Mouth Calls Vs Electrical Caller
01-05-2013, 08:01 PM
#1
Fork Horn
Thread Starter
Join Date: Aug 2012
Location: Iowa
Posts: 143
Mouth Calls Vs Electrical Caller
Howdy Yall,
Just wanted some input from some others on the big debate I have been having in my mind the past week or 2 lmao...
Mouth Calls Vs Electrical Caller.. I'm trying to decide which one I wanna invest my money in for use.. Pros n Cons etc...
I have seen some really nice multi sound mouth calls for pretty cheap but I have been looking at the Primos Turbo Dog for 150 at walmart...
I know the mouth call route is cheaper...
E Caller is more realistic sounding and you can set it up away from you...
What do you guys think ???
Thanks
Just wanted some input from some others on the big debate I have been having in my mind the past week or 2 lmao...
Mouth Calls Vs Electrical Caller.. I'm trying to decide which one I wanna invest my money in for use.. Pros n Cons etc...
I have seen some really nice multi sound mouth calls for pretty cheap but I have been looking at the Primos Turbo Dog for 150 at walmart...
I know the mouth call route is cheaper...
E Caller is more realistic sounding and you can set it up away from you...
What do you guys think ???
Thanks
01-06-2013, 10:58 AM
#2
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: Kansas
Posts: 3,915
First off:
My limited opinion on the Turbo Dogg (which is going to read as a "Turbo Dogg vs FoxPro Spitfire/Wildfire review"):
Test out the remote range before you take it hunting, but all in all, a pretty good E-caller. For the price, my money would go to a FoxPro Spitfire, or ante up $50 more for a FP Wildfire, but assuming you get a good one lined out, you won't be disappointed in the Turbo Dogg.
Cons:
Remote range is the biggest issue with the Turbo Dogg. Some of the remotes don't work worth jack squat in any conditions. Test it out, take it back if it doesn't work, hope the new one doesn't have the same issue.
None of the Primos callers seem to do well if they don't have a perfectly open line of sight. Even if you can see the caller, if there's grass/brush between you and the caller, don't expect it to work. Solution: elevate the caller off of the ground. Easy to do in some areas, impossible in others without a stand rod.
They should have 100-150yrd range if 1) you get a good one, and 2) you stake your caller off of the ground with a clear line of sight.
Remote isn't back-lit. (FoxPro Wildfire's are). Pretty big pain in the butt when you're hunting at night, or even in low light-which is when coyote calling is at its best.
No real handle. My buddy has dropped his a dozen times or more it seems. Simple fix, get a caller bag, but if you're carrying it in hand along with your other gear, it's kinda a pain.
Expensive sounds. Most of Primos sounds are $5 a piece (foxpro's are $2 or less). Not prohibitive, but no real good reason they should cost over twice the price.
To my knowledge, they don't accept other call sound file types.
Have heard good and bad stories about Primos customer service. They seem to do well if you jump through all of the hoops, but I have heard a LOT of reviews saying that you're better off exchanging them at the place of purchase than going through the hassle of fighting with Primos customer service.
Limited functions. Basically the only "functions" it has are decoy control and 1 preset sound. FoxPro's equivalent caller has 2 presets, FoxBang (automatically changes to Ki-Yi upon "hearing" your gunshot), and decoy control. Both have auxiliary speaker ports.
Sort of difficult to add sounds to the caller. Very similar to the old-old way FoxPro had going. Easy to add them to the caller through the USB, but takes fancy footwork to get them sync'd to the remote. Sucks, because you get into the field and none of your sounds have names in the remote display.
IT'S NOT A FOXPRO
Pros:
Good volume, and good sound quality, baby is loud for its size.
Nice camo. Not worth much to me, but whatever, it's a nice touch.
Flexing neck lets you "aim" the sound up into the air.
Good price.
Again, it's not a bad caller by any means, and it'll draw the dogs in. Personally, the FoxPro Wildfire is worth a lot more to me.
My limited opinion on the Turbo Dogg (which is going to read as a "Turbo Dogg vs FoxPro Spitfire/Wildfire review"):
Test out the remote range before you take it hunting, but all in all, a pretty good E-caller. For the price, my money would go to a FoxPro Spitfire, or ante up $50 more for a FP Wildfire, but assuming you get a good one lined out, you won't be disappointed in the Turbo Dogg.
