Good electronic caller??

Looking to purchase a caller for $300 or less. What would be the best at that price?

Thanks
Mark

The FoxPro Spit Fire is just under $200. and allows you to upload your selection of sounds. A buddy of mine owns one, and for the price point, its a good buy. I personally run a FoxPro FX3 and a Fox Pro Firestorm. The Firestorm runs about $400. I see them online for about $330; but they never seem to be in stock when you go to order them at that price. One of my clients bought one for $360 from an online source and and had a great experience.
I’ve had the older Johnny Stewerts, and they work. In my opinion, they don’t have the clarity of sound like a Fox Pro.

If you are electronically handy, you can easily make one and use a MP3 player or IPOD as your source. I have hunted wioth a few guys that have made their own, and I have to admit they sounded awesome!

Ended up getting a Flextone Echo that Scheels had on sale for $99. Great volume, sound, and 100 preloaded sounds.

I was just going to make a post about this call as I had seen it on the Midway USA site for $199. Any other options in that price range?
DT

Randy, et al –

How do electronic callers differ vs mouth calls?

For people that might be beginners, can you run down the differences between electronic and manual calls, and what might be the advantages / disadvantages to each?

Thanks!

They all have their place, and all vary.
Hand calls or mouth calls typically work by the intensity of air you blow through a tube/reed. Every one can sound different under different conditions (humidity, temp, ….)
In most cases, quality hand calls will have a better sound. Its first generation, coming from the original source. So sound deterioration doesn’t happen from a recording to conversion to electronic.

Hand calls take practice to control duration, volume, pitch,….They Take Practice! If you hunt areas of heavy brush, its not uncommon to get the reeds full of crud and have failures. Predator hunting is most commonly done in the winter – Cold. Your warm breath blowing through a call will form a lot of condensation. This also can lead to temporary or permanent failure, or at least inconsistency in sound.
That also can work favorably by giving you a sound that you would not normally have had.
Hand calls = $$$$$. Like any sport, the more you do, the more you buy. Calls can run anywhere from $5.00 to hundreds of dollars. (ask any duck hunter, its not much different) At an average of $20.00/call, a person starting out will buy 2 or 3 calls. From there, its usually 2 or 3 more….and that trend continues as you hunt in different areas and regions as sounds that “match the hatch” will vary.

E-Callers – Its ease of use, consistency, and a big up-front investment. Your purchasing an amplified devise to duplicate a sound. therefore, you want to buy the best clarity you can afford to buy to have good results.

I’m a huge fan of Fox Pro,(and would love to be put on their Pro-Staff hint, hint, hint) After the investment is made, its usually an relatively inexpensive way to inter-change a variety of sounds. I set up an account of two different sites, and have loaded a couple hundred sounds for working with. Of all of those sounds, I have about 30 that I use here in WI on a regular basis.
What I feel can be a huge advantage for the e-callers, is the remote placement. You can develop an awesome wind strategy by remote placement of your caller, and strategically hunter/shooter location to prevent premature detection by a K9. You don’t have this option with hand calls. I hunt areas repetitively, and with competition of other hunters. Often guys that I have guided for, then obtain permission for the same properties. So I am always looking for putting myself at an advantage through better sounds, different sounds, and how I approach my sets.

I can not emphasize how many times a coyote has stepped into a field at 500 yards away, looked towards us, vanished, and popped out at 50 yards from us out of nowhere. These animals are incredible at identifying where a sound is coming from at long distances, and can just zero right in on them. For someone starting out, it can be difficult to sit still, REMAIN CALM, and work a hand call…then transition to their rifle without being detected.

What you were looking for??

Thanks, Randy, great summary.

+1 on the FOXPRO SPITFIRE. Great value for what you pay. I just got one about 2 weeks ago. The remote actually worked well from 75yrds. way for me. Some reviews complained about the volume but I’ve found its plenty loud for me. Cabela’s $199.99. If your a rewards memeber they just sent out a $20.00 off any $100.00 or more purchase too!