Settled back and leaning against the only tree we could find in the dark large enough to “blend” the bodies of two adult males, I heard a new turkey sound. While many of you could have heard this sound coming from a hen, this was the first time the two men had never heard it.
I will attempt to lay out the situation as best as I can recall.
On this particular morning, we had set up on the edge of a field only to have gobblers skirt out our original ambush at first light. As things settled down, we looked to move our setup. As we worked our way down an old access road, a bird sounded off. After a couple excited yelps and an answer, we quickly sat down.
With the first bird working his way toward our location, another gobbler sounded off near our first setup (again, it’s not always best to run after birds). Now, both gobblers were heading our way, and it wasn’t long before my Keystone State friend turned to me and whispered, “Did I hear that?” I wasn’t sure what he was saying, but the sound turned out to be a hen strolling through the brush line. If I didn’t watch her make this sound, I never would have believed it.
Each time the gobblers would sound off and get closer, she made this sound. The best way I can describe it is similar to the sound the TV show Law and Order makes coming in and out of commercial breaks — the pinging sound.
What happened next still has me scratching my head. The hen made the pinging sound as she worked her way away from us, taking both gobblers with her and never to be heard from again. I have never heard that sound again, but my Keystone State friend has heard it twice since that morning.
Every day is a new adventure in the turkey woods.
The language of the wild turkey can be very simple and then again it is very complex. It’s not so much of what they say, it’s how and when they say it. Sound familiar guys? Knowing the difference between an excited yelp and soft purr can tell a mood of the hen. Again, does that sound familiar, guys? Understanding why a hen is by herself and just strolling through your decoy spread purring all the way, or why the same hen is yelping her brains off and is skirting that perfect decoy spread is important. These are the things, like in life, that make understanding the female of the species — in this case a hen turkey — more enjoyable.
We hunters have given names to the different types of sounds that turkeys make — the gobbler, yelps, purr, cluck, cut and fighting purr. Now, there are different types of sounds that each turkey makes, like the fighting purr, tree yelp or tree gobbler. Each one of these sounds mean different things to the wild turkey, and to be successful we need to know the difference and when is the best time to use them.
Both toms and jakes will, depending on the weather, hammer away on the roost. We use these gobbles to locate male birds on the roost if the roost trees are visible and gauge how far away the birds are if you can’t see the roost trees.
A series of soft, muffled yelps sputtered by a roosted hen is called a tree yelp. Listening for this call in the morning lets me know if there are girls roosted with or in close proximity to the boys. If I don’t hear tree yelps, I will send out a few of my own to let the roosted tom or toms know where I’m at. Just before flydown, the yelping often increases in volume and will transition to a flydown cackle, which is a series of high-pitched, irregularly spaced notes. I rarely use a flydown cackle call unless I know the tom or toms I’m calling to are on the ground. I’ve used this call on roosted toms in the past, and it seems it keeps their toes curled around a tree branch waiting for the hen to come to them before they make their descent.
Out of all the sounds turkey hunters need to master, it is the single yelp. Yep, just one. Of course, depending on the situation, I will let out a series of single-note yelps, but I don’t get overly excited with them. A yelp is basic turkey language; it’s a note that must be mastered. If you can yelp, you can call in a longbeard. This call is often used by hens to communicate with the flock and, during mating season, a gobbler.
The cluck and purr is a deal-closer. Turkey’s cluck and purr when they are relaxed, feeding or generally just feeling generally content. This is not a loud call, but rather simple flock talk I use when blind calling and when a tom is getting close. I also use the cluck and purr to convince a hung-up tom to commit to the decoys.
The excited yelp or cut can make or break a setup. This is a series of standard yelps run with a more excited, rapid tempo. I never use this call if I have a turkey coming in my direction unless he is red-hot and gobbling his head off. In nature, the call is used by a hen to let other birds know she is worked up about something. Often, the call is made by a dominant hen with a gobbler. If you can pick a fight with her, she may lead that big old tom right to you. If I can irritate the hen, I will also cut hard and sharp on the call between a series of yelps.
Cutting is a sign of excitement and can further lure in a hen with a gobbler in tow, especially if you can mimic her excited yelps while cutting her off at the same time. I will also cut and get excited when I have two or more toms approaching the decoys slowly. I do this when they are at a distance, never up close. If used correctly, it can cause the more dominant tom in the group to break and run toward your decoys.
A fighting purr is a call that is used a lot when trying to get a hung-up lone gobbler or one with a hen camera close. The fighting purr is a series of louder-than-usual purr runs that increase in volume and intensity with each series. Battling hens will make this call when agitated with each other, and it really seems to appeal to hung-up longbeards.
The kee-kee run is normally a fall call used by lost young turkeys to locate the flock. Variations of the call are also used by adult birds and can be made by both male and female birds, making it a great natural-sounding call in the spring woods. I use this call often when hunting highly pressured birds.
The best piece of advice I can give is to listen to live birds when you hunt. Nothing will increase your turkey call fluency faster than listening to live birds. Listen to how they communicate with one another and how they respond to the calls being made. A great time to do this is while you scout, and spend time in the woods first thing in the morning and last thing in the evening when birds tend to be the most vocal.
Listening to the sounds that wood makes, we all can learn. Something or somebody makes that sound, so it’s our job to figure out what or who is making it.
Back in the day I’m sure I heard a buck grunt or doe bellow, but never knew or understood what the sound was or what was making it. Heck, 30 years from now the pinging sound we heard will, I’m sure be commonplace amongst hunters.
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