NyHunter08
New member
which is better, and why?
mouth call vs electronic call
- Thread starter NyHunter08
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adnahoundsman
New member
Each has it's place. Depends on the situation.
Most guys use both.
Most guys use both.
nutcracker
New member
i use both and each has its place. like the other guys said, used in combination they can be deadly. one of the advantages to an electronic is the remote control capability. i set my e-caller upwind from my stand as far as terrain will allow reception. coyote and fox here will usually try to circle down wind and it puts me in good position. if it weren't for the remote capability i might stick to mouth calls. the remote also helps keep the predator looking for the remote instead of my stand, gives me a chance to shift my gun without getting busted. i killed a nice male coyote last weekend using rabbit distress on my e-caller, and blowing a fawn distress from about 25 yds down wind. coyote popped out from brush between the e-caller and my stand, looking for breakfast! 17 minutes into the stand.
I agree with the others, both have their uses. I mainly use
e-callers for sounds I can't make on a mouth call or to
get the sound away from me. With mouth calls you can put
more emotion into the call or answer a coyote with the right
type of howl. But with mouth calls the predator will come
in looking right at you and it's easy to get busted that
way. At night I prefer mouth calls because I want the
animal to look at me so I can pick up the eyes and get ready
for the shot. Having a remote e-caller is good if you want
the sound to be away from you. Also you can change sounds
or volume quickly and easily with them if you want to. Using
both together can be a great combo and I often use both at
a stand. I really like e-callers for coons and greys.
e-callers for sounds I can't make on a mouth call or to
get the sound away from me. With mouth calls you can put
more emotion into the call or answer a coyote with the right
type of howl. But with mouth calls the predator will come
in looking right at you and it's easy to get busted that
way. At night I prefer mouth calls because I want the
animal to look at me so I can pick up the eyes and get ready
for the shot. Having a remote e-caller is good if you want
the sound to be away from you. Also you can change sounds
or volume quickly and easily with them if you want to. Using
both together can be a great combo and I often use both at
a stand. I really like e-callers for coons and greys.
LionCaller
New member
Originally Posted By: NyHunter08which is better, and why?
Partial repost from my Wildlife Callers blog...
Here’s my take on an ongoing debate in the predator hunting & calling community that has no shortage of opinions. You'll get several here.
I spend most of my time calling for and hunting mountain lions. Dave Martens (calling partner) and I have had some excellent success calling cougars, and as a result we are often asked what kind of electronic callers are we using, if we use hand calls (and if so, what type), what digital sounds are the best, and is there a “sequence” of sounds that bring lions to the call.
First, I’ll tell you that I have not used a mouth call in at least two years—probably more. I have been hugely successful with my digital caller. It gives me setup flexibility that I can’t get from a hand call, and moreover it gives me a library of digitally recorded animal sounds at my fingertips that I just can’t reproduce with hand calls. Am I saying that I wasn’t successful with my hand calls? No, certainly not. Over a period of 20 years (I started calling in 1986) I had become quite the master of my dying rabbit flutes and called a bunch of critters. However, once I got started with a high quality electric caller with a reliable remote control I dropped my hand calls like so many hot rocks.
I tried a few other callers along the way and had some good success with a wired-speaker Johnny Stewart game caller that used cassette tapes. However, after I paid for some training with Steve Craig (The Lion King from Cottonwood Arizona) I found that a remote controlled unit was the way to go. After a lot of research and listening to various callers, I settled on the Wildlife Technologies caller that I have today. The endless number of ways that I can set up a stand with a remote controlled e-caller combined with the extensive library of perfectly clean and loud animal vocalizations has completely changed the way I hunt. I call far more animals now than I ever did before, and my consistency calling mountain lions is directly attributable to using an electronic call with cougar vocalizations on it.
I've got friends who hunt with GameTraks, FoxPro, Johnny Stewart, MAD, Wildlife Technologies, homemade MP3 set ups, and others. No matter what electronic caller you choose, if you buy one that’s high quality and commit to learning how to use it, it will add a whole new dimension to your sport. If you’re a wildlife photographer or a hunter, the advantages are the same. You can call more animals, put their attention and keen eyes somewhere else, and capture more images or pelts.
