Seeing more & more of those impressive portable/rechargeable self-contained speaker sets that have great sound, it got me thinking. Do any of you use that equipment for calling crows? Advantages? Disadvantages?
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The man who thinks he can, and the man who thinks he can’t are both right.
I use a foxpro crossfire for almost all of my calling. Disadvantages are that they are expensive. My foxpro cost me $400 and the rechargeable batteries where another $40 and they are a must. Regular batteries last about 3-4 hours. These last 8-10 but I have to make sure they are ready the night before and carry a spare set I case I forget. Other disadvantage is that they only talk at the crow and don't respond how you would with a mouth call. The advantages out weigh that though. For starters you can take the calls of someone like Bob out there with you. I have them on mine and they sound great. To me the biggest thing is a feature called foxbang. The way this works is I am doing a soft call like crow party and as they come in I take my first shot and the remote will detect the shot and instantly change the sound to a preset sound like dying crow, crow distress or now mine is set to bobs mourning+distress call (you can set it to what you want) and they will almost always circle back and give me more shots. This will continue to call and I can reload and keep shooting.
I use a foxpro crossfire for almost all of my calling. Disadvantages are that they are expensive. My foxpro cost me $400 and the rechargeable batteries where another $40 and they are a must. Regular batteries last about 3-4 hours. These last 8-10 but I have to make sure they are ready the night before and carry a spare set I case I forget. Other disadvantage is that they only talk at the crow and don't respond how you would with a mouth call. The advantages out weigh that though. For starters you can take the calls of someone like Bob out there with you. I have them on mine and they sound great. To me the biggest thing is a feature called foxbang. The way this works is I am doing a soft call like crow party and as they come in I take my first shot and the remote will detect the shot and instantly change the sound to a preset sound like dying crow, crow distress or now mine is set to bobs mourning+distress call (you can set it to what you want) and they will almost always circle back and give me more shots. This will continue to call and I can reload and keep shooting.
Agree: The soft (or hard sometimes) call that results in a kill that is immediately (or ASAP--I have only a Spitfire) followed by a death/distress call almost always brings them back for a second shot.
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"Arms are the only true badges of liberty. The possession of arms is the distinction of a free man from a slave." -- Andrew Fletcher 1698
I use a foxpro crossfire for almost all of my calling. Disadvantages are that they are expensive. My foxpro cost me $400 and the rechargeable batteries where another $40 and they are a must. Regular batteries last about 3-4 hours. These last 8-10 but I have to make sure they are ready the night before and carry a spare set I case I forget. Other disadvantage is that they only talk at the crow and don't respond how you would with a mouth call. The advantages out weigh that though. For starters you can take the calls of someone like Bob out there with you. I have them on mine and they sound great. To me the biggest thing is a feature called foxbang. The way this works is I am doing a soft call like crow party and as they come in I take my first shot and the remote will detect the shot and instantly change the sound to a preset sound like dying crow, crow distress or now mine is set to bobs mourning+distress call (you can set it to what you want) and they will almost always circle back and give me more shots. This will continue to call and I can reload and keep shooting.
Agree: The soft (or hard sometimes) call that results in a kill that is immediately (or ASAP--I have only a Spitfire) followed by a death/distress call almost always brings them back for a second shot.
I dont know if your model will qualify but it is worth taking a look and see if foxpro can do what they call an upgrade to install foxbang onto you call. I had the original wildfire to begin with but it didn't make the cut but I want to say the spitfire is able to get this. Now most of them are built with it already. The upgrade isn't that much either.
Seeing more & more of those impressive portable/rechargeable self-contained speaker sets that have great sound, it got me thinking. Do any of you use that equipment for calling crows? Advantages? Disadvantages?
As a side note if you do decide to get one I would HIGHLY recommend foxpro. There are others that are really good quality but foxpro is always making it better and they have the best customer service I have ever encountered (other then Carlsons choke tubes). You can save money by buying the cabelas ecaller, it's actually made by foxpro it just doesn't have the decals on it and is fully supported like all other models. The only draw back to foxpro is they use their own proprietary sound file format so the only sound files you can use are from foxpro and they can only be used in their calls.
FYI, I have and use a FoxPro w/ FoxBang, but was curious about the speakers. Paired with a smart phone, it might be an easy and inexpensive alternative that would allow almost instant updates as you find them on the web.
