Age, hearing, and coursing a bird

[Boll Weevil]

I'll be 45 in April and though I ain't no where near AARP discounts on steak dinners or collecting social security, totally acknowledge that I just can't hear as well as I used to (wife confirms this almost daily ). Between countless hours running chainsaws, riding tractors, shooting big guns, and 12" subs in the truck cab during my 20s (almost all with no ear protection except maybe fingers in ears on the range)...I just can't hear or course a bird like I used to. Heck, I've totally walked the wrong way to gobbling birds in the last few years!

I'm a good bit more tentative these days, and my pace in the field has slowed as I ain't no spring chicken. Anyone else with a few more gray hairs and creaky knees recognize this, and how did you adjust over time?

 

[Setterman]

Best way to pin point a bird is focus on a sound in the direction you think the bird is. For instance a crow calling northeast, bird gobbles but is behind you, by honing in on an ancillary sound it should allow you to pin point each gobble.

That is if you're able to hear the ancillary sound

 

[knightrider]

I'm right there with you, that's why I have a trusty young whipper snapper for a turkey hunting side kick, he can hear and call lol

 

[Boll Weevil]

That is if you're able to hear the ancillary sound

WHAT...SAY AGAIN!?!

I'll often totally miss the first part but can still hear and course the last syllables of obble bble. My niece, who can seemingly hear a field rat poot from a 1/4 mile or further, just looks at me befuddled. I cup my ears with hands a lot more these days. Shucks...I just can't hear.

I've got to where I just trust the kid's ears more than my own. They say he gobbled over yonder...we're going over yonder.

 

[cowhunter71]

I'm 45 myself and never thought I would be in the same boat. Setterman had said this a few years back and I will agree with him. Try closing your eyes when listening to gobbling. Helps me to hone in and pinpoint accurate direction, especially in rough mountain terrain.

 

[PalsPal]

My directional hearing was the first thing I noticed "going" as I aged.

While my hearing has declined some all around, thankfully I can still hear a gobble "most" of the time. This has been verified when hunting with a couple of young fellas. But getting the direction is still tough.

It is very hard when hunting hilly terrain, ridges, or above creeks. Trying to determine if a bird is on my side of a creek is a challenge. I have deducted that most of the time if its a clear gobble, then chances are he is on the other side, and facing my direction, where if the gobble is fainter, he is more likely on my side and facing away, and I'm hearing the echo.

I just try to wait for the second gobble before I take off !

 

[elknturkey]

Thankfully I can still hear really well but direction sometimes throws me with all the hollows but that's mtn hunting. The spit n drum is one sound that I have a hard time pinpointing. Im usually 45+ degrees off unless it's dry and I can hear them walking

 

[whiskey]

I know what you guys are talking about. Ol' Roost1 is getting older and thinks every bird he hears is in the opposite direction. I try to set him right, but he's gotten stubborn in his golden years too.






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[Roost 1]

I know what you guys are talking about. Ol' Roost1 is getting older and thinks every bird he hears is in the opposite direction. I try to set him right, but he's gotten stubborn in his golden years too.






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Full blown COMBATENT!!! :bash:

 

[Mike Belt]

I think most of us with a few miles on us can relate. I hear better out of one ear than I do the other so sometimes I have a harder time with direction. Light windy days sometimes make it harder unless the wind is blowing hard. If it is then you can figure the sound is being blown towards you.

 

[Andy S.]

LOL @ whiskey....

 

[Andy S.]

Im usually 45+ degrees off unless it's dry and I can hear them walking

If this be the case, I would always have my gun barrel "over corrected" so that you can easily swing the direction that benefits you (easily swing left if you are right handed, and right if you are left handed). Over time, this will result in more dead turkeys and fewer popping up on your bad side at 15-20 yards and putting.

 

[Andy S.]

I hear better out of one ear than I do the other.....

Same here Mike. I can still hear pretty darn good, but I hunted with a BIG eared (no chit) young whipper snapper last year in Missouri that could hear a mouse piss on a cotton ball at 100 yards, darnedest thing I ever seen. One morning, he said I hear a bird gobbling, nothing but silence to me, then AFTER walking 10-15 minutes in the direction he pointed, I finally heard the bird. He looked at me and smiled. I could not believe how good he could hear over me, but like you all stated, it is a sign of getting older, and there is no getting around it.

 

[elknturkey]

Im usually 45+ degrees off unless it's dry and I can hear them walking

If this be the case, I would always have my gun barrel "over corrected" so that you can easily swing the direction that benefits you (easily swing left if you are right handed, and right if you are left handed). Over time, this will result in more dead turkeys and fewer popping up on your bad side at 15-20 yards and putting.

I've thought of that but it's hard to do when my brain is saying I know where it's coming from. I'm a slow learner [emoji1]

 

[muddyboots]

Man I'm 48 and still have the best hearing of anybody I hunt with. It amazes me how much they can't hear. And a couple hear well but always think it's the wrong way. I guess god knew I was gonna be a turkey fanatic so he enabled me to walk all day and hear like crazy. It sounds foolish but cupping your ears with ur hands does help.

 

[megalomaniac]

I lost much of my hearing in my left year about 10 years ago when I shot a gobbler as I was propped up against a 300 yr old oak tree with the trunk the size of the hood of your car. Evidently, the blast richocheted off the trunk and damaged my left ear... Consequently, it is nearly impossible for me to tell what direction a bird is gobbling from.

What works extremely well to compensate, however... get a pair of hearing aids or the earmuffs with sound amplification. I turn the left side all the way up, and only turn the right side halfway up. Doing that allows me to actually pinpoint the direction of gobbles nearly perfectly. If I forget my hearing aids, my sense of direction is completely lost and I have to rely on those that are with me to tell me where the birds are gobbling from.

 

[SKFOOTER]

After 40+ years of turkey hunting I turned 60 last fall but my hearing had been damaged long before then. Several years ago I purchased a set of Pro Ears Predator P-300 Electronic Hearing Muffs. I was very impressed with them from day one. I could and still can very easily tell the direction a sound is coming from while wearing these. I use them on every early spring morning scouting trip and they remain in my vest thoroughout turkey season.

 

[RobbyW]

I am deaf in one ear. I can hear okay out of my good ear, but can't tell what direction it's coming from. Sometimes I can be sure it's straight head and it's actually behind me


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[Woodman]

I've been using Walker Game Ears for about 15yrs now.....I'm on my second set. I use them for any hunting with a firearm (deer, turkey, small game, etc....) They greatly help my decreased hearing and save the hearing I still have with the auto shut-off for loud sounds such as gunshots.

I wouldn't recommend them for the firing range, but for hunting purposes they do a good job IMO.

 

[eastTN270]

I am deaf in one ear. I can hear okay out of my good ear, but can't tell what direction it's coming from. Sometimes I can be sure it's straight head and it's actually behind me


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I'm the exact same way.