# Digital Calls vs Hand Calls?



## El Gato Loco

I am wondering what other's thoughts are on hand calls vs digital calls? When I got into this, I was sold on the idea of using digital calls, decoys and all of that. I thought it sounded like a great idea to keep the noise and movement away from you, so that you don't get busted but what about the tradeoff? Digital sounds are all very similar with no real room for variety and putting a decoy out in front of you just means you could get busted earlier when the dog picks up the scent and realizes it's a trick. We know coyotes and cats both will come straight into a mouth call. Sometimes a lot closer than we want them to!

So which way is truly best? I think they are about equal... with both having pros and cons. I've got a Foxpro FX5 and the Jack in the Box decoy but I think I am going to work more on my manual calling skills to provide myself more flexibility.

Thoughts?


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## jeremy

I like both calls, I think it all depends on the animal and its state of mind of how well it responds. I will say that you get more satisfaction from calling in the dog yourself.


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## Tommy

Okay, I am not wanting to start a fight at all. Digital calls are great for a new caller just getting his or her feet wet. I used to use the cassette tapes back in the boom, so I have no room to criticize. But, I am a little passed the point of needing Randy Anderson, Johnny Stewart, or whoever to call my predators for me. Yes, good points on the keeping the movement to a minimum, it does help when you don't have to fumble around your lanyard for a call, I know I have looked like a 3rd grader looking for his book report several times. I think I just like the satisfaction of knowing that I called in my own dog, cat, raccoon, or on rare occassion...fox. I like the versatility of my hand calls, and the differnent sounds they make. Though, like I mentioned...they are cumbersome when you need to make a move to get a different call. Maybe I take too many different calls in with me...maybe a 3 call lanyard??

We are all in this together and for the same reason.

Tommy


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## cmiddleton

they are both tools in your tool box.
there are places and times you want to call the animal away from you this is when i use electronics and decoys
most times when calling coyotes i use mouth calls because i can react to what the coyote is doing better.
to me they both are necessary tools.


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## coyotekidd

well said cmiddleton.


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## mgmurri

I'm rather new to calling yotes and yote hunting. What is the thought about using hand/mouth calls in conjunction with one another? I ask because i called in 5 yotes in one group together doing this last sunday. Where i live in idaho our dogs are rather call educated, and just mouth calling last sunday didn't interest the until i used the pup yips in conjuction and at the same time as doing the rabbit calls. my brother in law said when i did this they all raised their heads and came running form 600 down to 200 yards out from us. the only way i kept them coming in closer to 120 yards was to keep doing this very same trick, which @ 120 yards my brother in law put the smack down on one and missed the others. i could not get into the shooting because i had more yotes talking on the backside which was the way i was watching. I pose this question to all could we not use both styles in conjunction together to add another trick in our tool bags for hunting yotes and such?


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## MGTEXAS

I have used the electronic calls and had good success with them. I notice that when i use my hand calls, which I prefer, I actually call less with breaks and the breaks allow me to keep better watch for movement. I like calling in the day with the hand calls and with the electronic more at night. I will try mixing and see what happens here in TX. Maybe the next best thing.


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## GritGuy

I've been using both for many years now, and with the advent of the remote for the digital caller it gives you the most leading edge in calling IMO, that I've ever seen.

That being said I never go calling with out a open reed mouth call, to many times I've need it to stop or turn a dog and even knowing how to use the digital, I'm quicker and easier to use the mouth call.

Also I would never advocate a digital caller for a new caller without them knowing a bit about hand calls, you can't actually learn the real nuaunces of calling with out learning how to use a mouth call first. Something about how animasl react to a hand blwon call verse's a digital caller, IMO.


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## IBGunner

I think you need to carry both. A mouth call is good for backup, breakdowns, changes in tactics, and wind fighting. I like to carry a loman Circe and an old Mallardtone distress call to back up my digital units. The Mallardtone works as a coaxer as well.