A word of caution!! If you choose to go digital - buy the best electronic game caller your budget allows. I wasted a lot of money on cheap versions that collectively added up would have bought me my good caller the first time.
One last element of the debate:
Does an electronic game call give me an "unfair advantage"? I certainly don't think so. I still have days where I don't call a darn thing. I also know plenty of hunters who have purchased electronic callers who haven't improved their success rates at all. You still have to understand the animals you're calling, pre-scout and know your calling areas, and know how to use the e-caller effectively (sounds, volume control, unit placement, etc.). Success is always determined by how many hours are spent in the field, learning and understanding the sport.
Good hunting and best regards,
Mark Healy
Partial repost from my Wildlife Callers blog...
Here’s my take on an ongoing debate in the predator hunting & calling community that has no shortage of opinions. You'll get several here.
I spend most of my time calling for and hunting mountain lions. Dave Martens (calling partner) and I have had some excellent success calling cougars, and as a result we are often asked what kind of electronic callers are we using, if we use hand calls (and if so, what type), what digital sounds are the best, and is there a “sequence” of sounds that bring lions to the call.
First, I’ll tell you that I have not used a mouth call in at least two years—probably more. I have been hugely successful with my digital caller. It gives me setup flexibility that I can’t get from a hand call, and moreover it gives me a library of digitally recorded animal sounds at my fingertips that I just can’t reproduce with hand calls. Am I saying that I wasn’t successful with my hand calls? No, certainly not. Over a period of 20 years (I started calling in 1986) I had become quite the master of my dying rabbit flutes and called a bunch of critters. However, once I got started with a high quality electric caller with a reliable remote control I dropped my hand calls like so many hot rocks.
I tried a few other callers along the way and had some good success with a wired-speaker Johnny Stewart game caller that used cassette tapes. However, after I paid for some training with Steve Craig (The Lion King from Cottonwood Arizona) I found that a remote controlled unit was the way to go. After a lot of research and listening to various callers, I settled on the Wildlife Technologies caller that I have today. The endless number of ways that I can set up a stand with a remote controlled e-caller combined with the extensive library of perfectly clean and loud animal vocalizations has completely changed the way I hunt. I call far more animals now than I ever did before, and my consistency calling mountain lions is directly attributable to using an electronic call with cougar vocalizations on it.
I've got friends who hunt with GameTraks, FoxPro, Johnny Stewart, MAD, Wildlife Technologies, homemade MP3 set ups, and others. No matter what electronic caller you choose, if you buy one that’s high quality and commit to learning how to use it, it will add a whole new dimension to your sport. If you’re a wildlife photographer or a hunter, the advantages are the same. You can call more animals, put their attention and keen eyes somewhere else, and capture more images or pelts.
A word of caution!! If you choose to go digital - buy the best electronic game caller your budget allows. I wasted a lot of money on cheap versions that collectively added up would have bought me my good caller the first time.
One last element of the debate:
Does an electronic game call give me an "unfair advantage"? I certainly don't think so. I still have days where I don't call a darn thing. I also know plenty of hunters who have purchased electronic callers who haven't improved their success rates at all. You still have to understand the animals you're calling, pre-scout and know your calling areas, and know how to use the e-caller effectively (sounds, volume control, unit placement, etc.). Success is always determined by how many hours are spent in the field, learning and understanding the sport.
Good hunting and best regards,
Mark Healy
To answer the question directly, e-callers are far and away superior to hand calls on many levels. No one would drop $300 to $500 or more on an e-caller if there wasn't a significant advantage would they?LOL
IMO an e-callers advantages make it so easy that virtually any one can do it. Not that there is any thing wrong with that, they are designed with exactly that in mind. Technology in the hunting world is designed to make things "easier" and is steadily replacing skills and woods man ship one product at a time. Successful predator calling sure doesn't mean what it use to.
Good hunting.
