April 2, 2013

Quaker Boy’s Chris Kirby on the Turkey Thug Little Friend

Kirby2_hdr

Editor’s Note: Chris Kirby, the president of Quaker Boy Calls, has won every major turkey-calling championship in the nation including the U.S. Open, the World-National and Grand National Turkey Calling Championship, and is the creator of the Mossy Oak Turkey Thugs line of calls. 

Kirby2_llQuaker Boy has two push-button calls in the Thug line, the Little Friend and the H2O Yelper that’s waterproof. Many hunters think a push-pull call is a child’s call, because it’s so simple to operate. So, they wonder why I always carry one and advise other hunters to do the same, even after they’ve mastered diaphragm calls and all the friction calls. Here’s why:

  • Push-button calls make entirely-different hen sounds than diaphragm calls, slate calls or box calls do. A hunter then sounds like a hen a gobbler hasn’t talked to previously, a big advantage when hunting in areas where the turkeys have been hunted heavily.
  • The Little Friend and H2O Yelper give a hunter the advantage of sounding like two hens calling at the same time. You can push the peg on one of these push-button calls and yelp with a diaphragm call at the same time. 
  • A turkey may gobble relatively close to you early in the season, and you may not be confident that you can make that perfect yelp, cluck and purr to answer the gobbler. But you’ll get that perfect yelp, cluck or purr immediately with the Little Friend or H20 Yelper.
  • These calls allow you to purr softly when a turkey is really close, and you know you can’t make a mistake. You can give that gobbler those encouraging little sounds that will bring him within gun range. 

One year while hunting in New York State, I had a gobbler I’d been working for 2 or 3 hours. I moved stand sites several times. Finally, I made one more move and got in close to the gobbler. I stopped all my other calling and just clucked and purred on the H2O Yelper. That ole gobbler came marching right into gun range. I had used every trick I knew to try and get that bird in close, but not until I started clucking and purring on the Yelper did I convince that gobbler to come in close enough for me to take. 

Day 1: Chris Kirby Talks Turkey Thugs

Tomorrow: Quaker Boy Calls’ Chris Kirby and the Goat Hill Gobbler

Latest Content

Mossy Oak's Woodsman Series is Back
The Mossy Oak Woodsman Series is Back. Rooted in everything core hunters expected from us in the early days, the Woodsman collection is thoughtfully designed, constructed with quality materials, quiet fabrics, sturdy stitching and of course, our timeless camouflage patterns. We're proud to celebrate the core of hunting, woodsmanship, and with seasonal collections on the horizon, we're excited to open the archives, add a few things and re-introduce these classic designs. The Mossy Oak Woodsman
Read More
Turkey, Big Game, Small Game, Deer, Waterfowl, Predator, Conservation, Land Management, Gear, Mossy Oak
From the Archives: Bob Dixon and Steve Burnett on the Art of Mix and Matching Camo
By Terry Madewell, originally published in the 1994 edition of Mossy Oak Bowhunting Magazine As big whitetail bucks are inclined to do, this one had done the unexpected. I'd studied this buck's pattern for a couple of weeks, being extremely careful not to leave any scent in the wrong places. I'd selected a stand site where the dense underbrush funneled into a 40-yard-wide strip. I was sure this was where he would walk and I
Read More
Turkey, Big Game, Deer, Waterfowl, Predator, How-To
Explore All Posts