Also Check Out

Toys! That’s what a lot of us call the various hunting and fishing tools and devices that we dote on.

Like a lot of guys, I’ve got so many toys, I can’t hardly keep track of them all, and to be honest, some of them are just tucked away some place, never to be used again.

Well, that’s not the case with the winner of this month’s HARRY’S CHOICE AWARD.

Extreme Dimension Phantom Wildlife Calls turn out to be way better than I expected them to be. In fact, I’d call them sensational, and if you are a person who likes electronic toys, then you are going to absolutely love these calls.

Over the years I’ve owned dozens and dozens of calls, everything from coyote calls made from a bullet casing, to scrimshawed turkey calls made from a wing bone. And mostly, I’ve abandoned all of these various calls for one reason or another. That’s not going to happen with my new Phantom calls.

For one thing, these calls are fun to play with. You get the basic device and then you get plug in modules that allow you to call just about any critter that is susceptible to being called in. So you can call anything from pigs to moose. They’ve got you covered. What I really like is that you can make two different calls at the same time by just pushing a button. So I can have a raspy old hen cutting away at the same time I have a gobbler yelping his head off. You know that's going to fire a big boss tom up.

So what is so much fun about using these calls? Say you put the coyote module in the caller. You push two different buttons and start playing them like a maestro. Within seconds you've sent up an unholy chorus of yips, yowls, barks and yaps that will have the hair on the back of your neck standing up.

An extremely important consideration for any sportsman is that these units are definitely not junk. They are well made, well thought out and built with the kind of rugged simplicity that ensures you get years of actual use from them in the field.

A great array of accessories are available for the basic units, so you can mix and match the “toys” so you have just what you want. For example, if you are a coyote hunter, you are definitely going to want the wireless unit, because it allows you to put the source of the sound the coyote hears far from where you sit in ambush, which means you can set up to take best advantage of wind direction, which is crucial in coyote hunting.

Another greatly appealing aspect of these calls for me is that you can set the sound level where you want it. Often, when I am in the searching mode, I really want to blast a call, to reach out to critters that may be far off. Or maybe the wind is blowing hard and I want to call loud to penetrate that noise. That’s simple with the wireless unit because it comes with a powerful speaker that really can amp up sound. On the other hand, if I want to call softly, say I need a series of soft yelps to bring a gobbler in those last few crucial yards, why it’s very simple to bring the sound level down for that job.

Very versatile, that’s what I call these calls.

Now, because these are high quality, digital electronic calls, they don’t come cheap. That’s why I think it’s so great there is a mini phantom model that is truly affordable. This mini model can be made a powerful sound blaster by adding an optional speaker, making it an excellent choice for long-range calling.

Extreme Dimension Phantom Calls products are offered in stores all over the state and around New England, but before you head out to see these units for yourself, stay online a while longer and check them out at phantomcalls.com

For more information, visit phantomcalls.com