predator call

My son wants to try some coyote hunting and has asked for a call for Christmas. I would like to keep it in the $100 – $150 range. I am assuming he will be going with his buddies and seeing if they can get something going with yotes. We have quite a few of them. Any recommendations on a good calling system? I would like to keep it fairly simple. Thanks.
Shawn

Foxpro Spitfire is available within that price range. Good quality, very durable.

Grouse

Here is a sweet deal on a starter unit if your looking for an e-caller

http://www.allpredatorcalls.com/western-rivers-navajo-digital-caller-with-remote-control-wr209/

Just another view point – decent hand held closed reed calls are $15.00 to $30.00 each. Setting him up with a nice variety of hand calls would be a nice start too

OK. What would be the go to call of these and why? I see where I can buy the WRN, where can I get the Spitfire for a great price? What do these e-calls offer us? I like the price of course. Are they easy to use? How about the weight of them?

Randy, Do you have a mouth call you would recommend? Thanks.
Shawn

I am a big fan of mouth calls over digital calls. Mouth calls add realism to calls because you can change the cadence, sequence, and volume. Digital calls at to rhythmic IMO.
I would go with anything from Primos brand. Stick to basic rabbit calls or fawn calls. I have used a cow elk call with great success as well. If your son really wants to, try a coyote howler as well. You can get a nice starter of mouth calls for well under $100.

Dick’s sporting goods has the Spitfire on sale for $149. I’ve seen them as low as $129 if you can hit the right sale. The Spitfire is not a current model, but it was a very popular entry-level model for 10 years, so there are tons of them around for a good price.

http://www.dickssportinggoods.com/product/index.jsp?productId=4013020&camp=CSE:GooglePLA:4013020:7295706:HUNTING&CAGPSPN=pla&CAWELAID=120138600001347197&catargetid=120138600001586852&cadevice=c

I tried mouth calls for years with little success. There are several things about mouth calls that I didn’t like.

1. Lack of volume. Even a basic eCaller is very, very loud compared to a mouth call. Yes, you can blow a mouth call loudly, which brings me to point #2…

2. Mouth calls are hard work. Blowing into the dang thing trying to sound like a rabbit that’s getting abused by an outlaw motorcycle gang for 3 minutes at a time is hard work. The louder you’re trying to be, the harder it is. Making 8-10 stands a day…

3. The sound is coming from you, so the predators are looking right at you. Predators are amazing at figuring out where sound is coming from, so by having them looking right at you, you’re at a disadvantage. Especially in the woods where I hunt. You simply cannot see them coming from a great distance like they show on TV, so the chances of them seeing you before you see them are much higher with a mouth call.

Grouse

I guess the good lord blessed me with the ability to blow some air out of my lungs
I’m not a purist when it comes to calling, and I do run my e-callers a lot. But I always have the struggle with wanting to use my hand calls first.

There is no such thing as a 1 call fits all. I also NEVER recommend a single call. You can buy 3 very similar rabbit calls, yet they all sound very different pitch/tone. Some (typically wood) will be deeper pitch and carry further, plastic tends to be higher pitch and louder. After calling for so many years, you see patterns develop. Using WI as a generic example, calls that work great in the northern range of WI, don’t work as well down here. The calls i like to use in the rolling hills of our western counties tend to be different yet, from here (south/central flat land) and up in the woods.

So, what I do recommend is starting out with at least 3. I am not saying these are the best, just I know these will give you a great spectrum from high to low pitch. I have these 3 amongst my PILE of calls and they see frequent use depending where I am at.

Here is the cheapest call you can get/make. Find old squeaky dog toys that are shot, torn up, and ready for the garbage. Take that little squeaker out of them and save them. Perfect mouse squeak!

1. Dog breath – Stack’m rabbit http://www.dogbreathcoyotecalls.com/products/stack-em-rabbit-prey-distress-call/

2. Buck Gardner Calls Distressed Rabbit – http://www.basspro.com/Buck-Gardner-Calls-Distressed-Rabbit-Predator-Call/product/10212743/?cmCat=CROSSSELL_PRODUCT

3. Primos Double Cottontail Predator Call – http://www.basspro.com/Primos-Double-Cottontail-Predator-Call/product/10205541/?cmCat=CROSSSELL_PRODUCT

If you want to give a gift of a very premium call that has the absolute best sounds and is a work of art, look up Kerry Carver. Kerry makes incredible calls.

Randy Wieland wrote:

I guess the good lord blessed me with the ability to blow some air out of my lungs
I’m not a purist when it comes to calling, and I do run my e-callers a lot. But I always have the struggle with wanting to use my hand calls first.

I put it down to the difference between “can do” and “like to do”, Randy. After a couple of years of having to trudge through deep snow and getting the 30 minute Stairmaster workout just getting into every stand, the need to test my VO2 Max further by blowing hard into a mouth call just lost its appeal.

It’s also a confidence thing. In more open country where you can see and watch a coyote coming in, I can see where I’d have more confidence that I’m not blowing the set by moving at the wrong time etc. In the area where I hunt, I have NEVER seen a coyote until well after the point where he could see me, so I just have more confidence since I know in most cases the coyote is going to come in looking at the call instead of at me.

At the end of the day, I don’t think mouth calls are better or worse, it just comes down to if you like using mouth calls. Some guys do. I don’t. If people like using them, they’ll overcome the disadvantages that I see in them.

And it’s not that there are no disadvantages to eCalls. The two I personally try to avoid are overcalling and calling too loudly.

Grouse