Have any of you ever experienced Toms clucking in the spring as apposed gobbling especially on public land with pressured birds? They gobble on the roost, most response to calls is clucking..
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
They want to know where you are. They gobble to attract hens. No gobbling attracts no hens.
Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk
Figured, it's just weird
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Yes a couple times, even on non pressured private. I called in a Jake this am that clucked the whole way in, which is obviously more common. But have seen it with mature birds.
Nope, can't say I have except a jake after we busted a flock.
Absolutely
I have, but they were always jakes.
Sent from deep in the woods where the critters roam.
Interesting. It must vary across region, I hear them do that all the time.
Especially mid to late in the afternoon, a lot of times instead of a gobble, I will have them respond with a hard cluck. I've heard them do that all the way in even gobbling too.
I just thought is was normal, I usually pick up the hard cluck in time to know he is close.
I had one cluck at me a few weekends ago, and it has happened a few times over the years.
The one that I had recently was roosted across the pasture from my hide, where I was trying to get audio for one of my podcasts. He gobbled a bit before flydown and then hopped down. This was still pre-season, so I was not calling myself. In fact, in the pre-season I try to stay as quiet as possible. I must have shifted myself on my buttpad enough to clue him in that something was there. He clucked and then clucked several more times as he left cover and started to investigate. I went still, and he quickly gave up and left. I did not get a chance to see him; he was on my six, and I had my back to the "fake stump."
In general, I've been clucked at as the gobbler is making his final approach. I've called; he's responded, and then I've gone quiet and gotten my gun up. Normally, a gobbler will keep gobbling, but sometimes they go quiet instead. When the gob reaches the point where he expects to see the hen and hasn't, sometimes I've heard a cluck. I've always figured he was trying to locate the hen. Once, I had a gob get within 10 feet of me, coming through the back door. I had a big tree at my back, and he announce himself with this really loud cluck that jolted me-- frankly scared the snot out of me.
I've also heard the gobbler cluck in the Fall. Once I was out hiking with my shepherd/collie during deer rifle season. I heard a loud, deep cluck and I responded in kind. The next thing I knew this monster gob came around a big tree and all of our eyes met at the same time. Barney went on alert, and I said "Gettem!" Barney ran at the gob and the two took off in a mad dash across the pasture. The gob got airborne just as Barney closed on him. There were a couple other large gobs to either side they ran as well. My guess is the gob had clucked, trying to figure out who was making the noise on the other side of the big tree.
I've had them cluck in both spring and fall, more often in the fall.
Last Friday during an afternoon hunt had two Jakes come in quiet. Once they were in front of us at about 20 yards they began to strut and gobble. During the hour and a half they were near us they made a circular journey at around us at least a dozen times both clucking and gobbling.
Had a tom that came in silent a couple days ago except for a single cluck. I never could find him in the thick woods and he slipped out as silently as he came in.
Sent from my SM-G970U1 using Tapatalk
I've had them cluck and also yelp. No gobbling.
I don't know about the gobbler, but i sure have cluck at them..
There were birds in different locations on this area I'm hunting that came in quiet and clucked twice several times, One hung out just where I couldn't see it, due to foliage and terrain. I understand that they do cluck a lot in the fall. I have used to them either gobbling or just going quiet. Thanks for the input..
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
One time I had a bird gobbling in front of me so I was situated to shoot that way. To my left I had a bird coming in and clucking pretty loud and coarse....figuring it was a hen I just watched out of the corner of my eye.
Suddenly a red hen popped up over the top of the rise. Figuring it was a jake, I still didn't move. He worked behind me and popped up on a log with a long paint brush beard swinging from his chest.
I was in a terrible spot to try to swing and shoot so I just sat still and let things play out. Never killed either one of those birds.
I have had many a gobbler come in clucking, they seem to do this when getting close to the "hen" they are searching for. I always listen for the gobbler cluck as it has alerted me many times to a silent(never gobbled) approaching tom.