The following is from an article by a renowned turkey expert. What's your opinion?
"A cluck is a soft sound; a sound of contentment. As that turkey gets more excited, it starts putting. It's a sound with more emotion to it. Putting is excited clucking, and cutting is excited putting. It's all the same sound."
I agree to a point Barry,but not totally.
I'd say most every sound a turkey makes is based on variations of 3 sounds. cluck, yelp, or purr.
I'd say the cluck is the base sound. cutting is an excited more rapid form of clucking, putting would be another excited form of clucking just higher pitched.
Imagine going with a friend to a haunted house. Y'all are talking in a normal voice ( clucking), you walk past something, and something jumps out at you. One of you cries out like a girl (putting) then you very excited look at each other in a slightly raised and faster voice...let's go, let's go, let's go ( cutting).
I have to disagree to a certain degree. All of us turkey hunters at some point have gotten busted by a turkey while out hunting. I don't think the noise that they make when they leave in a hurry would be considered cutting. That article would suggest that. I think turkeys do vary their sound when excited just like we do. I believe there is a difference between a cluck and a putt. Putts can be inquisitive and alarming but they are still putts, sharp quick higher pitched notes. Clucks are softer and more content but can get exciting which I believe to be cutting. I also believe that a turkeys flydown to be of the clucking/cutting variety and not the putting variety. Unless they are scared from their tree. Just my .02.
TRKYHTR
I agree with Joe, 100 percent. I could not have said it better. Putts can be on both ends of the spectrum. They can be inquisitive and they can be the last thing you hear from them. A cluck, to me, is a happy sound that they make when they are content..And the cutt is an excited call when they get a little anxious and or rambunctious. I think that they are three related, but certainly separate calls..
Where I have a problem with it is where he says "It's all the same sound"
Yes they are all variations of the same note but 3 TOTALLY different sounds with 3 TOTALLY different meanings to a turkey.
Cluck is just normal communication.
Cutting is showing excitement,agitation.
Putting is fear.
They are basically the same sound.The difference is in the delivery.
Quote from: redarrow on November 02, 2012, 11:25:21 AM
Cluck is just normal communication.
Cutting is showing excitement,agitation.
Putting is fear.
They are basically the same sound.The difference is in the delivery.
I believe this to be true, what I hear in the woods reflects this description. Being basic in the "single note" but completely different in the delivery and reasoning behind the delivery.