Good/best varmint call

[benlow]

I have several mouth calls that I use. I have two "Lohman Circe" rabbit calls, a "Primos" howler, a carlton's open reed call, and one jack rabbit call that is so old I cant tell you what it is. These are the ones that I like, because I think that they sound good when I blow them. I have to walk quite aways from the truck and roads here in CA to succesful. That is the reason I like mouth calls. I do not want the extra weight of a electronic caller, when I am already carrying a twelve pound gun and a twenty pound back pack. I am too old to carry a bunch of extra weight. I am no expert, but you asked and this is what works for me. There is guys out there that are alot more successful than I am, and I still have a lot to learn about coyotes.

 

[wadevb1]

Varmint calling in my area has become a popular event and many are calling wrong thus educating the yote population. The advantage of my Ecaller is dropping it and being able to hunt distance down wind while controlling the call.

There are some that question the lack of skill involved in pushing buttons. My six year old daughter sounds pretty good on most of my mouth calls with little effort.

And then there is the weight argument. Before the Ecaller I carried several squealers, turkey calls and a horn howler. My Minaska M1 bandit weights minus two pounds and has a hundred calls on the card. Two pounds ends that argument.

If I were to invest in another caller I'd seriously consider the WT line. I like my Minaska but they have been victims of their own success and the wait for a build will be longer than quoted.

 

[brushcountry101]

The reason I want an electronic call is - All I have ever used is mouth calls, some I made my self
and have killed Coyotes,bob cats,hogs,deer,turkeys,feral dogs,squirrel,pheasant,grouse,ducks
and geese using a bow and Coyotes and turkeys are about the toughest.

When using a mouth call you give away your position and every now and then you may have a
bob cat or mountan lion jump in the blind/brush with you. So the electronic calls sound like
the cure for this problem if you can set them away from you and use a remote. also we have
a problem with owls trying to find that easy meal and I have had and seen them take the hat
off the callers head. ( And as gomer pyle says "surprise surprise" ).

I have had Coyotes pass by a decoy on a dead run and never stop untill they were at a safe
distance from the bow hunter then stop and look back. ( Very smart those old dogs ).

Right now it looks like the foxpro FX3 is my choice but I want to look at the Wildlife Technologies
that BGURR recomended before I take the plunge.

Thanks for all the replies
J E CUSTOM

to me thats the best part. getting an eye on them before they do you. iv been skunked so many time from them getting wind on me its not even funny. if ur gona be productive in heavy brush i could see why people use the e-callers, just to off set their point of focus. iv seen a bunch of coyotes shot while standing over the top of a fox pro wondering what the hell is going on. its kinda funny actually. and as far as the mountain lions, you can keepem. i dont want any jumping in my lap. couple of weeks ago i had a bobcat sneek up behind me and i had no idea how long he was there, but he wasnt botherd by me one bit. he just comenced to lick his old croth hind leg in the air, then turned his nose at me and mosied off like he had better things to do than sit there and look at me all day.

 

[Broz]

Right now it looks like the foxpro FX3 is my choice but I want to look at the Wildlife Technologies
that BGURR recomended before I take the plunge.

Thanks for all the replies
J E CUSTOM

I have beat this decision to death. I know it is $200 more but give the Foxpro Fury a good look. I think it is "the one" considering it is superseding the FX5 for much less $$. And it can have one sound coming from one end and a second sound from the other. Plus I like the idea that you can program the whole series of sounds for the stand before you go including varying the volume. Then activate it with one push of a button. When I considered all that and the resale value, I finally made up my mind.

Just a thought.

Jeff

.

 

[rsbhunter]

+1 bgurr.....i have a WT2030, bought at the old(high) price, and i don't care! Sounds are AWESOME! Had my reciever go out last week, talked to Bill Martz , will be fixed at NO cost...This company is soon to be "THE Caller company". I have talked to both Bill and Patricia many times, found them both to be very helpful and the info they give you is the truth! But, have used and heard all the big names, and they all do what you pay money for them to do.......Any of the top names will not let you down..rsbhunter

 

[screech]

I just self taught myself how to call last weekend on a Kiyi and a hot dog. Randy anderson, forgot who made them. Im not going to say im good or even really have a clue what im doing but since sunday night we went out every evening since then and the results were. bobcat sunday night. Called in coyotes both monday and tuesday evening killed a yote on wednesday didnt hunt thursday and killed on tonight. watch out its ridicously addictating.

