What do you think they hear?

[Sir-diealot]

I remember reading recently about someone who was concerned about the reddish tint on his reflex/red dot.  I believe that if he can see that you better be on the trigger because he is way to close!!!

I don't overthink the killing of turkeys.  Trust me.  I don't.

BUT........... A good many years back, I had MULTIPLE birds coming in HOTT just lock up the brakes at 70-80 yards and just go queer for no apparent reason.  Really started working on my mind.  Only thing I could come up with was the 35mm red/iridium objective lens on my dot sight.  There was a sunshade in the box it came in.  Screwed it in and have not had a single bird hit a brick wall like that since. 

Just sayin'............

Makes me think it saw a reflection, not the red/iridium objective lens which would explain why the sunshade cured the problem.

[quavers59]

    I have heard many unseen Hunters/ mostly walking by. The Guys with really Deep/Gravelly  Voices seem to carry much further. And it sounds like nothing Natural. Big Red Flag for Coursing Gobblers you have no idea are close by. Fast Walk to the next County.

[Prospector]

I'm convinced they can hear a whisper farther than low talking. My theory is whispering is a bit higher pitched whereas a low talk is just that; lower in the pitch register. Again I'm only talking about barely making a sound; not booming conversation. The low pitch just "blends" better in the background.... In nature all alarm sounds are higher pitched- so, it might be more a case of not what he hears but what lights that little alarm fire in his brain when he hears it. Just my $.02 worth.

[Haggstromjohnd]

Goodness... Seems like you have to levitate in to your spot, sit still, be silent/not exist. And pray all other ducks (turkeys)line up in a perfect row. With whitetail deer you can fart, burp, cough, complain, smoke and laugh next thing you know they're staring at you ten feet away.

[bwhana]

They seem to hear it all, but have not reacted to much where I have hunted in several states on public and private.  I have whispered, talked, dropped a striker on a pot, crinkled a water bottle, and just about any other mistake that could happen, even a phone ringing because I forgot to turn it off.  Zero negative reaction to any of them.   They may pause and check it out for a second or two, but always keep coming or moving the direction they are going. Only getting caught moving or being on the sunny side of a tree has ruined a hunt for me so far.  Deer seem just a little more reactive to sounds, but even that is very limited and only if close enough that they should already be on the ground.

[GobbleNut]

Seems to me that what you can get away with in terms of sound/volume is pretty much directly proportional to how far away the turkey is from you.  Simply put, the closer one is, the quieter (and stiller) you need to be. 

Then again, I have also found that sometimes a gobbler can be very, very close and there comes a time when you have to tell the guy that's supposed to be shooting him that he needs to get his gun up and shoot right now!  At that particular moment, loudness of the communication doesn't seem to make a lot of difference.   
...It also appears that they have no understanding of the meaning of four-letter words in those situations...   

[jhoward11]

They can hear AC/DC playing on your phone when you forget to go silent. lol!!! I still laugh at my buddy over that one.

[Paulmyr]

I would imagine in most cases the amount of noise a person can get away with is proportional to how close to civilization the turkey lives and/or how much and the type of unnatural activity they are used to hearing.

[guesswho]

A lot of gobblers on properties I hunt have severe hearing loss due to previous close encounters with multiple warning shots being fired.  None of which were fired by me of course. 

[Kylongspur88]

I think they can hear pretty well and especially higher pitch tones.  Don't think they alert to sound in the same ways as deer or coyotes since their eyesight is their primary defense. In my experience I've whispered to folks with birds pretty close and bumped stuff in blinds with birds very close but as long as they didn't see anything out of the ordinary they didn't spook.

[CntrlPAlongbeard]

I have to agree that I don't think they can hear whispering when they're out of shooting range.

Movement is so important.
I had a mentor of mine show me a little trick he started a few years ago. He carries pruners with him and always nips off about a 2 foot branch and sticks it in the ground in front of him to get extra cover.

And sitting in the sunlight will get you busted immediately. If they see anything out of the ordinary they're gone. If they hear something out of the ordinary they will possibly be gone but they might just stop and try to identify it like a deer does. And if they see nothing to be alarmed about I think they will resume their activity.

I once hollered at a bird that was strutting all around our decoys once to get him to stick his head up — he didn't even react until the second time.


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[WV Flopper]

 Turkeys are amazing, they truly are. A turkey can hear so much it's not even funny but what he heard and recognizes as danger is totally different.

Any metallic clicks are not a good thing for sure. But the slamming of a car door and he may sound off? Just saying. It's usually the how, when and where that reallys.drives home whether he spooks or not.

Pretty cool to hear a Tom answer from long range and you know he is 1/2 mile away, or more.

[silvestris]

I once hollered at a bird that was strutting all around our decoys once to get him to stick his head up — he didn't even react until the second time.

Why I hate decoys.  They deprive the gobbler of his natural defenses.

[Tnandy]

A bad note when you are calling! Two year olds and jakes may not pay attention but I am thinking the old rat in the barn is out of there lol

[runngun]

silvestres, come on man. I don't use decoys either. Because I think that they can and will spook turkeys. BUT you say it takes away from his natural defenses. BUT I will bet that you call to him to fool his ears AND I will also bet that you use camouflage, right?? Once again effectively hindering his vision. I know that I use both! And I enjoy the wild turkey and lessons that I have been taught by him. What a teacher!!!

COME TOGETHER, RIGHT NOW!

Have a good one, Bocephus

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