Fooling a coyote and other big predators is no easy task. That’s why when you go out, you may need a little bit of help to get the right calls played at the right times. Animal calling is an ancient art that has been mastered by technology with the electronic callers on the market today.
There are loads of different callers to pick from, so finding the best one for you can be the most difficult part of the hunt. The FoxPro Patriot threw its name in the ring for all of these best electronic coyote callers, and is trying to earn the spot as the best budget coyote caller out there. Not only is it a budget caller, it’s compact and easy to use to make your hunt as successful as possible.
Overview Of The FoxPro Patriot
The FoxPro Patriot is a compact little caller that still packs a punch with an effective volume and huge amount of sounds for a moderate price. It’s an electronic caller made for exactly that. There’s no fluff involved, but the product you end up with has everything you need.
While the Patriot does lack the fancier remote, it comes with a TX433 that performs at a high level, making it a competitor for all other callers. At 1.5 pounds, you’ll be surprised at what you hear the speaker put out and help you bring in.
Key Features
Sounds
Right out of the box the Patriot has 35 high quality sounds preloaded into the caller with 100 sounds available for a free download. While the 135 free sounds are great, you still have the capacity to fit up to 300 sounds on this. 300 sounds are sure to be enough to call in just about anything you can imagine in almost any scenario imaginable.
While 100 free sounds are enticing, it needs to be known that these aren’t able to be downloaded from a Mac. So, if you’re working off of a MacBook, you’ll need to figure out how to get those sounds another way.
Excellent Connectivity
The FoxPro Patriot has a great level of connectivity to make sure that you are able to get the sounds you want onto the system, and get the sound level you require out in the field. The Patriot has a USB port, a 3.5 mm external speaker jack, and a 3.5 mm auxiliary jack to ensure that you are able to connect to the device or speaker that you want.
Design & Build Quality
You may think that FoxPro had to cut corners somewhere when getting the price of the Patriot so reasonable. Most companies will cut corners on design and build quality, but what we can tell you for sure is, that’s not the case here.
The ABS plastic that the Patriot is made out of works better to withstand a lot of tough love than most typical plastics. If you drop it, the worst you can expect is a crack in the plastic, leaving the caller fully functional. Typical plastic construction will leave you with huge chips in the product and rapidly lead towards death to the caller.
Remote distance and details (TX433)
The TX433 remote that comes with the Patriot is a high-performing remote that gets the job done from a long ways away. From 200 yards away, you will still be able to operate the caller, but it will start to lose connection when you are out of sight. This isn’t the top of the market, but it is still an impressive distance.
The elastomeric keypad on the remote, or the silicon rubber keypad, is well-spaced to make sure you don’t press the wrong button when hunting in cold climates and you have gloves on.
The LCD panel is backlit with an orange light to help you read the screen when night starts to settle down. It also allows you to set certain volumes for each call, which is a great feature to give you the right level of response without scaring away your prey.
Best Budget E-Call
All of these features are packed into the Patriot, but FoxPro doesn’t insist that you spend a fortune just to get their product. It’s great what they have done in giving hunters a caller that doesn’t cut corners, and can get it for a good price.
Warranty
FoxPro puts a three-year warranty onto the Patriot. This is a good amount of time to field test the caller and know that you’re safe in case anything goes wrong.
Disadvantages
Smaller speaker and Lower volume
While we love the size of the caller, it does require there to be a smaller speaker inside. This means that the volume isn’t capable of reaching levels that a lot of other callers will get to.
Unfortunately, the remote buttons don’t glow at night. This means that you will need to memorize the layout of the keypad if you want to do any level of night hunting without needing to use another light to see the remote.
Not waterproof
The Patriot isn’t fully waterproof, which means you’ll need to look out for it if rain starts coming down in the middle of a hunt. This can quickly end your day just so you avoid ruining your caller.
Hard to add sounds for MAC user
Like we mentioned earlier, the 100 free sounds have to be downloaded via a PC. Mac users are going to have a difficult time getting the sounds they want onto the Patriot unless their neighbor has a PC ready to lend to them.
Foxpro Patriot Alternatives
While the Patriot is an incredible product, it’s lacking in a couple of areas. We recommend checking out the ICOtec GEN2 GC350 or the Foxpro Inferno if you’re wanting to get the extra features that the Patriot left out. These two callers have a lot more features, but do come at a heftier price.
Final Verdict on Foxpro Patriot
All in all, the FoxPro Patriot is a great little caller that would be good for anyone with a tight budget, or if you’re just starting out using a caller. It can often be tough to fork over a fortune to get the best game caller out there. Luckily, FoxPro has developed an alternative that meets in the middle for everyone to get the best of both worlds.