This morning I had my set up out, 1 jake/1 hen feeding. Setting there tried tree yelp, purring a couple jake gobbles and finally heard one hen give a couple yelps down in the creek. About an hour after, I heard the resident squirrel go nuts, so I tensed up got ready. Directly behind me( I' m not set up under the biggest tree either) I here some what like a long drawn out purring(turkey definitely) but the purring was loud and long almost like a warning type call? Is this a defensive or warning call from a hen or is it maybe coming froma Tom? I believe it saw my dekes, but probably seen me move for I was between it and the set up?

Hard to say exactly what you heard. I have heard some turkeys make some pretty weird sounds, and I cant really tell what you heard, guess you had to be there.

If you listen to Lovett Williams Turkey Calling tapes, tape #3 (I think), he has recorded a " hush" call, which he says is used by turkeys in the fall, when the turkey feels a poult has started kee-keeing too soon after a flock breakup. It is a rapid staccato call, kinda like duh-duh-duh-duh-duh-duh-duh or pup-pup-pup-pup-pup-pup-pup. I don' t know if turkeys use that in the spring, but, as S-n-D says, turkeys have many different vocalization patterns, and it is hard to tell what you were hearing.

Option #2, and more consistent with what you have described in you setup, would be a " fighting purr."

#3-another hunter

Crows make a growling sound that could of been what you heard. If there we' re crows in the area, chances are thats what it was.

Tyler

That' s what I kind of thought, see I had a Jake set up behind the hen deke, I know it wasn' t another hunter for sure. But the reason I thought it my be a hen is I heard one down in the creek behind me yelp about 3 times and that was it. 90% sure it was a turkey because it was similar to the regular purring I had been doing except loud and you could tell it wasn' t happy either. But with my general luck it probably was a tom( I know of 3 running that ridge) and I moved a little because it was less then 10 ft behind me, probably heard my heart slamming against my ribs Anyway thanks guys the more I come on this site the more I feel confident about hunting these rascals!

Are you sure the turkey was purring and not " drumming?"

If the turkey is strutting and all that, then they may drum. It' s like a louder, longer...WHOOOOMP....WHHOOOMMPP....type sound.

Not sure but I know it had a lot of characteristics of a purr, although extremely loud. Like I said before w/ my luck I know it was a tom, plus everything was running silent yesterday. heard 2 gobbels about 2 miles away. Well next time I sit by a bigger tree I even tried to place myself on the edge of the ridge so I wouldn' t get backdoored, well if you do something to outsmart these critters they always got one more up their sleeve don' t they

Come to think of it, there were breaks in the " purring noise" like you' re saying about the drumming, but I' ve heard it so rarely in tapes, that I wouldn' t recognize it. That is a very likely possibility

Don' t know what you heard, but I know for a fact I heard something that I never heard before and I CAN' T make on a call yet. It was almost like a two note " meow-meow" while they were still in the tree. Not a yelp, no more than two notes. Tried to make it and came close with a diaphram, but not even close on a slate.

One way to tell if it was drumming is the spitting sound that comes before the drumming. It sounds like you are drawing air through your teeth.

It sounds like SSFFFFFTT!!!...and then the drum, VVVVVOOOOOMMMMMM. It is a very distinct sound and once you' ve heard it you won' t forget it.

It is also a very good possibility that it was a fighting purr. Either of these sounds are common in the turkey woods.

Either way you can be pretty sure you got busted. That' s the one thing that remains pretty constant in turkey hunting.

Turkeys are the one critter I' ll chase year after year with very little success. I hunt public land and constantly get messed up by other hunters and the birds are so call shy they are almost impossible to call in, but I still have a blast messing with them.

Well guys, thanks again, i' ll remember that sound so this WE coming up is the alst one they can make a fool out of me for this year But sure as shootin I' ll be out there