This is topic What call is right for you ? in forum Calls and Gear forum at The New Huntmastersbbs!.
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Posted by Melvin (Member # 634) on April 16, 2005, 07:20 PM:
There are so many calls on the market today Its hard to make a choice of whats right for you..especially the newcomers to the sport..I want to talk a little about the open reed howlers and get some feed back from some of the members here at huntmasters..There are so many varients in calls..some long..some short..some big..some small..some loud..some not so loud..the no.1 and formost part of a call is the mouth peice..once again i want to stress that we are talking about the open reed howler.some mouth peices are short with a quick curve..some are long with less curve.. the grove in the mouth peice..some big..some small..The size and length of the reed..some short some long..some wide some narrow..some thick..some thin..to blow into the mouth peice...some easy..some hard..the diameter of barrel into which the mouth peice is inserted..some large..some small
As individual callers it would be impossible to put anything together above to satisfy all
Thats what keeps callers buying...looking for that perfect call that works best for them
Any advice on what to look for in a good call guys?
Posted by Leonard (Member # 2) on April 16, 2005, 07:45 PM:
Sooner or later, you will hear someone sing the praises of the Higgins Howler, and it doesn't fit into any of your catagories, since it uses a latex band.
Conventional open reed howler, the JS is easy to blow, the reed is kinda unique; it's injected molded with a built in taper.
Good hunting. LB
Posted by Cdog911 (Member # 7) on April 17, 2005, 05:49 AM:
I'll sing the song. Rich's Higgy Howler is built on the Elk Inc Power Howler platform and is, without a doubt (for me) the easiest to use for making any vocalization I typically employ on stand. Again, it's a band-reed call and, IMO, is as much an open reed call as any other. The reed just looks "different".
Now, as far as conventional open reed mouthpieces go, I've either got or had the opportuinity to use many of them at one time or another, including the venerable Cronk, Red Deserts, Sly Pup, AP-7, CrittrCall (Magnum and Standard), and JS's CH-1. None of them are as fail safe as my Higgy Howler, and that's a major selling/ buying point for me. Having said that, the best ones in this category for me personally have been my Sly Pup (custom), and a little diddy I fashioned for myself using a CrittrCall standard jammed into a steer's horn. The CH-1 is a good howler either with or with the funnel, but it's a little long (~18 inches) with the bell.
Which howler is most suited to your needs depends a lot on the area where you hunt and what you expect from the call. The Power Howler doesn't have the reach and is excellent out to 3/4 mile for me which basically means that if I can see him, I can work him with the Higgy. It also produces incredibly accurate pup/juvey/female-type sounds but can't really get going with the low, baritone mature male stuff as well as some of the others. If you need reach, say - a mile - the Magnum works pretty well. In fact, at this time of the year, if I want to sound like the whole famn damily, I carry my Higgy, my Magnum CritterCall, and my Sly Pup.
Higgy's are (at last word) out of production, but the original base platform can be picked up for under $20, which is giving them away in my opinion and a helluva bargain at twice the price. The Sly Pup is getting hard to come by and might be a pinch for somebody on a budget. The Magnum can be picked up at any call vendor nowadays for under twenty.
Posted by Tim Behle (Member # 209) on April 17, 2005, 07:18 PM:
I don't often howl, but I like to have a howler with me, just in case I need it. Therefore my top priority is convenience. If it isn't small enough to fit in my shirt pocket, it's probably going to be in the truck when I need it the most.
If it doesn't make good sounds, it's never going to even make it out to the truck.
Boddiker's Song Dog and the JS Dog Howler are the two I carry. Both fit in my pocket, and are there when I need them, both give good quality sounds.
Posted by Greenside (Member # 10) on April 19, 2005, 06:52 AM:
I usually just have a couple of Song Dogs with me with different reeds. I also carry a Carlton bell for occasional use on the Song Dogs and also to use on CC standard and mini-blasters.
Dennis
Posted by Rich Higgins (Member # 3) on April 19, 2005, 10:14 AM:
We never leave home without our yellow rubber duckie.
