Mouth call vs Electronic call

[BigDuckHunter]

Does anyone here that’s used an electronic call like a Foxpro still use mouth/hand calls? I live in an area where coyote calling has become really popular over the last 5 years or so and it seems the dogs have become more wise to the Foxpro. I’m wondering if switching to mouth calls would give me an advantage. It would seem that a mouth blown call could easier match the higher frequencies of real prey in distress. Just a thought I had today.

 

[Skerhunter]

Does anyone here that’s used an electronic call like a Foxpro still use mouth/hand calls? I live in an area where coyote calling has become really popular over the last 5 years or so and it seems the dogs have become more wise to the Foxpro. I’m wondering if switching to mouth calls would give me an advantage. It would seem that a mouth blown call could easier match the higher frequencies of real prey in distress. Just a thought I had today.

Yes and No - if they are educated to standard distress like rabbit - doing the same thing with a hand call produces the same results.

If they don’t respond you just have to keep trying until you figure out what works.

If you have a good ecaller and can load new sounds there isn’t a huge advantage to hand calls.

If you have a cheap one - learn to howl and do pup distress on reed and diaphram calls.

 

[AverageShot]

Does anyone here that’s used an electronic call like a Foxpro still use mouth/hand calls? I live in an area where coyote calling has become really popular over the last 5 years or so and it seems the dogs have become more wise to the Foxpro. I’m wondering if switching to mouth calls would give me an advantage. It would seem that a mouth blown call could easier match the higher frequencies of real prey in distress. Just a thought I had today.

I have tried both. With my skill level, I dont have any luck with a mouth call. Its easier to stick with the electronic call and tell myself they are educated.

That being said, my luck seems to come in waves, but they still come to the foxpro. Are you running a foxpro?

 

[BigDuckHunter]

Yeah. I’ve got a shockwave that I like pretty well. Definitely easier to run which is why I think everyone has one.

 

[KJ_ND]

The disadvantage to mouth calls is you are directly making the noises so the eyes will be on you. Electronic calls can be placed away from you. If it is a heavily called area I would recommend calling less or less frequent. If everyone is just leaving their call on for 30 minutes the critters will get keen to it.

 

[BigDuckHunter]

The disadvantage to mouth calls is you are directly making the noises so the eyes will be on you. Electronic calls can be placed away from you. If it is a heavily called area I would recommend calling less or less frequent. If everyone is just leaving their call on for 30 minutes the critters will get keen to it.

Yeah that’s why I haven’t really gotten into using a mouth call. (That and blowing one for that long makes me light headed haha).

How long do you run your call for? I’ll usually do 3-5 min stretches of sound and then cut it for 2-3 minutes. I feel that any longer breaks than that and they’ll lose interest/hang up.

 

[KJ_ND]

Yeah that’s why I haven’t really gotten into using a mouth call. (That and blowing one for that long makes me light headed haha).

How long do you run your call for? I’ll usually do 3-5 min stretches of sound and then cut it for 2-3 minutes. I feel that any longer breaks than that and they’ll lose interest/hang up.

It depends I keep distress shorter but howls up to 10 minutes. I would try longer breaks 5-10 minutes. They're curious especially in the winter.

 

[TheGDog]

Interesting... I'd always done like 2-3 minutes on... and maybe 60-90 seconds off. And sometimes do things like try to pick the sounds ordering, such that I'm ending it with like a sound that logically makes sense.


Like let's say I'm trying Rabbit sounds. Well, then I make sure towards the end of it, to morph thru the sounds that sound more tired and losing energy. Such as ending with like Dying Jack, for example. Because it makes logical sense that after wailing at first, it'd sound tuckered out and near death.

As another small portable option that you DON'T have to blow... checkout the PocketPrey Digital Caller. They now have one that does 3 sounds! 9v battery to run it. And it works! Even helps pull-in Rabbits as well, if you play it more quietly.

It's just different though because you have to remember to direct the sound back-and-forth as it's playing out into the area, so the coyote will perceive it as the creature is still moving. You have to be at the ready when YOU are where the sound emanates from. At a moments notice you'll have to drop that caller onto your lap or the ground and bring your rifle/shotgun to bear. Ultimately you want the area to have visibility enough that you can detect him coming in from a ways away, so you can get ready with your weapon.

