11 replies to this topic

[killerdan]

I also broke down and bought a e-caller today, I have been looking in the clasifieds for a used FoxPro Firestorm. I did some research on the Appache 610 from West River, comes with 200 sounds, you can buy them for around $280- 300. Since I am new to this sport I took my time to read a bunch of reviews on it. What I cam across was that the early ones had some problems but the newer ones are fine and in differnt posts that I have read the hand remote works well over 200 yrs away,has nice loud clear sound to it and very easy to use. I am going to start using this and I will give my own review on it. Cabelas has this on sale for $199.00, great deal.

[Frank]

Congrats on your new call, Killer. At face value, it looks like you got a heck of a deal. Maybe a steal? Gotta be, since it almost looks like a foxpro. LOL... J.K.! Of course we will not know how good you did until after you've had it for awhile. Anyway, I looked at the Cabelas reviews & with the exception of one in particular, they were good IMO. The fast dying battery complaints were likely absurd, as most, if not all units that hold 8, AA batteries die pretty quick. There is an easy fix to that, and that is just use Lithium batterys. Problem solved! Forget them re-chargable pain in the butt batterys.That one negative review seemed to complain of "electronic" problems, which even foxpro units happen on occasion. So not sure how much stock I put into that complaint? Anyway, look forward to your results and Good Luck Frank

[killerdan]

I guess that I am going to be the ginny-pig on this one. I have called Western Rivers and talked to them about their caller, they guarantee it is as good as any Foxpro and it comes with a 5yr warranty. Most of the post that I have read about it are from guys in the mid-west and east coast. We will have to wait and see.Killer.

[OrneryOlMofo357]

Good luck with the new caller. Look forward to seeing your review after trying it out. I Know I gave 3 times that for my Foxpro, so Its good to see some.compettition from other Manufacturerers Please keep us posted!

[Brant]

I know I have had very good results with my Fox Pro Spitfire from Cabelas for $199 amd I only use about 8 main calls for coyotes and fox. If you need a lot more range it is setup for an extra speaker. Actually the tech at Fox Pro told me it was the best bang for the buck caller they had.

[Frank]

Hey Brant, one of the foxpro's I have is also the Spitfire. While I like the call, the volume was not loud enough for me, so I purchased an external speaker which increased the volume. Without that extra speaker, I doubt if I would ever use this call. With that in mind, and IF this West River call works out, especially on volume, I believe it may be a better value. Much better actually. I am sure I would have purchased the West River over my Spitfire had I been aware of it. I had surfed the net before I bought my Spitfire, so I either did not see the West River, or this model was not around then, or the original $299 price was more than I wanted to pay for a spare e caller? Beats me!? Anyway, progress (& marketing) is alive & well. Which I love to hate. lolFrank

[Brant]

Funny Story at our local Cabelas in St. Louis. They had a electronic caller day one Saturday about a year ago so I went. They setup and played all of the major callers in the huge store we have here and we all went to the opposite end of the store to hear the results as they went one by one and let us know the caller. The Fox Pros were noticeably less distorted at high volumes than the other brands. (not sure if that means much to coyotes though). They put the external speaker (which I also have) on the Spitfire and it kept up with the Fox Pro Prairie Blaster for $699 which imnpressed the heck out of me. I bought a clone speaker at the same time as the caller for $50 and always use the speaker. At the time I didn't think anything could touch it for the price.

[Frank]

You make excellent points, Brant, and completely agree... 1). What the sounds, sound like from a close distance can sound very different when farther way. That is also why I sometimes wonder if that is not one (of many) reasons a coyote hangs up all of a sudden, after they first appeared they were commited. In other words the sounds might sound completely different (or not right) the closer they get & why they suddenly slam on the brakes. That always drives me nuts, especially when I see no obvious reason why they suddenly stopped (& stay stopped)? 2). Quality of sounds, including less distorted as you say, can make a big difference. I especially find this to be true with coyote vocals. While Foxpro has many quaility sounds, they also have some not-so quality ones, again, especially with coyote vocals IMO.3). Finally, I also totally agree that with the extra, external speaker, the Spitfire is an excellent value & great e call for sure. Especially at regular, non-sale prices. Yep, the Spitfire is a great buy & still tough to beat in other words. I like mine too Frank

[killerdan]

It should have this Apache caller in a couple of days, when I do get my hands on it I am going to send Jawbreaker a post and ask if I can come over and compare the sound quality to his Foxpro Firestorm. That will be the start of my first review on this caller. I also bought a Mojo critter to use with my caller and I hope that will also help me on my hunts. I have bought two of Jawbreakers hand calls and used them for the fist time two weeks ago and raised one coyote. Believe me when I say this, I suck at hand calling and need a lot more practice, but again I did get one to come in and I knew that the coyote knew that the sound he was hearing was not right, and was laughing and just felt sorry for me. Well the proof of this new caller will be when I post my pics with the kills.

[Brant]

I have the woodpecker and the rabbit mojos. For some goofy reason the coyotes see that wing spinning on the bird a lot better or something but it seems to really draw them in. One reason may be I hang it higher where the rabbit is stuck in the ground.

[jawbreaker]

Good to see you ordered a caller. I have an FX5 not a firestorm but when you get it bring it over and we'll compare them and see how it does.

[OrneryOlMofo357]

I too have the FX5, and am looking forward to the comparison, also to the qualities of the sounds that come with it. How long are the sound loops? Quality of sound? It should be an interesting review! Thanks!