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Other Hunting => Coyote, Small Game, Varmints => Topic started by: Jingles on November 12, 2012, 11:29:40 AM


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Title: Your electronic caller
Post by: Jingles on November 12, 2012, 11:29:40 AM
A few Questions for you that have e callers.
Which one do you have?
Are you pleased or displeased with it?
Does it have all the volume you need?
Are the sounds distorted when you crank up the volume?
Would you recommend it to a person looking at purchasing an E caller?

Thanks Everyone for responding

If anyone is using the Foxpro Wildfire or the Firestorm would especially be interested if you would have picked a different one now that you have been using it.
Title: Re: Your electronic caller
Post by: CAMPMEAT on November 12, 2012, 11:43:03 AM
I've got the cheapo Fox Pro Spitfire. Never have called anything in with it, yet. The volume is good, does not distort. I use mouth calls 99.99% of the time. Any way, I was in St. Maries Idaho wolf hunting and went into the sporting goods store there. The guy said, listen, it was the Primos Power Dog (?). That thing was kickass. The xray, super vision, beam sending remote sent the signal through clothes a wall and around a corner. Very impressed to say the least and loud. That will be my next one. It's kinda big, but I don't care myself. It worked great. $200ish
Title: Re: Your electronic caller
Post by: Bofire on November 12, 2012, 04:43:47 PM
 :) My foxpro scorpian is the cats ass, small, versatile and with the SP-55 add on  speaker very loud!!!!!!!!!!!! if you want. remote is excellant.
I really like it, had it a few years, it just works.
Carl
Title: Re: Your electronic caller
Post by: fair-chase on November 12, 2012, 04:56:28 PM
Currently running the Foxpro Firestorm. Upgraded from an FX5 2-3 years ago.

Pros:
1. Volume. Has the ability to be louder than I will ever need.
2. Clarity. Not much of an improvement over the FX5 but it's still great, especially when running both speakers.
3. Durable. Both of these callers will survive all but torrential downpours or direct submersion.

Cons:
1. Remotes. I actually like the FX5 series remote better than the Firestorms. I find the Firestorm remote harder to navigate and difficult to read especially on bright days.
2. Battery Life. This goes for most electronic calls. Invest in good rechargeable batteries now and save some money while increasing run time.
Title: Re: Your electronic caller
Post by: Hunting7mm on November 12, 2012, 04:59:33 PM
I use the foxpro fury but I think if I had it to do all over again, I would have bought the foxpro cs-24.
Title: Re: Your electronic caller
Post by: KFhunter on November 12, 2012, 05:22:23 PM
I'm running a FOXPRO CS24B and jack in the box decoy.  I freaking love this setup.

I got no serious complaints, volume is pretty freaking awesome, sounds great, durable enough I guess.

the remote isn't as user friendly as I'd like (TX500)  there is too much learning curve and I still ain't figured the damm thing out 100%
Having difficulties getting foxbang, fox fade to work  :rolleyes:


Anyways, if you got 600 bucks to drop I'd reccomend it.  Well plus you'll be getting setup on batteries as they gotta be high mah rechargables. 

regular alkaline AA's WILL NOT WORK - probably goes for all higher end callers though.  People are digging the enloop batteries, but get the higher maH ones.  nimh batteries loose their charge over time, true for all of them it's just normal, but the enloop ones (and a few others now) loose their charge slower than a typical nimh would.  No big deal as I top them off before every calling session and I never leave the batteries in the caller.


I'm using batteries from walmart now, and honestly they are working damm fine.
I got the 4 pack Energizer with charger.  Make sure you look carefully though, I found most of them had the 1800mah batteries with the chargers but I dug deeper and found 2500mah batteries with charger for the same price, so I got like 3 of those and they seem to be working fine. 
Then I bought more batteries without chargers again looking for the highest mah I could find and swap em out.

Eventually I'll get a in truck charger so I can charge from the pickup, but I haven't needed too yet.
 




