# Hand calls vs E-callers?



## Danny B (Jun 6, 2006)

I started with hand calls years ago, I still use them but not that much. Since I started competiting in competition predator hunting I switched over to e-callers.

This is the way I look at it and just my educated opinion. Both calls have a place in the sport, but I choose the e-caller over the hand call for a couple real good reasons.

First being, you CAN"T make all the sounds with a hand call that you can get out of an e-caller. You can also put your personal hand call sounds into many of the new e-callers
Second, the animal is coming to the source of the sound and not you. When using a hand call the animal is looking for you, a big disadvantage. One wrong move and it's all over.

I know of people and even predator hunting clubs that only use hand calls. It's some kind of personal thing with these people when it comes to hand calls vs e-callers? 
I think maybe some people just don't want to change from the old ways. The problem is they think it's a better way to hunt and it may be for them.

Lets hear everybodys opinion on this subject. Remember we may not always agree, but that's what these forums are all about.... opinions... :wink:


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## SDHandgunner (Jun 22, 2004)

Very good post, and I too am sure you'll likely receive different opinions.

I too started with Mouth Calls. Back then I kept thinking it was the calls that was keeping me from calling in anything so I started my quest with E-Callers. I do not know how many different E-Callers I have tried, nor how many E-Callers I have built over the years.

The funny thing is that while I was experimenting with all the E-Callers I either bought or built I still stuck to my mouth calls. All of a sudden just like it was magic I was calling in critters with my mouth calls.

What do I use now-a-days, well to be totally honest I use both and I think the wise predator caller will also. You are absolutely right in that the E-Callers can produce sounds that I can not produce with mouth calls. The E-Caller also gets the sound away from the hunter so therefore the predators attention is not focused on the hunter. On the other hand the Mouth Calls offer something different in that everytime I blow my mouth calls the sounds I produce are not exactly the same. With mouth calls I can change the rythum and the emotion I put into the calls.

While I have never used one I think a DECOY of sorts can also add a new dimension to predator calling.

Good topic, and hopefully this will provide a lot of info for the novice predator callers out there.

Larry


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## Danny B (Jun 6, 2006)

Thanks Larry, that's the idea. :beer:


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## Vic (Aug 7, 2006)

LIke everyone else, I started out with mouth calls,first oen was a white Circe jackrabbit. I didn't use electronics until 1999,and Ive never looked back. It is my opinion, a guy will kill more coyotes using electronics than a mouth call,adn not becasue of sound quality etc, but merely becasue of sound "location", you guys who use electronics know what Im talking about. I use a mouth call maybe a dozen times a winter,and thats usually a howler,which I dont use often either.


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## skinner (Jul 25, 2006)

like most everyone else I started out with month calls and slowly work my way up to e-callers. I still use month calls. but their is that certain thing about using e-callers, it has allready been mention several times it the advantage of getting the sound away from you. 
now lets ask another question what is the average range do you set yours out. 
Me I like it at least 30 to 40 yards out in front of me how about the rest of you


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## Danny B (Jun 6, 2006)

OK, here is my story. In early 196? I bought my first hand call but never had a chance to use it because I went into the Army. 
When I got out in 64 I couldn't get to the desert fast enough. For 11 years I used hand calls, though I had a friend that had the new JS 45 record player that we tried, I was not impressed at the time lol. 
In 1975 I joined this predator hunting club that had monthly hunts and gave away trophies to the winners, I just had to win a few of those. 
I soon found out I didn't know nothing hunting against those guys, they'd come back to check-ins with 10-15 animals? I thought they had to be cheating. 
I started asking around, checking out some of the rigs these guys used and how they were set up. I found out that they all had 8 track tape players in the camper shells and speakers under there hoods. It was all about how they hunted, they didn't wast time and covered a lot of miles in a day or night. 
They never used hand calls unless it was to try and make an animal stop. Modern e-callers are the way to go in my opinion and from what I've seen over the years they work better in many more ways then a hand call does. 
How can someone judge something like "hand call vs E- caller?" Simple, by the amount of predators killed in World, National, State and Local competitions. You average it out and e-callers kill far more animals then hand calls in competitions.

