My hearing isn’t nearly as good as I wish it was. It’s not bad in normal conversation, and I don’t have to turn the television up so loudly it bothers everyone else. But in the woods there’s a lot to listen to, and I miss a lot of sounds.
I’m not ready to visit the audiologist, but I do need to give my ears an assist. You probably do, too. And we have the perfect tools to do that. They’re on the ends of your arms, just below your wrists. They're called hands.
When you’re listening for that first gobble from the roost, or for a distant gobble that answers your mid-morning call, cup your hands behind your ears and you’ll collect much more sound than your normal auricula can. (The auricular is the name your doctor calls the outer ear—that’s the part that holds your glasses in place.)
It’s a two-step process. Cupping your hands to collect more sound is step one. Step two is to slowly rotate your head, like a dish antenna, with your hands still cupped. That helps with directional hearing, and helps you minimize blocking sound from behind you or to the sides.
When I’m listening in the woods, I cup my ears a lot. You’ll hear more gobblers if you do it too, and you'll get a better location on them.
I’ll be posting more “Tips on Turkey Hunting” as often as I can until the end of May. I don’t claim to be the best turkey hunter around, but I’ll share what I know. It might be helpful to those who pursue America’s greatest game bird.
While you're at it, check out my gobbler-killin' Northern Scratchbox turkey call at EverydayHunter.com/turkey-call. It's full of deadly sounds.