It's definitely exciting to have them run right up to you!

For mouth calls? Maybe try the danthompsongamecalls.com River Bottom Coaxer and the Weems Replica. The Primos Third Degree not bad either, but if you blow into that one too hard it can "hit a wall" and go quiet on you. So beware of that.

(The PocketPrey is that little black box in this pic, beside the Hornady ammo box)

 

[Stubborn_bowhunter]

Interesting... I'd always done like 2-3 minutes on... and maybe 60-90 seconds off. And sometimes do things like try to pick the sounds ordering, such that I'm ending it with like a sound that logically makes sense.


Like let's say I'm trying Rabbit sounds. Well, then I make sure towards the end of it, to morph thru the sounds that sound more tired and losing energy. Such as ending with like Dying Jack, for example. Because it makes logical sense that after wailing at first, it'd sound tuckered out and near death.

As another small portable option that you DON'T have to blow... checkout the PocketPrey Digital Caller. They now have one that does 3 sounds! 9v battery to run it. And it works! Even helps pull-in Rabbits as well, if you play it more quietly.

It's just different though because you have to remember to direct the sound back-and-forth as it's playing out into the area, so the coyote will perceive it as the creature is still moving. You have to be at the ready when YOU are where the sound emanates from. At a moments notice you'll have to drop that caller onto your lap or the ground and bring your rifle/shotgun to bear. Ultimately you want the area to have visibility enough that you can detect him coming in from a ways away, so you can get ready with your weapon.

It's definitely exciting to have them run right up to you!

For mouth calls? Maybe try the danthompsongamecalls.com River Bottom Coaxer and the Weems Replica. The Primos Third Degree not bad either, but if you blow into that one too hard it can "hit a wall" and go quiet on you. So beware of that.

(The PocketPrey is that little black box in this pic, beside the Hornady ammo box)
View attachment 786716

My buddy killed one with his phone on speaker in his back pocket the other day. People might already have a "pocket prey"

 

[Blcktail56]

Does anyone here that’s used an electronic call like a Foxpro still use mouth/hand calls? I live in an area where coyote calling has become really popular over the last 5 years or so and it seems the dogs have become more wise to the Foxpro. I’m wondering if switching to mouth calls would give me an advantage. It would seem that a mouth blown call could easier match the higher frequencies of real prey in distress. Just a thought I had today.

What I have found on educated dogs there is a more realistic tone or something they pic up from a diaphragm call or even a hand held call being covered and controlled with your hands. I think it is more natural sounding to them or something I couldn’t tell you what. I have had many coyotes hang up at 200-1000 yards with the E-call and started mouth calling and pulled them in on a string. Yes you can kill them at most of those distances but to me the fun is to kill em as close as I can. That being said if you mouth call they’re hearing is insane so HOLD STILL! They are always looking where the sound is. You have to have the gun up and ready to shoot before you start calling

 

[go_deep]

I use both, kill coyotes with both, but think a mouth call is better. The only thing that makes the mouth call better is if you call with it like a rabbit would sounds being attached, face down, face up, face muffled, louder, softer, all while the call is pointed in different directions.

 

[Blcktail56]

Another thing is to make noises that aren’t being made by everyone. Try to cover your call with your hands and control sound/air with them. Flutter a little to make and fluttering gurgling sound that a dying animal is going to make. Just try shit because not every dying rabbit is going to make the same noise and it doesn’t matter if it’s a rabbit distress sound or a fawn distress sound they are coming to eat whatever the hell is dying. Something new to them is what is gonna help you

 

[Jtb.kfd]

Does anyone here that’s used an electronic call like a Foxpro still use mouth/hand calls? I live in an area where coyote calling has become really popular over the last 5 years or so and it seems the dogs have become more wise to the Foxpro. I’m wondering if switching to mouth calls would give me an advantage. It would seem that a mouth blown call could easier match the higher frequencies of real prey in distress. Just a thought I had today.