Posted by Leonard (Member # 2) on April 19, 2005, 11:48 AM:
Yeah, that's the way I feel about my pink frog...
Posted by Melvin (Member # 634) on April 19, 2005, 03:10 PM:
Your lucky to have something to take with you..........My hamster got rigamortas
Posted by Kokopelli (Member # 633) on April 22, 2005, 03:48 AM:
Melvin, I like the Crittr-Call standard for all around calling. Somewhere in my wanderings, I picked up an 8 inch plastic tube that extends out to 30 inches. Could have been a 'Natural Wonders' or a toy store. A Crittr-Call fits nicely into one end. At the 8 inch length, it does decent howls. Stretched out to 30 inches it's an elk bugle. It may not have the 'best' sound, but it's there when I need it, and out of the way when I don't. This is important, as mentioned above. If I happen to lose, break or give one away, they're cheap & I can easily replace it. If I want to experiment with a cow horn or other type of bell, I again go to the Crittr-Call for the voice, because I know the curve under the reed. Not needing to 'learn' a different call each time is a big plus.
Posted by Melvin (Member # 634) on April 24, 2005, 12:06 AM:
A feller told me the pointed end of a coyote dropping pointed to the direction it was traveling. 'I don't agree' I think it was the way he was turned at the time he dropped it. Sometimes they just leave a puddle. In that case he good only go up or down.
Posted by Leonard (Member # 2) on April 24, 2005, 08:46 AM:
Makes me wish there was some sort of prize for that one, Melvin! What a whopper!
Good hunting. LB
PS do those fabulous large eastern coyotes shed equally large spoor?
Posted by Melvin (Member # 634) on April 24, 2005, 03:36 PM:
I think that would depend on the size of the coyote...We do have some very large coyotes here in the East...I killed one that weighed 55lbs.but there has been bigger ones taken...The bigger the animal the bigger the dropping makes sense..Right?...That is if he had a big dinner
Posted by Melvin (Member # 634) on April 24, 2005, 07:15 PM:
I don't know for sure if size of a coyotes track always has something to do with size of a coyote or not...Some men are short with big feet...Some men are big with little feet...But i would say over all that our coyotes have bigger spoor...From one spoor maker to another what would you say
Posted by Leonard (Member # 2) on April 24, 2005, 11:14 PM:
You are what you eat. Especially if it's Mexican!
Good hunting. LB
Posted by TheHuntedOne (Member # 623) on April 25, 2005, 08:00 AM:
I have to wonder if the size of the track, even the depth of the track, may be a true indication of the size of a coyote. Even if the track is fresh, don't coyotes use direct registering? If so, this would certainly throw off any measuring of the tracks to determine size? I say this based on haveing seen numerous coyotes traveling in groups of 3 or more, yet leaving only one set of tracks as they cross a field along the fence row. One set of tracks, almost perfectly shaped, yet 3 or 4 animals passed.
As for the size of the scat being an indicator, my 10 year old has forgotten to flush a time or two, and you would swear that boy is 6'5" and a good 275 by the looks of things. ![[Embarrassed]](redface.gif)
Posted by Melvin (Member # 634) on April 25, 2005, 09:52 AM:
TheHuntedOne I'm glad you brought that up...I have tracked many coyotes in the snow...Ihad tracked what i believed was one coyote many times for quite a long distance...The track often would turn out to be 2 or 3 coyotes many times...I wonder do the coyotes out west do the same thing.
Leonard "You are what you eat?"I must be a whistle pig!For i ate many ground hogs when i was young...Called "marmot" out west...
Now i know why i hear those screams in the bathrooms....Hot mexican food...Yeeeoweee
Posted by Leonard (Member # 2) on April 25, 2005, 10:39 AM:
Well, it may not be obvious, but with a large "combo" plate of tortillas, beans and rice, and three entrees, you yield quite a bit of BULK.
