A cluck verses a putt and a yelp verses a lost yelp.

[model94]

I puchased  the Real Turkey Cds by Lovett Williams, Jr.
I am having trouble telling the difference between the cluck and the putt. Also, a yelp verses a lost yelp.

Thanks for your help!

[mikejd]

Lost yelp is just longer series of yelps.

[owlhoot]

Does it start lower volume and increase volume later in the series of yelps too?

[fallhnt]

Plain yelp may be 7 yelps or so long. Lost yelp lots more. If you hear a cluck when calling the bird is looking for you. If you hear a putt and the bird is leaving...you got busted. I get lots of clucks in the fall.

[model94]

I would like to make sure that my calling is clucks not alarm putts. I had a difficult time hearing the difference between the two on the Lovitt Williams Cd. They sounded the same to me. I do not want to be using alarm putts when I am calling.

Thanks for all the replies.

[Bowguy]

If your calling sequence is right they won't interpret clucking as putting. Hens cluck hard sometimes. Throw in some purrs, soft yelps, etc Itd be tough for them to think putt

[model94]

That makes sense Bow Guy!!

Thank you!!

[GobbleNut]

To add a little bit more to this topic and discussion, I think it is important for hunters to learn how to identify the various clucking/putting sounds turkeys make and interpret what they mean in any given situation.  Also, learning how to duplicate those various forms of clucking/putting can also be of great value to the hunter.

One specific instance where being able to mimic a turkey's cluck/putt accurately is when a turkey (or group of turkeys) is approaching your calling.  Very often, when they are getting close and think they should be able to see the hen they hear, they will begin to make that little "popping" cluck ("bubble" or "raindrop" cluck).  What they are doing is saying "where are you,...I should be able to see you now,...and this is making me a bit nervous". 

Often, if the hunter can make a pretty good rendition of that sound back to them, they will think "okay, you are here,...I will continue on toward you looking for you more".  On the other hand, if a hunter cannot make that sound back to them, they will many times start to get suspicious and their clucking will escalate into "aggravated clucking", bordering on the initial stages of "putting".  This will generally start being accompanied by aggravated purring, as well. 

Again, being able to produce the sound back to them will, many times, keep them hanging around looking for the source of the calling.  And conversely, if they don't get some sort of response of confirmation that there is an actual turkey nearby, they will often begin to move away, continuing with their aggravated cluck and purr as they go.  The more suspicious they get, the more their clucking will graduate into putting,...and if the hunter somehow gives himself away in these situations, the turkeys may go into full-blown alarm putting and hasten their departure.

As a side-note, these sorts of encounters are when knowing how to use a mouth call and accurately reproduce these clucking sounds can be of great benefit to a hunter.  The motion involved with trying to use a friction call, while maintaining the ability to shoot if the need arises, makes it pretty tricky to pull this off with a call that requires motion. However, a guy who practices a bit can learn to make these sounds pretty accurately with just his natural voice, as well. 

[TRG3]

A few years back, it was late in the morning when I heard some yelps coming from a couple of hundred yards away. It was some of the worst calling I'd ever heard. Just for the heck of it, I answered with my own mouth diaphragm yelps...and the calls got closer. I strained to see just what the guy would look like who was doing such terrible calling. This went on for a couple of minutes or so when all of a sudden a hen turkey showed up from the direction of all the calling and proceeded to give her rendition of a hen yelp which was terrible, nothing like what was on the tape I'd been learning from. When she passed by my statue stance at only 10', I learned a valuable lesson in that all turkeys certainly don't sound alike, especially like the one on the tape. Since then, I've gone to YouTube where there are lots of variations on what is "correct". To help prove my point, this will be my ninth year to use the same mouth diaphragm calls which have accounted for 2-3 birds annually. For me, the cadence and emotion put in the calls are the most important aspect of convincing a turkey that I am for real.

[Marc]

A putt is more of a hollow sounding pop...  Don't worry, you will hear one (unfortunately).

To me, it is tough to emulate a putt on most calls (a mouth call being the easiest)...  But often I have found that when a bird expects to see another bird, they will make a "searching putt" type sound.  Answering this call on a tom looking for the hen has helped me in the past...

*(Late edit) I just read GobbleNut's post, and he far more adequately described what I was trying to say...  I will say that replying in kind is always beneficial, but a regular cluck or soft yelp would probably work better than nothing.  Also, if you can wait until the bird is behind an obstruction you are better off; a nervous bird and giving him your location when he can see you is never optimal.

[model94]

Thanks for all the replies! It really helped me to understand the difference between cluck  and a putt.