So I would like to get an foxpro but while im still able to get them in everytime I go out on mouth calls ill stick to them. I feel a fox pro is in my future though. Oh I also have a little spinny thingy that I feel helps. At least it did on the cat.

 

[nvwolfer]

I have had the good fortune of being able to kill coyotes and other predators for a living. I have always wanted and used the best equipment possible as I might only get one crack at a lamb killing wet bitch and I want every advantage that I can get. I have had the opportunity to try about every electronic caller on the market and even some home made deals. I am not abasing nor am I promoting anyones product but if you put these calls side by side and compare volume, clarity of sound, dependability and sound selection the Wild Life Tech caller wins hands down in comparison by a lot. When looking to make a decision on a call just do that, put them side by side play one then another and see for yourself. The only down fall with the Wild Life Tech caller was its size but I just bought their new compact model about a month ago and it is about half the size of the older model and about half the price.

 

[Goofycat]

I had planned on seriously looking at the FX3 caller by Foxpro, but after looking at the list of calls for crows and coyotes, I am stumped as to how many calls I would need. If I stick with the FX3, I am limited to 32 calls, which I originally thought would provide for enough variation. Now, I am seeing that there appear to be dozens of different calls. I have no idea which calls would work better than the distressed rabbit and coyote mouth calls I am now using, and after hearing the quality of the calls on the FoxPro and Wildlife Technologies websites, it appears that more calls might be better than fewer calls. This means that if I choose the FoxPro, I would have to spend $200 more to upgrade to the new Fury (the FX5 has been discontinued) in order to include more calls than the 32 that the FX3 provides.

The "Mighty Atom" that WT provides is advertised as being around 2 pounds; but....their website does not provide as clear an explanation of features as does the FoxPro site.

So....should I just bite the bullet and go with the FoxPro Fury at $599, or go with a Wildlife Tech model?
I don't want to spend less money on a model that won't offer the variety of sounds that will bring in coyotes and crows. I don't plan to hunt anything else, except pigs. BTW ProBass Shops has some good things to say about the FX3 in their customer reviews, yet nothing is mentioned about whether a maximum of 32 sounds is really enough.

 

[Rmitch223]

Check out FOXPRO's new Spitfire coming out in October. Its already on Allpredatorcalls.com

 

[Goofycat]

Thanks. The salesperson didn't say a thing about it when I talked to her this morning. I'll check it out.

 

[Rmitch223]

Yeah its a awesome unit at a great price. Im sure foxpro will sells tons of these units.

 

[Rymart]

these electronic calls make it to easy.... but in my opinion, theirs no hunt in it. anybody can sit there and push a button. its like sitting at a deer feeder and picking the deer you want.

Oh, that's funny... Sign me up, I'm gonna just push the button and wait for my coyotes to show up so I can shoot them! Maybe I won't even need to leave the house... I'm thinking he's never used an e-caller, or even hunted coyotes to say something like that. No slight intended, I'm just saying...

Personally I seem to have much better luck with hand calls over e-callers. In the scheme of things, the more I predator hunt, the less I think the sound you make has to do with the end result (not that its meaningless). Things like stand selection, hunt area choice, Positioning for visibility and wind direction, holding still, and getting into the stand unseen/unheard seem to matter more than the sound.

Both E-callers and hand calls have their place.

As I see it, e-caller benefits are:

- Usually louder for calling in high wind
- Ability to position caller (with remote) to cover a downwind approach where visibility is limited
- More confidence in the sound for a beginner
- Potential for less hand movement while calling
- focus on looking around, not calling


hand call benefits are:

- More sound control (especially open reed)
- Ability to 'not sound like everyone else' - How many coyotes in Utah or Western Wyoming haven't heard 'DSG Cottontail' or 'Lightening Jack' by midway through the calling season?
- Lots of custom calls available
- Coyote expects to see some movement from the source of the sound, thus you can get away with a little more movement (gun positioning), verses movement away from the caller which often results in a more quick retreat with less shot opportunity
- No dead batteries
- cheap
- fit easily into a pocket

If I were in the market for an e-caller I would narrow it down to the FoxPro Fury, the FoxPro CS-24, or the Minaska Big Country Bandit. If the caller doesn't have superior volume and clarity, you might as well use hand calls IMO.