Also, (didn't happen to me, but my son remarked on the "yield" from the daughter of one of his friends, also ten years old....also forgetting to flush. Claimed it was quite impressive, if that be a proper description? Yuck.
We do discuss important stuff, once in a while.....
Good hunting. LB
Posted by Tim Behle (Member # 209) on April 25, 2005, 05:50 PM:
My #3 child has the bad habit ever since being house broken of "Forgetting" to flush his "Trophies"
He and his Twin have had their own bathroom for several years, so he didn't catch too much hell from his Mom and I. His brother threw fits over it.
A year or so ago, the wife and I came home to find Craig with a shiner. We knew that Dean had done it, but never could get the full story. Just that it happened in the bathroom.
The boy has come looking for a plunger a few times since, but hasn't forgotten to flush a trophy since. ![[Wink]](wink.gif)
And we eat a TON of Mexican food!
Posted by Melvin (Member # 634) on April 25, 2005, 06:43 PM:
How did we get on this subject....LOL
Posted by Leonard (Member # 2) on April 25, 2005, 07:19 PM:
Subject? Who knows? Something about a natural compass consisting of coyote droppings, scroll back and learn.
BTW, should have mentioned it previously, and then I got an email...out west, we may have yellow bellied marmots, but the locals invariably call them "rockchucks".
Thanks for the heads up, Krusty. ![[Smile]](smile.gif)
(he seems to prefer the back channels, these days?) No crime, in that. Right Lance? Right, Rich?
Good hunting. LB
Posted by Cdog911 (Member # 7) on April 25, 2005, 07:21 PM:
I don't know, Melvin, but it seems to be runnin' it's course as usual around here tonight. From calls, to coyote tracks, to coyote poop, to Mexican food to Tim's kid's trophy scat.
Just to close the circle, I was at a trapping demo in October and the guy demo'ing the coyote sets remarked that he liked to use a coyote turd to bring those coyotes in close. I told the guy next to me that, despite my best efforts, I hadn't yet figured out how to keep one between the tail- and headstocks in the lathe long enough to turn a call from one. The only thing harder than turning it might be selling it!
There, you see? It's all connected.
Posted by Leonard (Member # 2) on April 25, 2005, 07:46 PM:
Haha. Funny thing, a couple weeks ago, while driving a few back roads on the Kofa, saw a bunch of coyote scat, very fresh. Consisted primarily of grasshoppers...ugg! I suspect it would be a little lumpy, might be hard to turn, Lance. Actually; I KNOW it was a little lumpy. But, if you did a little work, impregnating coyote turds with resin, you just might have a saleable product? I used to save those little "vent" fur collars, for necklaces, and give them to friends. Much appreciated.
Good hunting. LB
Posted by Melvin (Member # 634) on April 25, 2005, 08:09 PM:
I just put on my chest waders....This is getting deep....lol
Posted by Locohead (Member # 15) on April 25, 2005, 09:11 PM:
Perhaps, you've heard this before on another board. I was chastised for wasting band width for this story.
I'm often teased by my hunting buddies for always taking time to analyze terds while hunting. Year before last, elk hunting, we were hunting through pinion trees. The area is known for both black bears and mountain lions. I crossed a sandy arroyo while hiking with my brother in-law. I saw a super sized mongo and super fresh terd laying in the sandy soil. I didn't right off notice any grain or grassy fiber so I announced that it must have been a meat-eater. Just as I went to a knee and bent over for a closer look, piece of used toilet paper blew right under my face.
WAAAAAAAAAAWAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!
Talk about yuck... YUCK, YUCK, YUCK!!!!!!
Posted by Cdog911 (Member # 7) on April 26, 2005, 04:24 AM:
Your bears use toilet paper?!?!?!
Posted by Leonard (Member # 2) on April 26, 2005, 09:27 AM:
Using HM bandwidth for such disgusting topics! Danny, did you see the TP before you used the sniff test, or the taste test? At least your quarry was well prepared, but had no "cat" genes, or he would have buried it, eh?
