Varmint Calling/Predator Hunting

[huntallday]

Well i got my deer in January with my bow and wont be hunting for the next two years, so i've been varmint hunting like a mad man! Got a couple yotes, foxes but i'm looking to buy some more calls and i'm not sure what to purchase. What calls work for you guys or what calls do you prefer the most? Howlers and everything let me know. Thanks for your help guys. I appreciate it. Keep Hunting

 

Dan - shortshooter

[Bill]

The calls that I prefer that are closed reed cottontail and jack rabbit calls include: the hard camo rubber bodied Sceery Call line, Johnny Stewart ‘s PC 1 and PC3, the now discontinued wooded Modern Calls and Dan Thompson’s calls. For open reed calls I like the Crit’R Call line of Major Boddicker’s, the Pee Wee, Standard or copies of the Pee Wee by other manufactures which used different reeds to be cow elk calls. Tal Lockwood has reshaped the Tally Ho which is now easier to use. The bite type calls such as Sceery Variable Predator call AP-6 or any of the similar constructed calls by other manufacture’s are excellent calls except they are prone to quit working because the will collect saliva and lock up the reed. Turning the call around and blowing through the other end sometime temporally fixes the problem, otherwise a disassembly and wiping down the interior of the mouth piece is required. There are several howlers I like: Major Boddicker’s Song Dog and Song Dog Jr., the older model wooden Lohman howler which I unfortunately lost. The Standard and Pee Wee calls can be pressed into service as howlers also. The calls currently on my lanyard are the Dan Thompson Weems Replica and cottontail call, a Johnny Stewart cow call, a Standard Crit’R call. I can recommend www.allpredatorcalls.com as a source for all things predator related. Their selection and service are outstanding.

 

Bill

[COOSEFAN]

Hey ShortShooter.....I've got some tested and PROVEN 'yote calls over at my dad's (Pops) house! It's very unfortunate...but.....crying Labrador puppies will bring coyotes in runnin'! Dad's already lost two puppies to the dang 'yotes.......and the 'yotes still boldly strut around his house in the middle of the day lookin' for more! Can't kill em'......always seems to be people out watching the beautiful, harmless coyote cruise'n the neighborhood.

[Diamondbackaz]

Talk to these guys, they are out of Tucson http://www.allpredatorcalls.com/

[muskrat]

Have a look at the Coyote John blog - he has some great info on calls...

 

Coyote John

[catclaw]

It matters very little what brand of call you use. More important is stand selection and the frequency with which you call. I called in a large boar black bear last month with a wooden cow elk call. I imitated a deer in distress and had the bear within 60 seconds.

 

I personally like the Critter calls the best- an open reed allows more sounds than a closed reed.

 

After about the middle of February, you will need to howl to have much luck with coyotes. I used a Dan Thompson Red Desert howler but I suppose there are others that will work. The mouth piece on that call makes a great long-range call as well.

 

FoxPro is the WORSE thing that ever happened to varmint calling. There are a zillion wannabe callers out there educating the predators and making it much harder to get anything in. It's a shame.

[youngbuck]

I prefer the dan thompson calls, I think PC1 and PC2, the cottontail and the jack rabbit. Ive never had one lock up, i used to use the sceery calls but they lock up with just a little bit of dust or too much saliva. Thompson also makes an awsome howler, the red desert. It is probably the easiest howler ive used and sounds great. Haydell also makes a good distress call, i like the baby jack rabbit. Its a little raspier and louder than a cottontail, but not a full blown jack rabbit. I also ue the tally-ho for ki-yi's, injured dog or coyote noices.

[azpackhorse]

I had the pleasure of sitting and talking with Dan Thompson a couple of years ago, great guy and he makes some great calls. Check out his products www.danthompsongamecalls.com