Gobbler Nation

The shortcomings thread got me to thinking about this.

Who else besides me cannot hear a turkey drum? Too many dove hunts as a youth without ear plugs I guess. I can hear and range gobbling perfect, but I can't hear a turkey drum. I know what it sounds like, I found a youtube vidoe with a turkey drumming and had to put on headphones and turn it up to hear it. I guess that range of hearing is shot for me. Been hunting with a buddy and him saying "He's coming, the drumming is getting closer" and all I hear is slience unless he gobbles. I' ve even tried to "feel it" as some would say, the vibration in my chest when they are really close and drumming, nothing so far. It sucks.

Man thats terrible.. Best sound a turkey makes, cuz you know your gonna shoot him soon.

I have a feeling with me waterfowling I will be in your shoes shortly

I also have friends who can track gobblers by their drumming. I can count on half my fingers on one hand the number of times I've heard drumming. I can hear the spit and my long range hearing is better than most on gobbling. When I was in my mid-20s I couldn't hear it so I think I was born with the inability to hear the low range. I haven't shot my hearing out--yet. I took a 25 year break from shotgunning except for turkey hunting and when I developed loads and patterned loads, it was always with double hearing protection. On all wingshooting but turkeys, it's with hearing protection. Gil

I hate that for you. It's intense for me. It is one of those sounds that is difficult to get an exact direction on many times which only amplifies the excitement for me. I love hearing him knowing he is almost in gun range but cannot figure out just where he is. Some can hear it and just don't identify it as turkey. You learn to key in on it. If you get the right turkey close enough I bet you will hear it. At 10 - 15 yards some gobbler sound like a car door closing when they make the spit just before drumming.

When I watch turkey videos I like to turn up the bass on the surround sound. You can hear a ton of drumming on most videos this way.

I've killed many turkeys by hearing this sound. Expecting a turkey to show himself in one direction and then hear him drumming in another. Quick move to aim there and kill him when he shows himself. I have heard it up to 100 yards away. I think you have to tune yourself to it.

TRKYHTR

I think I heard drumming for years when I first started hunting, but didn't know what it was. I probably wrote it off as some kid pumping up the subs in his car from long ways off...or a truck quickly running up thru the low gears. It's so low, it's almost non-directional to me, unless I can hear the spit.

I've only heard it once.He went home in the truck.Who knows what the future holds. My right ear quit working in Oct. Cant hear a thing .Dr. says it may be a tumor or possible nerve damage.Waiting on the results from my MRI now.

I do not think every person can pick up the low frequency as well as others.
I have an old turkey huntin bud from many years. He has not ever heard one, even at 10yds.
He does not have any hearing problems, and can hear one gobble farther than I can,... Never could figure that one out.
I puctured my eardrum 20 years ago. Since it has healed, I can hear low bass sounds so far away, it is spooky. We will be sitting on the couch, and I will turn. Lily will say, what is it? I'll say, someone is coming down the road. Sure enough, a minute later or so, here comes a truck or the UPS guy.
When we used to hunt the mountain with all the ravines and such on a year that they didn't gobble much, I would just ease around and listen for drumming. You would be surpised at how many I could find,... problem was, getting him away from what he was drumming about.

I can hear the spit just fine but never hear the drum. My hearing is fine. We get checked every year at work.

West Augusta wrote:I can hear the spit just fine but never hear the drum. My hearing is fine. We get checked every year at work.

This is more me. I can hear the spit but not the hum of the drum. A buddy and I had one roosted and got in on him. He was drumming at 20yds per my buddy sitting next to me but I could not hear it. Only the spit.

That drumming is like the heroin that addicts us all to turkey hunting. At least it is for me. Kinda like the sound a woman makes when you nibble on her neck.


Yeah, that's it!

About 25 years ago I got a couple turkey eggs from a friend and put them in an incubator. They both hatched and 1 was a hen and the other was a gobbler. I had already been turkey hunting for about 5 years or so. I had seen turkeys strut and gobble and had killed a few already. As my gobbler got older he would strut and gobble like crazy. He was so tame I could actually put my hands on the top of his head when he would spit and drum. When he was 2 a friend of mine came over and was admiring my turkeys. He had been turkey hunting for 20 years. He says to me " man I can't believe how loud that turkey drums". I said he does that spit and drum thing alot. Then he says but his drumming is so loud I don't think I have ever heard a turkey drum that loud. I said what are you talking about. I had never been able to distinguish that low frequency drum as coming from my turkey. Since the day that my buddy pointed it out to me I have learned to listen for it and now can hear it a long ways off. If you can hear it it will help you kill more turkeys.

TRKYHTR

I agree Joe, most people I hunt with cannot hear the drum or should I say know to listen for it.....raising turkeys when I was younger is something that certainly helped me in the spring woods.

My fathers ears are tuned lower than most guys I know. One year on opening day we got settled in our spot for the morning. It was real early about an hour before we were expecting the first gobble. As soon as we sat down he said he could hear a bird drumming. I knew he could hear birds drumming a long ways off but I kinda had my doubts. However the direction he was hearing the drumming was the same area we were expecting the first gobble. Again I kinda had my doubts but as it got lighter the bird gobbled right where he was hearing the drumming, he turned and laughed and said "I told ya"!! The bird was over 200 yards away!! From that day on when he said he heard drumming I didn't doubt him!! I can hear drumming and as that bird got closer I could hear him tuning up the guitar but not like my dad!! His ears can pick up low bass sounds alot further than most.

I can hear it and has helped me kill a few. I have heard it at over 100yds. I have 2 buddies who cant and it drives them nuts that I can.

John

I'm very hard of hearing. I've heard a handful but not many. I think a gobbler can control it like just like the intensity of his gobble. I've worked one gobbler on public land that you could hear spitting and drumming from 75 to 80 yards away...it would make your chest vibrate, we nick named him Thundergut. Then I've had others at 20 yards barely spitting and drumming.

The few I have heard, also keyed me in to the location of his approve. I knew which side to keep the gun on. You can feel it in your chest a lot of times.

Humidity also plays a big part in how far you can hear a turkey drum. I usually have no problem picking up on it, but I hunt with some people who can't hear it at all.

That's pretty interesting about the humidity. You sound like you know a thing or two about turkeys!! It also helps the terrain you hunt. Alot of times in open pines I can hear them drumming a lot further than down in a swamp. And alot of times I hear them better in the tree then once they hit the ground with all that cover in between us.

I remember growing up turkey hunting with old timers and they all used to say the same thing, "jakes don't drum". It took a few years for me to have absolute evidence that no matter a birds age all male turkeys can and will drum!

ole5beards wrote:That's pretty interesting about the humidity. You sound like you know a thing or two about turkeys!!

I hunted with a young gun one time and I couldn't hear any drumming because of his constant calling.

I bet he was a good looking dude!!

Yep, once he took off them funny looking glasses. But he did have a funny smell about him though.

I got this strange feeling those glasses might show back up soon!

I think some turkeys do it and some dont depending on the situation and maybe your toms arent doing it.
I have heard it more with lone toms than toms that come in with hens or a brother tom.
about 80% of toms Ive killed didnt spit or drum.
Maybe because I killed them before they got the chance to do it.

If he's strutting chances are good he's also drumming.