This should get something going lol.


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## coyotekiler4 (Aug 14, 2006)

No way
Hand calls only! I'm not gonna carry E-caller, speakers/wire, Rifle............ and 50#coyotes 
out of the hilly North East terrain

Is everybody else huntin from the truck ! with cellphones too
(just kiddin)

Seriously - I'm out huntin to get away from whistles and bells- not 
carry them.


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## coyotekiler4 (Aug 14, 2006)

No way
Hand calls only! I'm not gonna carry E-caller, speakers/wire, Rifle............ and 50#coyotes 
out of the hilly North East terrain

Is everybody else huntin from the truck ! with cellphones too
(just kiddin)

Seriously - I'm out huntin to get away from whistles and bells- not 
carry them.


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## coyotekiler4 (Aug 14, 2006)

oops

want to hear me rant again

lol


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## Danny B (Jun 6, 2006)

Lol, that's ok.


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## Jaybic (Sep 8, 2005)

Interesting point Danny B.

I know some of the guys on this site hunt the nationals and probably the ND Coyote Classic as well as other tournaments. That would be a cool statistic to know. I have both and have always had better luck using mouth calls and I would have thought that mouth calls were the call of choice for tournaments but I would like to hear what the winners of these tournaments are using. Not by brand(dont want anyone to give up their secrets) but electronic VS mouth calls for tournament winners.

I have seen the Predator Quest video with Les and Jeff Johnson and they have won a bunch of tournies and I think they are mouth call guys but dont know for sure.

Anyone else heard anything on this debate?

jaybic

I would like to know more


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## tubby (Aug 9, 2006)

In many parts of the Eastern US, electronic calls are illegal in National Forest (some of the best hunting land). So only manual calls can be used when hunting there. Just my 2 cents.


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## Danny B (Jun 6, 2006)

Jaybic, long before they had National and World coyote hunts, they had Club hunts and State competitions between Arizona and California, all they used were hand calls way back when. 
It was not until 1961 when Johnny Stewart came out with the first e-caller so to speak, a 45 or 78 record player and normally guys didn't even looked in that direction. 
It was not until the early 70s that e-callers really took off with some hunters. They used 4 and 8 tracks to call in predators and call them in they did.
During the 70s, 80s and even into the 90s I competed on many club and State hunts. In order to win or even place on one of those big hunts you normally had to have 25 to 45 coyotes, this was all done with electronic calls. 
I hunt with a guy that won the World contest about three years ago, he uses a FoxPro, matter of fact he's the FoxPro rep for this area. 
Jaybic, I think you can understand why I use e-callers. It's hard to go back to hand calling when I've been so successful with e- callers. :beer:

PS if I lived in a state were they didn't let me use an e-caller, I'd move lol. J/K :wink:


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## yooperyotebuster (Dec 13, 2005)

During the Michigan Predator Challenge there have been many debates over these types of calls. Personally I'm partial to hand calls. I used to pay big bucks for custom calls made by a local call maker here in MIchigan. I was very sucessful using them so I didn't mind payin 50 to 60 dollars for a call. They last forever. Once I found out we could make the same thing for about quarter of the price we began to make our own. No I'm not trying to sell calls. I do not sell any. Bob has calls that he has sold (the guy I used to buy my calls from) for over 200 dollars. They are beautiful and function well. In the areas I hunt there is usuall deep snow, excellent cover and are well off the beaten path. I have to walk sometime miles to get into productive areas. I bought an Extreme Dimensions call about five years ago. I found that it works well for crows but have never shot a predator over it. Last year a friend of mine paid 500 for a fox pro fx4. The sounds are the same as my old extreme dimentions. The same old repetive sound. Every coyote around has heard these sounds played by some knucklehead here within 100 yards of a road. There is alot of pride that comes with taking a dog that you called in not some machine. Especially with a call you made yourself! As far as sucess went last year I don't really count, I posted several pictures. The fox pro zeroed. Point is folks *It doesn't matter which method we use as long as we hunt, continue to support our way of life and introduce younger hunters to the sport!*


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## Danny B (Jun 6, 2006)

Michigan Predator Challenge? Now that sounds interesting. I'd like to know more about that. Do you guys hunt two person teams? Is it a day and night hunt? Do you hunt all the predators or just coyotes? How many animals usually win? I'd like to get more information so I can put it in the predator hunting museum.

