Drumming Gobblers

[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.