[Jimmyjames]

I have never used any mouth calls but the more that I read and research, I feel that they are used more than just the electronic call. What is your opinion on style, technique, or brand of calls? What is your favorite call? I have been looking at some Foxpro and Primos hand calls but I don't want to go throw like $70 on a set of calls and not have any success afterward.

 

[Larry in Bend]

I only use hand calls. There are advantages and disadvantages when compared to an EC. You might want to try an open reed call, which is very versatile, learn to blow it (pretty easy) and see for yourself.

I'm not convinced that EC users have better success rates than HC users--- at least as a rule. I know callers that switch back and forth --- they seem happy with both systems.

 

[stevelong]

mouth calls

I'm an old caller, done a lot of it, not saying I am smart or good, but I have called in a lot of coyotes.
I've also had days like fishing, when there just are no coyotes biting.
I've been calling off and on since the middle 1980s, first with mouth calls & no success, then bought a Johnny Stewart cassette caller.
Used the caller with almost immediate success, and after successfully getting several with the caller, I started pacing my calling sequences more like the tapes, with regard to intervals and intensity and lulls, quieter sequences, you get the idea.
I started being able to call in 'yotes with the mouth calls after that.
I've used both off & on, without a lot of difference in successes.
I really prefer the portability the mouth calls offer, easy hands-free walking from section to section......nothing to pack but the rifle.
I have a lot of mouth calls, all bought when they were less expensive, and all still working today.
I like the Tally-Ho little mouth call, open-reed style....you can howl, bark and do rabbit squeals with it.
But I use a lot of calls, they can freeze up, so I always have several in the pockets and neck lanyards.
I think the most important thing is to sing it like you mean it, put some soul into it, sound like you are injured.....and start calling each location not too loudly.

 

[Brian in Oregon]

http://www.sceeryoutdoors.com/predator.html

Scroll down about halfway on the above link to the Ed Sceery's Regional Predator Call Kits. These come in Eastern, Western, Northern and Advanced.

I bought the Western kit over 25 years ago and am still using them. This is a kit that will last you the rest of your life.

The kits above now come with a DVD showing how to properly use the calls, which would have been a big help back in the day.

Are there better calls out there? Well, some swear by open reed, custom made calls, etc. That's fine and dandy, but you have to start somewhere and this kit and DVD fits the bill.

Interestingly, I have killed more coyotes using my Sceery calls than with my electronic caller, even though the mouth calls pinpoint your location to a coyote.

 

[broper]

Myself, I've called in more coyotes with a mouth call. Sometimes it seems to help if you use both together. Maybe put a howl on the e-call and use a rabbit distress or pup distress on the mouth call. I have both closed reed and open reed mouth calls. I think if you're just starting with mouth calls the closed reed is a little easier to use, but it doesn't take long to learn to use an open reed. In our club, Idaho Varmint Hunters, we have four different coyote tournaments through out the winter. One is a mouth/handcalls only tournament. It's a lot of fun and there seems to be just as many coyotes brought in as the tournaments where e-calls are used. There's a lot of mouth calls out there, just pick one you like and practice, practice, practice. The Circe is one that has been around a long time and is well liked by a lot of callers. I can't really say that it is any better than any other though. I have an old Herter's cottontail distress that I bought almost 50 years ago and it still works.

Bob

 

[SD Handgunner]

The call I have had the best results with was the Sceery AP3. However it has a bad habit of freezing up quite easily. I switched to a Sceery AP7 Open Reed. With practice I can produce the same distress sounds I did with the AP3 and the AP7 doesn't freeze up. As a bonus coyote howls and kiyi's are easily done with the AP7.

For a howler I have used quite a few over the years. I really liked the versatility of the Crit'R Call Song Dog, but have a hard time blowing it due to COPD. I have switched to a Crit'R Call Mini and added a megaphone to it (part of the bell off of a transmission funnel).

Here's the thing, not everyone blows a mouth call the same. What works for me may not work for someone else. In the end you are going to have a bag full of calls and out of that bag full there will be a few that work for you and your style.

Larry

 

[Tennessee Slim]

My experiences are a lot like stevelong's (except shorter by quite a spell). I didn't have anybody to teach me to mouth call when I decided to take up predator hunting, and I was afraid I was as likely to scare them off by playing something that sounded more like In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida than a real coyote's call. So I started with an e-caller.

Most of the e-caller sounds I use are real animal sounds, not recordings of a human blowing a mouth call. Between listening to them and occasionally getting a reply from the 'yotes I was calling to, I got more familiar with what a real coyote sounds like. So I started mouth calling, too. I can't say it's revolutionized my hunting but I do think I've had more opportunities since I started using them both.

Mouth calls take some practice. E-callers never play off-key.

