School me on electronic predator calls

358Rooster

358Rooster

CGN Regular
Rating - 100%
36   0   0
Location
Central Saskatchewan
Hey all, for the past decade or so while my kids were small & work took precedence over almost everything, my predator "hunting" has been strictly chance encounters. I'm slowly getting back out into the mix and would like some up to date opinions on electronic callers from the guys who have used a few different ones. It's really tough wading through all the marketing crap out there, because according to every manufacturer, theirs is the best on the market. Typical of almost every product, I suppose.

Back when I used to hunt coyotes like a b@stard, I used only mouth calls. Used to fancy myself a bit of a purist. Still kind of do but since I'm terribly out of practice and things seems to have changed (had a few fellas tell me rabbit in distress is almost useless anymore, due to most coyotes now being educated), I've resigned myself to the fact that an e-caller may be a better way to go for more than one reason. What do the real serious predator hunters recommend and why? I'd like to hear the experiences and not just the, "because that's what I use" stories :d

Coyotes will be my main fare and I'd like to get back into calling wolves again as well. Let 'er buck, fellas and thanks!

Rooster
 
Dont dismiss your hand calls just yet. I find a lot of the guys saying rabbit distress dosnt work are using electronic callers themselves and have flogged the sound to death. I like to use both my elecronics and hand calling together. For example to start a stand i will do a quiet rabbit or bird on a hand call then for my next sound a louder rabbit on the Ecall then pup distress on a hand call etc etc
As for brand of call for the most part what i found is the favorite is foxpro with primos second and all others after that. I have used the mid range offerings from both foxpro and primos and while right now im using the primos i would like to get back to foxpro.
I have found the sounds to be pretty much equal in quality and the pros and cons between the 2 kinda equal out but where foxpro wins in my books is the customer support and warranty. The customer support center is based out of the states and although the southern accents are thick they are easy to understand and beond extremely helpfull. When you buy an Ecall make sure its a model that you can buy extra sounds for as i have found that sounds beond what comes on the call are often what coyotes havent heard yet. Hope that helps
 
FoxPro. Awesome warranty and I've had my call for 3 years and it works just like the day I bought it so I haven't had to use the warranty. Battery life has been really good too.

I have found over the last couple years with so many people trying predator hunting that coyotes don't respond nearly as well to Prey distress as they did 10 years ago.
 
I prefer the hand calls over e-calls, but I've owned a few electronic calls and hands down my favorite is my FoxPro Fusion, the features on this rig are amazing and it will also accommodate .a mechanized decoy. It has a hundred preloaded calls and has room for one thousand calls and sequences, many of them free too download off their site. The white tail deer and moose calls are very realistic, I downloaded them for free. The volume is unbelievable and it will even take an auxiliary speaker, but I don't think you need one.
As for customer support, I've never dealt with better, the tech can even take over your computer with your permission to help you load the calls.
But don't leave home without your mouth calls, sometimes batteries don't last long in extreme cold, or you might have forgotten to change them.
 
Thanks very much, guys. All of you - well, except for you, retiredsaf :p - provided well justified responses. I like that! Except for you, retiredsaf........ Kidding - just bustin' your balls, bud ;)

Seems the overwhelming favourite so far is Foxpro. I'll look into them. I picked up a predator hunting magazine for the first time in a very long time and there seemed to be a lot of different call systems advertised in it. Do we generally not see so many up here? All I seem to find (not that I've been looking hard yet) is Foxpro, Primos, Johnny Stewart, and of course the multitude of 'economy' garbage. Flextone, Western River, Icotec, Mojo were among the ones advertised in this American magazine. Any experiences with these or others? Or is it as simple (and silly) as those companies not shipping to Canada?

I hear what those of you who are saying to retain the mouth calls - I honestly don't think I could wean myself from them completely. Pretty tough to replace some of the sounds, volumes, and conveniences allowed by them as dictated by individual situation.

