Dad circled wide of that hill and came up the back side. I went towards the turkey, which hobbled to the top of the hill. Dad was waiting there for him with a Simmons tipped arrow. 

Here's Dad punching his tag. The old man was right...again. He sure did hit that turkey, but it goes to show how important shot placement can be for turkeys. Had the main flock not been in an open field it would have been easy for this tom to find a better hiding spot, where recovering him would have been much more difficult.

Dad was shooting his Hawk recurve. He shot this turkey with a Sasquatch broadhead and finished him off with a Simmons Shark. Another testament for big broadheads on less than ideal shots on turkeys.

Dad and I with his tom.

We are headed back to Nebraska next weekend to hunt again. On April 2nd I turn 30 years old. My wife loves to remind me of it too. On my 10th birthday my Dad and I were hunkered under a cedar tree where he shot a turkey with his Bighorn recurve - my first turkey hunt and one heck of a birthday present! Since then that recurve has made its way to several owners in several states, and then by pure happenstance it is now back in my hands. I'll be shooting that same Bighorn, exactly 20 years later, to try and kill my own turkey with it. We should have a fun time!

Voice Calling Turkeys

Wrestling has been a passion in my life right alongside traditional archery. The NCAA Wrestling Championships were in St. Louis last weekend. I haven't missed one in 14 years, Danny and I make the annual trip to watch the tournament no matter where it is.

This year we drove out there with a friend and his two sons (two of the best youth wrestlers in the country). Like us, this family lives and breaths two things - wrestling and hunting. Of course driving through Kansas and Missouri brought up a lot of turkey stories.

Wyatt is ten years old. He is an extremely accomplished wrestler for a young man of his age, and he is also a hunting fanatic. He has called in and killed turkeys with his voice, and it is no surprise! Check this out!

Early Turkey Season Bow Hunting

Written By Chad Graham

Here in western Nebraska the Cardinals have begun to sing. Every year the arrival of cardinals gets my blood pumping as they remind me that turkey season is near. Since I am lucky enough to spend quite a bit of time watching and hunting turkeys I thought I would submit a blog about the pros and cons of early turkey season. This blog may be beneficial for first time turkey hunters and for the customers of the shop planning to hunt early season in Western Nebraska or Kansas.

The first thing to realize is that the turkeys will most likely still be in large wintering flocks for the first week or two of bow season. This varies from year to year and is dependent upon the weather. Last year the turkeys did not leave their primary wintering area until the second week of the season where I hunt. There was not a turkey to be seen in one of my prime "opening weekend" spots. Two years ago Tommy and I had 5 shots opening morning at the same place. Some scouting a day or two in advance will greatly enhance your chances.

Past opening weekend success for Chad and Tommy 

Expect to find very large groups of hens with a couple toms mixed in. The majority of jakes and toms will be in separate flocks away from the hens. Usually around the end of March some toms will begin to intermingle with the hens, but many will remain in bachelor groups. I have often seen large groups of jakes together for the first three weeks of the season. Though they are in separate groups during the day, most of the time the hens jakes and toms will all roost in the same general area.

The turkeys will be just beginning to search out new food sources, further from their wintering grounds, which have most likely been depleted. If you know where the turkeys winter you will have a good idea where to start looking, they will not be far from where you saw them during late deer season. 

Early season I look for corn and bean fields which still have some feed available. The edges of feedlots and winter wheat fields are also good places to look for feeding turkeys early in the morning. Later in the season turkey food sources really expand and the feeding areas are more difficult to pattern. During the early season the turkeys follow a more set pattern and are very easy to ambush. 

I generally don’t like to set up right on the roost, especially in the evening, if I plan to hunt the same turkeys for more than one day. The turkeys tend to fly down from the roost, go to feed, and then they find a secluded loafing area to spend most of the day. I have seen turkeys travel 1/4 to 1/2 mile or more to their loafing area after they feed. On wide wooded river bottoms with cover they tend to loaf in thick heavily wooded areas. In areas along creek bottoms with sparse cover the turkeys loaf on open hills, away from roads and often a good distance from the creek bottom. Transition areas between the food sources and loafing areas are a great place to ambush the turkeys. By not hunting the roost and not disturbing the primary feeding area you will ensure at least a couple days hunting the same flock in the same pattern. If you only have one day, set up right on the food source before daylight and just outside of sight of the roost if possible. 

See those fans mixed in with all the hens? These toms were not callable, though the flock did 

walk past our blind this day, which was placed in between the turkeys feeding area (the corn field) 

and their loafing area (the wide open hills).

