Wildlife Callers
Healy - America's Firearms Provider

Seeing Double

This is a guest entry by Mike Healy from his home in Idaho.  Carl, his son and hunting partner, is thirteen.

Carl and I were on stand and had been calling for approximately 15 minutes with no results.  Suddenly, I spotted a single coyote cresting the low hill across from us. From 350 yards out, it proceeded to run straight into our setup.

My Wildlife Technologies electronic caller was situated well below us on the hillside and we had good cover against some large boulders.  The wind was also in our favor.

Glancing to my left, I could see Carl’s rifle leveled out and he was leaning into the scope.  Good — he had seen it also.

While easing my rifle into position for a shot at the incoming coyote, Carl fired his rifle.  Hearing the shot, the coyote I was watching pivoted and ran sideways at full speed.  Carl fired at it a couple of times and missed as it ran away.  I fired once and also missed.

When the dust settled, I stood up and said, “It got away.  Why didn’t you wait for it to come closer and stop moving before firing?”  Carl got a funny look on his face and calmly replied, “Dad, this stand was a double!  There’s a coyote on the ground out there.  My first shot took it out.  Didn’t you see it?”

Oops!  I hadn’t even seen the other coyote.  Better get my eyes checked.

We walked out and searched the brush for a few minutes.  Sure enough, a coyote was down.

I laser ranged back to the rock pile where we were sitting to be certain of the distance — 252 yards.  Nice shot Carl!

Idaho Coyote September 2011

Idaho Coyote, September 2011, Remington R-15 VTR Carbine with AR Gold trigger

 

Thanks for reading.

Regards and good calling,

Mike Healy

 

Flextone eR1 ECHO HD Predator Call & Game Caller – Good Early Customer Reviews

The new ECHO HD eR1 predator call and game calling machine from Flextone Calls & Wildgame Innovations is making  a quick rise in the lower-priced electronic caller market for some good reasons.

The Flextone ECHO eR1 is a new e-caller for the 2010-2011 predator hunting season, but with little more than a month of service in the hunting field, our customers are telling us this compact remote controlled call sounds great, is easy to use, and above all is calling coyotes to their stands.  The Flextone ECHO HD comes preloaded with 100 calling sounds.  More than 90 of the sounds are from Wildlife Technologies and sound very clear—just what you’d expect from a WT sound.  Most of our customers are buying it for predator hunting, but several have been sent to guys intending to use the generous number of deer sounds for calling big bucks.  CLICK HERE to view the sound list.

You can CLICK HERE to view the caller in our Wildlife Callers’ store.

Flextone Echo HD eR1 Predator call and Game Caller

Game Warden Note: Make sure using an electronic call is legal in your area for both predators and big game animals!  It likely is for predators, but might not be for deer—double check your local regulations.

I’ve taken the Flextone ECHO HD out for some field testing with the remote control.  The remote contol has an LCD readout that’s back-lit for night hunting and shows the caller’s volume level on the readout.  The manufacturer states the remote will work up to 300 yards.  If you’re a predator hunter who’s used a remote controlled caller, then you’re likely aware that the advertised effective yardage of the remote control is almost always less in real-world calling setups.  I set the caller up in various positions in rocks, heavy brush, and tall grass, at 20, 50, 75, and 100 yards and from a seated position was able to effectively change sounds, change the volume, and mute the caller without any hesitation from the machine.  The remote has a spot on one of the lower corners to attach a lanyard, reducing the chances of dropping or losing it.

Flextone Echo HD eR1 Top View and Remote Control View

The ECHO eR1 comes with a black carry strap and sports bi-directional twin speakers for maximum volume from the 8AA battery power pack that runs the unit.  You can use the speakers individually or both at the same time.  The remote control is stored in a docking & charging station on the side of the caller.  The caller comes with a 110v charging cord that plugs right into the side of the caller and charges the power pack and the remote at the same time.  The remote control for the eR1 uses a flat Li-Ion rechargeable battery pack that took a while for us to find, but we eventually did.  CLICK HERE to see the battery for the remote control.

Battery Note: The AA batteries that came with the unit charged up just fine, but didn’t last as long as we expected they should.  We bought a set of Energizer AA rechargeable batteries, put them in the caller, charged it overnight, and then let it play for more than 12 hours at volume 2.  The battery life of the unit is great—so long as you use a quality set of batteries.

Overall, the Flextone ECHO HD eR1 is a well thought out, great sounding predator call and game calling machine in the caller class that it’s designed to compete in—actually it costs less and hunters tell us it sounds as good or better than the callers it was designed to compete with.  With a functional & useful remote control and good hunting reports coming in from satisfied customers, this new caller will continue making quick inroads into the e-caller market space.   The next thing to test is the longevity of the machines in field service.  That’s happening all over the US and Canada right now.  Only time will answer that question.

If you have any questions or if you’d like an ECHO HD eR1 sound demo just give us a call.

Good hunting to all,

Mark Healy
Toll-free 877-734-1010
info@wildlifecallers.com
www.wildlifecallers.com

Great Video of a Mountain Lion & Javelina in a “Lay-Up” Area

I found this rare video gem of a cougar on YouTube and had to share it. While you enjoy this great look at the mountain lion being chased by the group of javelina, pay close attention to the area the lion is laid-up in.

I have written other blog posts HERE , HERE, and HERE and posted scouting photos on our Wildlife Callers’ Facebook Page that talk about terrain considerations when scouting and calling for mountain lions.  This video captures nicely the “lay-up” concept that we talk about.  As you watch the video and the camera pans right you will see (at about 27 seconds) the lion has chosen a daytime hideout just below a saddle located on the ridge line above the rock/brush pile it pops out of. 

Without seeing the area in person and being able to walk the ridges around the brushed up rock pile the cat jumped out of, we can only make an educated guess that the lion is using the ridge/saddle as part of it’s travel route.  Based on past experience with travel paths and scouting for lay-up areas to call into, it stands to reason that ridge line is at least one of the travel routes in the area. 

It is also highly likely that this or another lion will use this lay-up again in the future.  Having a location like this jotted down in a calling journal will provide a spot to call into every single time you’re in the area.  Other than calling the area and getting a mountain lion to respond, there is no reliable way to know exactly when the cat will be back.  Based on the radio collar data that we’ve looked at and the trail camera evidence that we’ve collected, the day or night and actual time the lion will show back up can’t be accurately predicted.  However, paths that they use for travelling get used again and again. 

Catching the lion the next time it’s in this lay-up is a game of chance, but persistence pays.  If you have 20 locations like this identified with scat, tracks, other sign, and perhaps some trail camera photos and you consistently call into  them, eventually you’ll be in the right place at the right time and you’ll get your big cat to come in.  We’re certain it’s a whole lot more reliable than random calling into areas that simply “look like good cat country” but have no physical evidence to go with the good looks. 

Thanks again for reading.  Comments and questions are always welcome at the bottom of this page. 

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Good luck this season,

Mark Healy

mark@wildlifecallers.com

480-882-1210