Field Testing the New Phantom Caller

AzWill

New member
I'm posting this for those who may not have had a chance to see it yet....

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My limited time out in the field with the new Phantom Predator Caller convinced me that the new device is bad news for predators.

The world of electronic callers has taught me that there is no perfect machine; each one has its’ good points and weaknesses. So let’s peal this onion to see what the Phantom Predator Caller is all about.

Size and weight:

When one is used to packing the JS512 and the WT2010 around with them all day, the new Phantom Caller is nothing short of a godsend. The entire unit weighs in at just some 28 ounces. So forget the thought of weight training to transport this dream machine from stand to stand.

The controller for the new call is the same size as a common TV remote found in most homes throughout America. The controller contains 15 buttons, 12 of these buttons are for selecting sounds and the other three are used to turn the unit off and on, while the last two are for controlling the volume. The Phantom controller is 100 % user-friendly and one-handed operation is a snap.

Performance: (Now the important stuff.)

Volume wise, the new call has plenty of muscle to get out and drag critters in by their ears. The unit is powered by just one 9-volt battery but has the lungs of a whale.

I dropped in a new battery first thing Saturday morning and the unit had plenty of get up and go all weekend long. Don’t bother to ask me how they get a caller to be so loud while just using a standard 9-volt battery, but the folks who make the Phantom have clearly discovered the secret.

The sounds served up by the Phantom Predator Caller are 100% digital. So for those who view sound quality as a premiere issue, you can rejoice because this sweetheart has the voice of an angel.

In fact, the folks who make the Phantom recently informed me that they have found a way to improve the sound quality over what my test machine produced. It is hard for me to imagine what this improvement would be because the sounds I heard were crystal clear and razor sharp.

They also informed me that the production model will also have the ability to play the same sound twice giving the user the ability to overlap the same sound giving a dueling sound effect. (What will they think of next???)

I did experience a glitch a time or two when using two sounds at once. On one stand when using the Baby Bird Distress and the Rodent Squeaks together, I got some unexplained static and the unit would lockup on me. (That’s why they call them prototypes...)

I immediately stopped the test and got in touch with Bill Gardener. Bill explained to me the problem stemmed from using first edition chips in the prototypes and that production models would have the best of the best in internal workings and that the problem was corrected.

I found that taking the battery out of the test unit and then reinstalling it corrected the problem with no further problems experienced.

To serve up sound, the operator merely pushes the appropriately labeled button and the selected sound plays for several seconds. Those who want to produce longer periods of sound, just push the button at the end of the sound loop and you can repeat this procedure til the cows come home for unlimited sound production.

For those callers who like to mix and match the sounds produced, just press your next selection and the Phantom caller sings two different tunes at once. Yep... you heard me right, the Phantom is fully capable of playing two sounds at once. So a predator caller can start calling by throwing a coyote howl or two in the air and have a rabbit in distress sound playing at the same time. So in reality, instead of having a device that has 12 sounds to call predators, a predator caller having the Phantom Predator Caller actually has the capability of producing, at least, some 24 different combinations to lure predators into your stands. As a diehard predator caller I find this feature simply unbelievable for a caller in the price range of the Phantom Predator Caller.

The current listing of sounds is as follows: (I included my opinion of them as to predator calling sounds.)
1.) Coyote Howl: The howl is the real deal and is a keeper.
2.) Coyotes Pups: Another winner that will produce when the time is right.
3.) Lamb Distress: Sounds good to me, should work great for livestock owners and ADC type folks. In truth - because of where I hunt, the Lamb Distress is of little value to me. I’d much rather to have a good old, nasty sound ‘n Jackrabbit in its place.
4.) Fawn Distress: I really liked this one, my gut feeling here is this sound will get the job done for calling the big meat-eater’s (lions and bears) in to your stands and should draw in multiple numbers of coyotes who have a habit of eating deer.
5.) Baby Pig Distress: I really loved this sound. Here in Arizona, some places have Javelina all over the place and the bigger predators regard them as a major food group.
6.) Feline Distress: One of the best examples I’ve ever heard, I’d keep it.
7.) Rabbit In Distress: A real high pitched number; it’s a critter getter for sure.
8.) Baby Bird Distress: This sound, for fox and bobcat, has proven to be the critters worst nightmare.
9.) Rodent Squeaks: If it were me, I’d combine this sound with the Baby Bird to make just one sound. (This combination was my personal favorite during the test period bar none.) Then I’d add a good grey fox pup sound in place of the Rodent Squeaks.
10.) Crow Gathering: Sounds like the real deal to me. I don’t call crows to shoot them . . . but I sure like them hanging around my stand while calling predators; you can’t get a better decoy anywhere! I called in a ton of crows during my experince with the Phantom.
11.) Thrashing Leaves: Not a lot of leaves in my part of the woods. Thrashing cactus needles might have impressed me. I’d much rather have another critter sound in its place; say a Doe Distress.
12.) Ground Hops: I guess I’d keep this sound. The concept of having a sound to simulate a struggling animal is new to me but I certainly think the idea has merit. I’d use this sound to help bring in animals that might hang up and not want to come in close.

