How well do you really think they hear?

[dirt road ninja]

The more I hunt with other people, the more I think we are giving too much credit to their hearing. They seem obvious to loud whispering at 40 yards. Just an observation I've notice over the past few years.

[guesswho]

I give their ears as much or more credit as I do their eye's.  I've witnessed some amazing things when it comes to their hearing over the years.  It's their brain that get's them killed.  They sometimes hear better than they listen, if that makes sense.

[Happy]

I have heard them gobble to a soft call from way out there. So far I had to cut the distance to make sure it was a gobble. I would say that their hearing is as good as their eyesight. I think it gets analyzed in thrown into a dangerous or not dangerous category pretty quickly and they don't seem to err on the side of caution quite as much as they do with their eyes.

[Marc]

They hear well...

I have had them pinpoint my calling within feet from about as far away as I can hear them gobble.

I have seen them respond from some distance to very quiet and subtle calling.

Yep...  Sometimes they come even when you whisper, but there is no telling how many have not come in cause you were whispering.

I also think there are sounds they key in on more as far as being attracted to (such as a soft hen cluck), or sounds that alert them of danger (such as footsteps)...  But I do not doubt that there are some cagey ol' toms that have been alerted by the sound of hunters whispering to each other...  It is also likely those hunters never knew of it...

[GobbleNut]

I, too, think they hear very well.  Perhaps not to the mystical degree that some folks claim they can, but no doubt very well.  As for whispering and such, and having them ignore certain sounds, I think they most often hear those sounds but do not interpret them as being something they need to be alarmed by,...or as Ronnie (guesswho) put it, "they hear better than they listen".  Pretty much sums it up. 

I'll guarantee, however, that if you whisper at them and then shoot at them enough times, they will learn to skeedaddle the next time you whisper at them. 

[guesswho]

They don't listen very well at all.  I always tell them don't put your head up.  You would think they would "learn" not to do that. 

[sixbird]

I, too, think they hear very well.  Perhaps not to the mystical degree that some folks claim they can, but no doubt very well.  As for whispering and such, and having them ignore certain sounds, I think they most often hear those sounds but do not interpret them as being something they need to be alarmed by,...or as Ronnie (guesswho) put it, "they hear better than they listen".  Pretty much sums it up. 
I'll guarantee, however, that if you whisper at them and then shoot at them enough times, they will learn to skeedaddle the next time you whisper at them. 

Exactly! Their hearing is undoubtedly phenomenal, no question about that. I've seen them answer from impossible distances and pinpoint my location within 20 or 30 ft....BUT, they seem to ignore, or at least accept certain sounds and not be alarmed. Make a quiet put? GONE! Make a metallic sound, and they're all ears...For some reason, they don't seem to recognize a whisper or low voice as something dangerous...

[outdoors]

    

[HFultzjr]

Fact.
Once while pre-season scouting. I had one gobble every time I took a step on a gravel road. He was at least 100yards down in a little hollow. I was trying to sneak back to my car. I took to the sides of the road, but he would still gobble sometimes, when I took a step. On the gravel road, I'm talking about taking a single step, not walking. I wouldn't have believed it, if it wasn't me. Must of thought I was another turkey!

[fallhnt]

They hear well...I got nailed twice this year but was still able to kill both birds as they were folding up and moving on.

[Happy]

They don't listen very well at all.  I always tell them don't put your head up.  You would think they would "learn" not to do that. 

I think the learning curve is pretty steep on that one.

[Ihuntoldschool]

They hear much better than we do; it's much more important to their survival than it is to ours.  Their ability to pinpoint the source of calling is amazing. They know what tree your are sitting beside from a long ways after just a couple series of yelps. Try having a buddy make a few yelps from say 100-150 yards and then have him move and you try to pick out the tree he was calling from.  In this respect, we are nowhere near the turkey's ability as far as pinpointing sound.  Same thing with voice recognition;their ability to recognize and identify individual birds in their area is amazing. A gobbler knows "his" hens and can recognize their sound vs. a strange new hen in the bush from a long ways. As vocal as they are and as important vocalization is to them both for survival and reproduction their hearing has to be exceptional. They have such a poor sense of smell, without exceptional hearing and eyesight to compensate for this they would not be able to survive and thrive as they do. Turkeys don't do anything to damage their hearing like we do as humans. They don't listen to loud music, go to concerts, shoot skeet, etc.  So their hearing gets better with age just as well as their eyes. A 3-4 year old turkey is going to have keener hearing and eyes than a jake or a 2 year old bird (as well as more patience).

So actually the reverse is true, if anything most hunters underestimate their hearing ability. Most gobblers prefer to be talked to in a normal conversational tone as opposed to being yelled at.   If you doubt their hearing, next time you get ready to shoot one, don't ease that safety off like everyone instructs you to do. Push it off with some force so it makes that nice little metallic clicking sound and see what happens.  As far as a loud whisper at 40 yards, I don't know?  Turkey Hunting is a One Man Game, you know.

[supremepredator]

A guy in our club says that as long as they can't see you, you can get away with a little leaf crunching. He says a humans foot steps are the closest sounding thing to a Turkey's foot steps.

[dirt road ninja]

As far as a loud whisper at 40 yards, I don't know?  Turkey Hunting is a One Man Game, you know.

I've got kids, my son and I have killed a few together sometimes having to over communicate with birds in easy range. So far we have killed all but one that have came in range. He missed that one.

I know their ability to locate the source of sound is amazing, but recently have been questioning their ability to hear, at least human voice.

[dirt road ninja]

I'll take Guesswho's advise on the subject as gospel and keep doing what we've been doing and hope my birds stay hardheaded and not listen. The older my son gets the less talking we should have, but it sure is fun.