You have your opinion on hand calls vs e-calls and I have mine, no big deal. I have used them both, hand calls since 1964 and electronic calls since the 70s. I've seen thousands of coyotes killed by "knuckleheads" using e-callers right off a dirt road, I like that name lol.

I understand some people think they must walk a 1/4 or a 1/2 mile away from a truck to have a coyote come in. That's ok if that is what they like to do. I sure don't do it that way, I'm a "knucklehead" :lol: .


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## yooperyotebuster (Dec 13, 2005)

Danny B,
I wish it was that easy here! The area that i live in receives alot of hunting pressure. Mostly by hound hunters. We also have another factor that you folks in the south west don't have to contend with! That would be the wolf! With the ammount of pressure coyotes receive from hound hunters who travel by vehicle or snowmobile and predators that will kill coyotes at any given chance the odds of shooting a dog from the road are very slim. When I was stationed at Camp Pendelton I saw coyotes everywhere as well as at Twenty Nine Palms. Gee it would have been easy pickins. Bob Patrick who has done extremely well in Western competitions only kills about 5 to 7 dogs calling a year in Michigan. It is atotally different ball game. I have watched videos of 5 to six dogs coming to a set and laugh. I wish we had that here. As far as the Michigan Predator Challenge goes you can find out all the info you need from Mark and Jackie Schuler at NettieBay.com or Callerspride.com


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## VarmintHunter117 (May 28, 2005)

it depends sometimes it s straight E-caller and then @ times is just mouth. the mouth calls i had used were closed reed calls.. i have only started using.. well practiing mostly with open reeds i do like the fact of the differeent sounds that can be made with an open reed. only been out a couple times using the open with no luck yet here in eastern ND...

I have also used both @ the same time and have had good results. I'm looking forward to the colder weather to head out and try my luck again... been loading up plently of ammo... looking at some new bullet/powder combos. going out this weekend to sight the rifles in... changed some configurations and need to get them dialed in.


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## Danny B (Jun 6, 2006)

Thanks yooperyotebuster, I'll check that site out. By the way, it's not that easy out west anymore either. Hard to compete with 10,000,000 other predator callers and only a million coyotes lol. 
Bob Patrick? I never heard of him, where and when did he compete? 
I started competing in 1975, I got to know the guy, but the name I just can't recall. Did he ever compete in the Arizona or the California contest back in the 70s or 80s?


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## yooperyotebuster (Dec 13, 2005)

Danny,
I do not know the exact dates or years that Bob hunted these competitions. If you type in Rare Earth Predator calls you should get some additional info. I've seen the awards in his shop and his calls are used by A.D.C. in Colorado and Wyoming. He does not have a web site however. I do know that he hunted an event in the Red Desert last Nov. I believe. He also is a sponsor for VHA events out west. He can be contacted at 906-484-3429. He is an extremely cocky fellow and a huge bull****ter. But two things I can say is this guy makes great calls and is an extremely sucessfull hunter!


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## Danny B (Jun 6, 2006)

Thanks for that information yooperyotebuster. Cocky and a huge Bull****ter fits lots of predator callers I've known over the years lol. That don't make him a bad guy....Good hunting to you this year.


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## coyhuntinsoldier (Jul 15, 2006)

Hey guys, I thought I would throw my two cents in on this matter. Personally, I get more personal satisfaction callin' one in by mouth than with an e-call. I don't look down on people who use them, I would rather shoot five that I called in, than 10 by using artificial means. Just an opinion...lol


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