Drumming Gobblers

[Honey Badger]

I've been in the woods the last two days and have been hearing lots of drumming. This is my first time hunting turkey, but I've read when toms are drumming the hens will come to them not the other way around.  My question is, when I'm on a bird that is drumming close to me, do I try to call him in and wait or do I try to move in on him? Sorry if this is a silly question, but this has happened two days in a row. 

[jackelope]

If you're hearing "drumming" I suspect you're hearing grouse.
At least the drumming that I know as drumming is grouse. I haven't heard a turkey sound referred to as drumming.
I'm far from a turkey expert though.

[gaddy]

& if you are hearing lots of drumming in diff locations it might be a good year for grouse. cool sound isnt it ??

[Honey Badger]

That's what I thought yesterday, but wanted to read up on it.  Please see this link http://www.bowhunting.net/naspecies/calling.htm

 (see drumming) The description is spot on from what I've been hearing.  Anyone else know of this?

[jackelope]

I'll wait for the turkey pro's to chime in here. I still think, if you're hearing lots of it, that you're hearing grouse. I could be wrong...like I said, I'm no expert.

[Karl Blanchard]

Your definetly hearing grouse.  A turkey will spit and drum while they strut but it is different than a grouse.  I am doubting that your surrounded by strutting toms everywhere.  Keep at it though, turkeys and grouse like the same kind of country. 

[Honey Badger]

I appreciate the feedback, it's all new to me 

[smartazz171]

Turkeys drum and grouse drum but they sound very different! A turkey drums( referred to as spit and drum) is quick like a spit sound followed by a crescendo bass sound of about 1 second.  You have to be within about 50 yds away to hear it and they do it as they strut. A grouse is much more common and sounds like a bass drum starting slow and picking up pace. Boom.........boom.....boom...boom..boom.boomboomboom
They have the same bassy sound but different. If you can't see where the sound is coming from most likely it's a grouse.  Once you are close to a Tom strutting and hear it you'll be able to tell.

[Wacenturion]

Your definetly hearing grouse.  A turkey will spit and drum while they strut but it is different than a grouse.  I am doubting that your surrounded by strutting toms everywhere.  Keep at it though, turkeys and grouse like the same kind of country.

Exactly.  You'll hear grouse drumming in the woods during turkey season.  As BLR said, gobblers will make different type sound when they are displaying and dragging their wings.  Once you have heard it, they is no similarity to a grouse drumming per se.

[Honey Badger]

Thanks for the clarification.  I guess this would be classified as "Turkey Hunting for Dummies." 

[jackelope]

Thanks for the clarification.  I guess this would be classified as "Turkey Hunting for Dummies." 

This is what I like to call "Turkey hunting knowledge has got to come from somewhere" because you're not just born with it. That's a lot of what this forum is for.
 

[Wacenturion]

Don't be too hard on yourself.  Turkey hunting skills are acquired like any other species specific skills.  All of us had to spend time in the turkey woods losing more battles than we ever won.  Turkeys are just wonderful though for building you up for a big letdown.  Along comes a year and you can't do anything wrong...You've hit the top rung of the turkey hunting ladder.  Then the following year nothing works and those birds with a brain the size of a pea, kick you down a few rungs on that ladder.

It's all situational.  The more times you lose in a turkey hunting situation, the better the odds you'll try something different and be successful.  That knowledge will come into play again later on when a similar situation occurs and you now recognize it for what it is.

