Electronic Call testing?

[Deleted member 115360]

There is this black hole in predator calling that we all fall into. We cannot differentiate between what sounds great to a predator, and what sounds great to us. If you've done this for a while, you know that in most cases, they don't really know what they are hearing, they just know it's something that's already having a bad day and might make an easy meal. I think sound quality matters, but it might not. I think it's all about finding the tempo, frequency, and volume combo that hits them right at that exact moment, and that's mostly luck. You listen to Tony Tebbe, and he plays nonstop prey distress sounds, constantly switching sounds, never pausing, loud as heck, and he kills piles of coyotes. Other pros will play quiet sounds, not more than one type of prey distress on a stand, and the volume very low, and they will kill tons of coyotes. Some great coyote slayers howl first on every stand, meanwhile other pros will say they only howl during breeding/ denning season, and they both kill plenty. I think the sounds are almost all that matter. If we could ever understand how they hear things, we might be able to increase our success exponentially, but I don't know if that will ever happen. The call itself might be the least important part of the equation.

 

[Taylorbok]

All I know is I have an IcoTech 350 and it will drain the batteries just sitting in a couple weeks... super **** off especially since the remote battery isn't a common battery

 

[30378wbymag]

Would be VERY interesting to see "real world" testing. First from a canines hearing range and then a humans, max range the call can be heard. As well as max volume in dB and total harmonic distortion, battery life, rechargeable/alkaline, remote control range and lighted or not. Also which design Mono VS. Stereo speaker arrangements are more realistic. We need Dolby Labs to step up for us e-call users....

 

[rsbhunter]

It would be easier to test humans, put pizza in one field, and open beers in one along side it.....but like with yotes, some would keep going back and forth between em ! rsbhunter

 

[Buck1970]

All very interesting.
All I know for sure is, my shockwave is tough as hell for an electronic device.
It's 10 years old now and two seasons ago I managed to misplace it. Turns out I found it in March sitting in a field right where I'd left it a month earlier on a hunt. Snowed on, sleeted on, rained on and definitely frozen solid a few nights.
I just knew it was toast and a $500 trot line weight.
Took it home and put in fresh charged batteries and it played just like the day I took it out of the box.
Has me sold on fox pro for that very reason.

I began predator hunting with my uncle in the mid 80's in west tx. He kept a little red mouth call in his pocket all the time. After deer hunting he'd say, let's see if I can get you a coyote to shoot at.
He was amazing, we would be in the middle of a wide open flat field behind the only cedar tree for miles and he would have one running in in no time.
I've tried to mimic what he did for years to no avail.
I believe there really is an art to successful calling and perhaps a great bit of luck.

I've sat through hours of call sets bored to sleep seeing nothing but crows and hawks, then finally be startled to death when 3 run in wide open, and I'm half dazed fumbling around trying to get a shot.

When y'all get this figured out post it. I'll keep charging my batteries for the shockwave.

 

[rsbhunter]

And that is why we do it!!!

 

[Scratch]

WILDLIFE TECHNOLIGIES

Works outstanding for calling in wolves. Called in 8 different wolves in five days.

Had great luck with Foxpro on coyotes.

 

[WestSoDakThwack]

Would be VERY interesting to see "real world" testing. First from a canines hearing range and then a humans, max range the call can be heard. As well as max volume in dB and total harmonic distortion, battery life, rechargeable/alkaline, remote control range and lighted or not. Also which design Mono VS. Stereo speaker arrangements are more realistic. We need Dolby Labs to step up for us e-call users....

This is the exact kind of stuff I'm talking about. I already know which call I personally think sounds the best. I already know whose sound files I think sound the best. I know who I think has the best build quality and remote quality and all of that. I know whose hand calls I think are the best and whose diaphragms I think are the best.

I just think it would be highly interesting to see real world scientific testing done in a non biased professional setting. Not even on effectiveness for actually calling in coyotes that test could come later or earlier. The first test should purely be based on equipment and sound production quality. I see different people go to great lengths to test nearly every other piece of gear including the callers themselves. But when it comes to the noise the call makes it's never more than a personally opinion on what sounds good to one individual.

 

[Buck1970]

I'm fairly certain the answer to your original question is
No.
Send this to fox pro, lucky duck, WT, primos, Johnny S, and whoever makes them.
See what they reply.
I'm sure the data would be skewed, but one would love to have the bragging rights.

 

[ridgewalker]

Being a retired engineer, this sounds like it would be an interesting project, but of little value other than to the sales departments.
Having used mouth callers of all different brands as well as tapes rerecorded on memo voice recorders, early model tape machines, CD players, to current high tech digital callers, I find little difference in actually calling in varmints. Been a caller since 1953. If game is close enough, scent is right, little movement, they are hungry, etc., etc., any caller will do the job.
Still, being a nerd, I would enjoy reading or watching a comparison.

 

[Terry Lightle]

Would like to see them tested,will not comment on what brand I am running,just know it seems more clear to my ears and average more successful stands with it than the others I have owned.That being said I have been using hand calls more like in 1972 which was when I started

 

[Litehiker]

FWIW, It's my understanding that the electronic call(s) that have ultra high and low frequency sounds, especially in the distress calls, have the best success.
So maybe get an audiometer of some type that can record those sounds above and below the range of normal human hearing and find which calls have that feature.

 

[RussellJ]

The best quality and a user friendly caller dont seem to be synonymous. Wildlife Technologies has the best sounding caller out there but the owner is a jerk and not honest. He was coming out with a remote for night use 8 years ago that I would be able to "upgrade to". FOXPRO's Krakatoa is a close runner up- it's just really awkward to carry without making noise. It seems all the other are compromises of quality/convenience. I tend to opt for convenience and grab a shockwave or x-wave and leave the better sounding but hard to carry (Krakatoa) or can't see the **** remote (wildlife technologies) sitting on the shelf.

I own a Wildlife Technologies Might Atom and agree 110% with BenelliHunter, it's a GREAT Caller. I have also owned FoxPro Krakatoa and sold it due to the same noise issue when bumped with brush, etc. If you want flexibility? My other caller is a FoxPro CS-24C with the TX1000 controller and MFK sounds downloaded onto to the caller along with the FoxPro sounds.

http://www.mfkgamecalls.com/index.html

 

[Revolting Peasant]

Sounds to me like the test that mattered would be to do audiometric testing on actual distress calls (a screaming rabbit for example). Find all the frequencies in that scream then compare that to the e-callers output.
We can't know everything a coyote ear can hear but we can measure how close we get to the actual sound. Interesting, hope someone finds some test results.