Think I'm going to buy me a FoxPro FX3, any reviews????

[SCcoyotehunter]

I think I am ready to bite the bullet. I think this call will increase my odds. I would like to hear some feed back. What do you think?

[Bills Custom Calls]

I have hunted with the FX3 and as far as I know we never had one come close enough to get busted till
we added hand calls in with it.

There are some folks that would swear by them and others will curse them

Good luck

[FinsnFur]

I had an FX3 for a few years, didn't really have any trouble with it, liked it quite a bit actually. Sold it last year for $300 some dollars and will never own another.

I don't like the Dillons, the way they operate, or their ethics.

That should get me some Christmassy e-mails

[MI VHNTR]

FoxPro makes as good ecaller, as do the people at Minaska, Johnny Stewart, and others. Good hand calls should be a necessary item to have while calling. The only ecaller that I'd NEVER consider is a wildlife tech. The owner is a horse's a** at best. MI VHNTR

[KySongDog]

With the new Fury coming out, one would think ya could pick up a FX3 pretty cheap.   

[alscalls]

I wish I could find a good E-caller cheap that said "none of your business" on the side for a name brand.....
That way no one could hassle me for what it is and we could concentrate on the hunting more.
I have been saving for one for some time and I am afraid I just do not want the hassle of the price or the hammering of e-mails and posts about what I use... I do not like a lot of big business Like Wally world but sometimes I find myself right there.
I was thinking about the nightstalker but I do not want to start a fight if I kill a yote over the darn thing.....
They all work.
Get what you want Just be careful about bragging on it.....or hating it....I do not understand why.... some of the personal stuff sure I get it but the average joe should not get picked on cause they had a good time......I have seen it.......and I do not see how that is any less disturbing than An e-caller company pushing people around for saying something negative. I have seen that too.
I just want you to know what youre getting into as far as being labeled for what you choose...I do not like it but it dose happen.
Just know this....they all work......You should look at the features you want and go from there...That is what I am trying to do but I do not dare ask for help on the issue. Or it turns into a mess.

[weedwalker]

....they all work......You should look at the features you want and go from there...

Good advise. If that brand, or any other, fits your bill, use it. You're going hunting, not to a fashion show. Myself, I don't turn every label out on all the equipment I have with me so others can see. I just go huntin'. And if it works for me I'll use it.

[pitw]

I hunt to enjoy and enjoy to hunt.  Use what you want and it'll work for you.  I personally don't use an ecaller because thet are not legal here and other reason's that these guy's have shownme to be a little lame.

[Frogman]

I have the FoxPro Scorpion.  I am very happy with it.  I have no experience with other brands so I can not comment on them.  I really like the feature that the Scorpion has that allows me to turn on the main unit with the remote.  The sounds have worked for me.  One feature  have trouble with is the small size of the print on the remote screen.  It's difficult for my ageing eyes to read in low light situations.  Other than that I have been very happy with the call!


Jim

[FinsnFur]

I'm not sure anyone gets slammed around for using a certain caller. It's usually still the company that takes the beating.

And yes I agree, they all work.

[nastygunz]

I  gots me a FX3 and here are a few thoughts from my perspective.....took me awhile to bite the bullet also but I bought one...in the beginning there was total confusion on the charging process...different info from everyone...I finally bought a seperate charger so I could know for sure my batteries were charged....Im still a bit in wonder that as much as they cost...it is not waterproof...I have had a few sounds that were just plain terrible...as for good things I have experienced...it is deadly on crows...and I am a crow hunter...I would own it just for that reason...its light as hell....loud....the caller and the remote have worked fine...I have had no problems with them...changing sounds then having to do the sound list print thing again is kind of a pain in the arse after you do it a few times...it is WAY better then the home made rigs I made...I probably had as much money invested in making those as the cost of the FX3....all in all I am happy with mine..I like having 32 sounds on mine that I cant do all of on a mouth call.....but if I ever had to buy another one for any reason...I would have to really think about it...lately I have been more into mouth calls...which is where I started long ago...in certain situations it will give you a huge advantage while hunting...i cant say anyhting about any of the other callers because I have never used or heard any of them...but theres a few that seem pretty intriguing to me like the Nightstalker and the Gametraks units....Im sticking with the FX3 until it dies...I accidentally shoot it....or it dissappears...in that event...not sure what direction I would go in if I decided to get another e-caller....
p.s.

Also I now recall when I was thinking of buying mine I told Foxpro if they threw in the batteries for free I would buy the unit..they did...I emailed them  about a year after I had the call and told them a couple of their sounds were pretty bad and they told me to pick replacement sounds and they would send them to me free..they did...they always answer my emails...so in my own experience they dont sell you a caller then forget you and that means something to me anyways.

[KySongDog]

I'm not sure anyone gets slammed around for using a certain caller. It's usually still the company that takes the beating.

And yes I agree, they all work.

+1

I haven't seen anyone around here get hammered for using a particular brand.  Just as I haven't seen anyone get slammed for using a Remington, Benelli, Winchester, Savage, Beretta,  Sako, you-name-it rifle or shotgun.  They all work.

[THO Game Calls]

Before you buy an FX 3 there are some things to know up front.

