Turkey bowhunting is an often frustrating—but therefore all the more rewarding—sport. It takes patience, focus and, above all, attention to detail. One of those details is your broadheads. Luckily, the days of hunting with deer broadheads that miss, pass through or destroy your quarry beyond harvesting are long gone, and the market now features a number of broadheads with the features necessary to bag a gobbler. These are the five best turkey broadheads currently available.
Our Turkey Broadhead Top Picks
- Magnus Bullhead Turkey Fixed Blade Broadhead – The wide cutting diameter yet accurate shot make this the overall top pick
- Rage Xtreme Turkey Mechanical Broadhead – My recommendation for recurve bows due to the lightweight, accurate design
- Xecutioner Broadhead Turkey Necker – The huge cutting diameter and four blades make it great for neck shots
- New Archery Products Spitfire Gobbler Getter – Sharp blades and lethal shots at a great value
- Solid Broadheads Turkey D-Cap Broadhead – The high weight and large cutting diameter make it a good choice for high-powered compound bows
Note: Our individual reviews are below, but you can also click any of the links above to check current prices on Amazon and other retailers
What to Know Before You Decide on a Turkey Broadhead
How Many Grains Should a Turkey Broadhead Weigh?
Grains is a unit of weight in archery. Being made of metal, your broadhead usually adds a considerable amount of weight to the arrow, which can be a good or bad thing depending on what you’re looking for. Turkey broadheads usually range from 100 to 200 grains, and the best arrows for turkey hunting are normally between 400 and 500 grains.
More weight can give the broadhead more penetration, especially if you’re hunting deer. However, accuracy is more important when it comes to gobblers since they have a smaller kill zone, and you don’t need to penetrate as deeply. That’s why I usually recommend a lighter broadhead.
That said, if you have a high-powered compound bow that can still send heavy arrows long distances, a heavy broadhead can help punch through thick feathers or fully decapitate the bird if you take a neck shot.
Are Mechanical or Fixed-Blade Broadheads Better for Turkey Hunting?
Just like for deer, the debate between mechanical and fixed-blade broadheads for turkey hunting will never end. Honestly, I’m partial to fixed-blade broadheads just like I am for whitetails, especially if you hunt frequently. You’ll get enough practice to shoot them accurately, and you can more easily reuse them.
Some people can definitely benefit from mechanical broadheads, though. Namely, new hunters or those who hunt infrequently may find it easier to shoot mechanical broadheads accurately.
What Makes a Good Turkey Broadhead?
As opposed to deer broadheads, the best bowhunting turkey broadhead has a much larger cutting diameter. This gives you more leeway with the much smaller kill zones of turkeys so you don’t have to be perfectly accurate. It also helps prevent the broadhead from passing all the way through, which could allow the gobbler to run off and die a painful death without you even being able to harvest it.
Additionally, you want a turkey broadhead with really sharp blades. Unlike deer hunting broadheads, which need to be better at punching through thick bones and cartilage, turkey hunting broadheads have easier tissue to work with, but you’re more concerned with getting clean cuts such as full decapitation.
Can You Use Regular Deer Broadheads for Turkey Hunting?
Although turkey-specific broadheads tend to be a bit bigger than deer broadheads, you can theoretically use deer broadheads just as well for turkeys. In fact, if you’re hunting over longer distances, it may be a good idea. You’ll just need to have pinpoint accuracy. Some especially destructive deer broadheads like those with trocar tips might also do more damage to the gobbler than you’d like, destroying some of the meat.
Reviews of the 5 Best Turkey Broadheads
Best Overall: Magnus Bullhead Turkey Fixed Blade Broadhead
The Magnus Bullhead is definitely my top turkey broadhead recommendation, primarily due to its accuracy even at long distances and high speeds. This, combined with wide cutting diameters of 2-¾ inches on the 100-grain version and 3-¾ inches on the 125-grain version, means you can still take head and neck shots from longer distances, a big plus in the late season.
Also good for neck shots, the blades are tough but sharp stainless steel. You can both resharpen the blades and replace them, which is especially easy since they come with a set of replacement blades. This increases their reusability and value.
What we liked:
- Accuracy over longer distances
- Wide cutting diameters
- 2 weight versions
- Sharp blades
- Replacement blades included
Best for Recurve Bows: Rage Xtreme Turkey Mechanical Broadhead
The Xtreme is a two-blade expandable broadhead, which makes it better for chest shots than neck shots. That’s why I recommend it for recurves. Even if you’re experienced, shooting a recurve that accurately is hard, so it’s a better idea to take advantage of a mechanical broadhead like this one. Similarly, the Xtreme is just 100 grains, so you can get more distance out of your shots.
The expandable design helps improve accuracy, and it penetrates deeply thanks to the “meat hook”tip. What I found particularly impressive is how wide the cutting diameter is after the blades open: 2-¼ inches.
What we liked:
- Expandable design
- Lightweight for traditional bows
- Accurate flight
- Penetrative meat hook tip
- Wide cutting diameter
What we didn’t:
- Only 2 blades
- Shock collar mechanism not always reliable
Best for Neck Shots: Xecutioner Broadhead Turkey Necker
The reason this Xecution broadhead is called the “necker” is obvious. It has four blades and an enormous four-inch cutting diameter. That makes it a lot easier to hit the neck for an ethical kill that saves you most of the meat.
One feature you could keep in mind if considering this broadhead is its high weight of 160 grains. This gives it more kinetic energy for lethal shots, but it decreases your range unless you have a really powerful bow. As a result, I wouldn’t recommend it for recurves.
What we liked:
- 4 blades
- 4-inch cutting diameter
- Sharp .06-inch thick blades
- High kinetic energy
What we didn’t:
- Heavy
Best Value: New Archery Products Spitfire Gobbler Getter
The Spitfire Gobbler Getter is a three-blade mechanical broadhead with a reliable spring clip mechanism. This gives it an especially stream-lined design that flies straight but opens on impact, allowing the 1-½ inches of cutting diameter to do serious damage.
My favorite thing about this broadhead, though, is the sharpness of the Diamize blades. Even though that cutting diameter is a bit smaller, you still get lethal shots that penetrate well. The only issue is that these blades are so sharp because they’re razor thin, which means they’re prone to bends that make the broadhead difficult to reuse.
What we liked:
- Great value
- Spring clip deployment
- Accurate flight
- Sharp Diamize blades
- Penetrative
What we didn’t:
- Flimsy blades
- Small cutting diameter
Best for Compound Bows: Solid Broadheads Turkey D-Cap Broadhead
At 200 grains, the D-Cap packs a punch when it hits its target. It just needs a lot of power behind it to get there, which is why I recommend it for high-draw-weight and high-speed compound bows.
Part of the reason it weighs so much is that it’s so big. The cutting diameter is a massive four inches, great for taking neck shots. However, the sharpness of the blades and tip also give it good penetration if you take a chest shot.
What we liked:
- High kinetic energy
- 4-inch cutting diameter
- Accurate 3-blade design
- Sharp blades
- Penetrative tip
What we didn’t:
- Heavy