Saw this on EBay ::)
http://www.ebay.com/itm/222028792132?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1558.l2649
Mr. Kirby is who really got me fired up with turkey hunting. In the early '70's, he was hunting the ranch next to ours and we met at the fenceline. He gave me a handful of diaphrams and we continued a friendship for many years.
Quote from: Gamblinman on February 28, 2016, 04:22:17 PM
Mr. Kirby is who really got me fired up with turkey hunting. In the early '70's, he was hunting the ranch next to ours and we met at the fenceline. He gave me a handful of diaphrams and we continued a friendship for many years.
That's cool! He was definitely one of the early pioneers of the modern turkey hunting era and did a lot to popularize the sport.
early 90's 3 friends and myself went to hunt in northern Missouri on a piece of property we had hunted the year before and had talked to the caretaker of the ground a week or two before the season.
He told us we were good to go.
Well got there friday before the opener of deer firearms and found the ground posted.
called the number on the sign and meet at the club . Met Dick along with others and they said a meeting was coming in an hour. After the meeting all 4 of us were told we had a place to hunt and that the members sponsored us as guests.
Now Mr. Kirby was not the only one involved in this decision but visiting with him was nice time and very informative.
A first class guy for sure.
I first met Dick Kirby at a sportsmans show in NY in 1981. Had a great time talking with him at his booth about turkeys, deer, elk and life in general! We were staying at the same hotel, and wound up having dinner together that evening. He was one of if not THE...finest gentlemen I ever met in the outdoor industry to this day.
We stayed in touch thru the years...and He even invited me to join him at his beloved annual Ford Ranch hunt in Texas on more than one occasion, but it just never happened. (One of my biggest regrets to this day)
I'll always treasure the Custom Boat Paddle box call he made for me and the letter he sent with it, as well as all the stories, knowledge, and advice he shared thru the years.
Dick truly was a pioneer w/ Quaker Boy Calls, a turkey calling/hunting legend, and great Ambassador for the sport of turkey hunting.
So glad I got to meet him. A true legend of our sport.
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He was my barber when I was in high school, graduated back in 73'. He was just getting into making mouth calls back then, and would give me a couple to try out. His son Chris was knee high to a totem pole. The rest they say, is history!! :gobble:
:turkey2:
Quote from: maytom on February 28, 2016, 09:40:47 PM
He was my barber when I was in high school
Was he good at cuttin? ;D
LOL....yelp!!
My first turkey call was a Quaker Boy push-pin call that my father gave me back in the late 80s. It still works great and it's what I start newbies on.
I have his cassette tape "Talkin' to Spring Gobblers" and it's an annual tradition that I listen to it each year in my car before the season starts. I always stopped and talked to him at his booth each time I attended the NWTF Convention in Nashville. Mr. Kirby was a top flight turkey man and a real gentleman.
I have a QB Sweet Butternut Boat Paddle and a Butternut Jr. box call that I waterproofed. Both talk pure turkey and are field favorites.
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The Old Boss Hen was the call I learned how to call with. It came with an instructional cassette. I about wore that cassette out, and listened to the audio of the "Boss Gobbler of Lechworth Canyon" hunt over and over.
I held him in the highest regards and that was saying a lot since he was a Yankee from Pennsylvania. :angel9:
Glad to know he was the class act that I believed he was as a young hunter.
I remember the first Quaker Boy product I bought was a Bandito headnet. My buddy said you need to get rid of that thing its too white (old realtree camo). Told my mentor and he said "that boy doesn't know what hes talking about!~ ;D
Still own a bunch of calls and videos that I bought from Mr. Kirby at various shows.. Also have a cassette tape of the hunt for the " Boss Gobbler of Letchworth Canyon"..
I killed a lot of birds with the QB Old Boss Hen mouthcall.
Class act indeed.. Great man.
I had knee surgery a few years ago and I had amassed a rather large collection of his videos....its pretty much all I did while I was laid up...that and slept...about drove my boss hen crazy...I told him about it...he just laughed and said "I bet it did!"