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## MGTEXAS

the mallard sounds pretty nice. I think that we get caught up in the rabbit distress too much. i used to use the woodpecker to good success. I got out of calling for a long time and now that i have started again, i notice that everyone is howling. I picked up an open reed howler call and have started perfecting my sound but I could use a little advice on the strategy of using it as well as the types of sounds ie alpha male vs female


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## IBGunner

I carry two howlers - both of mine are from Carver Calls. A large full howler and a smaller higher toned howler. I use the large howler to announce my presence (especially calling from now until April) and see if I get a response. I also use the smaller howler during breeding season and in the fall when the pups are struggling with being set out of the pack. The smaller howler is used to try to replicate a female in the spring. I make exactly the same sound pattern as with the big howler but its size and tone make it sound like a smaller or younger coyote. I can also use this one for social barks, challenge barks, and Ki-yi's so it is pretty versatile.
I don't howl as much as some advise. I normally hit the big howler once or twice and go to something else.
The Mallardtone is a prey distress call for mid range but it is much higher and softer than just about any other distress call I've ever used.... and it is wood... so it has nice soft tone sounds. It also works great as a coaxer. I've carried it for years and I don't believe the company makes them anymore. If I ever found another, I'd buy it for backup.


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## bar-d

I have been calling for over 30 years and have used a variety of calls. I started out years ago with an old Radio Shack cassette player with a Burnham Brothers Yellow Hammer Woodpecker tape. Killed lots of coyotes over it. I watched the advancement of the new digital calls for a few years and finally bought a Johnny Stewart Predator Master. It has 12 calls and I have added a few more. IMO, any of the brand name calls are suitable, just a matter of how much you are willing to spend. Even though I have the digital call, I always carry a couple of my favorite hand calls, usually a closed reed and an open reed, as they are more adaptable for me as conditions change. This deer season, I was able to take 7 coyotes from my deer blind because I took along those calls. You never know when opportunity is going to knock.


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## MGTEXAS

thanks for the follow up on the howler info. i am going to give it a try this weekend. just not something that i had ever used.

mg


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## jeffrey22

I like to start out with a mouth call using it softly. Blow on it for 10-15 seconds and wait 10-15 minutes. If nothing shows up then I will go to the electronics to get a little more volume


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## JAKEAZ

I prefer mouth calls over electronics and yeah i know what you mean when you say sometimes the come in closer that you want them too. But using a E-Call takes something away from the hunt i guess im just old school being able to bring them in on my own and being able to harvest them that way seems more rewarding. But by no means am i putting down people who use E-Calls its a choice and hunters should be welcomed to it.


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## Teamroper

I like the variety and quality of the electronic callers BUT I never head to the woods without at least two hand calls around my neck. I learned that the hard way. At the last two stands I never had time to set up. Saw them at a distance, hit the hand call and here they come running. What are you going to do when you get setup and your e-caller quits after the first five minutes because it is cold outside and the batteries are dead? Go back to the truck? Pull out the hand call and have fun! That's what!


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## cmiddleton

good responces
i never leave the truck without my three favorite calls for back up.
even when i plan on using a closed reed call i try to carry two of the same call that way i can keep one warm in my pocket and when one freezes up i can rotate between the two and do a whole stand.
when you change blow backwards threw the call to clear the moisture when you start the freshly warmed call.
i carry a tally ho on every stand for howls and challenges.
yes you can use both electronic and mouth calls on the same stand i normally do all my howling with a mouth call with a distress running.
when using your electronics always carry a open reed and a closed reed too for batteries do fail often.
i too get a greater satisfaction out of calling in a predator with a mouth call then i do with a electronic caller.


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## MGTEXAS

Well, I may be the last to realize it but I tried a Sceery cow elk call the other day making rabbit distress calls and wow it sounds super. had good success, called 2 dogs on 3 stands last saturday night while using the power dog various howling sounds at the same time. So i started experimenting with sounds from this sceery call. it is the one for cow chirps, you bite down slightly on it. by using less pressure i could make great cottontail and jack sounds. this may end up being my "go to" call. it has excellent volume and can really work the range from high to low. got to try it some more first but first results were great.


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## IBGunner

You know, really, if you have a good open reed mouth call you should be able to do challenge barks, distress calls, ky-yi's, howls and even estrus chirps with a bit of practice. I have a Sceery howler and couple of Carlson's howlers (mini and large) that are very versatile.


