Good/best varmint call

[Goofycat]

I had planned on seriously looking at the FX3 caller by Foxpro, but after looking at the list of calls for crows and coyotes, I am stumped as to how many calls I would need. If I stick with the FX3, I am limited to 32 calls, which I originally thought would provide for enough variation. Now, I am seeing that there appear to be dozens of different calls. I have no idea which calls would work better than the distressed rabbit and coyote mouth calls I am now using, and after hearing the quality of the calls on the FoxPro and Wildlife Technologies websites, it appears that more calls might be better than fewer calls. This means that if I choose the FoxPro, I would have to spend $200 more to upgrade to the new Fury (the FX5 has been discontinued) in order to include more calls than the 32 that the FX3 provides.

The "Mighty Atom" that WT provides is advertised as being around 2 pounds; but....their website does not provide as clear an explanation of features as does the FoxPro site.

So....should I just bite the bullet and go with the FoxPro Fury at $599, or go with a Wildlife Tech model?
I don't want to spend less money on a model that won't offer the variety of sounds that will bring in coyotes and crows. I don't plan to hunt anything else, except pigs. BTW ProBass Shops has some good things to say about the FX3 in their customer reviews, yet nothing is mentioned about whether a maximum of 32 sounds is really enough.

[Rmitch223]

Check out FOXPRO's new Spitfire coming out in October. Its already on Allpredatorcalls.com

[Goofycat]

Thanks. The salesperson didn't say a thing about it when I talked to her this morning. I'll check it out.

[Rmitch223]

Yeah its a awesome unit at a great price. Im sure foxpro will sells tons of these units.

[Rymart]

Originally Posted by brushcountry101

these electronic calls make it to easy.... but in my opinion, theirs no hunt in it. anybody can sit there and push a button. its like sitting at a deer feeder and picking the deer you want.

Oh, that's funny... Sign me up, I'm gonna just push the button and wait for my coyotes to show up so I can shoot them! Maybe I won't even need to leave the house... I'm thinking he's never used an e-caller, or even hunted coyotes to say something like that. No slight intended, I'm just saying...

Personally I seem to have much better luck with hand calls over e-callers. In the scheme of things, the more I predator hunt, the less I think the sound you make has to do with the end result (not that its meaningless). Things like stand selection, hunt area choice, Positioning for visibility and wind direction, holding still, and getting into the stand unseen/unheard seem to matter more than the sound.

Both E-callers and hand calls have their place.

As I see it, e-caller benefits are:

- Usually louder for calling in high wind
- Ability to position caller (with remote) to cover a downwind approach where visibility is limited
- More confidence in the sound for a beginner
- Potential for less hand movement while calling
- focus on looking around, not calling


hand call benefits are:

- More sound control (especially open reed)
- Ability to 'not sound like everyone else' - How many coyotes in Utah or Western Wyoming haven't heard 'DSG Cottontail' or 'Lightening Jack' by midway through the calling season?
- Lots of custom calls available
- Coyote expects to see some movement from the source of the sound, thus you can get away with a little more movement (gun positioning), verses movement away from the caller which often results in a more quick retreat with less shot opportunity
- No dead batteries
- cheap
- fit easily into a pocket

If I were in the market for an e-caller I would narrow it down to the FoxPro Fury, the FoxPro CS-24, or the Minaska Big Country Bandit. If the caller doesn't have superior volume and clarity, you might as well use hand calls IMO.

Just my $0.02.

[Goofycat]

I just ordered a Fox Pro Fury. Pricey, yes, but it holds a ton of sounds (100 installed sounds of my own choice, and in the order that I wanted), is easy to carry, has an excellent speaker system and remote control. I talked to Drew, the sales guy who told me that the people at FP are all hunters and can advise on which sounds work best. Five year warranty on the unit and what appeared to be excellent customer service. The FX3 would have been my choice, but there were a lot of sounds that I wanted that the FX3 didn't have the room to store, otherwise I would have purchased the FX3. Fox Pro offers reburbished FX3 units for $350 when they are available, but with only a 1 year warranty instead of the 5-year. I was told by FP that the FX3 cannot be upgraded to the Fury because the electronics are different. Also, sounds other than those offered by FP can be added, as long as the format is the same. Varmint Al has some interesting sounds that I will consider.

FP just came out with a much larger unit than the Fury (the Prairie Blaster; costs $700 instead of $600), although it is programmed for the same sounds. Drew said the difference was basically in its much louder sound (about twice that of the Fury) and much larger size. I opted for the Fury because I wanted to pack it away easily and because of good reports on its effectiveness in bringing in coyotes. I also ordered the 110AC adapter that allows the batteries in the unit to be recharged merely by plugging in the adapter to the unit. I.e., I don't have to remove the batteries in order to recharge them. They also offer an adapter to use for recharging from a vehicle.

I also just received two Mil-Tec vests from Sportsman's Guide. They have enough pockets to store hand calls, hunting license, ammo, binoculars, range-finder, knife and any other small items. There is a large pocket on the back where I can store some camo material, water, FP Fury, etc. Since they were cheap, I bought one in a size large enough to fit over cold-weather gear and another in a smaller size for warm weather shooting. The advantage of a vest is that I can keep all the "stuff" in one place and there is no interference from stuff sticking out to the side, where it would be in the way of my arms. The vests are made in China, but appear to be well-made. They were around $25 each, including shipping.

[J E Custom]

Originally Posted by Goofycat

I had planned on seriously looking at the FX3 caller by Foxpro, but after looking at the list of calls for crows and coyotes, I am stumped as to how many calls I would need. If I stick with the FX3, I am limited to 32 calls, which I originally thought would provide for enough variation. Now, I am seeing that there appear to be dozens of different calls. I have no idea which calls would work better than the distressed rabbit and coyote mouth calls I am now using, and after hearing the quality of the calls on the FoxPro and Wildlife Technologies websites, it appears that more calls might be better than fewer calls. This means that if I choose the FoxPro, I would have to spend $200 more to upgrade to the new Fury (the FX5 has been discontinued) in order to include more calls than the 32 that the FX3 provides.

The "Mighty Atom" that WT provides is advertised as being around 2 pounds; but....their website does not provide as clear an explanation of features as does the FoxPro site.

So....should I just bite the bullet and go with the FoxPro Fury at $599, or go with a Wildlife Tech model?
I don't want to spend less money on a model that won't offer the variety of sounds that will bring in coyotes and crows. I don't plan to hunt anything else, except pigs. BTW ProBass Shops has some good things to say about the FX3 in their customer reviews, yet nothing is mentioned about whether a maximum of 32 sounds is really enough.

I went through this same exercise when I was looking and decided to go with the FX3 and the
32 sounds and though that I could all upgrade if I wanted to.

Well after using the FX3 and (Only) 32 sounds I found that I try 4 or 5 sounds and when
something works I use that sound with 1 or 2 different sounds to make it real and don't need
more sounds to be effective and found that to many different sounds spooked the game.

So hear is another example of more is not necessarily better.

I don't use all of the 32 sounds that I have but if I thought that 100 sounds would work better
you can bet I would try to find one with 200 sounds. So I would recomend starting with the FX3
and if your not satisfied with it sell it and buy a more expensive unit.

5 or 6 of any type call will be enough for the game hunted . I use mine for Varmints,hogs,geese
during the special season,sand hill cranes,turkeys and deer where/when legal and the FX3
works great .and I have no plans to switch to a bigger,more expensive call.

Just my 2 cents

J E CUSTOM