I’m eaten up with predator calling and it’s part of my living so I can justify the expense of a top of the line e-caller; and I’ve owned most of the Foxpro models over the years. Ive been running the Shockwave since it came out and it’s terrific - I don’t think there’s a better caller on the market. The quality of your caller determines the quality of the sound you send out and the better the sound, the more effective you’ll be.
All that said....the sounds you use are the most important factor in your success, in terms of equipment. Some of the Foxpro sounds are really good but they’ve dropped the ball in recent years, when it comes to sounds. I hate to say it but they’ve rested on their laurels too long. The sounds being issued by other people, particularly Tony Tebbe, are far better. They’re simply more effective and he’s releasing new sounds regularly. If you call public ground or areas where there’s a fair amount of other callers, the animals will have heard just about every sound in the FoxPro library. This will them less effective.
If I were going to buy a call today, and I didn’t own a sound library I would take a VERY hard look at the Icotec Night Stalker caller and particularly the Tony Tebbe version from Predator University. You get a terrific caller with a great remote AND a sound library of Tebbe sounds! I didn’t mention it earlier but the design of your remote is really important - it’s what allows you to easily organize your sounds and access them quickly. The FoxPro TX1000 and the Icotec remote for the Night Stalker are both terrific - the best on the market. If you don’t have to worry about a budget, the Shockwave with some select FoxPro sounds and a whole bunch of Tony Tebbe sounds make for the most versatile system; but not by much.
The Lucky Duck calls seem “OK” but not something I would invest my money into over FoxPro or Icotec. I find it funny that folks gripe about the cost of a caller but won’t blink to spend $700+ on a rifle and $1000 on a scope plus god knows how much on everything else it takes to get out there hunting! Lmao! That call is more important than the quality or caliber of your rifle or scope because it’s the SOURCE of your quarry. If you can’t call ‘em you can’t shoot ‘em. I kill a lot of animals with a shotgun and I could kill them with just about any gun but I couldn’t if I didn’t have a call to bring them in. Mouth calls can be great but are not nearly as versatile as a e-caller. Animals focus their attention on the sound. Mouth calling directs their attention directly at your position, where an e-caller keeps their attention focused AWAY from you. If you hunt any thick country where shots can be close, an e-caller will increase your success rate.
Hope this helps someone.
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