Cons:
Remote range is the biggest issue with the Turbo Dogg. Some of the remotes don't work worth jack squat in any conditions. Test it out, take it back if it doesn't work, hope the new one doesn't have the same issue.
None of the Primos callers seem to do well if they don't have a perfectly open line of sight. Even if you can see the caller, if there's grass/brush between you and the caller, don't expect it to work. Solution: elevate the caller off of the ground. Easy to do in some areas, impossible in others without a stand rod.
They should have 100-150yrd range if 1) you get a good one, and 2) you stake your caller off of the ground with a clear line of sight.
Remote isn't back-lit. (FoxPro Wildfire's are). Pretty big pain in the butt when you're hunting at night, or even in low light-which is when coyote calling is at its best.
No real handle. My buddy has dropped his a dozen times or more it seems. Simple fix, get a caller bag, but if you're carrying it in hand along with your other gear, it's kinda a pain.
Expensive sounds. Most of Primos sounds are $5 a piece (foxpro's are $2 or less). Not prohibitive, but no real good reason they should cost over twice the price.
To my knowledge, they don't accept other call sound file types.
Have heard good and bad stories about Primos customer service. They seem to do well if you jump through all of the hoops, but I have heard a LOT of reviews saying that you're better off exchanging them at the place of purchase than going through the hassle of fighting with Primos customer service.
Limited functions. Basically the only "functions" it has are decoy control and 1 preset sound. FoxPro's equivalent caller has 2 presets, FoxBang (automatically changes to Ki-Yi upon "hearing" your gunshot), and decoy control. Both have auxiliary speaker ports.
Sort of difficult to add sounds to the caller. Very similar to the old-old way FoxPro had going. Easy to add them to the caller through the USB, but takes fancy footwork to get them sync'd to the remote. Sucks, because you get into the field and none of your sounds have names in the remote display.
IT'S NOT A FOXPRO
Pros:
Good volume, and good sound quality, baby is loud for its size.
Nice camo. Not worth much to me, but whatever, it's a nice touch.
Flexing neck lets you "aim" the sound up into the air.
Good price.
Again, it's not a bad caller by any means, and it'll draw the dogs in. Personally, the FoxPro Wildfire is worth a lot more to me.
01-06-2013, 12:20 PM
#3
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: Kansas
Posts: 3,915
Now then, the REAL discussion....
The fun part: Mouth calls vs. E-callers....
First off, E-callers cannot make up for shoddy fieldsmanship/huntsmanship. Design your sets poorly and it won't matter what you're calling with.
Secondly, realism and sound quality are debatable. Sure, recordings of real animals SHOULD sound "better" than a mouth call, but in practice, isn't always the case. I personally think I get a lot better sound quality and realism out of mouth calls.
Beyond all of that: Mouth calling perpetuates a tradition. Too many new callers jump right to an E-caller these days, and miss out on a much more "tuned in" type of hunting. When you mouth call, you're able to interact with the target in a way that you just can't emulate with an E-caller. Years ago, when new guys started, they hooked up with an experienced hunter and learned how to play mouth calls. If they got in deep enough, they might decide to drop the heavy dime on an E-caller. Now, guys jump straight to the E-caller, and miss out on the opportunity to learn how to communicate with coyotes.
Differences:
Price: E-callers are obviously a lot more expensive. For $150, I can get 7-10 hand calls.
Versatility: Lots to think about here. With a good open reed howler/distress call, you can do as much with a $15 mouth call as you can with a $200 e-caller. One call can play locating howls, challenge barks, female invitation, deer/fawn distress, cat mews, bird distress, jack distress, cottontail Dis, pup dis, etc. AND, you can change sounds in a heartbeat.
The reality of it is that I honestly don't need, not even WANT 50, 75, 100, 500 sounds on my E-caller. In the last 20yrs+ of calling dogs, 90% of them have came into rabbit distress, and I generally don't use anything other than 4-5 different sounds.