I got it out the foxpro custom shop and I highly reccomend you go that route if you choose a foxpro.  Reason being is I almost bought from allpredatorcalls.com and found they were out dated on the sound library and listed a whole bunch of free calls in their library that would count against your 100 free sounds (or 50 or 75 whatever)

By buying from foxpro direct I didn't use up any of my free 100 sounds you'd normally pay for with sounds out of the free download library that anyone can download and not pay. 
Title: Re: Your electronic caller
Post by: KFhunter on November 12, 2012, 05:30:05 PM
I didn't do a good job explaning that  :chuckle:

foxpro has a free to anyone download library
http://www.gofoxpro.com/site/products/soundpacks/free-sound-library.php (http://www.gofoxpro.com/site/products/soundpacks/free-sound-library.php)

If you buy a foxpro caller you can download these sounds for free, and I have.   So you want to make sure these sounds are not part of your initial purchase, cause you can get em free later!

when I went to allpredatorcalls.com, I cross refrenced the sounds and found a bunch of those free ones on their site  >:(
So had I bought from them I'd have been wasting my "free 100 sounds with purchase of FOXPRO CS24B"


So don't do that  :chuckle:

Title: Re: Your electronic caller
Post by: CAMPMEAT on November 12, 2012, 05:48:50 PM
Foxpro, $ 600 plus or Primos for under $200 that does exactly the samething if not better. Spend your money on a Foxpro, or go with Primos and buy another rifle....... :chuckle:
Title: Re: Your electronic caller
Post by: jayrod9528 on November 12, 2012, 06:03:39 PM
Foxpro, $ 600 plus or Primos for under $200 that does exactly the samething if not better. Spend your money on a Foxpro, or go with Primos and buy another rifle....... :chuckle:
I paid $365 for my brand new firestorm. You don't have to spend $600 to get a FOXPRO. I love the FOXPRO excellent sound nice package and with the FOXPRO batteries they are even better. My brother in law has the new Primos and it has plenty of volume has a nice controller and all in all it is a good call however, it is no FOXPRO. Some of the sounds sound like they were taken off a record or at best and 8track if the could improve the sound quality I would agree with you.
Title: Re: Your electronic caller
Post by: AWS on November 12, 2012, 06:23:15 PM
I'm a Minaska fan, I love the remote.  I keep trying Foxpros but hate having to scroll throught the sound to find one, I've had three and just cant find the love.  I'm running two Minaska M-1 Bandits and a Big Country. With 100 sounds you just have to punch two numbers and have any sound.  Intresting sidenote I can leave one remote in my vest and run any of the calls.

Keep hearing that Minaska will be back in the market place again, they still are in business and I get parts from them(someone stole my antenea at a show)
Title: Re: Your electronic caller
Post by: Big10gauge on November 12, 2012, 08:33:54 PM
Diehard Foxpro.I still run a Fury. Best part of owning a Foxpro is the great service if needed. I had a problem with mine once and Jerry Malbeck (Foxpro field staff) called me and then offered to lend me one while mine was serviced. The turnaround from the shop is fast.
Title: Re: Your electronic caller
Post by: CAMPMEAT on November 12, 2012, 08:55:31 PM
Foxpro, $ 600 plus or Primos for under $200 that does exactly the samething if not better. Spend your money on a Foxpro, or go with Primos and buy another rifle....... :chuckle:
I paid $365 for my brand new firestorm. You don't have to spend $600 to get a FOXPRO. I love the FOXPRO excellent sound nice package and with the FOXPRO batteries they are even better. My brother in law has the new Primos and it has plenty of volume has a nice controller and all in all it is a good call however, it is no FOXPRO. Some of the sounds sound like they were taken off a record or at best and 8track if the could improve the sound quality I would agree with you.

The best Foxpros are over $600 and you know if it's a $200 Fxpro it's not good enough for some. I think the Primos is up there with the $600+ Foxpros from what I saw and heard. Can a Foxpro be turned on and off with ease ? I'm not kidding when I said it got turned on when it was on a shelf about 50 ft away and the signal was picked up going through clothes racks and behind a shelf wall. The remote had no line of sight to the Primos. I personally haven't had good luck with my Foxpro, maybe expect too much of it like they advertise on tv. I'll stick with my hand calls.
Title: Re: Your electronic caller
Post by: KFhunter on November 12, 2012, 08:56:06 PM
I'm a Minaska fan, I love the remote.  I keep trying Foxpros but hate having to scroll throught the sound to find one, I've had three and just cant find the love.  I'm running two Minaska M-1 Bandits and a Big Country. With 100 sounds you just have to punch two numbers and have any sound.  Intresting sidenote I can leave one remote in my vest and run any of the calls.

Keep hearing that Minaska will be back in the market place again, they still are in business and I get parts from them(someone stole my antenea at a show)

I can do that too,  punch 10 and you get sound #10 or #120 or #200 if you got that many loaded. 

I thought about getting a cheat card with a few well used sounds, but I can program 3 on the preset keys.   Honesly there isn't much of a reason to have more than 20 sounds on any given call session, hell I use 4 usually.

I run the jack in the box and ecaller with the same remote, so I carry 1 remote too.