[BOWHUNTER45]

  This is a good one ... I can chum in on this one .. It is grouse you are hearing ..this time of year they are drumming like crazy .. and they do it at night too !!!! How do I know this ? Because we were camped out around Hunters one year when we kept hearing this drumming sound . It went on for about a half hour or so then it would stop ..When it started up again we walked up the road quietly as it was going on and once we got to where the sound was coming from we turned on the lights  it was a damn Ruffed Grouse ...and yes this was late at night 

[PA BEN]

If you hear a "SPIT-DUMMMMM" it's a tom in full strut with hens. No way in hell you will call him off the hens. I have gotten real aggressive with cutts and yelps to piss off the hens and some times they will come and drag the tom in. The spit you hear is the tom flipping his wing tips on the ground sounds like a spit sound. You can make a loud cutt and get him to gobble, once, then wait, sometime it takes 10 min.s or so, then cutt again. Good way to keep tabs on him and the direction they are going you can get ahead of them and wait in ambush. You can set up in the same area the next morning, toms go to the same strutting areas in the morning and the hens come to him. I've kill toms this way before. Good luck.

[Wacenturion]

This is a good one ... I can chum in on this one .. It is grouse you are hearing ..this time of year they are drumming like crazy .. and they do it at night too !!!! How do I know this ? Because we were camped out around Hunters one year when we kept hearing this drumming sound . It went on for about a half hour or so then it would stop ..When it started up again we walked up the road quietly as it was going on and once we got to where the sound was coming from we turned on the lights  it was a damn Ruffed Grouse ...and yes this was late at night 

I too can vouch for that.  Many years ago my hunting buddy and I were anxious to say the least to get set up in our spot.  Woke up, got our camo on and gear collected, had a cinnamon roll and some coffee and then headed out.  Drove to our location, parked, hiked into our spot, sat down and got comfortable, waiting for first light.  After a short period of time had passed, one of us asked the other, what time it was.  Response 3:10 in the morning...

Needless to say I learned that day that grouse do indeed drum in the dark.    

[Tom Tamer]

If you hear it from a decent distance and sounds like " Whub..whubb..whubba whubba whub" It's a Bull grouse telling you your in his spot...beat it! If it's the spit(pffft) followed by a sound likened to rustling leaves or feathers...than he's real close. For me and my old ears he's usally under 50yds. Real close and you can actually feel the harmonic vibrations on your chest.

[HUNTINCOUPLE]

This is a good one ... I can chum in on this one .. It is grouse you are hearing ..this time of year they are drumming like crazy .. and they do it at night too !!!! How do I know this ? Because we were camped out around Hunters one year when we kept hearing this drumming sound . It went on for about a half hour or so then it would stop ..When it started up again we walked up the road quietly as it was going on and once we got to where the sound was coming from we turned on the lights  it was a damn Ruffed Grouse ...and yes this was late at night 

I too can vouch for that.  Many years ago my hunting buddy and I were anxious to say the least to get set up in our spot.  Woke up, got our camo on and gear collected, had a cinnamon roll and some coffee and then headed out.  Drove to our location, parked, hiked into our spot, sat down and got comfortable, waiting for first light.  After a short period of time had passed, one of us asked the other, what time it was.  Response 3:10 in the morning...

Needless to say I learned that day that grouse do indeed drum in the dark.    

[HUNTINCOUPLE]

Ive learned more about turkeys on Hunt Wa in a week than many years of chasin em down!

[Gobble Doc]

My first year hunting my kids and I kept thinking we were hearing turkey drumming but later learned it was grouse.  Now we laugh but it was still a fun time. 

[Deer slayer]

We had a Tom drum at about 10 yards on Monday. We didn't know he was there because he came in silent. Startled the heck out of us. My buddy had his bow and couldn't draw and he was between me and the bird. It was pretty cool. At 10 yards with no wind it can he loud. Neat sound and almost impossible to describe. Heard it before just not that close.

[BOWHUNTER45]

Yeah no mistaking the sound of a grouse drumming compared to a strutter spittin & drummin but I guess if you never heard it I could see not knowing the difference between the two ...

[MerriamMagician]

Just to add a little more input here, once you learn to recognize the spit n drum it is a great method to locate birds. Countless times I have been hunting steep country midday where the birds go and just heard the spit or drum while walking slowly and quietly. After developing an ear for it, I personally can hear it up to 150 yards away if conditions are calm. Good tip for finding birds midday when they always seem to disappear off the face of the earth.