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The man who thinks he can, and the man who thinks he can’t are both right.
Also, using a sound editor, you could do almost anything, maybe even setting up a FoxBang type feature. With speakers in the $50-100 range for speakers this might be a good and flexible way to go. One source:
http://heavy.com/tech/2014/11/top-best-waterproof-bluetooth-speakers/
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The man who thinks he can, and the man who thinks he can’t are both right.
FYI, I have and use a FoxPro w/ FoxBang, but was curious about the speakers. Paired with a smart phone, it might be an easy and inexpensive alternative that would allow almost instant updates as you find them on the web.
I see what you're saying now. Unfortunately the range can be more limited then what you might think with Bluetooth and the sound quality can be very poor unless you spend the extra money for nicer speakers. To be able to beat your foxpro you would probably have to spend close to or more then you would for a new Ecaller. The other issue with blue tooth is it drains batteries pretty bad.
Agree: The soft (or hard sometimes) call that results in a kill that is immediately (or ASAP--I have only a Spitfire) followed by a death/distress call almost always brings them back for a second shot.
I dont know if your model will qualify but it is worth taking a look and see if foxpro can do what they call an upgrade to install foxbang onto you call. I had the original wildfire to begin with but it didn't make the cut but I want to say the spitfire is able to get this. Now most of them are built with it already. The upgrade isn't that much either.
I have been lusting after a louder set of speakers ever since going on a couple of spring hunts this year with Big Honkers and his pair of nuclear-powered speakers . I realize how the extra range is helpful, but I was afraid we would be arrested for disturbing the peace.
I've programmed my 24 call limit to have readily available "crow misery" calls interspersed among the 24, but it's not as handy as what you describe with the Fox-Bang. I've been considering holding a benefit spaghetti dinner with a "Save the Environment--Destroy Crows" theme to fund a thumping loud Super Snow Crow Pro for a poor, deserving local hunter. Think that might work?
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"Arms are the only true badges of liberty. The possession of arms is the distinction of a free man from a slave." -- Andrew Fletcher 1698
Agree: The soft (or hard sometimes) call that results in a kill that is immediately (or ASAP--I have only a Spitfire) followed by a death/distress call almost always brings them back for a second shot.
I dont know if your model will qualify but it is worth taking a look and see if foxpro can do what they call an upgrade to install foxbang onto you call. I had the original wildfire to begin with but it didn't make the cut but I want to say the spitfire is able to get this. Now most of them are built with it already. The upgrade isn't that much either.
I have been lusting after a louder set of speakers ever since going on a couple of spring hunts this year with Big Honkers and his pair of nuclear-powered speakers . I realize how the extra range is helpful, but I was afraid we would be arrested for disturbing the peace.
I've programmed my 24 call limit to have readily available "crow misery" calls interspersed among the 24, but it's not as handy as what you describe with the Fox-Bang. I've been considering holding a benefit spaghetti dinner with a "Save the Environment--Destroy Crows" theme to fund a thumping loud Super Snow Crow Pro for a poor, deserving local hunter. Think that might work?
If it does let me know cause might have to try the same thing.
I use two models of ICOTEC, a GC300 with 12 fixed calls, where under a baby crow distress, and a GC500 with 200 calls on an SD card.
These are great callers, and not expensive, for a 15 watt single speaker unit with a 300 yard remote.
That said, my favourite unit is the Primos Alpha Dogg, with 200 calls, 2x25 watt, and three speakers, which gives me all round calling.
With all three callers going, it's a regular parliament of crow sounds LOL.
However, sometimes I prefer the mouth calls, it depends on the day, and how many birds are flying
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If it moves and is legal but also moral, SHOOT IT !!
Tried the Bluetooth speakers last year but had issues with phone and speaker being to far apart so it would cut out or not connect . When we did get it to work it was not very loud at all. After several attempts of me trying to see my screen and change sounds on the phone while crows were laughing I gave up. Fox pro rules!!
The one good part was being able to play Ray Charles song hit the road jack
And don't come back no more as we picked up the gear after the hunt.
Thanks for the good information, Crow Foe, and that answers my question. One final question, though...What is the saying that we cannot read in your avatar picture?
Demi
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The man who thinks he can, and the man who thinks he can’t are both right.
. I realize how the extra range is helpful, but I was afraid we would be arrested for disturbing the peace.