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Curious on what your opinions are with the cluck and purr sequence used in a hunting situation.

Do you believe this sequence is what a hen makes while she's content or is it a warning sign?

I can't figure out why someone would say "never do a cluck followed by a purr, EVER!"

Unless that person can't replicate it and has to make that excuse.

To me:  purrrrrr, putt, purrrrrr, putt putt purrrrrrrr putt putt putt is not a relaxed bird.  I have used that sequence to induce a gobble - especially when I don't intend to set up where I am.  I would then move and call more contently.  If that makes sense. 

Purrs and soft clucks in a soft, slow manner is something I have used quite often.

It is like saying WHAT THE HECK IS THAT?!?! vs. hmmmm, wonder what that could be?

I use the cluck-purr a LOT. 

I use it with hens.  I use it with gobblers.  I use it as that "take two more steps" call to a gobbler who's about to get a headache.

There's THAT cluck-purr.  Then there's the irritated/alarmed/suspicious cluck/purr............  Know the difference.   ;)

There are different approaches to this but mine's really simple. I cluck a lot because hens where I hunt cluck a lot. I hear occasional purrs so I purr occasionally. Maybe 20:1 or so. It's a "match the hatch" approach. Fighting purrs are a totally different story however and can be useful in some stubborn gobbler situations.

I purr, purr, purr cluck.... purr, purr, cluck and is a calming type call I finish birds with it, not alarming at all.

The "inquisitive" cluck/soft putt with a purr (not fight or aggravated) is when a hen is trying to figure out something not right.

2 different things to me, and the inflection you are putting into it.



MK M GOBL

Quote from: MK M GOBL on March 03, 2022, 10:04:24 PM
I purr, purr, purr cluck.... purr, purr, cluck and is a calming type call I finish birds with it, not alarming at all.

The "inquisitive" cluck/soft putt with a purr (not fight or aggravated) is when a hen is trying to figure out something not right.

2 different things to me, and the inflection you are putting into it.



MK M GOBL

BINGO !!!!!!!!!!    :icon_thumright:

Same words, different cadence and level mean very different things.  All good points. 

Quote from: Master Gobbie on March 03, 2022, 09:00:26 AM
Curious on what your opinions are with the cluck and purr sequence used in a hunting situation.
Do you believe this sequence is what a hen makes while she's content or is it a warning sign?
I can't figure out why someone would say "never do a cluck followed by a purr, EVER!"

The basic problem hunters have with the cluck and purr is not understanding that it is not a "one size fits all" call. It can be either a contentment call or one that turkeys can become alarmed by. There are a lot of variations that turkeys use in different situations and they have entirely different meanings to the turkeys depending on those variations, mostly in the form of volume and intensity.  I don't think a concrete statement can be made as to whether the various versions of the cluck and purr are good or bad calls to use unless the context in which they are used is first defined.

Use the right volume, inflection, and intensity in replicating the cluck and purr, and do it under the right circumstances, and it can be a valuable addition to someone's calling repertoire.  Conversely, use the wrong cluck and purr at the wrong time, and under the wrong circumstances, and it may well have a negative effect in a calling situation.  Really, though, that is true with just about every turkey sound made by hunters.   

Quote from: Master Gobbie on March 03, 2022, 09:00:26 AM
Curious on what your opinions are with the cluck and purr sequence used in a hunting situation.

Do you believe this sequence is what a hen makes while she's content or is it a warning sign?

I can't figure out why someone would say "never do a cluck followed by a purr, EVER!"

Unless that person can't replicate it and has to make that excuse.

You must have just watched that video with the Mossberg guy. Dumbest video ever.

Even as a hen comes in with the "questioning" cluck-purr, purr-cluck.....there's nothing alarming about it.

"NEVER USE IT" ????? Pure baloney.

Before I get into any discussion, I can't purr worth a dang on a mouth call and I very rarely use any other call. I keep one slate in my vest and I can purr on it fairly well. with those thoughts in mind, I don't use purring much in my spring calling.

