The gobble or the drum???

[Gooserbat]

Gobble, all day, every day.

[deerhunt1988]

Drumming for me. I kill probably half or more of the birds i hear drum. And probably close to 75% of the toms i call in do some drumming. Lot of hunters don't realize the amount of drumming birds do. Gobbling is nice, but when i hear the drumming my heart goes into overdrive.

[stinkpickle]

I would much rather hear drumming.  You can make them shock gobble, but you can't make them shock drum.

[strutstopper]

Unfortunately I did too much shooting without ear protection. I can't hear one drum anymore at the old age of 32.... I can still hear gobbles pretty well though!

[3bailey3]

I love them both but if you hear one drumming you should kill him, the last bird I killed this year I was listening to one that had gobbled way off and then I heard another drumming so close all I could do was sit down, he was close, made three light yelps and I heard no more drumming but I saw him running in!

[Hooksnhorns]

I love to hear both, but drumming gets me going.

[dublelung]

Drumming for me. When I hear drumming, I click the safety off and just about hyperventilate!

[Jbird22]

Gobble for show, drum for dough!

[GobbleNut]

I love to hear them drumming when conditions allow for it, but for me, the essence of spring gobbler hunting has always been about having a conversation with a gobbling turkey.  Initiating that conversation from a distance, and then having a bird getting closer and closer as we talk to each other is what it is all about.  When he arrives, if he comes in strutting and drumming, all the better,...but the real thrill is having him tell me he is on the way during the trip.

[Turkeyman]

Absolutely love drumming...then you know the game is being played. With a gobble you're not so sure.

[Jasonb53]

Gobbling for me since I can't hear the drumming

[cwb04]

Sadly for me it would have to be gobbling - only because I have never heard a turkey drum.  I have seen them strutting and knew when they were drumming (confirmed by those hunting with me).  Actually I feel cheated that I cannot hear that sound.  It is a frequency that I cannot hear. 

I am cursed because I can hear our locals coming down the road from a mile away with that dang thumping bass on their stereo and have had some describe the sound to be similar in ways.

I always wonder how many times I have had a gobbler go quiet on me only to stand up 30 or 45 minutes later and spook him off and not even know it.  I know , I know - theres' no crying in turkey hunting -  !   

[Turkeyman]

Unfortunate that  many can't hear it. I started turkey hunting before most of you and, back then, little was said about drumming. After I realized what I was hearing I recalled a number of instances where I up and left an area because I thought he went away, but he hadn't and just went to strutting and drumming on his way in, sans gobbles. Anymore when he goes quiet I concentrate for the drum. Although my ears are old and I can't hear the high frequencies very well I can still hear the drumming quite well.

[Ross R]

Had to birds come in where all we heard was drumming which got us pretty excited.  Its hard to beat a gobble though. 

[tha bugman]

the gobble