# Need some advice!



## prairiewolf

My old Western Rivers has about had it, I am thinking of a new e-caller. I mainly hand call and usually set the e-caller by my decoy.After sometime hand calling and nothing shows up I will turn on the e-caller and wait or if something shows I turn it on with low volume. I am thinking of the Foxpro Wildfire or the new Hellfire. The Hellfire is about $150 more than the Wildfire. Any opinions?


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## Antlerz22

Do any of those have the fox bang? Maybe thats what differentiates the two. But I'm just quessing.


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## BondCoCoyote

I have a spitfire but I seen they have the new wildfire out at the same price and it has the foxbang on it and a jack to add a decoy to it. The spitfire doesn't have those options.


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## youngdon

They both have Foxbang..Here is a link http://www.gofoxpro.com/site/products/digital-calls/hellfire

I have been thinking of trading up from my spitfire, the hellfire looks like a possibility.


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## youngdon

BondCoCoyote said:


> I have a spitfire but I seen they have the new wildfire out at the same price and it has the foxbang on it and a jack to add a decoy to it. The spitfire doesn't have those options.


My spitfire has an AUX jack for a wired decoy and an EXT speaker jack


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## BondCoCoyote

I think mine only has the speaker jack....but I could be wrong. I'll have to look when I get home tonight.


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## BondCoCoyote

This would make my mind up, that's a hell of good price! I didn't see where it said reconditioned or anything like that.
http://www.bowhuntingoutlet.com/product.php?productid=80264&gclid=CJueq77p3bECFVOQ7QodVSMAdw


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## Caleb Wilson

Hellfire


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## youngdon

Here is a link tio the other Foxpro calls they offer

http://www.bowhuntingoutlet.com/calls-electronic/foxpro-inc/


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## prairiewolf

They have some good prices on both units, the only thing is they are preloaded sounds. Allpredatorcalls.com is $30 higher on wildfire and $70 higher on hellfire but you pick sounds. Guess I need to find out what sounds are preloaded.


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## youngdon

For 70bucks you can buy a lot of sounds. I know a guy who has A LOT of sounds , and he may be persuaded to load some ona card or disc for you ...I'll send him a telepathic message and see if he responds....... OOOHHMMMMMMM.......OOHHHMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM


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## prairiewolf

Thanks Don, I am going to call foxpro tomorrow ( well I guess Monday). They both hold 200 sounds and they both have foxbang. How many sounds come on them doesnt bother me. I want to know if the hellfire is alot louder or if you put a 25 watt on the wildfire will it be as loud as the hellfire. I really want to hear what they have to say on comparison of the two, the difference in price is around $100 just wondering if its justified.


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## Caleb Wilson

The before will be louder with a more variation in volume level. Deal with allpredatorcalls with friend. They are a great company to do business with


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## prairiewolf

Thanks for the advice Caleb, Allpredatorcalls carries some of my calls, so I do like to use them when I can and not to put them down but the above link is about $70 cheaper than allpredatorcalls, thats hard to ignore! Comparing $349 to $279


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## Caleb Wilson

No problem. Im not aware of the other company but apc has great customer service with fast shipping and when you call you get to talk to a person that will do all they can to help. Plus getting to pick your sounds is definitely nice.


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## prairiewolf

Well I contacted Foxpro. Surprising results. Wildfire 102-104db. With ext speaker(15 watt) 106-108db, run time continous on 4AA tested at 16hrs Hellfire 110-112db, run time on rechargable (10 AA) 13hrs.Plus twice the weight. They told me that wouldnt be much difference at all in volume, my son is a recording engineer I am going to ask him. I personaly think the wildfire will soon be gone and the hellfire will replace it with a higher price, just my opinion.

So is it worth $100+ for 5-6 db of volume and less run time on 2-1/2 times the batteries???


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## BondCoCoyote

Not to me. I can go a whole season on a set of batteries. I like the mouth calls better anyway.


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## youngdon

I can't help but wonder about sound quality as well.


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## Rich Cronk

prairiewolf said:


> They have some good prices on both units, the only thing is they are preloaded sounds. Allpredatorcalls.com is $30 higher on wildfire and $70 higher on hellfire but you pick sounds. Guess I need to find out what sounds are preloaded.


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I'm sure that both callers are good. Me being a lover of TOA speakers however, I would choose the new Hellfire. As a matter of fact, I have been seriously considering dialing Steve Dillon's number and ask him if he needs more testing done on a Hellfire.


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## youngdon

I'll agree that the TOA I plug into my Spitfire has better sound quality than the standard cone speaker that comes in it.


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## prairiewolf

I mentioned that to them and asked what if I plug an ext speaker in the wildfire will it be like the hellfire, he just said it would be close.


