Druming/Gobbling

[Capt416]

On some of the post,members often talk about gobbling and drumming. Is gobbling and drumming the same thing? In Virginia, the last two days I have been out, I herd several birds drumming but thought they were grouse. Do turkeys drum too?Thanks

[mouthcaller]

Gobblers drum sometimes when they are strutting. It is a very low pitched sound, audible for only a short distance (40-50 yards maybe on a still day). It isn't the same as gobbling and doesn't sound anything like a grouse.

[Capt416]

Thanks, yesterday while turkey hunting I herd drumming thatsounded different from a grouse,at that time I didn't think about turkeys drumming. I wear Walker Game ears so I can pick up sounds easier. My ears are not as good as they use to be. Thanks

[MDManiac]

this is what turkey drumming sounds like (Say it out loud as you read)

Pfffffffffffffffffffttt..........vroooom pffffffffffffffffffffffffttt...............vrooom


It's very distinct and one of the most amazing feelings when you can feel him doing that

[Adrian J Hare]

Drumming can be heard up to a 100yards easy on a still day. MD - did it very good on his post , its the PuTTT RUUUMMMMMMMMMMMM sound that a gobbler makes and is a silent call that they will do to communicate with hens. Presured birds tend to do this call more then others without any gobbling...BT

[mouthcaller]

Adrian

I respectively disagree with you about being able to hear drumming 100 yards "easy" on a still day.

I've met some people, experienced hunters too,who can't hear it at all. Apparently theyare missing that low frequency in their hearing range. I also think the terrain mattersconsiderably.I actually find it easier to hear in it the woodson a calmday rather than in the open and I don't know why. Sunday I shot a gobbler at 7:10 AM and it was windless and perfectly still. He gobbled and strutted in from over 100 yards through the middle of a wide open clearing. I have excellent hearing, but didn't hear him drumming until he got to about 35-40 yards. Who knows if he only started drumming at that point, but based on his appearance at 100 yards I would think it unlikely. Maybe I couln't hear it at 100 yards because all I was hearing was my myocardium thumpingso loudly in my own chest cavity :-).

I agree completely with your comment about pressured birds drumming instead of gobbling to attract hens. Another thingthat I've seen pressured birdsdo is gobble with a softer volume. I don't know if it is a coincidence or really a learned behavior, but my father took a terrific 4-5 year-old bird last year at Land Between the Lakes in Tennessee (highly pressured area) that he said gobbled so low he barely heard it. Of course, he's can't hear worth a damn, but I wasn't very far from him and didn't hear the turkey gobble at all. After gobbling only twice the bird clucked three or four different times as he made is way in rather than gobble.

I'vealso have never read an explainationofhow turkeys actually produce the drumming sounds. I presume the low rumbling sound comes from he chest/throat,but that pfffffftttttt sound,now that is really weird.I've heardeverything under the sun about this,fromrattling their tail feathersto spitting. Does anybody really know how they do this?Has Lovett Williams explained this?

Whatever the origin of the sound orthe distance from which it can be heard, it is the coolest think in turkey hunting. As a more experienced hunter I am less anxious now when hearing it, but drumming once caused me to come absolutely unglued.

[Adrian J Hare]

Well Mouthcaller,

I spend countless hours in the field every year, something that is just killing me right now as I'm between times and waiting out a season. I see and hear this drumming all the time and did as well in Florida as most birds only related to the call of drumming.

Last season I sat with Ernie Callendrelli in front of a Camera and we had 3 strutting Toms work from an easy 200 yards in open field. When the birds got to 100yards we and aswell the camera mic could clearly hear the Drumming. I am very very good with yardage and I know the birds were 100 yards easy. I'm not knocking your opinion or your post , only telling what I know is a true fact that I have seen. I have no idea wether you have been in the same circomstances as I have been in some of the cases of turkey hunting but I can only express the knowledge I have seen. I by no means need to misslead anyone in this sport.

As for the drumming of the gobbler , I take the understanding that the sound is from the breast feathers when extracted out from the normal laydown. That I'm not 100% on...BT

[mouthcaller]

Adrian

I think you misunderstand my post or I didn't make it clear enough. If you took offense to that, then I apologize.

Ididn't mean to imply that you were wrong in saying that you can hear drumming easily at 100 yards. I certainly do not doubt your word on that. The point I wastrying to make is, not everybody can "easily" hear it at 100 yards. I have never heard it beyond about 50 yards(25 years turkey hunting experience), my Dadcould oncehear it but now can't, and some folks can't hear it at all. That's all.

Kind regards

Mouthcaller

[MDManiac]

dont the gobblers shake when they're vroooming?

[Allseasonhunter7]

if u want to see alot of drumming get the new knight and hale video...yes the music played on everyhunt is annoynig but like 5 birds spit...and or spit and drum