Rooster
 
I din't think I would need a long convoluted explanation. The rest of the responses covered anything I could have added. Used several different e-call and the FoxPro outdoes them all. And I have used most of the others also. Started out with hand/mouth calls and still have a hockey sock full and use them too for a change up.
 
I know buddy, I was just having a little bit of fun with you. All good:d I do appreciate your experience.

Are there any of the Foxpros that anyone would stay away from for any particular reason?
 
Coyotes are well educated now what with all their population explosion, farmers/etc. shooting at them and lots of people calling and not seeing them watching the caller/hunter.

Get a FoxPro, turn it on low placed out in the field upwind of you and blow the reed out of the hand call a few times and then stay hidden and quiet. They will be coming and the FP keeps their eyes off you as they circle/approach the FP e-caller/decoy. Take no prisoners. Lol

Rinse and repeat as appropriate.
 
From what i have seen jonny stewart and the other guys ship to canada but the outstanding qualities of the foxpro and primos units keep them at the top of the list. I would like to try the mojo caller as they make some other great products that i like and i have seen and heard some good results from them.
I have not used one but the foxpro deadbone looks to be a pretty cheap pos. The foxpro wildfire (not the wildfire2) has quite a lack of features so i would go for the wildfire 2 at the minimum.
 
I am on my second foxpro and to tell you the truth they are WAY OVERPRICED for what you get!! There are much more affordable options out there with much better sounds and to be honest aside from crow hunting sounds I think a mouth blown call in the hands of a practiced hunter for coyotes outperforms an e-caller on most given days hands down.
 
I bought a icotec gc 300 I think for a under a $ 100 on amazon. Have not had the opportunity to take it out yet but looks good and sounds great.
 
Last edited:
The bonus of electronic calls is that the yotes are looking to where the sound is coming from, rather than the hunter.
 
I'm a noob coyote hunter and got a Icotec. Works great, even called one in on my second time out....I just need to do my part next time....:mad:
ht tp://icotec.com/ google some reviews...available from Amazon.ca
 
the spank said:
I am on my second foxpro and to tell you the truth they are WAY OVERPRICED for what you get!! There are much more affordable options out there with much better sounds and to be honest aside from crow hunting sounds I think a mouth blown call in the hands of a practiced hunter for coyotes outperforms an e-caller on most given days hands down.
Click to expand...

No, what he said! Quality mouth calls don't give up much to an e-caller. Guys tend to run e-callers waaay too loud and rely too much on the fancy pre-assembled play lists. I've called in pairs from years away with just a cotton tail distress coaxer... Have a look at Carver calls. I believe he still sells a 5 call set for like $50, spend the rest of your cash on fuel or beer. I have 8 of his calls, awesome guy to deal with and he makes great stuff.
 
I have just received a FoxPro fusion as a gift recently and the sound quality is excellent. However I am not impressed with some of the quirks with the remote control and battery life in the remote is poor. Customer service was quick to respond to my email when I asked questions about it.

I have used a Primos Alpha Dogg for the past 4 seasons. It got a lot of hard use and a couple of plastic parts broke in the extreme cold - customer service was great and parts replaced quickly and at no cost. The sound quality is good and I like the moveable speakers. It is heavier than the FoxPro. In my opinion the remote control is excellent and better than the FoxPro.

I have posted experiences with both on my wolf hunting threads here. Bottom line, if money is not an issue buy FoxPro. If you want a good unit at lower price buy the Alpha Dogg.
 
I can make better, more realistic sounds with my hand calls....but the advantage of electronic is it keeps the sound away from you. That way the coyote isn't fixated on your position.

I use a rabbit decoy with a fox pro fury2....I will howl back and forth between hand call n foxpro. I always bring both but I have shot my biggest and best coyotes using turkey decoy and box call.
 
i have a foxpro wildfire and i connected a TOA external speaker to it.
this works a treat.i have the whole unit inside a 'lunch bag' covered in a white grain sack for cammo (lunch bag was bright blue)

i also use a orange ruffi dawg call,that brings the yotes in
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom