This article first appeared in the Winter 2017 issue of AVID Hunting and Outdoors magazine.
I took a trip out to Nevada to call in some coyotes with an old buddy who had taught me how to use hand calls back in the day. I couldn’t wait to show him the new set-up I’ve been using all year, the FoxPro Shockwave with the FoxJack 4 Decoy! It’s always fun to show guys who typically use a hand call the capabilities of today’s latest electronic calling technology, and I was hoping these Nevada dogs would cooperate.
It seemed like a long summer, and the weather had finally began to cool off, we were anticipating a great day doing what we love to do! We approached our first stand of the day from a power line access road in an area my buddy had been hearing a pack of coyotes on a regular basis, and this location offered a great view of the surrounding countryside. My friend set up about 100 yards away overlooking a sagebrush bottom, while his son and I covered the sage covered draws. After the Shockwave and hunters were both in position, we began the calling sequence. In just 45 seconds a lone dog charged in and I quickly took my first Nevada coyote of the trip.
My Shockwave was placed about 35 feet in front of my location. I typically like the call to be between 35 and 45 feet from me which is outside the range of many callers on the market although no problem for the FoxPro remote! The TX-1000 remote pairs with the Shockwave very nicely and comes complete with a full color graphic LCD screen as well as barometer and moon phase indicators. Theres nothing more frustrating than setting up, walking back to your stand and realizing you have forgotten to turn on the decoy! The auxiliary remote switch that controls the decoy is a very functional, user friendly tool that will simplify any hunters experience.
While driving to our next stand location, my buddy and his son talked about how close the coyote had come to the call; in fact I told them of times when coyotes have actually come right up to the Shockwave and FoxJack! They were also amazed at how crisp, clear and realistic the sounds were and that compared to other brands. The high quality speakers FoxPro uses on their products just might be the best selling feature of all! I have yet to experience “speaker noise” or call volume break-up while using the Shockwave, even in below freezing temps with the volume at max using the highest pitch call available!
The FoxMotion feature is truly revolutionary and has quickly become one of my favorite attributes of the Shockwave. Essentially, the distress sounds will mimic movement by alternating which speaker is emitting sound. This attention to detail during a calling sequence is sometimes all it takes to draw the coyotes in for a closer, lethal look! My hand call aficionado friend was nearly convinced at the power of the Shockwave, but still seemed a little skeptical…until our next stand!
I had a great feeling about this spot from the onset. A slight wind in our face, still low sun at our back, and everything just felt right about it. I set the call out at about 35 feet, then positioned the adjustable speakers to call in two directions. One speaker was directed at a cedar covered ridge, the other down into a sage flat. I eased back to the stand, turned on the FoxJack 4 decoy, and contemplated which of the over 100 preset calls to play. My gut instinct always tells me to play “Lightning Jack” from great experiences with that sound but I eventually settled on “Adult Cottontail” for this sequence based on the cottontails we were seeing in this area.
Three minutes after hitting play, a group of coyotes began barking on the cedar ridge. I had an idea, one that has worked very well in situations like this…The Shockwave has a feature called FoxFusion, which allows you to play two different calls at the same time. I turned down the “Adult Cottontail” a bit and turned up “Little Pup Distress”. Right away I saw a coyote hard charging from about 400 yards, I mean, he’s on a dead run jumping and busting through the sagebrush! I got the other guys attention as the lone dog was about 100 yards out, and I thought one of them was going to shoot, but the determined coyote just kept coming! He was at 50, then 25, and before I knew it he was literally attacking the Shockwave and FoxJack!! I couldn’t believe what I was seeing, this full out assault on my prize possession had to be stopped…And after about 10 seconds of trying to destroy the call, he bailed off towards me and I dumped him at 8 yards! At the shot, the FoxBang feature set in. This allows worry free call usage after the shot so you don’t have to search for your call in all the excitement. I had it pre set to Ki-Yi, it played for a minute but nothing else happened.
After that stand, we were all still in shock, maybe that’s why it’s called the Shockwave! I’ve heard similar stories about this type if behavior induced from a call, but was always skeptical until I witnessed it myself! From that moment on, my friend and his son were absolutely sold on the Shockwave. I have used a lot of electronic callers, from a bunch of different companies. They are great for certain situations, but the FoxPro Shockwave is great for every situation.
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