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## Antlerz22

prairiewolf said:


> Well I contacted Foxpro. Surprising results. Wildfire 102-104db. With ext speaker(15 watt) 106-108db, run time continous on 4AA tested at 16hrs Hellfire 110-112db, run time on rechargable (10 AA) 13hrs.Plus twice the weight. They told me that wouldnt be much difference at all in volume, my son is a recording engineer I am going to ask him. I personaly think the wildfire will soon be gone and the hellfire will replace it with a higher price, just my opinion.
> 
> So is it worth $100+ for 5-6 db of volume and less run time on 2-1/2 times the batteries???


 Stick with what you have, unless what you have doesnt have the foxbang then maybe its worth it. But sounds like what you have is perfectly fine. Dont fix what isnt broken.


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## youngdon

His western rivers is giving up on him.

Using a second speaker has two advantages, it not only boosts your volume but you can send it in two directions. I find the latter to be handy in some situations.


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## Antlerz22

youngdon said:


> His western rivers is giving up on him.
> 
> Using a second speaker has two advantages, it not only boosts your volume but you can send it in two directions. I find the latter to be handy in some situations.


 Ohhhh ok I thought he had a wildfire and was thinking of buying the hellfire. Id go with the wildfire it has the foxbang and a hundred is a hundred. Lastly do you think your ears can detect the difference between the Dbs? No, so to me I'd save the $100, and buy reloading supplies.


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## Rich Cronk

prairiewolf said:


> Well I contacted Foxpro. Surprising results. Wildfire 102-104db. With ext speaker(15 watt) 106-108db, run time continous on 4AA tested at 16hrs Hellfire 110-112db, run time on rechargable (10 AA) 13hrs.Plus twice the weight. They told me that wouldnt be much difference at all in volume, my son is a recording engineer I am going to ask him. I personaly think the wildfire will soon be gone and the hellfire will replace it with a higher price, just my opinion.
> 
> So is it worth $100+ for 5-6 db of volume and less run time on 2-1/2 times the batteries???


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Sometimes I have to stop and grit my teeth. I wonder who ran those tests? I am tired as all get out right now, but can not believe that a Wildfire would run longer on four batteries than a Hellfire running on ten of the same type batteries. Steve Dillon wasn't available when I tried calling him an hour or two ago, but I will try again. Somebody is full of Horse Pucky Ed, maybe it be ME? We will see I betcha!


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## Rich Cronk

youngdon said:


> His western rivers is giving up on him.
> 
> Using a second speaker has two advantages, it not only boosts your volume but you can send it in two directions. I find the latter to be handy in some situations.


------------------------------
I should have taken my nap before typing this. It seems to me that running two speakers would mostly just run your batteries down faster. If the external speaker has a higher amp. rating, it probably does give you higher volume though.


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## youngdon

I've called all day with both going (I don't remember how many stands but quite a few), but then again I always carry an extra set for the spitfire and the remote (4AA's and a 9Volt)


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## Caleb Wilson

Going from Western rivers to FoxPro will blow your mind night and day my friend. The sounds, and clarity alone will make you kick yourself for not making the move along time ago


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## prairiewolf

I havent decided, I still have an issue with their warranty and until I hear back from them, I will not buy a foxpro


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## Caleb Wilson

Their warranty is great and they stand behind their calls 100%. They have great customer service. Dang they should pat me to push their calls.


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## prairiewolf

Guess you havent been informed. Go read my post "problem with foxpro" I myself have contacted them and it seems they sell to alot of companies but will only honor their warranty if the company is an authorized dealer, why sell to others then? It started with large companies as Cabelas complaining about smaller companies lowering the price. Instead of competing in a fair market place it seems they have talked foxpro into decideing not to honor their warranties from companies that lower the price.By doing this foxpro is hurting the consumer though not the company that lowers the price. They need to do as Mathews does and *only* sell their products to authorized dealers if they want to regulate the price, dont just sell and then when you get bitched at punish the consumer. Anyway I have a call into Steve Dillon.. I also think it could be a possible lawsuit from the smaller companies if they were never told they have to sell at a certain price and then they dont honor the warranty. I also have a call into a smaller company that has lowered the price to see if they are aware of this.


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## Caleb Wilson

Thats news to me. Ive never seen or heard FoxPro not standing behind their calls.


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## prairiewolf

I would not have believed this either except I was told directly (on phone) that if I bought from one of these companies they would not honor the warranty. All I have ever heard is how great their customer service is, but this isnt so great!!!


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## Caleb Wilson

Ya sounds pretty odd. How would they know where you but it?


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## prairiewolf

I would imagine it asks on the warranty card or they ask for a copy of receipt. This all started because a link was posted in here showing the wildfire for $168 and the hellfire for $279. with $10 shipping. Then when I went to allpredatorcalls.com they have a statement saying if you buy from other then an authorized dealer warranty wouldnt be honored, so I started checking and calling.