 :dunno:
Title: Re: Your electronic caller
Post by: carpsniperg2 on November 12, 2012, 09:34:41 PM
Fury for me. Love everything about that caller.
Title: Re: Your electronic caller
Post by: coyotecrazy on November 12, 2012, 10:57:41 PM
I've got the wildfire with the decoy attached. So far so good. My only complaint is the remote range. Can't seem to get the hundred yards it says.
Title: Re: Your electronic caller
Post by: jayrod9528 on November 13, 2012, 06:21:46 AM
Foxpro, $ 600 plus or Primos for under $200 that does exactly the samething if not better. Spend your money on a Foxpro, or go with Primos and buy another rifle....... :chuckle:
I paid $365 for my brand new firestorm. You don't have to spend $600 to get a FOXPRO. I love the FOXPRO excellent sound nice package and with the FOXPRO batteries they are even better. My brother in law has the new Primos and it has plenty of volume has a nice controller and all in all it is a good call however, it is no FOXPRO. Some of the sounds sound like they were taken off a record or at best and 8track if the could improve the sound quality I would agree with you.

The best Foxpros are over $600 and you know if it's a $200 Fxpro it's not good enough for some. I think the Primos is up there with the $600+ Foxpros from what I saw and heard. Can a Foxpro be turned on and off with ease ? I'm not kidding when I said it got turned on when it was on a shelf about 50 ft away and the signal was picked up going through clothes racks and behind a shelf wall. The remote had no line of sight to the Primos. I personally haven't had good luck with my Foxpro, maybe expect too much of it like they advertise on tv. I'll stick with my hand calls.
I think your missing the point. Mine is a good FOXPRO It has the same calls as a furry or a prairie blaster. My point is the actual sound the call produces. The primos machine is a good machine they just need to do something with there sound quality when calling I want a clear call not sounding like a 1920's victrola. 
Title: Re: Your electronic caller
Post by: CAMPMEAT on November 13, 2012, 06:26:12 AM
Foxpro, $ 600 plus or Primos for under $200 that does exactly the samething if not better. Spend your money on a Foxpro, or go with Primos and buy another rifle....... :chuckle:
I paid $365 for my brand new firestorm. You don't have to spend $600 to get a FOXPRO. I love the FOXPRO excellent sound nice package and with the FOXPRO batteries they are even better. My brother in law has the new Primos and it has plenty of volume has a nice controller and all in all it is a good call however, it is no FOXPRO. Some of the sounds sound like they were taken off a record or at best and 8track if the could improve the sound quality I would agree with you.

The best Foxpros are over $600 and you know if it's a $200 Fxpro it's not good enough for some. I think the Primos is up there with the $600+ Foxpros from what I saw and heard. Can a Foxpro be turned on and off with ease ? I'm not kidding when I said it got turned on when it was on a shelf about 50 ft away and the signal was picked up going through clothes racks and behind a shelf wall. The remote had no line of sight to the Primos. I personally haven't had good luck with my Foxpro, maybe expect too much of it like they advertise on tv. I'll stick with my hand calls.
I think your missing the point. Mine is a good FOXPRO It has the same calls as a furry or a prairie blaster. My point is the actual sound the call produces. The primos machine is a good machine they just need to do something with there sound quality when calling I want a clear call not sounding like a 1920's victrola.

I got your point. The Primos didn't sound like a 1920s victrola at all.
Title: Re: Your electronic caller
Post by: Blacklab on November 13, 2012, 07:52:00 AM
Fx 3 upgraded to the 5. The charging light on mine doesn't go out when charged. So I have to check the temps of the batteries so I don't burn them up. Great caller other than that hiccup  ;)
Title: Re: Your electronic caller
Post by: FALFire on November 13, 2012, 08:47:34 AM
I have two of the Minaska Bandit M1 callers. They have great sound quality, easy to operate and have been very reliable BUT Minaska has horrible customer service......NO wait!!! Minaska has INCREDIBLY HORRIBLE service, as in they don't give a rats azz if they ever fix anything they sell. Just go to Predator Masters and look through the past posts about them. I have gone to their website and only recently has one of the brothers started posting again promising a new caller about to hit the market. They are a complete joke and there are numerous consumers that have sent in their calls for repair and have never seen them again.

I now use a FoxPro CS24B, it is an outstanding caller, yes a bit spendy but it works and I am comfortable with the customer service that FoxPro has established over the years, they are truly second to none. Now comapring the FoxPro caller to the new Primos callers......Varmint Ventilator runs a Primos Alpha Dog, it is half the cost of the CS24B and it has excellent sound quality, it is very loud also but the only hang up is the battery life, it seems to run a little short. So far the sound quality is great up until about 2 hours or so into the calling and then it begins to get scratchy, broken up and basically sounds like crap.