The Phantom Predator Caller uses a hardwired speaker that plugs into the controller. In the day and age of remotes to control electronic callers, some callers may look down on a hardwired machine. The truth is, hardwired systems guarantee 100% reliability in the most extreme conditions. I like remotes but I’ve experienced unexplained lapses in control with every one I’ve used. These lapses in caller control often don’t amount to much but I once lost a lion because when I pushed a button nothing happened. So I regard having to take the time to lay down some wire as a little added insurance that will assure I have 100% control over the electronic caller, 100% of the time.

My test unit had a reel that contained extra wire, some 60’ I think. If the test unit were mine to do as I please, I’d throw away the reel provided and simply wrap the wire around the speaker. Doing so would make for much quicker setups and not having to deal with tangled wire on a reel for every stand would be a big plus. But as time wore on, me and that reel finally made friends and we actually worked good together.

I only had a weekend to really use the call. As my luck would have it, calling conditions in my part of the country sucked big time, but I worked the unit hard for the better part of two days.

The first day out was a big fat blank but in defense of the Phantom Caller I don’t think I would have called anything in no matter what electronic caller I was using. Saturday evening found me at Wal-Mart getting a lion tag because of what was discovered earlier in the day.

Sun up the second day of testing founded me right back where I started Saturday morning. The reason for hitting the same place twice was the discovery of fresh mountain lion tracks the day before. We actually discovered two different sets of tracks.

One set gave me the impression of a mature female, hunting javelina in a wash loaded with tracks of the little pigs. The second set found (in the same wash) was that of a super nice tomcat, certainly in the trophy class.

Seeing both sets of lion tracks in the same immediate area is rare. I speculate that the female was hunting pigs; the big tom cat was either following the female because she was in heat or he wanted to catch up to her and explain to her she was trespassing on the king cat’s turf.

I opted to leave the .17 Remington at the house and I brought a long my heavy barreled Savage .22-250 instead. The first two stands were more of the same, nothing!

The third stand proved to be much different . . . the things that major stories are made of.

I was using the Pig Distress sound on the Phantom Caller, when some five minutes into the stand, a herd of javelina came boiling up the small canyon I was calling in.

The javelina came to the call just like they answer most predator calls; looking to kick someone’s behind for disturbing the peace. I had placed the speaker some 20 feet from me and on a couple of occasions I could of touched one or two of the little pigs with my rifle if I wanted to, they were that close.

After what seemed like too long, one of the porkers caught my scent and they stampeded back the same way they came. It was then that things got very interesting real fast.

The javelina dissappeared into the thick brush in the canyon bottom. Second or two later all hell broke loose.

The javelina starting squealing and snorting, like hell wouldn’t have it, and exploded back in my direction with a big lion raking the flanks of the javelina in trail.

The little pig turned on the lion in a defensive posture. The big cat stopped immediately in its tracks, with his ears laid back on the top of his head the big cat let out a scream from hell and jumped right on top of the javelina. The lion grabbed the javelina by the back of its’ neck and laid on top the pig until the struggling stopped. I had always figured a lion wouldn't want to tangle with a full grown Javelina face to face but was I ever wrong.

The lion took out the Javelina in a blink of an eye with no effort at all. I then sat wide-eyed and watched the lion drag the dead javelina back into the thick brush.

All at once it dawned on me, duh!!! what’s the matter with you? I have a gun and a lion tag, get off your butt stupid and get that lion. So I was hell bent for leather, down the canyon wall I came.