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## skinnerworldchamp08

mgtexas that bite down call will be deadly trust me I know a thing or two about that call . It has been the death too allot of predators the big secret hear is to always keep the predators guessing because the moment they get educated you will need to try something different. As far as e-callers vs. mouth calls well even being a World Distress Calling Champion I can tell you that I still use a e- caller It's like someone said it's just another tool. but I also agree that too many folks buy them without having any experience what so ever in predator hunting and educate more stuff then they kill.<O</O
Calling is like anything else in life you don't become a 5 star chef without cooking a few cup cakes in your life time my dream is to show more folks out there the right way to hunt and use their calls to at least make some of the proper sounds especially with coyote vocalization but also wear to even start with the hand calls that they own because what good is a beautiful custom call if you don't even no which end of the thing the sound comes out off and I'm not trying to be harsh I think it's just as much the pros flats as well as the rookies due to this old fashioned thing called competition it's like bass fishing everyone has too many secrets and aren't willing to help new comers . Granted I know all about learning things on my own 2 feet and sometimes that's the best way to learn but if we don't teach folks the right way to hunt these things they will eventually be so smart that a hand call or a e-caller won't even get them to perk an ear trust me I have seen coyotes get up and run the opposite way from a stand just because they associated the call to danger from being shot at too many times. Sorry about the long post but that's just my 2 cents and with that said I will continue to help anybody I can as long as they really care about this sport and don't take it for granted. Thanks Skinner<O></O>


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## skinnerworldchamp08

Oh I forgot 1 thing for all of the great names in the sport who have wrote tons of books and made great educational videos and just shared a incite into what you have learned over the years I thank you becouse without your support of the sport we would all be lost . And the most important thing about predator hunting is have fun becouse life is too short and it really is in my oppion the greatest hunting sport on earth.


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## wilded

It depends of what you are calling and the situation. I do not believe there is any sound that anyone can make on a handcall that will call grey fox as well as the old Johnny Stewart 113A Grey fox pup in distress. It is also hard for me to keep a high pitched cat call as busy as Texas cats like to hear. When I am hunting at night I usually have a light and firearm in my hands so an E caller helps me in that way. That being said I still go to hand calls, hand squeaks and lip squeaks to coax something on in for the shot or to stop them for a shot. As far a daylight calling I have no problem using either and sometime will even use both. Remember calls are tools and you can never have to many tools.


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## Tka250

I have been Hunting predators seriously now for 5 years and use to use my electronic for all distress sounds. I started this season usng a closed reed rabbit distress and on my first three stands in the same night had fox come running within minutes every stand. Needless to say I started using my mouth calls more. Each tool has its place and time. Use what you are confident using.


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## kallinfool

I think it depends on your outing. If it's just goin out to do a few stands on the wkend, then I enjoy usin my hand calls. When I'm doin a contest ,then an E-call is the ticket. After 20 stands the mouth tends to get pretty sore with a hand call! Ha!!! Both types work, but it is truely satisfying when you have that yote, cat, or fox comin in to your music from a hand call!!!!


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## cmiddleton

i know where you are comin from kalinfool
after a long weekend of calling i get a blister on my lower lip from curling my lip over my teeth.
i love mouth calls and tend to use my electronic caller just for special situations just because its what i like to do. if i can set up and be hidden i'll use my mouth calls
when i'm going to have to call the coyote away from my due to lack of cover i use the electronic.
i love calling coyotes into my lap even when i miss the close ones.
my most memerable sets have been ones that made contact with me or my rifle
i've had a red fox jump on my knee, another run into the bissness end of my rifle and a coyote knock my rifle off the bi pod.
i didn't kill any of them but they are my favorite stories
that will not happen if your sound is coming from 30 yards away.


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## MGTEXAS

cmiddleton, I agree. last night my son and I set up a quick stand, into the wind with our backs to some crub oak. less than 5 minutes into it 3 dogs came ripping around the brush from behind us. surprised us both as they came in from behind us and we did not know how they did not wind us. bottom line was at 5 steps we saw them and they saw us. we heard their pads before we saw them. we did not even manage to get off a shot but it is a stand that we will not forget. I had an electronic caller set out 30 yards in front and was using a coyote serenade along with mouth calling an open reed howler. It was a good night! No dogs down. MG


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## Rlgrace22

It would seem that the e-call would work better when you dont have to be so close, in our situation on ft hood where we can only use shotguns drawing them in to range might be easier with the mouth call, but on the down side when we coulda used the ecall to have that group serenade to pull them down off the hill last night we had left it in the truck and had to do without...


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## youngdon

cmiddleton said:


> they are both tools in your tool box.
> there are places and times you want to call the animal away from you this is when i use electronics and decoys
> most times when calling coyotes i use mouth calls because i can react to what the coyote is doing better.
> to me they both are necessary tools.