Now..... in all fairness, he has changed up to re-chargable batteries and has stated the sound quality life is better, but I have not been out with him for long enough periods of time to listen to it to hear the sound degradation.
The other question I would have is their customer service, he has apparently not had the need to use it yet so that will be determined at a later date.

I can tell you this, there are a lot of FoxPro callers out there and the company bends over backwards to assist you in every way, so to me it's a no brainer these days plus FoxPro is made in the Good Ol' USA!!!

Title: Re: Your electronic caller
Post by: johnr060 on November 13, 2012, 10:26:52 AM
Foxpro firestorm. Love the call and it has great sound quality :tup:
Title: Re: Your electronic caller
Post by: AWS on November 13, 2012, 10:31:29 AM
Have you had bad CS from Minaska?  I haven't, last year they custom programed a sound card for me and repaired my remote after the antenea disapeared at a show.  Yeah they had allot of problems after the merge with Flambeau, but even before that their was a lot of Minaska bashing going on at Predatormasters.  Minaska calls were pretty cutting edge and Foxpro was playing catch up.  The big country and M-1 bandit were out before Foxpro moved out of the flashlight case and Foxpro finally came out with a keyboard remote on their CS 24 so you don't have to scroll for sounds. 

I'm looking forward to Minaska entering the arena again, it will be good for the products of both companies and great for the consumer.
Title: Re: Your electronic caller
Post by: bearmanric on November 13, 2012, 10:43:52 AM
Foxpro Fury. Can get it fixed if needed. I use foxpro Rechargible's love the remote. Rick
Title: Re: Your electronic caller
Post by: Gringo31 on November 13, 2012, 10:57:19 AM
Buy a FoxPro.

Period

And...don't get too caught up in how many sounds it holds.  16 is plenty IMO.  How many sounds does a guy really NEED?  I will admit I have an FX3 and have 32 sounds but....never use that many.

The cat sounds are fun to play next to someone's tent while camping tho :chuckle:

Got to love the remote :chuckle:
Title: Re: Your electronic caller
Post by: FALFire on November 13, 2012, 04:54:46 PM
There is no way anyone can argue the customer service FoxPro gives, they have had a long and reputable history with great service. Now IF Minaska can get their chit together once and for all, they too may finally have a customer service base that will be worth considering another one of their products. As I stated, their history speaks for it self and they have had an extremely bad history with the majority of their customers over the past year or two. Again, simply go to Predator Masters and look for yourself.

Gringo has it right, cry once go FoxPro you will be very satisfied.

My FoxPro CS24B caller holds 500 sounds, I have 100 loaded in it as that is the way it comes when you purchase it. I use maybe 10, most of the others I've never even heard.
Title: Re: Your electronic caller
Post by: Brownie28 on November 13, 2012, 07:43:46 PM
I have a kanatitek cx1 it's awesome has enough volume and features with a simple remote. I have aquired lots of sounds in the couple years I've had it and with the optional output jacks I can run 2 external hot speakers for more volume. Looked at foxpros and a few others but found too many "my fox pro broke so I sent it back to get fixed story's" I don't want to have something I always have to fix I want something I can use hard and have work every time I want to use it. You don't buy leupolds for their warranty you buy for the quality the warranty is just a bonus foxpro has from what I can tell a great warranty/customer service but just an ok product. Not my cup of tea JMHO
Title: Re: Your electronic caller
Post by: deerslyr on November 13, 2012, 07:54:56 PM
My buddy and I are in the process of building our own. We'll be said and done for around a hundo for a wireless caller with a top notch speaker and as many sounds as we want. Using it in conjunction with our smart phones.
Title: Re: Your electronic caller
Post by: CastleRocker on November 13, 2012, 08:21:39 PM
My buddy and I are in the process of building our own. We'll be said and done for around a hundo for a wireless caller with a top notch speaker and as many sounds as we want. Using it in conjunction with our smart phones.

I built my first three e-callers, and they worked just fine.  In fact, if you are looking for a wireless mic, I still have two Nady 151's that are two channel units.

I did eventually buy a Foxpro, and I love it.  Like has been said, customer service is second to none.  It's almost "Leupold like" CS!