Now for discussion on the call sequence. Since I live in the woods and I fall hunt a lot I have listened to a ton of turkey flock talk. Purring is not a primary mating call in the spring. It is flock chatter. If a bird is purring in a breeding scenario it's for one of two reasons, in my opinion. First it is more often a form of alarm or discomfort call. They are saying something doesn't seem right, watch out. Next it's a form of establishing the pecking order, it's the stink eye of turkey hens. It's a hen saying, I see you eyeing my man, you b!tch, or move over sexy momma is here. When used real low and slow it can be a comfort call, but I just don't hear them us it much that way in the spring. Now in the fall purring is everyday chatter. It's like a family get together for a Holiday dinner. They keep track of each other by purring and clucking and there are a 100 variations of a purr that all mean something different. It's like the English language. A lot of foreigners struggle with understanding it because so many words sound the same to them, but mean different things. Like Fire and Far, the way most of us say those words make them sound almost the same, to non English speakers, but mean drastically different things.

You will not find me using the sequence in spring hunting much. Mostly because I can't do it well, but also because it's not turkey sweet talk or turkey sexy. It's a bunch of girl chatter in most cases. Think back to your horny young man days. Attracting a girl away from a group of girls engaged in girl chatter was not  very successful. But if one kept giving you"the look" and even introduces herself with a coy look, your hormones went wild and you were all over her. That's the hen you want to be, not the purrr cluck that says, "don't bug me fat boy" me and the girls are busy. Sometimes it can be used as a coy, "Hi there", but why bother. In the end, it's not in my spring arsenal. Sure it can work but on any given day almost any call can work. Some days that old gobbler is like Howard Walowitz on The Big Bang Theory, she's breathing and got a pulse, I'm sleeping with her.

Purr cluck has its merits. Hard clucking starts many a Tom my way. Spring or fall.

Hens will seemingly make sounds for no apparent reason. Like I hear my wife talk to herself. Girls tend to be chatty. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=htsEZa3iLgA

I think this is the video that starts this conversation.
This guy is talking specifically about the purr and cluck you hear at turkey calling contest. The soft contentment type calling often called "the feeding call" is a call turkeys do a lot. It's soft flock talk, never, ever meaning anything other than a content turkey. Can be used in a hunting situation for a hung up or slightly nervous gobbler.

I've shot a pile of gobblers using the purr and cluck.

Ok EZ, That explains a lot. That is not what I thought the discussion was about. I always called that the feeding call as well or flock talk. Yeah, that call works ok in the spring. when someone says purr to me I always relate that to the more aggressive sounds run faster and sharper.

Quote from: eggshell on March 04, 2022, 09:52:44 AM
Ok EZ, That explains a lot. That is not what I thought the discussion was about. I always called that the feeding call as well or flock talk. Yeah, that call works ok in the spring. when someone says purr to me I always relate that to the more aggressive sounds run faster and sharper.

For the record, No, I was not referring to the Mossberg Video.

If you wanna watch, I was referring to the following video, start at 5:30, maybe turn up a bit

https://youtu.be/w_Oc2cBqGfg?t=330

Quote from: Master Gobbie on March 04, 2022, 10:30:39 AM

Quote from: eggshell on March 04, 2022, 09:52:44 AM
Ok EZ, That explains a lot. That is not what I thought the discussion was about. I always called that the feeding call as well or flock talk. Yeah, that call works ok in the spring. when someone says purr to me I always relate that to the more aggressive sounds run faster and sharper.

For the record, No, I was not referring to the Mossberg Video.

If you wanna watch, I was referring to the following video, start at 5:30, maybe turn up a bit

https://youtu.be/w_Oc2cBqGfg?t=330

Yeah, that's an aggravated purr.....fighting purr. Gobblers and hens do it. Those hens in the video were doing it because they saw the decoy. Still, nothing alarming about it. Turkeys do it all the time. I don't use decoys but I can imagine the guys that do have seen that quite a bit.

Yeah, that's an aggravated purr.....fighting purr. Gobblers and hens do it. Those hens in the video were doing it because they saw the decoy. Still, nothing alarming about it. Turkeys do it all the time. I don't use decoys but I can imagine the guys that do have seen that quite a bit.
[/quote]

That's where my opinion landed too.