1)  the caller is rated at 15 watts  -two 7.5 watt amps and two speakers.  Neither of which can handle 7.5 watts.
      First, any FoxPro FX unit is not capable of achieving the 15 watt output until you add the external battery pack and then you need to add the external speaker.  The internal speakers will not handle the additional power created when you use the external battery pack.  Even at that, you will only have one amp playing and one speaker playing and the actual output will be 7.5 watts, not 15.   

2)  the rear speaker is worthless for anything other than elevator music.  It's volume is very low, and it is completely drowned out by the front horn speaker.  I cannot see any use for it in the field other than to ballance out the unit.  A lead weight would have been cheaper and just as effective.

3)  volume will leave you wondering what all the fuss is about.  It is not as loud, out of the box, as you might be led to believe.  Hence the need for external speakers and battery pack.  It will work perfectly well for normal calling, but it is not going to be as loud as you think it is.
.
4)  sound library.  while there might be some great sounds in the FoxPro library, most of them are not real animal sounds.   When I was considering my purchase of an FX unit, I had a very difficult time finding 32 sounds that I would actually use.  The coyote vocals are especially very weak in my opinin.  Some of Cal Taylors rabbit sounds are very good, but they can be downloaded for free on the net.  Other than that, most of what you get in the sound library for coyote sounds are hand calls. 

5) there are still a lot of remote issues with the FX series callers, hence the new remote on the Fury. 

6) weather sealing.  My unit is not suitable for use in bad weather, even heavy snow, or even setting the unit in snow.   There is one place on the caller where water can seap in, and it is not a tiny little place either nor is it something that I would take a chance on. 

My ultimate conclusion is that the FX series callers will all work to call coyotes.   Out of he box, they are not exactly as you would expect reading the write ups on them and you pay for things that do not work in real calling situations (rear speaker for one as mentioned).  But they do come in a fancy package, have pretty good customer service should you need it, and the bottom line is that they will call coyotes for you.  The prices have come down, but they are still a bit over priced for a stock unit in my opinion.   They are not a magic bullet, and wont make you a great coyote caller in a weekend.  Still, the sound quality is better than some of the lower priced units on the market but the price is twice also.  If you buy one, you will more than likely be happy with it, and it will work for you.  You will have a good tool to help you call predators.  There are other callers on the market for about the same money, maybe a little more, and if the FX 3 fits your budget, then you should get one, if you can live with the limitations of the caller and understand it's real life calling limitations.

I would not even consider an XR6 as it is less than half the power output of the FX models.   

Al Woodard
THO Game Calls

Edited to address what AlsCalls said

The FX3 or any caller will not kill coyotes for you.  They will CALL coyotes for you, but ultimately, it is how you use the caller, how you set up in otherwords, that will allow you to kill coyotes.  A lot of people on the boards get caught up in which is the best caller and calling each other leg humpers or other things when a guy says he used his Fox Pro or other caller to kill coyotes.   Most of the comments you hear from these people come from recreational callers who maybe hunt once or twice a month.  Coyotes and other predators respond to distress sounds.  If your caller produces distress sounds, and there are coyotes around, they will usually come.  But it is you who closes the deal, not the caller.  The caller is a tool.  Some hunters bring grief upon themselves because they fail to understand this and every hero shot has their caller in it and the e caller gets a lot of the credit.   This is just not reality.   If you have an e caller and two or three or maybe 4 or 5 good sounds that you are confident in, and you set up in the best way you can, all of the callers will work for you.   But they are just tools, you are the hunter.   Don't worry about what people say on the boards, but dont give credit where it is not waranted either as this will surely get you in hot water with some.   I've seen 900 dollar e callers bring coyotes to within 30 yards of guys hunting with 1500 dollar rifles that ultimately missed the shot.   You can't blame it on the caller - and I have called coyotes with a 100 dollar Johnny Stewart Power Pro and old CD player and killed coyotes.  Can't give the credit to the great sounds coming out of that beast for the success either.   

As for the comment about the WT caller, I dont take the owner hunting with me when I go out.   I take a tool that I feel is right for the job.  Sometimes it is the 12 gauge, some times the 243 sometimes the FoxPro sometimes the WT and some times it is hand calls.   They are all just tools - nothing more nothing less.   If they help you get the job done, it doesn't matter who the owner or company is unless you are hunting to impress, to get on a field staff or promote one caller over another because you are on a field staff and want to maintain that possition.  Those are the only reasons to laud one caller over another.


Al

[CCP]

All good responses. 

Here is a article I wrote awhile back on  Choosing an E-caller  It kinda pertains to the theme here.

[HaMeR]

I have an FX3. Never a minutes problem that was not operator error. You just have to give the remote a couple seconds to wake up is all.    n   The battery pack has run dead on me one time. Again my fault. Plenty of volume for crow calling too.  I like mine & I'm sure the Bandit models & all the other ones work just as good. For my application tho I like my FX3.

[SCcoyotehunter]

Looks like I have unleashed a monster. But this is what i was after, feedback from the pros. I still have not made a decision and I believe I will check out some other units as well before making my purchase.
Thank you very much.
FF