Mouth calls vs. ecallers?

In all the years I have called coyotes, I have had the opportunity to use both styles.

For me, I strongly prefer a mouth call over the electronic callers. With the mouth calls, I am better able to change sound tones, cadence, and rhythm. There are also countless mouth calls on the market. I really prefer the open reed calls as they are so much more versatile than the closed reeds. If you really want to practice calling coyotes with a mouth call, take a few days and head to Wyoming/Colorado/Dakotas where the population is higher and calling is a little easier than this area. I always had more satisfaction from calling them in by mouth than any other way.

The ecallers have their place I am sure. The problem I have had with them, is they sound like exactly what they are, a machine. The same sound plays over and over on a loop. Talk about educating a coyote in a hurry. I feel they work excellent in areas where there is very little calling pressure and you are dealing with fresh coyotes. But in hard hunted areas, I do not beleive they are as effective as a mouth call.

This is coming from calling coyotes in the Western Plains states as well as the wooded and swamp areas of the Upper Midwest.

So, what is your opinion between the two?

I agree with this a lot. I think the only caveat is the surge in quality on the e/callers in the last couple years. The sound clarity is great with a lot of sounds now. Where as the old cassette units had that electrical “hiss” sound. Plus, I find I’m using the e/caller more so I can get the sound origin away from my concealment. The higher end units, or better home made units with an Ipod or MP3 player can host an abundance of sounds. Once organized, a hunter can sequence a bunch of different sounds in a single calling session. Avoiding the “loop”- But I’ll always carry my half dozen favorite hand calls!
Great point Mike

I don’t have a problem with either though I preferr hand calling. The only issue I have is with all the ecallers avaliabele and prices so cheap it brings on more people who try to hunt predators that put little effort into it. They think they can go to any field and press a button and they will kill a yote. Most of the time they are not practicing scent control or caution to the wind which is priority 1 calling is easy compared to fooling their nose. Oh and a lot of people don’t go through the time and effort to ask permission they just go. Seen many of tracks people using my setups . What do you do? Most people are just tired of doing all the prework like they would deer hunting, thinking it’s just a yote but how many yotes are killing are deer we spend so much time and money pursuing. So if you plan on varmit hunting use the same or more precautions as you would hunting the buck of a life time. Sorry to vent it’s just a coyote. NOT!!!!!!!!!!!! Good Luck Every One this winter.

My hunting partner and I are far from pros when it comes to calling or knowhow of coyotes but I will say that when I leave my e-caller at home and let him use his hand calls we see more animals. Too bad we rarely come home with any.

I’ve had good luck with a wildfire by fox pro. As mentioned, knowing how to use it properly, not over using it is key. The best part of it is the ability to put it up to 60 yards upwind of you. Many times they’ve came in looking towards the sound, which isn’t coming from m y mouth, allowing a better chance to pull a shot off when they sneak in on ya.