Without a doubt, coyote and predator hunting is a very challenging and increasingly popular sport. These animals are intelligent and adaptable, which means you, the hunter, need to be the same.
Electronic predator calls have been on the market for many years now. When they first came out, the recorded sounds were not exactly realistic or effective in drawing in animals. As with any technology, products improve over time, and e-calls are no different.
E-calls have become highly realistic and many even come with remote control capabilities to really put the pressure on even the most cautious animals. By learning to use the best electronic predator call you can afford, you are giving yourself an extremely valuable advantage over these ever-changing animals.
Contents:
Comparison Chart: Top Electronic Predator Calls
| Model: | # Calls: | Programmable: | Remote: |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. ICOtec GC500 | 24 | Yes | Yes |
| 2. Primos Alpha Dogg | 64 | Yes | Yes |
| 3. FoxPro Wildfire 2 | 35 | Yes | Yes |
| 4. ICOtec GC300 | 12 | No | Yes |
| 5. Primos Turbo Dogg | 36 | Yes | Yes |
| 6. Cass Creek Nomad | 5 | No | Yes |
| 7. ICOtec GC350 | 24 | Yes | Yes |
Advantages of Electronic Game Calls
Many hunters have traditionally used mouth calls made from wood, bone, horn, and plastic. While this was fine for the highly skilled hunters, and for predators that were less wary than those today, gaining an edge over today’s predator animals requires better methods.
The old manual methods require a great deal of skill to use and there are few that reach the level needed to bring down the number of predators. Electronic calls can give the perfect animal call the first time and every time. Here is a quick list of the numerous advantages e-calls have to offer us.
- Ability to store numerous types of calls, such as distress calls of many different animals that predators will investigate.
- They work well under all weather conditions, unlike the manual calls can fail you under adverse weather conditions.
- Many electronic calls are programmable, allowing you to blend your calls to get the best mix for your particular predator. For example, Coyotes respond better to distress calls, low-frequency lone howls, and yelps.
- Electronic game calls are rugged, durable, and lightweight, so they can take some abuse and last many years in the field.
- An electronic call keeps your hands and eyes free to focus on the surroundings, allowing you to spot a slinking coyote with your binoculars.
Electronic Predator Call Reviews
Here are my thoughts on each of the top 5 predator calls. Each are good products, and as with anything, each has its own strengths and weaknesses.
1. ICOtec GC500
This is a great unit for the beginner or pro alike. It has a 200 call programmable memory and comes complete with 24 calls made by Wildlife technologies. It is more than adequate to draw in predators like bobcat, bear, coyote, fox, and wolf to your stand. It is also useful to attract other animals such as crow, snow geese, whitetail deer, and raccoons.
The pup, jackrabbit, fawn and crow, distress calls are perfect for bringing in coyotes who are attracted to distress. Then you switch to a coyote male, yip, and howl to put together a hybrid blend of calls that are hard for a coyote to ignore.
You can control the GC500 from up to 300 yards away, allowing you to remain concealed and have the predators go past your stand to give you the best shot and minimize the chances of scaring them away. Coyotes are notorious for their skittishness. By having your stand a distance away from the decoy, it focuses the attention of the animal away from you.
You can also be more focused on your surroundings and spot incoming predators sooner than if you were concentrating on giving mouth and hand calls.
2. Primos Alpha Dogg
This is the answer to every hunter’s prayer for a dream caller. It comes with 75 calls and can hold up to a 1,000 more in its 2GB memory. Its unique speaker system creates 80 degrees of coverage. The Alpha Dogg can be controlled up to 200 yards away from your stand.
The Alpha Dogg also has provisions for playing mp3 custom calls from external sources via a USB connection. This unit comes configured for coyote hunting with its initial selection of 75 different calls. You can change the call sequence on the fly as the situation changes with an incoming coyote to further draw him in for the best shot.