Q,
IMO an e-callers advantages make it so easy that virtually any one can do it. Not that there is any thing wrong with that, they are designed with exactly that in mind. Technology in the hunting world is designed to make things "easier" and is steadily replacing skills and woods man ship one product at a time. Successful predator calling sure doesn't mean what it use to.
Good hunting.
Q,
mark shubert
New member
I have a Foxpro, but prefer Rich Cronk's, Tony Tebbe's, Kerry Carver's, Bearmanric's, and MANY more custom maker's calls (on my lanyards); I even prefer my crittrcaller standard. However, the Foxpro does have its advantages. I just enjoy outsmarting ol' Wiley on my own!!!
Mark
Mark
NM_HighPlains
New member
After 30 years or so of hand calls, I bought an FX3 last year and used it for most of that season. I found out a few things:
1) first, I don't like the remote! I have a hearing loss and it was impossible for me to hear many of the sounds and know that the call was working. So, for instance, if I muted the sound, I couldn't tell if I'd turned it back on or not. The mute requires that you click the button once to get its attention and then again to actually send the signal. I couldn't stand that and I actually missed a couple of coyotes because I couldn't get the thing muted. Or I'd sit there for 10 minutes wondering if I'd un-muted it.
2) it's not a magic bullet. I had about the same success rate with the e-call as I did with hand calls. And, I was packing the call, fussing with batteries, etc. Toward the end of the season I sold the FX3 and moved back to hand calls. I called in coyotes on 5 successive stands and had complete control over when the hand call tooted and when it was quiet, when it was loud and when it was softer, all w/out messing with a remote and w/out carrying the weight.
3) Dead batteries and shorts were frequent events until I got my used FX3 sorted out. The batter connector in the old FX3 takes a sharp bend and that caused a short. I soldered in a right angle plastic connector that solved those problems. I still had to make sure I had fully charged batteries in the call and remote, though.
4) I really hated all the extra movement. With hand calls, I sneak into position, sit down, and start calling. With the e-caller, it was put the call down (and a decoy that I was fooling with), then retreat back to my sitting spot. Then wonder if the volume was up enough or the mute was un-muted or whatever. A couple of times, esp before I got the short worked out, I'd have to trot down and smack the call to make it start working. Lots of movement. When I went back to hand calls, it was so nice to just sit down and start calling.
So, having said all that, I just ordered the non-remote NX3. Why!? Well, after playing with my homemade mp3 caller, I've discovered that there's times when I like to play 20-30 minute sequences that I've put together. I especially like to mix crow, raven, and magpie sounds in with a hurt rabbit. Or I just let the caller handle the birds and I'm the rabbit. This way, you can make infrequent rabbit calls, but keep the birds talking all the time to help a predator home in. There are times and places when I like to set the call away from me- down in a canyon floor, for instance, while I sit up. Even if I don't put the call away, I don't mind having ravens croaking next to me- that's where they'd be if I was a real stuck bunny. There are times when I want hurt pig, or woodpecker, or a zillion other calls that I can't make very well or get tired blowing. An E-caller is great for this.
My home-made caller would work just fine, but I like the dual speakers and size factor of the FoxPro. I just don't want to fool with the remote. And FWIW, I bought and sold my FX3 for $300 and bought the NX3 for $200 with 50 calls loaded, so I'm $100 ahead- money that I spent on custom hand calls.
1) first, I don't like the remote! I have a hearing loss and it was impossible for me to hear many of the sounds and know that the call was working. So, for instance, if I muted the sound, I couldn't tell if I'd turned it back on or not. The mute requires that you click the button once to get its attention and then again to actually send the signal. I couldn't stand that and I actually missed a couple of coyotes because I couldn't get the thing muted. Or I'd sit there for 10 minutes wondering if I'd un-muted it.
2) it's not a magic bullet. I had about the same success rate with the e-call as I did with hand calls. And, I was packing the call, fussing with batteries, etc. Toward the end of the season I sold the FX3 and moved back to hand calls. I called in coyotes on 5 successive stands and had complete control over when the hand call tooted and when it was quiet, when it was loud and when it was softer, all w/out messing with a remote and w/out carrying the weight.
