sounds

[strutnrut]

We all know the sounds a Turkey make are numerous but have you every wondered if the sound you hear when you are calling is what the turkey hears or are you like one of those guys on American Idol that think they can sing but in fact they  can't sing?
I mean have you ever heard your recorded voice? Does it sound the same as it does in your head when you are speaking?
I think this is way there are so many difference of opinion on a turkey call. To many time have I had a call for sale at the Nationals and figured it would be the first call sold but in fact I have even had to bring them home. I mean the customer bought a call just not the one I thought was the best sounding call. 
What are your two cents on this topic?

[Eric Gregg]

I was reading Tom Kelly's book "A Fork in the Road" and he brought out the fact that what we consider "good sounding" for a turkey call and what the turkey actually sounds like is completely different. In his opinion, competition calling is great and sounds great, but in the real woods doesn't have practical application. The point was made that when you call with a mouth call you have no real clue as to what you actually sound like, just like your voice. It is different if you liste to a recording of your mouth calling than to just go by what you hear on you own not recorded.

Numerous times I have heard hunters state "i heard the most awful calling and swore it was another person to only find out that it was a hen 20 yards from me". To get the real sound you have to listen to real turkeys. May I suggest "Real Turkeys" by Lovett Williams for recordings made of flocks from roost to flydown to assembly. Best stuff to listen to.

[GobbleNut]

By the same token, I have taken lots of people out to teach them how to turkey hunt, showed them how to call, then let them call to gobblers.  Lots of times I have set there next to a guy that was calling, saying to myself,..."there is not a snowball's chance that that gobbler is gonna come to that calling",...and guess what?  Here comes the bird like it is the sweetest hen he has ever heard.  Go figure...

Our opinions on what constitutes good calling does not always coincide with the turkey's.... 

[Tail Feathers]

We've all heard folks using calls in the woods and said "that's a box call, that one is a slate".  Thankfully the turkeys come to all of them at some point.

To answer your question, yes, back when I entered competitions, I would tape my calling.  I usually did so outdoors.  Everything sounds different indoors.

[redarrow]

I swear I heard a fella using a squeaky screen door one morning. No idea how he carried it in his vest. Anyway I have called in and killed a few gobblers. Called in many more that I couldn't close the deal on. So I reckon I am a good enough caller to kill turkeys.I have listened to others brag about how good they are at calling. I'd rather set about a mile from them to save my ears, but they kill birds too.

[stone road turkey calls]

If you could find two calls from the thousands and thousands of calls that have been made that sound the same, it would be imposible to find two people to play them the same. we all play a little different, as all turkeys sound different. I think a yelp is a yelp even if it has a different tone.

gary 

[BowBendr]

I agree, what I hear in my head may not exactly sound like what's coming out.

I used to think I sounded pretty bad on a mouth caller til I started taping myself a few years ago. Going back and listening, it sounded really good.

On the other hand, the recording of what I hear guys doing on TV sounds awful and I think I can call better than that, but the birds don't seem to mind.....

[stone road turkey calls]

You know it's like if three different people call your name, they all sound different, but you will respond to each one. we all drag our finger nails across the chalk board from time to time. no ones perfect.

[tomstopper]

For along time when I was younger, I used to think that I sounded terrible b/c I didnt sound like other people when they called. Overtime I have found that the only one that can truely judge me is the gobbler in the woods. My calling might not be perfect but it is at least good enough to bring them in and has produced alot of turkeys on my table in the past. Everyone calls different and produces different sounds but as long as it works for them that is all that matters IMO.

[drenalinld]

My wife says it all sounds like nails on a chalk board.

[longspur]

I don't believe our hearing is even in the same world as a birds. We hear turkeys and try our best to immitate them and we must do pretty well because alot of them fall for it. But I don't think we have a clue what a turkey sounds like to a turkey or what we sound like to a turkey. Just like we don't have a clue what we smell like to a deer.