I know this has probably been beat to death, but I need some advice. I'm going to make a concerted effort to put the smack-down on coyotes this season because I'm tired of them killing the fawns. I can't justify dropping $2,000 on a FREQ, so please give me your thoughts on these...

The X24 has a bunch of bells and whistles I never used. The Hellcat has a critter, more sounds than I need and can be so loud I rarely play it at full volume. Oh and for a lot less money than the X24. Far west Texas and the panhandle might need an X24 but not where I hunt. They are all top notch units though.

$2,000 and you will be as effective as 1 trap (assuming you're out there 24/7... and in all kinds of weather)

$200 buys 12 traps... .. .

E-callers are a great tool to have in your bag but I use them sparingly. I'll use it early on in the winter or towards the tail end going into spring but 95% of the time I use hand calls. I've had far more success learning and using a hand call than I do with ecallers. Plus it's one less bulky item to carry with me that doesn't rely on batteries while making stands.

With that said I don't have any experience with either of those callers but I am interested in both. I've got the cheapest foxpro they make and I've killed plenty of coyotes with it.

I ended up ordering a FoxPro X24 along with the X Decoy. I chose to go this route because I was able to buy the FoxPro, brand-new, at a substantially reduced price on a restricted website.

I'm also going to look at the hand/mouth callers just because it'll be easy to have those in my hunting bag for opportunistic moments.

The big negative aspect to mouth calls is that you and your exact location are the focal point of the sound. It’s a lot easier for them to see you if they are concentrating on your location. The remote caller has them focused on wherever you place it.

How do you like the X24?

I would use hand calls even though attention is directed to the caller as they produce ultrasonic frequencies which occur naturally, simply put they produce a more realistic sound. This is especially true if you are trying to kill the coyotes that are going to do the most damage. The mature or old coyotes are going to have the greatest impact on deer and livestock, not the year old coyotes that make the most mistakes
and respond to any sound. The reason that we call so many old coyotes with the FREQ is realism of the sound. I understand $2,000 is a lot of money but we do offer discounts for Veterans and Outfitters, if you qualify.
Good Luck and Adios,
Gary

What hand calls would you recommend?

My favorite is the Mini Blaster as it doesn't take a lot of wind and you can make a variety of sounds on it. Critter Calls makes several good open reed calls. MFK diaphragm calls are good and produce high frequencies.
Good Luck and Adios,
Gary

My Foxpro has zero issues calling in old coyotes and bobcats. A Hellcat Pro is 400 bucks and will do everything you need it to do.

We called hundreds of coyotes, young and old, with the standard electronic callers, record players, 8 track, 4 track, cassette and digital. This is true today as long as you are hunting country that is not over hunted. If I go onto some of the ranches that I have hunted for years (especially right after deer season) and turn on a standard e-caller, every coyote in hearing is warning barking at me because I am not produce a realistic sound. Chances are the coyotes have been called in and shot at or "boogered" in some fashion. This is when I abandon the e-callers and go to hand calls or the FREQ which more accurately replicates true distress or vocals.
For years, the "go to" sound when a predator would "hang up" was the hunter making a "kissing" sound, I called it "lip squeak". Everyone of us did it, and it worked on many occasions. Why did it work to lure a predator closer to the hunter when the predator was getting cautious? The reason was quite simple, the sound of the "lip speak" goes ultrasonic and is the most realistic sound that they have heard since you started calling.
Another thing I notice is that most hunters using e-callers don't call without a decoy. Some of these decoys are really effective, so effective that you can turn the e-caller off and bring the predator in as soon as it gets a visual of the decoy. I am a daytime hunter, so I do a lot of walking and don't want to carry anything that I don't need. I have found that if I can just tuck the FREQ in some grass or under a bush so that the predator has to come looking for the caller, I don't need a decoy.
Adios,
Gary

Like I said, I don’t have an issue using a Foxpro. I’m not exactly new to this either. My experience is if you’re getting warning barks it’s from a setup being made from sight or wind. FWIW the thread was about a X24 vs Lucky Duck Revolt.

Thanks!

I can assure you that the "warning barking" is not from a bad set up. It is that the coyotes are educated to the artificially low sound frequencies produced by e-callers. I can assure you that I am not the only one experiencing this problem. Many of the hunters calling in the big contests are "trolling" at night. Trolling is when you idle through a ranch with your caller squawking at high volume. When they catch eyes, stop the truck and make the kill. This is very effective on fox and young coyotes but also educates a lot of critters to calling.
The team that won the West Texas Big Bobcat Contest last weekend killed 103 fox hunting in this fashion.
I am a Dinosaur and have a difficult time hunting in this fashion, but you can't argue with success. Obviously, the team that hunts the best country is going to have the best chance to win. Not only do you have to have a lot of critters but you have to have a lot of land with lots of roads to hunt in this fashion.
Adios,
Gary

I happy I don't hunt where idiots like that are doing this "Trolling." That would explain why I'm not having the issues you referred to.

I bought a FoxPro X24 and don’t have anything bad to say about it. It creates sounds that I can’t create via a mouth call, but that being said, I rarely ever use it for coyotes. It’s mainly used for raccoons and crows. Coyotes I prefer mouth calls as, like Gary said, mouth calls hit the low frequencies that the X24 can’t (and most other calls). I know the Freq has some cool abilities, but at the end of the day, the repetitiveness of sounds annoys me. Mouth calls are all unique, therefore a new sound.

I’ve got cottontail in distress down pretty well with my voice box the only downside is that it’s coming from me and not a hundred yards away like my Foxpro. I never underestimate their ability to pinpoint where a sound is coming from. The type of country has a lot to do with it. Most places I hunt are pretty dense with trees rather than open fields. Not having a remote caller in thick woods isn’t the best option that I have found.

I am sure that Wade is familiar with "Trolling" as he is in some of that big open country. It's difficult to criticize the "trollers" because it has been such an effective method to kill lots of coyotes in the oil patch and open terrain. Fox are very aggressive when responding to a call, so they are trolling for them in heavier cover. With big pots paying as they do in the big calling contests, these guys are going to do whatever gives them an edge. But it sure makes it tough on a daytime caller like me who has to follow them.
Adios,
Gary

Seen it, but never participated. Half the fun of the hunt for me is thinking I have outsmarted a coyote. I’ve started cutting out the base of cedar trees and using a little cow panel and brushing it in for day time calling. I’ll have about 10 setups when I’m done on 1800 acres. I have nighttime spots too. I haven’t seen a fox in the 10 years I’ve been hunting my lease, a few cats, but we are overrun with coyotes.

That sounds like a shoot rather than a hunt.

Here’s what trolling gets you.

Ive hunted coyotes since I could drive, I’ve had a lot of good nights but have only been able to put together 1 night like this and trolling wasn’t involved. To be able to do this time after time requires alternative tactics and good properties, lots of good properties.

Names redacted just because

After reading that, makes it easy to understand how so many coyotes get educated to calling. Yes Sir, takes lots of big ranches and lots of coyotes. Many of the really good ranches are getting "leased" jiust for the coyote and predator calling.
Adios,
Gary

I guess I can understand if it’s ranchers who don’t have anyone hunting except for these tournaments but all I can say is I’m glad none of that is going on anywhere around here. The last thing I need are call shy predators.