I have a WT caller as well, and it does have the best sound I've heard.  It's too bad the owner is such an arrogant ass, and TELLS you what sounds he thinks you "need".  Ordered the caller and didn't get the sounds I ordered.  Called, and he told me that HE knows what I need in Western Washington, and that was it.  I won't purchase anything from him again.  That being said, he does make a good product.
Title: Re: Your electronic caller
Post by: aer212 on November 13, 2012, 08:31:37 PM
I have a WT and a Wildfire. WT is very good for me. Has the best sounds I have heard. Remote works far better than my Wildfire. I bought mine from Wildlife Callers and didn't have to deal with the owner of WT, I got the sounds I wanted. Foxpros work well also, I just wish I could have WT sounds on a Foxpro caller. It would be the best of both worlds with all the extra fancy stuff you can get on a Foxpro. I have had a fx3 and a johnny stewart preymaster also but my go to call is the WT.
Title: Re: Your electronic caller
Post by: CastleRocker on November 13, 2012, 09:11:52 PM
I have a WT and a Wildfire. WT is very good for me. Has the best sounds I have heard. Remote works far better than my Wildfire. I bought mine from Wildlife Callers and didn't have to deal with the owner of WT, I got the sounds I wanted. Foxpros work well also, I just wish I could have WT sounds on a Foxpro caller. It would be the best of both worlds with all the extra fancy stuff you can get on a Foxpro. I have had a fx3 and a johnny stewart preymaster also but my go to call is the WT.

I really wish I could combine the features of the WT and the Foxpro...I think it would make the BEST caller.  Throw in some of the Minaska and Burnham Bros sounds and the coyotes and cats around here would be in serious danger! 

If someone out there has the electrical knowledge to do something like that, I'm telling you right now; you would be very successful.  I'll pre-order one right now!
Title: Re: Your electronic caller
Post by: rynokron on November 14, 2012, 09:28:34 AM
Foxpro firestorm here. Works great, plenty loud. Don't use it much anymore. Have more fun hand calling them into shotgun range. The howling and pup distress is where the e caller shines.
Title: Re: Your electronic caller
Post by: tlbradford on November 14, 2012, 07:11:24 PM
I bought the cs24 Krakatoa.  Love it for bears, still prefer hand calls for coyotes.  If I had to do it again, I would go with the smaller cs24.  I find that any volume over 60% is just too loud and it is not a lot of fun to pack around.  Surprisingly, I get outstanding battery life. 
Title: Re: Your electronic caller
Post by: grundy53 on November 14, 2012, 07:29:42 PM
I run a Foxpro Spitfire... good enough for the girls I run with...  :chuckle:
Title: Re: Your electronic caller
Post by: KFhunter on November 14, 2012, 07:32:03 PM
My next battery setup will be something like this, with 12v plug in so I can charge in the truck while out calling then I got fresh batteries all the time.

http://www.amazon.com/Titanium-Battery-100-240V-Adapters-MD-1600L/dp/B005UNPM3M/ref=sr_1_32?ie=UTF8&qid=1352950123&sr=8-32&keywords=AA+smart+charger (http://www.amazon.com/Titanium-Battery-100-240V-Adapters-MD-1600L/dp/B005UNPM3M/ref=sr_1_32?ie=UTF8&qid=1352950123&sr=8-32&keywords=AA+smart+charger)

(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/61hjniL-oAL._AA300_.jpg)


Don't really need 16 bays though
2600mah batteries would last a good while too, several stands if not the day.
Title: Re: Your electronic caller
Post by: huntandjeep on November 16, 2012, 07:06:37 PM
I run a Foxpro Spitfire... good enough for the girls I run with...  :chuckle:
   How do you like this caller? Been thinking about this one or the Wildfire II
Title: Re: Your electronic caller
Post by: grundy53 on November 16, 2012, 07:08:10 PM
I'm happy with it. It works and it's simple enough for me. I don't even come close to using all of the sounds that are on it.
Title: Re: Your electronic caller
Post by: huntandjeep on November 17, 2012, 07:25:38 AM
I'm happy with it. It works and it's simple enough for me. I don't even come close to using all of the sounds that are on it.
   Great I guess I know what i'm asking the wife for for Christmas than  :chuckle:.
Title: Re: Your electronic caller
Post by: Heredoggydoggy on November 17, 2012, 08:00:02 AM
I bought the Foxpro Scorpion, for the compactness.  Volume is good for such a small unit.  I got a bigger speaker to hook to it for more volume, but rarely use it.  Some of those new monsters are more than I want to pack around.  :twocents:
Title: Re: Your electronic caller
Post by: KFhunter on November 17, 2012, 07:48:37 PM
man I wanted to bust out the FP last couple days, but I'm after deer.

I cut some hot cougar tracks, tons of bobcat tracks and more yotes than I could count.


hope I get it out a lot this winter
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