A turkeys hearing?

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guesswho
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Re: A turkeys hearing?

Post by guesswho »

Most really successful hunters have figured out you need to respect a birds ears as much or more than their eye's. One of the biggest mistakes I see people make is underestimating a turkeys hearing. I've seen people take themselves out of the game before it ever even started, then they wondered what went wrong.
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hawglips
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Re: A turkeys hearing?

Post by hawglips »

JUGHEAD wrote:... 2 different times now I've had turkeys that had been hung up 150+ yards away and I got up to slip away from them (to either go around or pull the ol "I'm leaving" trick) in leaves that weren't super dry and loud and the turkey would be chasing me down essentially just from hearing me walk off when I was sure he wouldn't be able to hear me walking.
That reminds me of a timid 2 year old bird that was giving me fits one morning 2 or 3 seasons ago.

He was out there about 80 yds away, gobbling at me straight off the roost, but I couldn't get him to break to me. He couldn't see me, nor I him, for the blackberries he was hiding behind.
So I decided to do a big flanking move on him. I was in some thinned pines and there were hardly any dry leaves, just pine straw. So, as quietly as I could, I got up and started easing away from him to start the move. And even though my footsteps were quiet, he gobbled his head off at them trying to persuade me to come his way. I was amazed that he could hear them. But he was definitely tuned in listening for footsteps.

So a lesson to be gained from it is to use their hearing and tendancy to listen for certain sounds against them. I actually consider turkey noises in the leaves to be one of the most effective calls there is. I use that all the time. And I will go so far as to say that turkeys sometimes use noises in the leaves as communication.
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BrentM
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Re: A turkeys hearing?

Post by BrentM »

They can definitely tell when the leaves change from scratching in one spot and begin moving, even if it's just a few feet. There has been more than one time I've tried to crawl towards one a little and he has ended up meeting me half way. If you have to crawl in the woods, there is no way to do it quiet enough so they can't hear you if they're close; so I always try to scratch leaves and do a few little whines when I'm crawling to make it sound more realistic. I had a bad experience crawling on public land a couple years ago though, so I'm always kinda nervous when I do it now
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GLS
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Re: A turkeys hearing?

Post by GLS »

BrentM wrote: I had a bad experience crawling on public land a couple years ago though, so I'm always kinda nervous when I do it now
One thing I've learned is that even on private property you can never assume that someone else isn't there. I know of at least two incidents in my area where the assumption that no one else could've been present on private property led to someone getting shot.
I, too, have crawled, but I know better...
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Re: A turkeys hearing?

Post by Turkey Talker »

i find it interesting that most studies done have come to 0 conclusions thanks to the backpocket funding of companies such as NWTF. This is something that really has been overlooked. We have focused on researching vocal frequencies and know that gobblers will react to the higher frequency calls, but we also know that a lower frequency call (long wavelengths) travels further and can reach birds up to a mile and a half away. I personally believe that their hearing is BETTER than their vision. A turkey can separate contrasts in colors at 100 yards away. Its amazing, but they have "flat" vision and need to take multiple "snap shots" to assume predators or object distance. Birds have a hard time discerning distances while flying up to a roost, but man can they catch you pickin your nose at some serious distance. They have no skin tags near their ears (like our ear cartilage and tragus that protects our hearing) which allows them 360 degrees of audible intake.
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Re: A turkeys hearing?

Post by Gobbler »

Turkey Talker wrote:i find it interesting that most studies done have come to 0 conclusions thanks to the backpocket funding of companies such as NWTF. This is something that really has been overlooked. We have focused on researching vocal frequencies and know that gobblers will react to the higher frequency calls, but we also know that a lower frequency call (long wavelengths) travels further and can reach birds up to a mile and a half away. I personally believe that their hearing is BETTER than their vision. A turkey can separate contrasts in colors at 100 yards away. Its amazing, but they have "flat" vision and need to take multiple "snap shots" to assume predators or object distance. Birds have a hard time discerning distances while flying up to a roost, but man can they catch you pickin your nose at some serious distance. They have no skin tags near their ears (like our ear cartilage and tragus that protects our hearing) which allows them 360 degrees of audible intake.
WHAT THE? You Nerd! :lol: :lol: I'm changing your user name to HIGGINS!

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Hoobilly
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Re: A turkeys hearing?

Post by Hoobilly »

Gobbler wrote:
Turkey Talker wrote:i find it interesting that most studies done have come to 0 conclusions thanks to the backpocket funding of companies such as NWTF. This is something that really has been overlooked. We have focused on researching vocal frequencies and know that gobblers will react to the higher frequency calls, but we also know that a lower frequency call (long wavelengths) travels further and can reach birds up to a mile and a half away. I personally believe that their hearing is BETTER than their vision. A turkey can separate contrasts in colors at 100 yards away. Its amazing, but they have "flat" vision and need to take multiple "snap shots" to assume predators or object distance. Birds have a hard time discerning distances while flying up to a roost, but man can they catch you pickin your nose at some serious distance. They have no skin tags near their ears (like our ear cartilage and tragus that protects our hearing) which allows them 360 degrees of audible intake.
WHAT THE? You Nerd! :lol: :lol: I'm changing your user name to HIGGINS!

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hahahahahaha :shock: seriously, that man has some talent on turkey...I wonder if he is the same guy who raised that flock to turkeys on youtube? :lol:
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savduck
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Re: A turkeys hearing?

Post by savduck »

Ever wonder how a hen goes to a non gobbling gobbler. I think its low frequency stuff like his drumming. Im very hard of hearing...cant tell you how many deer Ive let walk under the stand and never heard them. Same with turkeys, Ive only heard a few spit and drum, and when I do they are usually close.

I have however gotten on some public land gobblers that would hang up 100 yards out or so, and go to drumming, and I could hear them. im a firm believer that they use more low frequency sounds than we think.
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Re: A turkeys hearing?

Post by Turkey Talker »

sheesh, i guess im a research nerd???
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Re: A turkeys hearing?

Post by Gobbler »

:lol: :lol: :lol:
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