Primos Randy Anderson calls

Have them all; love them all...albeit some better than others (although I have over 70 hand calls and like them all from all manufacturers—both custom and store bought).

What are you looking for? Closed or Open? Loud or soft? Distress or vocalizations?

As Randy stated in his Mastering the Art DVD: if he was stranded on a desert island and all there was to eat is coyote, he'd get the Lil' Dog. It’s a very versatile call.

BTW, I'm a fan of the Hot Dog. The loudest call on the market IMHO. Also tough to master, but once you do...you'll be ready to tackle the crappy NV wind if you ever decide to take a trip from KY!!!

Lastly, the standard, “you can’t go wrong with a custom call by one of PM’s call makers” can’t be forgotten. I have over 30 calls from the custom forum and they are SPECTACULAR!!!
 
As far as closed reed production calls go, the laminated Randy Anderson calls, the Double Cottontail, Double Jack, and Third Degree are second to none. The double cottontail was responsible for the death of the overwhelming majority of coyotes I killed between ~2003 and 2010, and it still holds a regular spot on my lanyard. If I would be limited to ONE production call for the rest of my life, the double cottontail would be the call I pick.

The howlers I'm not in love with, but frankly they are as good or better than any of the other howlers on the shelf at commercial stores. The hot dog, lil dog, and ki-yi all work, but they naturally have a "plasticky" tone to them. I have lured more than a few dogs with the howlers in recent years.

Carcass Collector and I must have the same affliction, I'm sitting on a stack of over 60 production predator calls and a growing collection of custom calls. The Randy Anderson's are great workhorse calls and the cream of the crop in my opinion for production calls, but they just don't stack up to the custom calls out there.
 
Ridgeline17,

The guys have given you some good advice. I would say if you get the Lil Dog and then one of the closed read calls (Double Cottontail, Double Jack, or Third Degree) you should be set. I have all of Randy's calls and these are by far my favorite. The Catnip is also a nice little call, as well. It isn't super loud, but it has a good tone to it.
 
Take the green Lil' Dog with the reed sanded down extra thin near the tip is MY FAVORITE call. I love the size and the range of sounds I can produce with it.

I'm not in love with the Third Degree, but I like all of his other calls. It's hard to be impressed with closed reed calls when you know that most of them have the same "guts."
 
Originally Posted By: shankboneI'm not in love with the Third Degree, but I like all of his other calls. It's hard to be impressed with closed reed calls when you know that most of them have the same "guts."

I'd generally agree about the 3rd degree. I felt underwhelmed when I got one, as I was so impressed with the double jack and double cotton. The 3rd degree is great, but it doesn't shine like the others for me. I somewhat feel like they pushed it out so they'd have a single reed and a new call to promote when the others went stagnant against competition.

On the other hand, I really like closed calls BECASUE they all have the same guts. Put the same reed in 5 different designs and you get 5 different sounds. Open reed calls have way more options to alter their sound, closed reeds have a smaller playground to work in. Sure, they don't have to fight with matching a reed and toneboard, but that's a challenge as much as a luxury when you're looking for a certain sound. Getting a great sound with good control and efficient air is what makes certain closed reed calls stand out from others, but it's like owning a garage with only standard size tools, no metrics.
 
Originally Posted By: Varminterror
On the other hand, I really like closed calls BECASUE they all have the same guts. Put the same reed in 5 different designs and you get 5 different sounds. Open reed calls have way more options to alter their sound, closed reeds have a smaller playground to work in. Sure, they don't have to fight with matching a reed and toneboard, but that's a challenge as much as a luxury when you're looking for a certain sound. Getting a great sound with good control and efficient air is what makes certain closed reed calls stand out from others, but it's like owning a garage with only standard size tools, no metrics.

My lanyard is on my desk right now and I have four closed reeds and three open reeds on it right now, so I guess I have to agree with you.
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My .220 Swift call blows easily, but it blows out to raspiness without much effort, which makes for a good agitated rooster/chicken. I have an old Faulks (my first call) that is almost impossible to make a raspy scream with.

My favorite closed reed is a Johnny Stewart adjustable call that looks like their new Flex Calls. The call came with two inserts and, of course, I lost the brass reed insert that I proffer. I called in my first coyotes with this call and it has continued to be a consistent producer.
 
I have most of Randy's older calls from 5-6yrs ago. Both open and close reed. They worked fine but I did not know any better. After I started picking up calls from the custom call section they were less and less on my lanyard. They have since been give away or collecting dust in the reloading room. I could never get the open reed to sound right 100% of the time. The guys over on the custom call section produce some really great sounding and easy to blow calls that I would not buy another pre package call again. The custom calls are dang near the same price. Plus most are works of art.
 
I hate to keep bumping here, but this is one of my favorite topics (both the Randy Anderson/Primos calls-big fan, and the custom vs. factory debate)...

I absolutely agree, the factory produced calls just don't stack up to the standard of quality that our custom turning brothers produce. I can both appreciate the craftsmanship of custom "production" calls, as well as the mastry of industrial production that goes into producing high volume "factory" calls. I have 3 Primos/Randy Anderson Double Cottontail distress calls, I bought them several years spread out, from different stores in different states, and they all play the same, and more or less sound the same.

I stand somewhat in awe of producers that can generate the SAME THING hundreds and thousands of times over, just as I stand in awe of the master wood-turner that can produce one of a kind pieces of art from a 4" length of 1.5" blank stock. I work in the Ethanol industry, so "knowing beer" is sort of a required hobby, and the fact that EVERY CAN of Keystone Light tastes the same is amazing considering the opportunity for variability in that process. Equally, not every JC double cottontail reed is exactly the same, and not every batch of laminated hardwoods will be the same, so getting the duplicator to turn the exact same shape and exact same, then getting the same sound out of these calls really impresses me. Sure, the "factory process" turns out what I'd call an "average call", since they're going for a high degree of repeatability with minimal overhead and minimal unit cost, but I'd say that Primos does a great job at MASS-PRODUCING an "above average factory call".

Then again, not all "factory calls" are made without high human touch. I HAVE seen the "birthing process" of Verminator Syco Tweety's before, which is FAR from a purely mechanized process! Very comforting to know there is a little dash of "Rick Spit" in every package!!!
 
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I take back what I said about Randy Anderson's Triple Threat. This is the second coyote I have called in in as many stands with the Triple Threat.

I have learned to make a number of different sounds with this call and now consider it one of my favorites.
 
I have had a Lil Dog set for quite a while and I REALLY like it.. Very easy to get good sounds on reliably. My brother got me a Hot Dog this year as a gift to try out, and at first, I thought I would never get a good sound on it. But I practiced with it quite a bit and I can get smooth howls and killer barks on it now. However, I would take a custom call from any of the makers on here because of the quality and 1 of a kind craftsmanship first. But as far as off-the-shelf production calls go, Randy's calls are hard to beat...
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I called in another one with the Triple Threat this weekend, but the sun was too low for me to get a shot, so I didn't educate it and saved it for a later date.

So far, that's three coyotes called in seven stands. Either I'm getting better at hand calling, the coyotes are getting dumber, or I'm just a blind pig with a few acorns. The other possibility is that I have been blowing the call with a very high, shrill tone and lots of volume. The success I have experienced with this call makes me want to try more closed reed calls that advertise loud volumes, like Reese calls and those metal closed reed calls I can't recall the name of. Dang, time for another trip to All Predator Calls.
 


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