Lots of turkey hunters are sentimental about their vest. Throwing on the previous vest through the predawn of opening morning—simply the identical approach you’ve performed each season earlier than—is a real spring ritual. So maybe it shouldn’t be all that stunning {that a} very particular turkey vest created by Mossy Oak (together with a bundle of customized calls and APEX ammo) auctioned for $31,000 through the National Wild Turkey Federation Convention this previous weekend. The proceeds from the public sale shall be used for turkey conservation initiatives.
The “Mr. Fox Vest” is called after Fox Haas, the daddy of Mossy Oak founder Toxey Haas. And although the vest was constructed rigorously and thoughtfully with all of the encompasses a turkey hunter would need, its true worth comes from what it represents, and that’s Mr. Fox himself.
Mr. Fox, now 92, grew up in Mississippi throughout a time when there weren’t many wild turkeys on the panorama. He personally introduced turkeys again to the world round West Point, Mississippi, the place Mossy Oak is headquartered. He’s killed at the very least one turkey for 75 seasons, and the final a number of have been documented by Mossy Oak.
“If I make it to 100, I don’t think I’ll lose my enthusiasm,” Mr. Fox says.
Here’s an excerpt from the Mossy Oak web site: “The Fox Vest is more than just a turkey vest, its meaning is much deeper. This vest symbolizes what it truly means to be a gamekeeper. It is a symbol of giving back to the resource more than we take. It is a symbol of hope, that by following the example that Mr. Fox and people like him have set, wild turkeys will thrive for generations to come.”
As turkey populations all through a lot of the nation proceed to battle, many hunters and conservationists are wanting again to the early days of turkey administration. We had the willpower to reintroduce and restore wild turkeys throughout their vary then; will now we have that very same willpower to maintain them right here?
I’ve little question that these pressures, together with Mr. Fox’s charming story, are what drove the value up on the public sale. Beyond the auctioned vest, Mossy Oak additionally bought 400 early orders of the Mr. Fox vest on the NWTF Convention. Before the present had even began, greater than 100 individuals lined up and waited in a single day to safe one of many vests. The public sale additionally included customized turkey calls made by 9 of essentially the most revered name makers within the nation, plus a field of customized, hand-loaded turkey shells from APEX Ammunition, which is predicated in Columbus, Mississippi.
“He has become a symbol of all the good that generation of turkey hunter stands for,” Daniel Haas, Mr. Fox’s grandson, advised NWTF. “That generation is the reason we had turkeys in the first place, and they carried it through their years long enough for the NWTF to take over and give us all the turkeys we have now.”
The Mr. Fox vest will formally launch March 11 on the Mossy Oak retailer in West Point. Remaining vests will go up on the market on-line on March 13. However there’s a finite variety of vests obtainable. There shall be a run of numbered vests—from 1 to 1944, the 12 months Mr. Fox killed his first turkey—plus a restricted provide of unnumbered vests. So when you’ve got your coronary heart set on proudly owning one in all these vests, I’d recommend making the journey all the way down to West Point. If you’re going to personal a chunk of turkey looking historical past, you may as effectively see the place it began.