I have a Johnny Stewart electronic call and have used it successfully on various varmint species. I also know some very good varminters that use mouth calls. I dont do a lot of varmint hunting and I was wondering, what is the better of the two. Or do you use a combination of the two?

I love to call yotes, and to me this is the kind of question that sort of needs to take into account ones reason for calling dogs in the first place.

For a long time my calling pardner and I would take between 40-50 yotes a year.

For us, it was about fooling the dogs by using a hand call and making them come to us.

To my mind the hand call is a purist way to do it, you know the whole me against the dog thing.

The electronic calls are incredibly effective especially with a remote. For me it is kind of like cheating, kind of like shooting dogs in Sept.

The other thing is that the hand call is a heck of a lot easier to port around.

I've also used the hand calls a fair bit for bruins and have called over 60 of them in so far using the hand calls.

Either way you can't go wrong, take your pick and get at it.

Mark D

I use both, both have their place. I lip squeek once the animal is in sight. No calls at all then just working for the shot. We use the e-caller for sounds I can not make on the mouth call, Red fox in distress, coons fight. Odd ball stuff like guine pigs, real high pitched birds kittens in places the every Tom Dick and harry have called with a rabbit call in the past few days. I can not work the reed that close to the end and get the right fluttering, when I do I have no control over volume for birds. I agree with Mark, we use mouth calls maybe 60-40 or a bit less.

I've been calling for about 20 years and when we started all we had was hand calls. As the sport grew, ( mostly because of fur prices) we found there were areas that were being called by very bad sounding guys that just educated the 'yotes. We switched to a "yipper" and talked them in. Now if you'll spend the money you can have a machine do it all for you. I don't think the E-calls sound as good but like has been said, you can buy sounds that are nearly impossible to imitate with a hand-call.

Portability and sound quality are a huge down side to me. Nate

The different sounds is nice on the e callers. A bud of mine from Great Falls bought one of the Foxpros a couple of years back.

One of the sounds on it was called the "rodent squeler", for the life of me it sounded like a batch of couple day old pups.

It worked like a big dog and I gotta believe that part of it was that in the area we hunted the yotes just hadn't heard anything like it.

But I've found about any sound hear on the e-callers I can make on my own with a hand call. So, I spend a fair amount of time going into sport shops and listening to the sounds the e-callers carry on them.

Just trying to learn new tricks.

Snowing sideways here this morn.

Mark D

Mousegun: I have used both type calls for many years now. I was on my third battery for my Johnny Stewart electronic when it "caught fire" a while back. It literally started smoking as it was riding along in the seat of the VarmintMobile!
I have not used it since.
I am in the "mood" for a FoxPro myself!
Its next on my list.
I like to Hunt Coyotes at night and on days when its really cold!
The Electronics shine here!
The mouth calls are constantly freezing up and you need to thaw them out in your armpit and/or switch to another call.
I have lots of them though so thats not to big a problem.
In the past I often used them in tandem. This would enhance the electronic with mouth calls when a Varmint would hang up just out of range or when the wind was "blowing".
I used them about even up, time wise, in the past and had good luck with both!
The new FoxPro types, though are on another level. The hassles of the cassettes and old time electronics of the Johnny Stewart with its squelching and needing to be recharged all the time (when its real cold!) lend me to believe that this new generatrion of remote control, no moving parts, long lived batteries, etc will give the "title" ("which is better"?) to the electronics from now on.
I am not like Mark Dobrenski - its not an ego contest between me and the Coyote! Its kill them and do so without regard to methods or whats more sporting!
They are killers of Game Animals and Game Birds and are over-populated to such an extent that I am even happy when I see them squished alongside the freeways! Normally I feel twangs of pain and guilt whn I see car killed wild animals - not so with the Coyotes!
And in another way I am not like Mark Dobrenski - I only shoot about 10 a year!
I have some wonderful cassettes for your Johnny Stewart - IF its of that vintage!
Yes, the specific answer to your inquiry is - in the past they were about equally as effective but nowadays the "nod" goes to the FoxPro type electronic callers!
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

I first tried calling 45 yrs ago with hand calls. Didn't call in anything, I didn't know how to use them and there was not that much information available in the 60s. Six years later, I teamed up with an experienced caller and we were using e-calls. Actually battery powered reel-reel tape players with speaker on a long cord. Great success and I learned what sounds worked and then used hand calls to call in critters. Went hi-tech and switched to a cassette player when they were readily available. Now have a Johnny Stewart and several hand calls. I love the thrill of calling something with a hand call. I squeaked in a mountain lion in late Oct with a hand call and will never forget that. However, I really perfer the e-calls. With a speaker placed 30-50 feet away, the focus is drawn away from me allowing me to make a shot undetected. I hunt alone on occasion and this is a real benifit. For me, the two calls work well as a combination. I don't have to be a purist, yet I do use my hand calls on occasion with good results. The new ecalls are not that much to tote and a small daypack will carry them conviently. They are also great for night hunting if legal in your area. Nothing worse than an owl swooping down on your hat when using a hand call at night.

VG- ego contest...what gives with the pot shot!?

I was just saying that this is my way no saying it had to be others way.

Heck I love to call geese and get them to land with me, I don't even shoot em anymore. I just like to dupe em is all.

Mark D

He's off the meds... again.

I get it Mark. I like to fool them with my talent and it is a challenge. I do'nt hunt them as much now that I live down here but in Ore. it was nearly every day off and sometimes after work.

I maybe haven't heard the "good" ones I guess. They seem to me to have a plasticy sound. No tone I guess? I've had limited results with them so don't try them unless I'm out with someone else. Nate

Calling yotes is not rocket science. Ime it is all about doing the following

*get in undetected by sight and smell

*find a hungry/curious and or territorial yote

And you're in busines

No ego no rocket science...

Mark D

me personaly i use mouth calls because fell better whem im in charge of the calling not leaving it up to technology and if something isnt working i can always switch and see what works were