My New Years resolution ain't going to well ;D.
Having a lot of spare room in my head for turkey knowledge I have to ask. What does it mean when a gobbler does that thing they call the spit and drum? What is he trying to say or what point is he trying to get across? Would it be a useful call for spring hunting?
Quote from: guesswho on January 01, 2012, 07:04:47 PM
My New Years resolution ain't going to well ;D.
Having a lot of spare room in my head for turkey knowledge I have to ask. What does it mean when a gobbler does that thing they call the spit and drum? What is he trying to say or what point is he trying to get across? Would it be a useful call for spring hunting?
So much for staying on the meds! :TooFunny: :TooFunny: :TooFunny:
Hey, inquiring minds have to ask. That looks to much like inqueering minds, they need to change the spelling on that one, maybe they should replace the q with a k.
Stay focused, spit and drum?
Quote from: guesswho on January 01, 2012, 07:24:40 PM
Hey, inquiring minds have to ask. That looks to much like inqueering minds, they need to change the spelling on that one, maybe they should replace the q with a k.
Stay focused, spit and drum?
Excellent choice for early spring. A gobbler will do this when he is close to the percieved hen to let her know right where he is.
Not sure what it means but it works.Kinda looks like he sat on a vibrator.
Quote from: redarrow on January 01, 2012, 07:29:29 PM
Not sure what it means but it works.Kinda looks like he sat on a vibrator.
:o. Oh good lord!! :TooFunny: :TooFunny: :TooFunny:
When you hear the "spit and drum" sit VERY still because he is CLOSE!
Quote from: WildTigerTrout on January 01, 2012, 07:35:37 PM
When you hear the "spit and drum" sit VERY still because he is CLOSE!
How close? Can they control how loud it is?
I think the max you could hear it would be 75 - 100 yards on a very still, quiet, cool morning. If a gobbler is strutting, he will usually be drumming. It is a mating call to the hens, but can work to get another gobbler's dander up if he thinks he is drumming in the wrong area! It can be an effective call. A friend of mine used to have a stick and string apparatus that replicated the drumming pretty well. I have seen hung up gobblers come storming in to it.
As with any gobbler call, I am a little reluctant to use it.
Quote from: guesswho on January 01, 2012, 07:42:13 PM
Quote from: WildTigerTrout on January 01, 2012, 07:35:37 PM
When you hear the "spit and drum" sit VERY still because he is CLOSE!
How close? Can they control how loud it is?
Close enough to bust you if you move! I don't think it can be heard at much more than 50 yards. It is NOT real loud. I don't know if they can control the volume. The first time I heard it though the Gobbler was inside 25 yards! 23 pounds of Old Gobbler took a dirt nap a few seconds later. ;D
Quote from: WildTigerTrout on January 01, 2012, 07:35:37 PM
When you hear the "spit and drum" sit VERY still because he is CLOSE!
And make sure your gun is loaded, safety off and no funny stuff decoys around!!!
Quote from: mossy835 on January 01, 2012, 08:11:54 PMand no funny stuff decoys around!!!
I know this is wrong in so many ways, but I thought thats why they spit, wasn't sure about the drumming though.
Would you believe I never heard one do that?
Quote from: PaTurkHntr on January 01, 2012, 09:06:24 PM
Would you believe I never heard one do that?
It's possible you've heard it and just didn't realize it.
The spit and drum is the "mating call" of the wild turkey.
TRKYHTR
I shot a gobbler last spring that was the first one I ever heard do it. At first I though"What the heck is that"? Then two hens stepped out at less that 10 feet from me and a light came on and I knew what it was. Sure nuff the tom stepped out spitting and drumming at about 15 feet. Too cool. Shot him at 20 yards or so.
I'll play along...It's equivelant to a high school boy who walks along a beach and flexes his muscles when he see's a good looking girl. He's trying to get noticed and get her attention. In the meantime if that girl has a boyfriend close by he's also pissing him off.
Yes, I believe they can control their volume drumming as well as gobbling.
All I know is when you hear spittin & drummin you had better have your gun up !
vaturkey :newmascot:
I think they might also use it to keep down the volume and avoid alerting another gobbler.
The best sound there is in the turkey woods!!
Gman
they chew. uaually when they spit they have to clear there throat. thats the drumming noise.
When the male turkey becomes aroused he begins to drool so he must spit just like humans. The drumming sound is his male part smacking against his legs.
Spit and drum Folks use to think was the humming of a gobbler's shimmying tail feathers. Wildlife biologists now agree the spit and drum is a melodious, two-note vocalization forced deep from a gobbler's chest. Just like gobbling a gobbler drums to attract hens. But The Spit and Drum is more of a close range attacting of hens. Some think is is a domiance thing sometimes. Like it tells other gobblers this is my hen you beter back off. I also seen gobblers strutting around each other with no hen around. I think they are just tring to settle the pecking order between them. Depending on terrain, wind and foliage, you can hear drumming 60 to 100 yards away. I have never tried to make spit and drum sounds while hunting. I just do not like to use gobblers sounds when hunting. To many crazy guys in the woods.
I can't believe none of you guys have a M.A.D. "spit and drum" call! They made them for a while back in the 90's, I'm guessing, and I fell for it and bought one. They actually (to me), sound pretty good, but I never actually had a gobbler come to it, as far as I know, so I finally quit carrying it.
As for hearing the drumming, I have tinnitus, and it is difficult for me to hear it, so if I do, I know he is CLOSE. However, I've hunted with others who can pick it up at 100 yards plus on a still day. It is often the only vocalization a gobbler will make while strutting with hens, so if you are fortunate enough to be able to hear it at a distance, it can tell you an unseen gobbler is close. I do think, however, it is also one of those sounds that is very difficult to ascertain the direction, at least for me. It almost sounds as if it is all around you. Neill
Quote from: Neill_Prater on January 02, 2012, 12:04:56 PMit is also one of those sounds that is very difficult to ascertain the direction, at least for me. It almost sounds as if it is all around you. Neill
I have excellent hearing, along with creative and selective ;D I agree with the above statement 100%. It seems I can narrow it down to somewhere around 120 to 140 degrees. Even at extremely close ranges I can't pin point it until I have a visual on the bird.
Clearly the strutting and blowing up is to look big, strong and pretty for the ladies to convince them he's the ideal mate.
The drumming, I would guess, is a close-in call to do the same thing. No hen wants to put out when he's gobbling loud in her ear. Plus the gobbling may attract predators and/or other suitors which would be inconvenient when she succumbs to his romantic displays. :laugh
Or so go my thoughts on it.
Quote from: Neill_Prater on January 02, 2012, 12:04:56 PM
I can't believe none of you guys have a M.A.D. "spit and drum" call! They made them for a while back in the 90's, I'm guessing, and I fell for it and bought one. They actually (to me), sound pretty good, but I never actually had a gobbler come to it, as far as I know, so I finally quit carrying it.
Mine is a Lohman. I've had them come in but they always sneak and I've never killed a bird when using it. It stays at home.
(http://i994.photobucket.com/albums/af67/larrymcc/lohman.jpg)
If it is the mating call of the wild turkey then do they only spit and drum in the Spring?
Quote from: guesswho on January 02, 2012, 03:53:23 PM
If it is the mating call of the wild turkey then do they only spit and drum in the Spring?
Nope they'll try to mate anytime of the year if the hen will lay down for him. But they don't spit and drum very often other than spring time.
TRKYHTR