hey all. I was just wandering how easy is it to tell how far away a turkey is by listening to him gobble. If I blow a crow call from the road, and I hear a gobble, I can pretty much tell what direction it came from (which side of road, and the general direction in the woods) but I cant tell how far away. I mean, the volume of the gobble would be a key indicator of how far he is, but since I havent hunted turkeys alot and havent heard alot of gobbles from known distances, Im not sure how to even beging judging them b/c I havent heard a "test" gobble to base it on, if that makes sense lol. If i hear a gobble down off the road, does that mean that he must be somewhat close, or even walking distance. Or can it mean that he is over 7 ridges and through 5 rivers, lol. Also, the type of terrain is mountains, in WEstern MAryland, so its not flat. I heard some gobbles today and im excited, so I just want to try hard to understand their distances. thanks alot for the help.
I am not an expert on this but I will share what I have learned. Different things affect how loud or soft a gobble is when you hear it. 3 that I consider are the turkeys location within the terrain, foliage, and weather.
Is the old boy up on a ridge or down in a hollow.From up high his voice will carry, versus not carrying well from a hollow. No leaves will allow a gobble tobe loud and the turkey appear closer than he actually may be.A lot of leaves willl make him appear farther than he may be. Clear days allow the sound to carry and windy days will distorthow well you hear the sound.
After evaluating the above three the next thing toconsider when deciding to set up or move closeris what is between you and the bird. Is the immediate topography flat and open or hilly. If you can see farthen the bird can see farther.Stay below ridge lines if you need to move. Also, try and get even or above the bird before you try to call. It is difficult to call a birddown hill. Not sure why, just my experience and whatI was told.
Analyze past experiences and ask questions. I am fromW md, Cumberland, soI can relate to your situation. Where are you located?
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Since I can't hear worth a lick anyway if I can hear the bird this time of year (some vegetation just starting to peek out) then he is no more than 300 yards away. It depends a lot also on if he is facing me or facing away. In the dead calm of morning, if I am standing in a 300 acre field, I can occasionally hear birds in the bottom, just off the far side of the field, which is almost 500 yards away. But, if I can hear them, then I can call to them and they can hear me. Just remember that they are ALWAYS closer then you think they might be. Play by that rule and you won't bump 'em, at least, not very often.
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Kmartz hit it right on the money. I can answer why turkeys dont want to go down hill. Its because of predators. They dont want to be ambushed when going down hill. Lets face it I wouldnt want to have to run back up hill if something was ready to jump on me. Your an easy target then.
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I was there this week end my self... As for telling how far the gobbler is away from you... That kinda one of those you just have to hunt them long enough and bust a few off the roost to learn things... That were the woodsman ship thing comes to play
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Kmartz - thanks for the help. I am from Baltimore county, MD but I always hhunt at greenridge.
longbeard - were you youth hunting there? b/c when I was leaving, I ssaw a man and his son who shot a jake. we were talking and he said that the toms were vocal in early morning, but then shutu p. he said that for about an hour there were no gobble until someone along the road blew a crow call. i learned that person was me lol. he said that my crow call got them all gobbling again, which is how he killed the bird. that made me feel very good, especially to know that my crow call works. was that yiou? i only ask b/c I dont think there were alot of youth hunters there sat., so it might have been you. did you hear any gobbles there? I heard quite a few, BOY AM I READY FOR WEDSDAY!!!
thanks for all the help guys
determining toms location by his gobble...