3) Dead batteries and shorts were frequent events until I got my used FX3 sorted out. The batter connector in the old FX3 takes a sharp bend and that caused a short. I soldered in a right angle plastic connector that solved those problems. I still had to make sure I had fully charged batteries in the call and remote, though.
4) I really hated all the extra movement. With hand calls, I sneak into position, sit down, and start calling. With the e-caller, it was put the call down (and a decoy that I was fooling with), then retreat back to my sitting spot. Then wonder if the volume was up enough or the mute was un-muted or whatever. A couple of times, esp before I got the short worked out, I'd have to trot down and smack the call to make it start working. Lots of movement. When I went back to hand calls, it was so nice to just sit down and start calling.
So, having said all that, I just ordered the non-remote NX3. Why!? Well, after playing with my homemade mp3 caller, I've discovered that there's times when I like to play 20-30 minute sequences that I've put together. I especially like to mix crow, raven, and magpie sounds in with a hurt rabbit. Or I just let the caller handle the birds and I'm the rabbit. This way, you can make infrequent rabbit calls, but keep the birds talking all the time to help a predator home in. There are times and places when I like to set the call away from me- down in a canyon floor, for instance, while I sit up. Even if I don't put the call away, I don't mind having ravens croaking next to me- that's where they'd be if I was a real stuck bunny. There are times when I want hurt pig, or woodpecker, or a zillion other calls that I can't make very well or get tired blowing. An E-caller is great for this.
My home-made caller would work just fine, but I like the dual speakers and size factor of the FoxPro. I just don't want to fool with the remote. And FWIW, I bought and sold my FX3 for $300 and bought the NX3 for $200 with 50 calls loaded, so I'm $100 ahead- money that I spent on custom hand calls.
Mrgunslinger
New member
Get both and LEARN how to use both.
Both have advantages,depends on the situation.
Both have advantages,depends on the situation.
NM_HighPlains
New member
Originally Posted By: TA17rem I would normaly just set my caller off to one-side about an arms length away so i could hear it..
Last year a friend recomended i get a set of Walker game ear muffs to help out,
No problem but then I don't need the remote. That's why I stepped down to the NX3. I make my own sequences which include dead air (so I can get to my stand), softer volumes, increasing volume, etc. I used my homebrew for these and it's nice to just sit back and pay attention without fussing with the remote.
On the hearing, I already wear two BTE's. I have a 70-90 db loss which puts me in the "severe-profound" area. I've had it all my life, so I'm used to it. I can hear Lightning Jack, just can't hear the rodents and tweety birds. But the 'yotes, can.
Last year a friend recomended i get a set of Walker game ear muffs to help out,
No problem but then I don't need the remote. That's why I stepped down to the NX3. I make my own sequences which include dead air (so I can get to my stand), softer volumes, increasing volume, etc. I used my homebrew for these and it's nice to just sit back and pay attention without fussing with the remote.
On the hearing, I already wear two BTE's. I have a 70-90 db loss which puts me in the "severe-profound" area. I've had it all my life, so I'm used to it. I can hear Lightning Jack, just can't hear the rodents and tweety birds. But the 'yotes, can.
Pruson
New member
The better of the two is the one you like the most at the time. I have an FX5 and a Scorpion and alot of mouthcalls. I use all of them. Situations where I need the caller away from me, I use one of the e-callers. Yet, I feel a bigger sense of accomplishment when I do it with a mouthcall.
Learn the finer points of using both. Have a blast doing it.
Learn the finer points of using both. Have a blast doing it.
For you guys with hearing loss, you might look at the Burnham Bros. CompuCaller III. When you send a signal from the remote, the remote vibrates to let you know the signal was received by the caller. There is two way communication between the remote and the caller. I don't own the caller, but would have bought it if the Foxpro CS 24 had not come out which I did buy.
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Linvol Webb
Member
The reason I went to a e-caller because I had a bobcat jump on my head while doing the dying cotton tail with a critter-call. During nite hunting it was hard to drop the call and site your gun then need to coaxs a little more of course I hunt solo just me bought a WT and don't look back.