Just my $0.02.

 

[Goofycat]

I just ordered a Fox Pro Fury. Pricey, yes, but it holds a ton of sounds (100 installed sounds of my own choice, and in the order that I wanted), is easy to carry, has an excellent speaker system and remote control. I talked to Drew, the sales guy who told me that the people at FP are all hunters and can advise on which sounds work best. Five year warranty on the unit and what appeared to be excellent customer service. The FX3 would have been my choice, but there were a lot of sounds that I wanted that the FX3 didn't have the room to store, otherwise I would have purchased the FX3. Fox Pro offers reburbished FX3 units for $350 when they are available, but with only a 1 year warranty instead of the 5-year. I was told by FP that the FX3 cannot be upgraded to the Fury because the electronics are different. Also, sounds other than those offered by FP can be added, as long as the format is the same. Varmint Al has some interesting sounds that I will consider.

FP just came out with a much larger unit than the Fury (the Prairie Blaster; costs $700 instead of $600), although it is programmed for the same sounds. Drew said the difference was basically in its much louder sound (about twice that of the Fury) and much larger size. I opted for the Fury because I wanted to pack it away easily and because of good reports on its effectiveness in bringing in coyotes. I also ordered the 110AC adapter that allows the batteries in the unit to be recharged merely by plugging in the adapter to the unit. I.e., I don't have to remove the batteries in order to recharge them. They also offer an adapter to use for recharging from a vehicle.

I also just received two Mil-Tec vests from Sportsman's Guide. They have enough pockets to store hand calls, hunting license, ammo, binoculars, range-finder, knife and any other small items. There is a large pocket on the back where I can store some camo material, water, FP Fury, etc. Since they were cheap, I bought one in a size large enough to fit over cold-weather gear and another in a smaller size for warm weather shooting. The advantage of a vest is that I can keep all the "stuff" in one place and there is no interference from stuff sticking out to the side, where it would be in the way of my arms. The vests are made in China, but appear to be well-made. They were around $25 each, including shipping.

 

[J E Custom]

I had planned on seriously looking at the FX3 caller by Foxpro, but after looking at the list of calls for crows and coyotes, I am stumped as to how many calls I would need. If I stick with the FX3, I am limited to 32 calls, which I originally thought would provide for enough variation. Now, I am seeing that there appear to be dozens of different calls. I have no idea which calls would work better than the distressed rabbit and coyote mouth calls I am now using, and after hearing the quality of the calls on the FoxPro and Wildlife Technologies websites, it appears that more calls might be better than fewer calls. This means that if I choose the FoxPro, I would have to spend $200 more to upgrade to the new Fury (the FX5 has been discontinued) in order to include more calls than the 32 that the FX3 provides.

The "Mighty Atom" that WT provides is advertised as being around 2 pounds; but....their website does not provide as clear an explanation of features as does the FoxPro site.

So....should I just bite the bullet and go with the FoxPro Fury at $599, or go with a Wildlife Tech model?
I don't want to spend less money on a model that won't offer the variety of sounds that will bring in coyotes and crows. I don't plan to hunt anything else, except pigs. BTW ProBass Shops has some good things to say about the FX3 in their customer reviews, yet nothing is mentioned about whether a maximum of 32 sounds is really enough.

I went through this same exercise when I was looking and decided to go with the FX3 and the
32 sounds and though that I could all upgrade if I wanted to.

Well after using the FX3 and (Only) 32 sounds I found that I try 4 or 5 sounds and when
something works I use that sound with 1 or 2 different sounds to make it real and don't need
more sounds to be effective and found that to many different sounds spooked the game.

So hear is another example of more is not necessarily better.

I don't use all of the 32 sounds that I have but if I thought that 100 sounds would work better
you can bet I would try to find one with 200 sounds. So I would recomend starting with the FX3
and if your not satisfied with it sell it and buy a more expensive unit.

5 or 6 of any type call will be enough for the game hunted . I use mine for Varmints,hogs,geese
during the special season,sand hill cranes,turkeys and deer where/when legal and the FX3
works great .and I have no plans to switch to a bigger,more expensive call.

Just my 2 cents

J E CUSTOM