I started many years ago using only mouth calls then progressed through many e-callers over the years. I live in central washington and the calling pressure can get high in some areas. I have tried a mix of hand calling along with changing the sounds up when pressure is high. I didn’t have much success. What did work for me was pulling out the instruction book on my Foxpro Shockwave and figuring out how to blend sounds and make the sounds move back and forth between the speakers. Those two improvements have helped tremendously. We also dial out calling way back in frequency but up the intensity. Meaning, we will blast a bird in distress sound at full volume for 20-30 seconds followed by 5 minutes of silence. Then half the volume and play the bird sound again followed by minutes of silence. Then play a coyote growling/fighting sound for a minute or two and then usually nothing more. Sometimes a coyote growling blended with magpies as a background sound works well too. We sit on the stands for 40 minutes also vs 10 minutes during un pressured times. We use our binos and have caught many coyotes sitting 50+ yds away in the brush just watching.

 

[TheGDog]

Got a question for those of you which utilize mouth calls a lot.

So ok, you're sitting there, and with your hand, you're cupping the end of it and such moving your fingers to add "realism" to the sound being produced.

So what I'd like to know is, how do you usually handle the situation where, you're mouth-calling and now he's come into view. But let's say he's not close enough in for your liking, or the weapon you happen to have with you (like when it's shotgun).

I'm assuming the idea is, slip your hand back onto your firearm, and keep the mouth-call in your lips?

So do you just try to do like a weak, coaxer type of "cheek-blow" into it? to further encourage them to close the remaining distance without giving yourself away with movements? Something like that?

Or... is better to just go silent, and wait, and see if their curiosity makes them naturally want to close the distance?

 

[TheGDog]

My buddy killed one with his phone on speaker in his back pocket the other day. People might already have a "pocket prey"

I will say though? Since the call sound is realistically only upper frequencies, that small speaker they're using is very efficient for what they need it to do/be. It can produce quite uncomfortable / piercing levels of sound. And.. it runs for a darn long time on just one 9v battery.

 

[Nine Banger]

Or... is better to just go silent, and wait, and see if their curiosity makes them naturally want to close the distance?

In my limited experience when they stop its over...shoot.

 

[Nine Banger]

In my limited experience when they stop its over...shoot.

I call with my hands over the call. We have really high humidity here and flat terrain and the sound travels a long way. I've tried to switch to lip squeaks when they are close but hang up....and they bail.

 

[ozyclint]

Anyone combine calling with a decoy?
A feather or some rabbit skin on a string can provide a visual distraction which diverts their attention enough to allow some movement. Especially if bowhunting

 

[Jtb.kfd]

In my limited experience when they stop its over...

In my limited experience when they stop its over...shoot.

From my experience, it depends on the time of year. From late summer through the fall with all the new uneducated pups and the mature dogs looking to pack on calories before food gets more scarce, if they stop/hang up its generally due to them seeing or hearing something they didn’t like. Then I shoot. From November on I find that you are hunting more educated animals who approach with more caution. Many times they stop when in a range where they feel like they should see something and observe. Especially if you are using coyote vocalization sounds. I use this as an opportunity to try things out and see what works. What I have found is altering the volume, changing the sound completely or adding a background sound (if your caller can do that) such as crows or magpies helps to convince them. I don’t go silent as they seem to lose interest then more often than not or they try to sneak in slowly which takes longer than I have patience for. Another trick I use is a caller mounted decoy that I leave off until one hangs up. When I see them stop, I intermittently turn it on for a couple quick flashes and then turn it off. More often than not that seals the deal. I also place the caller/decoy next to hard brush if available to the decoy flag smacks the brush as it spins. You have to do this with the right type of brush so it doesn’t get tangled in the decoy but works great. It makes it sound like wings flapping in the bushes. For coyotes, I used to lip squeak and or use a stock mounted squeaker to stop them but stopped many years ago for the simple reason its not nevessary. Any type of bark from you will halt them in their tracks for a second or two to get a shot. I don’t try to be quiet, its a sharp kinda loud bark. If I am too subtle it seems like they can decipher its danger. The loud sharp bark almost catches them off guard.
For cats I do use a stock mounted squeaker as they like a more constant sound and it can take some convincing to lure them out of their brushy hang up spot. But I won’t say much for cats as I don’t consistently get them in our area (Central WA) and have limited experience. Coyotes are a different story, we hunt them in every season and shoot over a hundred a year.

 

[go_deep]

I have a full jack rabbit hide and I also sometimes will use a tail feather from a Tom turkey hanging from a branch or off a fence stand.

As far as mouth calling when they're in view, I really feel like they come more committed to the mouth call, I get more lookers from a distance and stall out with my fox pro.