Yeah, there's a huge difference between contentment purrs, whines, and whistles and the louder more aggressive purrs. Here's a riot broke out amidst the girls this winter and they were all purring and raising a ruckus. Fun to watch. Personally I think both purrs have a place, but when I'm doing louder fighting purrs I'm running more than one call at a time. I've had quite a few times gobblers come in to watch the fight. As for the other, I do soft purrs and clucks almost every call sequence, especially when they're inside 75. I think all turkey talk has a place in the hunter's arsenal. Key is knowing how those sounds are used and then using them to paint whatever picture you're trying to paint. https://youtu.be/kaUeJ4wJG9w


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Quote from: ChesterCopperpot on March 04, 2022, 11:38:13 AM
https://youtu.be/kaUeJ4wJG9w

that's a cool video, thanks for sharing!

Quote from: EZ on March 04, 2022, 10:49:56 AM

Quote from: Master Gobbie on March 04, 2022, 10:30:39 AM

Quote from: eggshell on March 04, 2022, 09:52:44 AM
Ok EZ, That explains a lot. That is not what I thought the discussion was about. I always called that the feeding call as well or flock talk. Yeah, that call works ok in the spring. when someone says purr to me I always relate that to the more aggressive sounds run faster and sharper.

For the record, No, I was not referring to the Mossberg Video.

If you wanna watch, I was referring to the following video, start at 5:30, maybe turn up a bit

https://youtu.be/w_Oc2cBqGfg?t=330

Yeah, that's an aggravated purr.....fighting purr. Gobblers and hens do it. Those hens in the video were doing it because they saw the decoy. Still, nothing alarming about it. Turkeys do it all the time. I don't use decoys but I can imagine the guys that do have seen that quite a bit.

When I have used decoys I have heard the fighting purr from hens, jakes and gobblers.  When a turkey is purring in any fashion they are not alarmed, probably quite the contrary.  I have really seen toms get agitated and want to fight something while using the fighting purr.  I think any turkey sound used at the right time on the right bird that's in the right mood can be helpful except individual putts. 

Pile of turkeys at the house that I fool around with all year. Most evenings this time of year I'll do some light calling on the ridge just to try to get them to roost closer for the next morning. Anyhow, tonight I went up there and made it a point to soft call purrs and clucks. Had a hen crank up immediately and come all the way up the mountain till she saw me sitting there on a stump in overalls and a bright red shirt and flew off I sent EZ the sound file over text (and will send to whoever wants to hear it; just message me your number), but she most certainly wasn't buggered by the purrs and clucks. She most assuredly was buggered by the ugly fellow making them.


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Denny Gulvas clucks and purrs at gobblers to get them close. He's spent more time around wild turkeys than I ever will and is a better caller than I ever will be. It's not relatively close. I'd  say it goes for 99.9% of this forum but I don't get into internet arguments anymore. That being said, I cluck and purr at gobblers

Quote from: compton30 on March 04, 2022, 11:27:39 PM
Denny Gulvas clucks and purrs at gobblers to get them close. He's spent more time around wild turkeys than I ever will and is a better caller than I ever will be. It's not relatively close. I'd  say it goes for 99.9% of this forum but I don't get into internet arguments anymore. That being said, I cluck and purr at gobblers

Thanks for your input, and I hear you about not getting into arguments anymore.

With the geographic range of the wild turkey and the sheer number of hunters, there's going to be differences in opinions, and that's all they are, opinions.

I've had goodluck with soft clucks and purrs over the years learned from the gulvas videos

One of the old callmaker masters once told me long ago that "clucks kill turks."

He's right.

Yes , I cluck and purr and have had great luck making that gobbler close in a few more yards. That being said , I do them ever so soft. If you were 40 yards from me , it would be hard to hear them. A turkey on the other hand probably hears them a 100 yards away. Alot of people dont realize that a hen is talking constantly even if you dont hear them. Many also dont realize that they make all sorts of different little subtle sounds. Loud is not always good. The softest turkey like sounds that you can make can be heard by turkeys alot farther than you think.

I hunt mostly public land and am confident that a purr/ cluck sequence kills a lot of birds that mostly just here constant yelping from everyone else.

I'd have to go back and double check, but in the spring, Lovett Williams said that anything outside of clucks and yelps (soft more than loud) was a waste of time.  Whatever works for you.  Good luck.