Anyway, your hunting days are almost over, pal. With the number of daughters you already have on the ground, you need to start saving ALL your spare change for those weddings. I know something about that subject, $.
Good hunting. LB
Posted by 2dogs (Member # 649) on May 10, 2005, 05:13 AM:
My calls & Ratings; Rating (1-10) 10=Excellent
Johnny Stewart Song Dog 10
Primos Still Cottin-Tail Rabbit 8
Faulks Predator Call (P60A) 10+
Haydell Government Cottin-tail 8
Tally-Ho 9
Crit'R Call (Standard & Pee-Wee) 10+
TTEbbe Custom Antler (Raspy caller) 10+
[ May 10, 2005, 05:14 AM: Message edited by: 2dogs ]
Posted by Melvin (Member # 634) on May 10, 2005, 08:42 PM:
2 Dogs
I have 4 of the above calls you named..2 i have used..The standard critter and the Tally ho.
Both are excelent calls..As a call maker i am very fond of my own..I don't sale calls,i just enjoy making them..I make what fits my own taste of what a call should sound like..I just finished up a neon orange double open reed call today..I named it "the double hammer neon"I can slide my teeth up all the way on the reeds and do group puppy howls or 1/3 the way up and do cat fighting sounds..I made a neon howler a couple weeks ago..These calls are slow for me to make..They are hand made using plastics..These will make good night hunting calls if i should drop one"the color neon" realy sticks out when a light is flashed on it..Later i may post a picture of some of my calls and a 55 pound coyote i killed.
Posted by 2dogs (Member # 649) on May 11, 2005, 03:52 AM:
Melvin,
I admire artistry & ingenuity. Art runs in my family as well(natural born, drawer's & painters that is). This is something I have seen in All of you call-makers. I could admire them (your calls)all day long..(Not to mention, they facinate me because, it ties into predator-huntin).
I'll probably tinker into it(call-making) later, this summer as well. I've known & read about some of the old-time call-makers & callers, many years ago.
Just around a 1 1/2yrs ago, did I decided to give it (callin)a try. Glad I did, as this has given me the opportunity to continue. What passion I have for these animals. Not to mention, it gets me out into the field.
I truely enjoy matching my skills & experience against some of the smartest mammals on Earth. I don't know what your huntin territory looks like. But if you ever have the opportunity. Try spot/stalking coyotes in the winter snow. It is very fun & quite challenging to say the least. Especially if the snow is "loud"
[ May 11, 2005, 03:57 AM: Message edited by: 2dogs ]
Posted by Swampbird (Member # 654) on May 16, 2005, 11:54 AM:
Since the e-callers and mouthcalls both have their place, I carry both the Foxpro 416 w/Remote and Verminator's Thumper & Tweety on my Reese's No-Noise 2-call/remote braided lanyard.
Have some closed-reed and open-reed calls, but these go hunting.
Foxpro, Thumper, Tweety and Remote:
Posted by Melvin (Member # 634) on May 16, 2005, 02:39 PM:
Rick P.is one funny guy!..Those 2 calls are realy good,the long range tweety works very well also..I see he has a double reed called "syco tweety".I'll have to buy that one and try it out..I collect calls to..Mostly open reed.
Posted by Swampbird (Member # 654) on May 17, 2005, 04:21 AM:
Watched him on The Verminators Predator or Prey DVD and was really impressed how far the yotes were responding to Tweety with the crosswinds as strong as they were. Sagebrush really leaning over and the yotes started out as small specks on the horizone.
I also have the Randy Anderson Hot-Dog, Li'l Dog and Ki-Yi calls that get results....
Posted by Melvin (Member # 634) on May 17, 2005, 09:17 AM:
Swampbird,
To me a call is like a musical instrument,if its tuned right and plays to the sound that a coyote likes then you got a good call.Most all calls work but some work better.I bet most guys here would say that they have there preferred calls they carry"ones that seem to bring better results"or like a good musical instrument that is easier to play.
..........................................
Like that tv show that use to be on" play that tune".......Good Luck
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