The Primos Alpha is a virtual Rosetta stone of the coyote language so you can almost talk with them as you draw them out with some of the best calls made. For example, the Alpha Dogg will do excellent imitations of female coyote whimpers, coyote pups, serenade howls, and coyote pup distress. These types of calls are very persuasive to use during the pup rearing months of late March to April.
You now can build up your collection predator calls and customize them for the best effectiveness in a way no mouth call can duplicate without investing years of practice to master. You can even record real calls from your local area and use them with the Alpha Dogg to increase the chances of bringing in the local predators in your immediate vicinity.
3. FoxPro Inferno
This caller is a bit different from the previous models in that it is a 2nd generation caller from the successful Wildfire 1 and has improvements such as a 20-step volume control that lets you vary your call strategy. The TX9 remote has a range of approximately 100 yards.
The Inferno has the proprietary “FOXBANG” switching system that switches the caller automatically to a programmed preset after you fire your weapon. This feature has been known to stop a coyote as it is running way to halt to check a new call this would allow a second shot if you failed to make your shot with the first one.
The unit can hold 200 calls in total, and is programmable from your PC through a USB port. The 35 calls that come with the Inferno has calls for coyote, fox, wolf, and mountain lion. For small animal sounds the Inferno has jackrabbit, snowshoe high pitch, vole, field mouse, kitten, woodpecker, raccoon, crow, and more. Additional sounds may be ordered and downloaded online from their website.
4. ICOtec GC300
The smaller sibling of GC500 is the GC300 and this unit is easier on the budget. It has a 300-yard non-line of sight control range and holds 12 predator or game calls. This a simple to use unit that is rugged and use 4 ‘AA’ batteries for the main unit and a 23A garage door opener battery for the remote.
The GC300 is able to play two calls simultaneously, which is a useful feature when attempting to bring coyotes into shooting range. The coyote responds best to a combination approach when calling.
Your selection of calls, while limited as compared to the GC500, still provides you with a good selection of animals. There are coyote howl and distress, crow, woodpecker, cottontail, raccoon baby, fawn, and gray fox distress calls, among others.
You see the basic calls that include distress and coyote lures. This makes this unit ideal for those who live in rural areas where coyote packs are roaming freely. The GC300 will also draw in other predators besides coyote. It is useful to bring in bobcat, fox, wolf, bear, crow, and raccoon.
So now with the GC300 from ICOtec, you have a unit that fits the beginner or the pro hunter who wants to stretch their budget dollars, or for the rancher, rural homeowner, or farmer worried by coyotes raiding their poultry, livestock, or harming their pets.
5. Primos Turbo Dogg
This entry from Primos is a single speaker caller that comes with 36 pre-programmed calls. The unit has a 25-Watt high power-rotating speaker, hence the name “Turbo”. It can also hold an additional 500 of the best calls in Primos’ extensive library of predator and game calls, all of which are downloadable from their website
The Turbo Dogg also has a simple to operate remotely with a range extending upwards of 150 yards. It also has a user-programmable HOT/Decoy Button lets you instantly change sounds while the situation during your hunt changes. This is the first time an option like this has been offered anywhere.
The Turbo Dogg has 4 expert hunt sequences that run between 10 and 20 minutes each in length. It’s as if the professional Team Primos callers like Randy Andersen are at your side calling for you.
With the Turbo Dogg, you have portability and power that can go anywhere your hunt takes you, and the unit fits into a knapsack.
The Verdict
You have been introduced to 5 of the best electronic predator calls on the market today. After looking at all of them in-depth, each has positive features and will all perform well for experienced or beginning coyote hunters alike.
Overall, I would have to choose the Primos Alpha Dogg as the best electronic predator call for its many features and versatility, even though it is the largest and most expensive call on the list. For a more compact choice, I would choose the ICOtec GC500 or FoxPro Wildfire 2, as both come highly rated from hunters.
*Last updated 2024-12-12 at 09:53 / Product Links & Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