I couldn't have said it better than that if I'd tried. I will say that you seem to spell much better than I remember!! lol


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## Bigdrowdy1

I have used both and like most have said the hand calls bring me more satisfaction knowing that it was me and the call that out witted Mr. Willie. I guess maybe I am getting lazy in my later years but hunting alone alot and having been a smoker for 35 years plus my lungs aren't what they use to be nor anything else for that matter. The electronic allows me to focus more on the terrain and less on the calling. Like others have stated I still carry hand calls and sometimes turn the caller off and work them in with the hand calls. They are all tools which work great together or alone.


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## youngdon

Thats right Bigd, Quit smoking!! It's only bad for the first little bit. June 21st '06 Never look back. You'll feel better in just a couple of months I guarantee it, if you don't I'll buy your first pack, hold the match and give you a kick to get you started again. Deal?


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## Bigdrowdy1

Definitly need to thats for sure may take you up on your offer I will let you know.


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## Rich Cronk

I have a Fox pro FX5, scorpion, Fury and CS-24. I also have a WT caller, so I am pretty well versed on E callers.







A good electronic caller placed cross-wind of your hidey hole can really be a big plus in brush areas that make it easy for coyotes to circle down-wind and catch your scent. Having said that, I would also like to say that coyotes in pressured area's seem to be wising up to the constant screams of E callers. I will be using my mouth blown calls more, and I will be doing more waiting in silence than blowing the calls. Keeping the sounds more natural seems like a good idea to me. I am talking about calling coyotes here. For cats, I believe that E callers have the advantage.


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## JTKillough

Like Rich, I have several electronics. I am in love with the idea of sound from somewhere else and really, that is the only reason I could think of for using electronics. Electronics are limited to the sound that is programmed into them. Be it tape or sound byte, they can only provide that or those specific sounds. Some are jam packed with enough sounds to baffle the sharpest coyote-smith, that being us. Still others are extremely limited to only one sound (the old tape player, and yes I still have it). The beauty is, having sound coming from somewhere else. As far as mouth calls, just the opposite occurs. You can make any sound you want, given practice and ability, a mouth call can mimic most any critter. The down side-sound coming from you and drawing attention to YOU! I try to blend both worlds when calling, and switch it up often. I never go to the set-up without a mouth call. Electronics can quit you in the heat of battle, that will not happen with a mouth call, especially an open reed. If all else fails, pull out that open reed and sing your best rendition of a tord-in-half-hare and watch what happens.


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## youngdon

I like my ecaller alot for that very reason JT it directs attention to somewhere else but sometimes use it in conjunction with a mouth call to add variety to my sounds.


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## treedog

Gental men, you all have about covered all the aspect of each call I think. Pretty interesting information there. I use both types of calls for different reasons, thing I have learned thow, is when, where and why to use each one. I use my mouth calls most of the time {90%} but, there is times when I do use a e-caller too. Like when I am hunting with mister Fidget who can't set still, or a couple of family members who think they need a smoke at every stand you make. These are just my thought's, They seam to help me out.

John


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## youngdon

Smoking on stand, that would be the last time with me.


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## treedog

If it weren't for my wife. I wouldn't hunt with them. But we hunt there ground and there stands, There is no way in heck that there going to hunt like that on the place I go. Success rate with them is low. But, they want to go a couple of times a year, so I grin and bear it for the most part.
John


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## Bigdrowdy1

Some people and thier nerve. I swear I would only smoke on the way to a set. But SMOKE FREE TODAY


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## youngdon

I can remember smoking on the way to sets years ago, well before I was near my spot though.


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## jldoll

You need both. Electric and hand calls


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## youngdon

I frequently use both, it seems to work for me.


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## Furtaker

In my mind they both work killing predators and that is all I care about. I predator hunt because I love it but I first started because predators where costing me money. That is how I got started and I dont mind people that think hand calls make you a better hunter, if your killing predators who cares. I would rather some use what ever they like and kill something rather than trying to please someone else and not killing anything.


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## Predatorhunter

I like using my mouth calls a lot better than I do my ecaller so I us my mouth calls more I feel like I have More satisfaction when I call one in with my mouth calls I guess that I just feel like I did it not a box with a sound coming out of it. Don't get me wrong though I have both and I use both. The e-caller I use more at night so just in case I get one that decides to charge right in its going for the speaker not me. I think that both of them have there purpose and are both handy to have.


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## lucas_shane

Theres good Information in every post here ! I like to take and use both. Most of all my sets are night time. IF we are useing an ecaller we shut down once we see the animal coming in and swap over to mouth calls for the flexibility. You cant ever tell when you NEED to change tones or sounds real fast lol.


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