I reached the spot I last saw the lion and saw the cat still dragging the javelina 300 yards down the wash. It disappeared around a bend in the wash before I could control my breathing enough to steady the cross hairs on the lion. So I took off once again like a heat-seeking missile after the lion and its catch.

I covered the 300 yards as fast as any 50 year old man can under the circumstances but that’s the last I ever saw of the big cat. The tracks indicated that the lion quickly left the wash and headed for an area consumed by massive rock boulders. I glassed the area for a good two hours (damn near took me that long to catch my breath) afterward but failed to locate the lion.

I decided not to push the cat too much in the hopes that I can return and get a crack at one of the two lions I know are using the area.

On the way out I visited the scene where everything took place. The tracks indicate that the lion was responding to the Pig Distress sound. The javelina just happened to show up and exit in the wrong direction and the lion took advantage of the situation, which prevented me at a good crack at the lion.

Nonetheless, I wouldn’t trade what I witnessed for all the tea in China. The big cats are still there getting fat and sassy on Arizona javelina and you can bet I’ll return with some more tricks up my sleeve.

So is the Phantom Predator Caller worth the $229.95 selling price? I think it is an exceptional buy.

Yes, I didn’t call in any smaller predators but in defense of the Phantom Caller, and my image, calling response has dropped of sharply during the last month, add to the equation too much wind and warm day time temperatures, calling anything with any caller is a hard proposition.

I spent most of my time calling an area that has two full-grown mountain lions working the area. Under such circumstances, any other predators in the area are going to make themselves in short supply in fear of coming up against the big cats. There is no doubt in my mind; whatsoever, that the lion I saw kill the javelina was coming to the Pig Distress sound from the Phantom Caller.

My logic is if the caller can fool a lion, it will call other predators with ease.

Some of the sounds on the Phantom Predator Caller I’d like to see replaced but then every predator caller has their own idea of what the best sounds are; I’m no different.

I’d sure like to see the folks that make the Phantom Predator Caller work on offering several options when it comes to selecting predator calling sounds for the new caller.

Overall, where else can a predator hunter find an electronic predator caller that has 24 digital sound options, plays two sounds at once, and just weighs 28 ounces for $229.95? Other than that, I’m grateful that someone has taken the time and effort to introduce an affordable, and truly valuable tool to the sport of predator calling.

Now if they’d just design a 4-wheel drive recliner to go with the remote sized caller, life would be perfect....
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http://www.predatormasters.com

[This message has been edited by AzWill (edited 02-28-2001).]
 
Will-
I spoke to Duane about this caller a week ago. Do you have advance info on it as far as availability and priceing etc? I was going to go with the FoxPro but since its almost spring maybe I'll hold off. I have read everything (yes EVERYTHING!)on this board and the one most of these guys came from beginning about 6 weeks ago on the other one and from the git go here. Its been the best thing on this screen in awhile, keep up the good work, its greatly appreciated.
thanks for your time,
ken beckham
 
cedarchopper. . .

Welcome to Predator Masters, proud to have you as a new member.

I can tell you that some new things have been added to the capability list of the Phantom. Since I last played with it, I've heard through the grapevine that there will be at least one sound that gets upgraded.

The price hasn't changed as far as I know and still retails for around $229 something. I look for the call to be available within 30 to 45 days, if not sooner.

One thing is for sure...the Phantom Predator Caller is a sweetheart. . .
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http://www.predatormasters.com
 
Will,
Thanks for the speedy reply. Sounds like on the outside mid April or early May for availability. If that time frame is accurate will it be a good time to be doing calling in the central texas area. I'm just referring to calling for experience not for shooting. But is that a good time of year to expect results. If response is minimal by then i can spend that time on other aspects of the sport.
Thanks for your time
Ken Beckham
 
AzWILL,
Noticed you mentioned all of the pros of the Phantom but did not mention the names of the other electronic callers that you have used and had problems with the remote controls.
Presently have a set of remotes on order for my 8 pound Johnny Stewart and am inclined to cancel the order and sell the 512mr.
Could you shed some light here.
Thanks!!
 
I had a Phantom to try and was very impressed with.Will explained the call ,so all I can say is,three yote and two gray fox on seven stands.
 
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