Gobbling distance estimation?

[Tomfoolery]

This seems to be my Achilles heel. I know many times a gobble sounds farther than it really is, given conditions and landscape. I have bumped several birds in my time thinking they were farther than they actually were. Just this past weekend in texas i had two birds gobbling hot. Wind was blowing 25-30 and they were off the edge of a draw in some thick stuff. They sounded a couple hundred yards away (to me)  well i got up to close a little distance and get in a better position to see, when i got up some birds flushed close that had came in silent and i heard one more gobble after that really far. I wondered if i bumped the gobblers or did the scared group bump them? I made a rule that if a turkey is responding im not moving, and obviously i got desperate after a few days of nothing and broke my own rule. What is yalls guide on gobble distance?

[bbcoach]

We have all bumped birds.  Most of the time, it's because WE move too quickly.  Turkeys move very slowly, looking and listening for danger.  We need to learn to SLOW down, use our eyes, ears and binos more and take our time, especially during the early season when we don't have leaf cover.  When it comes to moving towards gobbling, we need to ire on the side of him being closer than what we think he really is.  We push the envelope, they are only trying to survive.  I am just as guilty as anyone when comes to moving too quickly.  Slowing down will only Help this situation.

[g8rvet]

My aggression level on moving depends on time of day, state of cover and what time of the season it is.  If the days are getting short, I tend to be a little more aggressive as I know I may not get a chance at the bird again.  If I am on a 2 day WMA draw hunt, I have to make hay when the sun is shining and will be a little more likely to bump one.  Not that any of us are trying to, but sometimes you gotta roll the dice.  Coach is right though, turkeys move on turkey time, not ours.  One of the first thing I tell a new hunter.  I had pointed that out to my son so many times, it helped him kill his first bird that he called in himself with no advice or help.  He knew when the bird gobbled closer and then shut up, he was probably coming and to sit tight, be quiet and let him come. His future father in law scored because of it (and his FIL thought they should move and my son said to hold up, give him time, he is coming).

[Sixes]

I think it depends on how fired up a gobbler is, I've seen them in small fields halfheartedly gobbling at 60 yards and sound like they are a long ways off. Also heard them gobble stronger and sound a lot closer than what they were. Difference in foliage really makes distance difficult to judge, especially from early season to late season when the trees are fulled leaved out.

About the only way I can judge one is for him to gobble more than once unless I am on property that I am very familiar with the land

[wade]

I have a hard time judging them also. I'm convinced that a tom facing you sounds half as far as 1 fan to you. Throw in some wind and some hills and it's a crapshoot.

[quackaddict]

The terrain is a huge factor on how far away a bird sounds. I know that Texas brush country soaks gobbles up something serious! Had a bird answer while I was walking and calling and he sounded a couple hundred yards away. I walked 40 yards off the road and sat down and out he popped. He gobbled again when I could see him at about 75 yards, and he still sounded forever away.

On a different note, I can be hunting the mountains here in NM and hear birds from a LONNNNG way off.

[g8rvet]

I have a hard time judging them also. I'm convinced that a tom facing you sounds half as far as 1 fan to you. Throw in some wind and some hills and it's a crapshoot.

When they are strutting, it sounds like:  He is right there, oh no he is leaving, wait he is right here, ooops no he is leaving.  LOL  We have all heard that! 

[BB30]

I have generally erred on the side of caution. It has definitely cost me a few birds I probably could of moved on but I hunt the same few places basically all season and as long as I don't overly educate them I will have a day when they are ready to really play.

On a public draw hunt or out of state hunt I will be much more aggressive as stated above. I also think just as important as knowing when to move and when not to move is when you initially select the first set up. If I know the property really well I generally know if I can kill him from where I am at or not within reason(IE there is nothing in between me and him that he would hang up on outside of just being a turkey)

Hard part where I hunt is it is mostly flat bottom land. Before the green up it is almost impossible to move on a bird as you can see forever. This has been my first year getting to hunt some more hilly terrain and I have loved it. Getting to use the terrain to move in on a turkey has been a blast.

[WNCTracker]

I have a hard time judging them also. I'm convinced that a tom facing you sounds half as far as 1 fan to you. Throw in some wind and some hills and it's a crapshoot.

When they are strutting, it sounds like:  He is right there, oh no he is leaving, wait he is right here, ooops no he is leaving.  LOL  We have all heard that!

thats the truth!

[Tomfoolery]

My situation was, i struck a gobble at 1pm and when this happened i was in a very thick area. Lots of cedar. My immediate reaction was to tuck in a cedar next to the road. Across the road is very thick and slopes down. They sounded within 150 (to me) but obviously could have been closer. Once i sat in the cedar i realized that if they came into even 15 yards i would have good chances of not even seeing them. I knew if i made it across the road into the next cedar the draw cleared out some. Well when i stepped out the other birds busted. I still went around the cedar across the road. Got 1 more far off answer with a notso enthusiastic gobble then silence. I just wonder if they saw me or if the other birds boogered em.

[JMalin]

My situation was, i struck a gobble at 1pm and when this happened i was in a very thick area. Lots of cedar. My immediate reaction was to tuck in a cedar next to the road. Across the road is very thick and slopes down. They sounded within 150 (to me) but obviously could have been closer. Once i sat in the cedar i realized that if they came into even 15 yards i would have good chances of not even seeing them. I knew if i made it across the road into the next cedar the draw cleared out some. Well when i stepped out the other birds busted. I still went around the cedar across the road. Got 1 more far off answer with a notso enthusiastic gobble then silence. I just wonder if they saw me or if the other birds boogered em.

Wouldn't be surprised if the far off answer you got was one of the birds you spooked.  If you strike up a Texas Rio in the afternoon, more times than not he's coming.  It's best to call from a place you can readily setup and have a decent view of the direction you heard the bird coming from.  We've all been there (desperation time after not hearing/being able to work a bird in hours or even days, but patience is usually the way to go). 

[Old Gobbler]

For roosting birds I do "  Triangulation" .....listen to them gobble .....then walk sideways a bit , and get a bearing on them it will tell you exactly how far they are , this method only works on birds that ain't going anywhere, and can't see you ....use trees or other landmarks to get a fix on their direction , I have countless roosting adventures that paid off ...doing this

If I'm roosting all I got to do is hear one gobble, get a direction , I immediately get up and move to the side if possible ......there is no way of knowing if you can get another gobble out of him , but staying in the same spot and listen to him gobble his head off is not nearly as productive as stepping off to the side and getting a EXACT location out of him

In the morning ....it's tough ..a whole different story , the best you can do is wait till they hit the ground wait them out  , moving on them is up to you but don't get caught moving etc...

[dublelung]

Terrain and the birds enthusiasm can throw us curve balls. I don't believe there's a set distance, we've just to use our best judgement and hope for the best.

[idgobble]

It takes sound about 5 seconds to travel a mile.  If you yelp and he gobbles as soon as he hears the yelp (which often happens) and you hear the gobble 10 seconds after you yelp he's a mile away. You hear the gobble 5 seconds after your yelp= half mile.  This can be used in places where you can hear him gobble far away, like across water or from  a canyon wall when he's way down the canyon or across the canyon.  I've called gobblers from 1.5 miles away and had them come to me in 15 minutes. On one bird we heard the gobble 15 seconds after I yelped real loud on my box.  A couple minutes later we were hearing the gobble in 12 seconds, etc.  We first spotted him about 800 yards away coming on a fast trot. He was in South Dakota when he first heard me and we got him in Wyoming.