If you're walking through the woods and catch a coyote unawares, you can get a mouth call into action as quick as you can fish out a pack of smokes and light one up. An e-caller takes more time and more fidgeting than that.

Each type of mouth call can produce a limited range of sounds (some more limited than others). If you favor a bunch of different sounds -- crow, woodpecker, and such -- you might need to buy multiple calls. A single e-caller can play a near limitless variety of sounds.

By no means are e-callers cheap but you never have to buy more than one. You might end up needing a quiver of mouth calls. E-callers with enough horsepower to be heard across the open prairie are going to be even spendier.

E-callers need batteries, which not only are a recurring expense, they can fail unexpectedly, especially when it's cold. Open-reed mouth calls (which are more flexible than closed reed) can freeze from your spittle when it's really cold.

No one makes a waterproof e-caller.

You can change volume on a mouth call, or the nature of the sound you're playing, without moving noticeably. Using an e-caller's remote requires that you move about more. Could come into play if the coyote is comes in but balks at showing himself.

Mouth calls are hard to operate hands-off, but you can concentrate on getting your rifle into operation without an e-caller skipping a beat.

If the coyote comes seeking your sound, if you're playing a mouth call, he will be trying to look straight at you. If you position an e-caller some distance from your stand, the caller itself is a diversion, and you might be able to shoulder your rifle, draw a bead on him, and fire without being noticed.

They both have their advantages, and their disadvantages. I'd hate to have to go back to using just one or t'uther.

 

[broper]

I also recommend one of the e-decoys such as the Mojo Critter. position it about 30-35 yds. out and even if you're using a mouth call the coyote will be consentrated on the decoy. You will have time to move a little to get in good shooting position without the coyote seeing you. Decoys really work and are worth the money they cost.
Once you learn how to blow an open reed they are more versatile. With some of them you can make howls, ki-yi's, distress, female estrus chirps, etc. With some of the closed reeds you can make bird sounds too.

 

[Paddy_SP]

We don't have coyotes over here in the UK, but I'm out calling red foxes in most nights of the year. In my experience, hand callers are best used when you can actually see your quarry (and can therefore track it in to the shot), but electronic ones are best for those you can't see.

Where hand callers are concerned - if you aren't careful, any experienced animal will simply go around on the wind and come up behind you - it'll then sniff the air, realise danger is afoot, and disappear without you even knowing it was there. If you've positioned your e-caller correctly, however, the point where the fox/coyote pauses to see what is going on is somewhere out in your chosen kill zone. At that point it's 'BANG' - game over...

 

[broper]

That's why I like a decoy. They lock on that decoy and don't try to circle around you.

 

[Larry in Bend]

For decades I've used Pheasant or Quail or Dove feathers hung in a tree or bush (or on a stick if there's no vegetation) on some monofiliment line ---- If you don't have a store-bought decoy.

 

[Tennessee Slim]

A bobcat definitely will get mesmerized by a decoy. I've had them walk right up to it and sniff of it. I almost didn't have the heart to shoot 'em.

But not a coyote. They still want to let their nose test for danger.


Speaking of decoys, I've had several red tailed hawks swoop down to attack my FoxPro FoxJackII decoy, but they break off the attack when they get real close. Several hunters posting in the FoxPro forum say they've lost decoys to hawks (just the furry "topper" that spins on top, not the whole device). And since a hawk has far keener eyesight than a coyote, I think that speaks to how convincing a decoy it is.

 

[Fuzz]

A bobcat definitely will get mesmerized by a decoy. I've had them walk right up to it and sniff of it. I almost didn't have the heart to shoot 'em.

But not a coyote. They still want to let their nose test for danger.


Speaking of decoys, I've had several red tailed hawks swoop down to attack my FoxPro FoxJackII decoy, but they break off the attack when they get real close. Several hunters posting in the FoxPro forum say they've lost decoys to hawks (just the furry "topper" that spins on top, not the whole device). And since a hawk has far keener eyesight than a coyote, I think that speaks to how convincing a decoy it is.

I used Road Kill skins/tails (Squirrel) on my Decoys, Worked well and I also have a Ferret and my Son had snakes, I would let the Snake food or Ferret bed w/ a rag for a night and wrap a piece of it inside the decoy to give it a scent.

Both seemed to work well w/ K-9 species. I hide roadkill in a Zip Lock bag in the freezer if I see somehing that looks appatizing!

 

[Paddy_SP]

I hide roadkill in a Zip Lock bag in the freezer if I see something that looks appetizing!

Good Man!

 

[broper]

Sorry to disagree Tennessee but I use decoys for coyotes and they flat work. They lock on the decoy and don't see anything else. I really believe in decoying coyotes.