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## Caleb Wilson

Interesting keep us updated


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## prairiewolf

I have been checking alot of websites and almost all authorized dealers (13 of them I think, theres a list on foxpro site) have now posted the same statement. Even Foxpro has a button now that says BUYER BEWARE. Since contacting them yesterday and then trying to contact Steve himself things are changing fast it seems. Just my opinion. Amazon called back and stated they had an agreement with foxpro and if bought from them (amazon) direct foxpro would honor the warranty, but if bought through a 3rd party on amazon they wouldnt but they thought the third party would accept the return and then they would apply for the warranty, but not sure. I have about 4 more companies to talk to but as it looks right now I dont agree with their policy nor will I condone it by buying any of their products. What a shame, all I ever heard was, what a great company and customer service they had. Again just my opinion.


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## Rick Howard

Golf club companies do something similar to this to help control the market price. It helps protect their smaller accounts. It appears to work in reverse in this case though


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## prairiewolf

This is as close to being like a monopoly and still be legal I guess, its still price controlling in my opinion. Just as the oil companies keep their prices together and the major bow manufacturers do. No more price wars like the old days, just stick it to the consumer they will pay! What happened to free enterprize and the American way? At least companies like S&W, Ruger and most firearms manufacturers list a suggested retail price but almost all firearms dealers sell for less and are not penalized or consumer penalized for selling at a lower price. Sorry for ranting on about this but people need to have some values!!


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## Rick Howard

I dealt with retailing a lot in the golf business. All the companies had MSRP prices and they each had various ways of saying a minimum sales price. In order to keep your account with said vendor, you could not advertise or sell for less than a certain price. Some companies were strict... some were not. To help police the policy some companies tried a similar no warranty strategy without a receipt or purchase under the minimum sales price. All of them dropped this strategy after enough customer complaints.

For some companies it was a way of protecting their small accounts from the big box dealers. The big box chaind would buy 100x the product. So they got a better price allowing them sell for a lower price and retain margin. However, this was bad for the small accounts. It was a problem for the vendor because, combined the small accounts made up for more than 1/2 their sales. If even a small amount of those small accounts were lost.... That meant a lot of money for the manufacturer. Now days they care more about controlling the market price.


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## prairiewolf

My biggest problem is that (from what I am finding out) these units from the unauthorized sellers are the same units with a warranty card. There are alot of ways to control the price and just my opinon it would be better suited to regulate your sellers than to not honor a warranty from a consumer who bought your item at a good deal. It sounds like foxpro just wants to sell as many as they can. I am calling a few unauthorized sellers today to see if they are aware of the no warranty this could clear everything up, just maybe foxpro as told them this stuff upfront, I really hope so, I want a new caller but will not buy a foxpro if it stays the way it looks right now.

Foxpro could easily get ahold of the unauthorized sellers and tell them, they will not continue to sell to them if they keep low balling their product instead of hurting the consumers looking for a deal by not honoring the warranty


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## prairiewolf

Good news guys,
Talked to Steve this morning. First I must say this is about internet sales so I assume that if you find a very low deal at a local dealer they wouldnt(foxpro) argue the warranty. That said I take my hat off for Steve talking with me, we had a lengthy chat.

At first he was a little hard lined on the subject but let me voice my concerns completely. After stating my opinion he seemed to relize the action that is being taken will and is hurting the consumer who can very well buy a unit not knowing that the warranty will be no good. He all but assured me in a circumstance as this the unit would be taken care of. So by saying this to all of you I hope everyone has the values and will not buy a low ball unit knowing they can just state they didnt know. I know I could buy the low priced unit and if a problem came up I could get it fixed by stating that. Well as I said, I live by certain values and I wont do this, I will probably buy a wildfire from allpredatorcalls.com for 2 reasons 1-they sell my calls 2-can customize the sounds. Steve also recommended the widfire over the hellfire for my calling system, mainly using hand calls and just setting a remote caller by decoy for when coyote is coming in.

He also stated they are cranking down on distributers and dealers that are not playing by their rules.

I will continue to call dealers on the web that advertise low prices to see what they have to say. There have been a few that stated they didnt know this and some no comment.
One such dealer (fur harvesters) said they didnt know this but they were a authorized dealer, when I told them they werent on the list, they stated they would be by the end of the day. I will check on it later today.
Anyone that wants further info on my conversation with Steve feel free to PM me .

I also told Steve I posted this stuff on PT and that he could read all of it without being a member , I gave him both post's titles


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## Caleb Wilson

See FoxPro are good folks


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## youngdon

That's not a very fair statement, no one stated that they weren't ! Many members here own and recommend Foxpro callers. I think Ed had some astute observations as to the discrepency in their warranty practices. The just proved that they were a stand-up company once again.


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## Caleb Wilson

Didn't mean it as statements towards or against Ed.


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## prairiewolf

Well fur harvesters is on the authorized list of dealers now, I just checked.


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