Louder any better?

W

WeaselCircus

Member
Hey guys. So I bought a Foxpro Inferno a few months back as my first e-caller. It's been doing alright but I'm wondering if anything would be gained by upgrading to something like the banshee which appears to have a much larger/louder speaker? It's been windy quite a bit in my hunt areas and seems like every time out I've got 15+ mph winds. I'm not sure if anything is even hearing the call unless it is dead straight downwind. Will the increased volume of the banshee or other higher-level caller help pull in coyotes in the wind? Any other features that are worth an upgrade? Thanks
 
I call against the wind or breeze about 90% of the time.

My Foxpro callers with the 12 volt gel cell battery and SP-60 speaker are very loud.

Even a slight breeze can keep the sound from traveling as far as you would like it to if you don't have much volume.

I don't use full volume as much as I use to but I always end up playing some sounds on full volume before I give up on a stand.

Many times I have had coyotes show up within 2 to 5 minutes after playing a loud sound on full volume for a minute or two.

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Back when I took the above picture I played my Foxpro sounds on full volume most of the time and that was while using the 12 volt gel cell battery along with the SP-55 speaker.

Having two separate speakers that you can point where you want them pointed also helps get the sound out in the directions you want it to go.
 
Thanks for the replies. Would sure be nice if the different call models had some kind of decibel/sound rating so you had a ballpark idea of what kind of volume they can do. Looks like I'll have to pick up one of those TOA or Foxpro external speakers. I guess that will give me the option of the extra volume for windy days but if we get some calm ones I won't need to bring it.

I also have been mostly calling into the wind, but some of the areas I hit are fairly flat and I swear the sound isn't making it 50 feet upwind when it's really blowing. You suppose it would be effective to call with a quartering away wind direction or crosswind when it is like that?
 
In my opinion, too many new coyote hunters get off on the wrong foot when they buy into calling into the wind. You are reducing the chances of coyotes hearing the ecaller, especially coyotes that are long distances away. Coyotes will come quicker if they have the wind in their nose. Trick is for you to sit where your scent isn't being carried to where the sound is going.

If you are going to insist on calling into the wind, you better be sure to put up some rear view mirrors.
 
Al,

Good points. So how would you recommend approaching a stand for a downwind calling scenario? For simplicity sake assuming the area is rolling sage hills where a coyote could come from anywhere, would you walk in straight downwind, straight upwind, 90 degrees (crosswind) to the stand? Still fairly new at this sport and trying to think how to best do a run of stands.
 
What I call wind most coyote callers would call a slight breeze. But calling against a slight breeze your sounds will not carry as far if you are calling with the slight breeze.

Most of the ridges and mountains I call off of the breeze is blowing uphill from about 8;30 am to 4:00 pm most of the time. If the coyotes do try to get down wind of my caller it is only about 10 to 30 yards downwind because they are climbing steep terrain.

I am very lucky because the areas I call coyotes in we don't get hard winds very often at all.

The extra external speaker will help spread out the sound even if you don't use high volume.
 
I'd say the setup Bob uses will cover it all, and as he says, the kind of terrain you hunt and how far you may be pulling coyotes to you is very important.
 
WeaselCircus, my approach to my stand has a lot to do with the lay of the land, and I use a wide variety of approaches. If I am walking into the wind, I am totally aware that my noise is pretty much shielded from the coyote's ears, but they are likely to be watching where they can't smell. Hard to answer your question with one pat answer, but I will say that I seldom have my scent going to where I think the coyotes will come from. A lot of what I do is based on years of trial and error, enhanced by total knowledge of the country I am hunting. I use surrounding fencerows and such to help blend in on my way in. Hope that helps you.
 
Thanks for the tips/suggestions. Actually got a break from the heavy winds finally for a day. I was able to go out and give some of the downwind advice a try on about half the stands I made to see what would happen. In 8 or 9 stands I saw coyotes come in on 4. On two of the crosswind stands I didn't get shots - 1 of them came from a different direction than I expected and appeared to hit my scent from my path walking in. Another one I saw for just a moment as his head was looking towards the call from some thick sagebrush, then he moved back into the brush and I never saw him again. But I did get two (pics below) and both were on downwind stands. The top pic was one that came in from my 10 o'clock position at 100 yards out and was working his way to go to 12 to get downwind when I got him. The bottom pic he came in from the left in the photo in the sparse grassy area (again opposite of what I would have expected) and went right to my 12 o'clock, straight downwind at about 200 yards. He actually hunkered down a bit when he stopped to look and I could only see his head and just a bit of chest, but it was enough.
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And I don't have an external speaker yet, was just using the little Inferno, but on lower wind days it does just fine.

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We usually have a breeze/wind we have to deal with in my area. Here's my best morning setup. Wind is from south or slightly sw and sun of course in east. I'll approach my calling area from east and I'm expecting coyotes from some westerly direction (even south or north). I sit in an elevated spot in some kind of cover, might just be a small bush. I've got sun to my back and a left to right wind. I make sure I have clear visibility straight down the wind channel (to my right) as far as possible, usually 200 yards and well beyond. I set my rifle on my sticks just in front (left) of the wind. If one comes directly from the right, down wind, my goal is to shoot it as soon as possible. Anything else typically tracks toward my rifle, so I don't move unless they are bugging out. I stop the coyote and shoot generally right where my rifle is set, which is right before they can wind me. I can usually get 1 stand in at first shooting light facing the east, before the sun tips. Same idea, other direction. Certain setups require me to wait for a different wind direction before I'll hunt that spot. I've learned I have better luck leaving a spot where I don't like the wind for another day where the wind is different. I can go back an call those in without educating them with a bad stand. I also rarely call into the wind, unless I've covered the area behind me extensively and 99% feel like they won't come from that direction.
 


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