Generally there will be a small number of toms within a large group of hens. Expect those toms to be difficult to call in. If you don’t ambush them there is little chance of getting those birds. The smaller groups of rogue jakes and toms are a great early season target. They are not fired up yet  but be patient. Many times it has taken several hours to call a group in. Keep after them, they almost always come, maybe just out of curiosity. It will not be as easy to locate these smaller groups of birds as they seem to be less predictable, but it is worth the effort. 

On an exceptionally good opening day we were able to call in group after group of toms. After being within earshot of the main group of turkeys, the toms finally came to investigate our calling. It took them three hours to finally come in. This morning seemed to be a bust at first, but turned out to be one of the best days of hunting I've ever experienced. You never know what you might get, especially with good weather.

Hens can be extremely vocal this time of the year. I have often had success by making A LOT of noise, which has brought in the hens, who in turn bring in the toms. Be careful doing this though, and let the situation dictate the amount of your calling. That much calling can just as easily move the turkeys the other way. If hens are responsive then calling to them can sometimes be a good idea.

This small group of hens came charging in to our calls and two toms followed them, away from the main group. Tom Sr killed the bigger of the two this day.

Groups of jakes tend to travel around during the day, more so than the hens. Gobbling is mostly limited to early morning and dusk, so don’t plan to locate many birds gobbling during the mid day. Cover will be limited as the grasses and weeds have yet to come out of hibernation and the trees have not budded. This is to the hunter's advantage as turkeys stick out like a sore thumb, especially in the roost. Later in the season the turkeys will be much harder to find as they will be in small flocks and will be easily hidden by tall grasses, weeds and tree leaves. Even in early season your best weapon is a good pair of binoculars. Be sure to check the weather, cold rain really seems to limit turkey movements. I have seen turkeys sit in one place for 6-7 hours during cold rainy days. Extreme wind will play havoc on your blind, decoys and mutes out your calling. If you can only get away for one weekend I think it is best to wait for good weather, later in the season when the turkeys are more active.

Early Season Pros –

1. No ticks or mosquitoes.

2. If you find birds you get to see lots of them. Big groups of turkeys are fun to just sit and watch.

3. The large flocks are easily located, there is minimal cover to hide birds.

4. There are large groups of jakes and young toms.

5. The birds are not quite as wary as they are later in the season.

Early Season Cons –

1. Snow, rain and wind can ruin a hunt. Access can also be difficult.

2. The turkeys could still be in the wintering area and may not be in an area where you can hunt them yet.

3. Minimal gobbling – turkeys are not fired up.

4. It can be difficult to draw a gobbler away from the large groups of hens.

5. Once you bust the flock, you may be done for the day (or several days if it is at a roosting area).

Bow Selling Statistics

I have been keeping tract of the bows we sell in our store for a while now. My sample is quite large but only representative of my store, not the market as a whole.

I am including these statistics in my blog for a few reasons.

• Primarily because it is just interesting to see for your own reference. 
• If you are a bow maker it is handy information.
• Since most of our customers are hunters, it is interesting to note that they chose a length of 61.10". A nice compromise between shootability and maneuverability. 
• Not long ago quite a few people shot bows of 60# and up (only 8% of my customers today!). It took a while for people to realize that elk sized animals can be consistently and reliably killed with lighter bows. That old school mentality still exists among certain people, and can hurt a bowhunter's confidence in buying a light bow (when I say light I mean relative to what used to be normal, so in this case, 50# is "light"). I want a customer with a 50# bow to feel confident, knowing that he is not alone in his choice of bow weight.
• If you are looking at selling your bow in the winter months, and are discouraged that nobody seems interested, it might be worth noting that their isn't as much demand in those months.

These stats do not include kid's bows, or "beginner" bows like the Samick.

The vast majority of all bows sold in this study were sold to hunters as opposed to target shooters (my observation). Only 3% of the bows we have sold have been under Colorado's legal hunting weight limit of 35#.


Average weight = 50.25# @ 28"
Average length = 61.10" AMO
Average price = $450.64
55% are recurves
45% are longbows
62% are 1 piece
37% are 3 piece takedowns
91% are right handed
64% are used

Here are the most popular makers in order. These include both new and used sales (these stats are skewed specifically towards my store and do not represent the market as a whole in any way, these numbers are more influenced by availability and price point rather than popularity) :
Spirit - 16%
Rampart - 13%
Bear - 12%
Wapiti - 6%
Mohawk - 6%
Hawk - 4%
Martin - 3%
Ben Pearson - 2%
Damon Howatt - 2%
Robertson - 2%
Bighorn - 2%
The other 32% is a mix between other production and custom bows.

Note the spikes in the graph in 5# increments at 40#, 45#, 50#, 55#, and 60#. Except for those points the graph is a pretty nice bell curve. The below percentages might be more relevant. By far the most common weights are from 46-55#. 51% of all bows we sell are within that range. Guys who shoot bows over 60# are only 8% of our market.

35# and under	5.3%
36-40#	7.0%
41-45#	14.2%
46-50#	22.0%
51-55#	28.7%
56-60#	14.2%
61-65#	5.6%
66-70#	2.2%
71# and up	0.3%

The first year I kept stats I did not include Jan. and Feb. (though they are still the slowest months). This graph is not a fair representation for that reason. Recently Jan. and Feb. look close to Nov. and Dec. April has sold more bows every single year except 2011, where it was a close second to March.

January	6.1%
February	6.1%
March	9.7%
April	11.2%
May	8.2%
June	9.3%
July	9.7%
August	8.5%
September	7.2%
October	8.9%
November	7.5%
December	7.6%

In my observation, tax returns often get spent on luxury items, like bows. I believe that is why April sees such a big spike in sales which then drops off quickly in May. Throughout the summer, when people are shooting more, they buy more bows. Peaking in July and tapering off as hunting season approaches. Sales regain speed when the hunting season ends. Here in Colorado, September is the most popular bowhunting month. I would assume that the monthly graph would look quite a bit different in "whitetail" states where October and November are the most popular bowhunting months. It is cold in Jan. and Feb. and not many people are outdoors shooting. I think customers buy fewer bows in those months because they aren't shooting as often, and bows aren't on their minds. Once spring rolls around, turkeys start gobbling, and people take to the outdoors to shoot, they start buying more bows.

A few things to keep in mind: 

• Buyers are heavily influenced by local forces. Colorado buyers like to support Colorado bowyers. I have sold many bows made by local bowyers simply for that reason. Also, there are forces within specific regions of the state that also effect bow sales. For example, in different parts of this state different bows are more or less popular. You can imagine how different separate parts of the country would look!
• We sell more Spirit bows than anything else. Bryan Holley, the bowyer, builds mostly 1 piece longbows at 62". His bows are built very well and priced extremely fair. He also makes them readily available. These reasons combined equate to us selling a lot more of his bows. That skews the average length to be closer to 62" and increases the percentage of both longbows and 1 piece bows. I think (again, only my observation) that the market as a whole shoots more recurves than our stats represent, and more takedowns. Then again, Bryan does these things because he has a keen understanding of what the market desires...Are Spirit bows an anomaly based on availability and price point? Or is this what the market really desires? I suspect it is a combination of both.
• Most of our customers are primarily elk hunters. Bow weight seems to be of more concern. In a state where whitetail deer are the primary target I think that the average weight would be at least 2-3 lbs lighter (my observation).

Statistics I would like to see for my own curiosity but that I have either not documented, or don't have the means to document:

• Percentage of custom vs production
• Primary use (hunting vs target)
• Variance of preference regarding state (weight, length, month, etc)
• Average price per bow of the market as whole
• How many bows the average customer buys per year
• How many bows the average customer currently owns
• Bow length compared to the desired form of hunting (example: short bows for ground blinds)

Please read these statistics for what they are. One sample of the market based on the business I do here in Denver, CO. I do not wish for these statistics to be read as a popularity contest between bowyers or bow designs. These numbers don't lie, BUT they only tell a very small part of the story. There are only two things I feel are slightly indicative of the market in whole. 1) Bow weight. Even that is skewed by local demand for local purposes. And, 2) Average cost per bow. But that must be also be weighed against local incomes and local demands. I do sell quite a few bows out of state, which is why I think cost might be kind of relevant to the market as a whole. 

We here at the shop all do our very best to remain as objective and neutral as possible with our customers. I do not believe that I am doing a customer justice by recommending a certain bow to him. We are very conscious of allowing the customer to shoot as many bows as he can, and to then make up his own mind based on his own criteria. Now obviously we have the most experience with the local bowyers that we represent, so when concerns over warranty or stability arise, we can answer with certainty about the bowyers we have dealt the most with. I know that impacts sales, leading to more sales for local bowyers, and less for bowyers in other parts of the state. Of the out-of-state bowyers that I deal with, the longer we carry their bows the more we sell for these same reasons. 

So, while I realize that our personal opinions do persuade buyers, it is of minimal amount. We let the bows do their own talking. Any discussion of our own personal opinions are tempered by our encouragement to the customer to decide themselves by shooting various types.

I don't sell a significant amount of other styles of bows to even make a blip on my statistics. Horse bows and self bows are the two other most popular styles that I sell. I perused my list and could not find enough of both combined to account for even .02%.

In sum, I feel that this can be an interesting read if you like this stuff, with some useful information to bowyers. How it pertains to the entire country or other shops may or may not have relevance.