Chris Kirby is a World Champion turkey caller and he has been a friend of Mossy Oak for many years. He’s the president of Quaker Boy Calls and has partnered with Mossy Oak to produce the Turkey Thugs line of turkey calls.
My dad, Dick Kirby, who created and founded Quaker Boy Calls, and I have been associated with Mossy Oak ever since the beginning of the company. My dad used to go on many of the Mossy Oak hunts that the company held years ago. One of the reasons we have been with Mossy Oak for so long is because of the quality of the people in the company, like Toxey Haas, Ronnie “Cuz” Strickland and Bill Sugg. They have the same love of the outdoors and outdoor people that we have. So, both companies’ core values really match up.
Sometimes in Orchard Park, New York, where I live, we will have snow during the first of turkey season, although that’s a rare occurrence. I have hunted turkeys in snow storms in New York and in Wyoming, but really turkey hunting in the snow isn’t too much different from hunting spring turkeys anywhere in the country. The birds just may be a little less vocal and more sluggish in the snow. But once the sun comes out, the turkeys know that spring is the time of year they are supposed to breed. They only have 30 or 40 days to breed, so the weather isn’t that much of a factor that keeps them from breeding.
I once killed a turkey in Wyoming just after he flew off the roost when there was six inches of snow on the ground. Here’s what happened. I really didn’t want to get out of the truck, because the weather was so bad. So, I cracked my window slightly open and called. I heard a turkey up on a hill gobbling his brains out. I got out of the truck and went into the woods. Within five minutes, that turkey came walking across the snow straight to me. I believe hunting turkeys in the snow affects the turkey hunters much more than it does turkey gobblers. On that hunt, there was no difference in hunting in the snow and hunting turkeys when there wasn’t snow on the ground. Other times when I have hunted turkeys in the snow, I may have had to sit a little longer and be more patient.
If you're really anxious to get your gobbler, you'll turkey hunt in any kind of weather conditions - rain, snow, cold and wind. Turkey hunting is challenging most of the time. Unpredictable spring weather is just part of it.
More from Chris Kirby:
Boy Calls and Mossy Oak - New Turkey Thugs Calls with Chris Kirby
Chris Kirby – How to Hunt Hushed Mouth Turkeys at the First of the Season