Set Location/Distraction: E-callers let you choose where your sound is coming from, either from your lap or displaced from you out in the field. Does this matter much for a well designed set? Not really. It DOES, however, draw coyotes attention away from the shooter if needed, which is nice for new shooters, guys calling alone, dense cover where they might be in your lap before you see them.
It's not perfect, if a dog comes out straight line of sight with the caller between you and them, it'll draw their sight line to your position just like hand calling might. Unfortunately, with a handcall, you could cut off abruptly, whereas you might not have the remote in hand.
Control: E-callers just can't provide the level of control that you have with mouth calls. When dogs are hung up, or vocalizing back, I want supreme control on sound, volume, and timing. Few things more frustrating when you hear a howl, kick on a response howl, and then listen to 3 seconds of blank before it reaches that part of the sound file. Inevitably, you'll also end up messing up with your remote at some point and blow your hunt. Either turning on a caller with the volume WAY TOO LOUD, play the wrong sound, fail to shut it off to stop a hard charger, get spotted reaching for the remote, etc etc.
All-in-all, a coyote caller that's serious about it should have hand calls. My opinion is he should have both, but at a minimum, he should have handcalls.
I also will use handcalls and E-callers together to mimic two sets of dogs serenading from different locations.
For what it's worth, if you're dropping the dime on an E-caller, spend an extra $50 and pick up 2 or 3 handcalls to go with it while you're there.
First off, E-callers cannot make up for shoddy fieldsmanship/huntsmanship. Design your sets poorly and it won't matter what you're calling with.
Secondly, realism and sound quality are debatable. Sure, recordings of real animals SHOULD sound "better" than a mouth call, but in practice, isn't always the case. I personally think I get a lot better sound quality and realism out of mouth calls.
Beyond all of that: Mouth calling perpetuates a tradition. Too many new callers jump right to an E-caller these days, and miss out on a much more "tuned in" type of hunting. When you mouth call, you're able to interact with the target in a way that you just can't emulate with an E-caller. Years ago, when new guys started, they hooked up with an experienced hunter and learned how to play mouth calls. If they got in deep enough, they might decide to drop the heavy dime on an E-caller. Now, guys jump straight to the E-caller, and miss out on the opportunity to learn how to communicate with coyotes.
Differences:
Price: E-callers are obviously a lot more expensive. For $150, I can get 7-10 hand calls.
Versatility: Lots to think about here. With a good open reed howler/distress call, you can do as much with a $15 mouth call as you can with a $200 e-caller. One call can play locating howls, challenge barks, female invitation, deer/fawn distress, cat mews, bird distress, jack distress, cottontail Dis, pup dis, etc. AND, you can change sounds in a heartbeat.
The reality of it is that I honestly don't need, not even WANT 50, 75, 100, 500 sounds on my E-caller. In the last 20yrs+ of calling dogs, 90% of them have came into rabbit distress, and I generally don't use anything other than 4-5 different sounds.
Set Location/Distraction: E-callers let you choose where your sound is coming from, either from your lap or displaced from you out in the field. Does this matter much for a well designed set? Not really. It DOES, however, draw coyotes attention away from the shooter if needed, which is nice for new shooters, guys calling alone, dense cover where they might be in your lap before you see them.
It's not perfect, if a dog comes out straight line of sight with the caller between you and them, it'll draw their sight line to your position just like hand calling might. Unfortunately, with a handcall, you could cut off abruptly, whereas you might not have the remote in hand.
Control: E-callers just can't provide the level of control that you have with mouth calls. When dogs are hung up, or vocalizing back, I want supreme control on sound, volume, and timing. Few things more frustrating when you hear a howl, kick on a response howl, and then listen to 3 seconds of blank before it reaches that part of the sound file. Inevitably, you'll also end up messing up with your remote at some point and blow your hunt. Either turning on a caller with the volume WAY TOO LOUD, play the wrong sound, fail to shut it off to stop a hard charger, get spotted reaching for the remote, etc etc.
All-in-all, a coyote caller that's serious about it should have hand calls. My opinion is he should have both, but at a minimum, he should have handcalls.
I also will use handcalls and E-callers together to mimic two sets of dogs serenading from different locations.
For what it's worth, if you're dropping the dime on an E-caller, spend an extra $50 and pick up 2 or 3 handcalls to go with it while you're there.
