Every time you head out hunting, you’re sure to have a load of different tools and equipment that comes along with you. We understand the need for these because every tool for the hunt has the chance to bring in impressive results, or let you down and leave you going home empty-handed. Our FOXPRO HammerJack Review is going to go into why this electronic caller helps increase your chances of success while out there hunting.
Coyotes are known to be cunning and clever back in native myth and folklore. They get this reputation for a reason, and it’s the FOXPRO HammerJack that helps to trick them and lure them in. It does all the calling and allows you to focus on catching your prey. While an old fox whistle can be effective, technology has come a long way to make everything more efficient, higher quality, and easier to use.
Overview of the FOXPRO HammerJack 2
The FOXPRO HammerJack is the top of the line when talking about electronic callers that work. The FOXPRO HammerJack has dual-amplified speakers that allow for higher levels of volume, with the option of connecting external speakers for even more power.
At only three pounds, the FOXPRO HammerJack doesn’t add a tremendous amount of weight to your gear system. It’s incredibly lightweight and easy to move around with you and set up quickly.
FOXPRO has a great reputation for making remarkably well-made and functional products that contribute to your hunting experience. If you’re even considering an electronic caller, the HammerJack is the one, and we’re about to dive into why that is.
Key Features
FOXCAST
FOXCAST is a remarkable feature that allows you to personalize the HammerJack and program the calls in the exact sequence that you desire. FOXCAST lets you fine-tune the volume of each specific call, and has options for pauses between calls. When you’re looking down the sight, a reliable sequence of calls that you don’t need to touch is going to let you remain focused on the target.
Pre-set sequences are made with assumptions that the manufacturer knows what the hunter is after, and where they are hunting. With FOXCAST, you can put your experience into play and program the HammerJack into something that works for the land and animals that you know.
FOXBANG
With FOXBANG, you can program reactions to the sound of your rifle going off. With the explosion of the weapon, a decoy, muted period, or other preset sounds will be triggered.
It takes a little bit to get the hang of, but once you have it it can be incredibly beneficial to give the simulated reaction of your target.
Remote Control
The remote for the HammerJack is made to be easy to use and understand with a simple layout that feels natural. There are a lot of buttons available to you such as two preset buttons, mute, and your volume control.
The LCD panel has a red light that makes it easy to read. The red light helps to make it easy to see even when you’re in the sunlight, where a lot of electronic screens come up short. The brightness is incredibly adjustable and will work for you in that sunlight or into the dark of night.
The remote has an operating distance of about 200 yards from the HammerJack. This will allow you to keep a solid distance from the noise so you aren’t scented while your target approaches.
One of the great features of this remote is the incorporated timer. It helped you keep track of how long you’re out there hunting to log your hours or remind you to get home on time.
Speakers
The speakers of the HammerJack are one of the best reasons to spend the money and get this electronic coyote caller over others. There is a pure and robust quality to the sound that is hard to find elsewhere.
Animal calls coming from speakers can often be easily spotted by your prey and won’t work very effectively. The clarity of these speakers makes the sound produced become as realistic as if the coyote or fox was sitting there with you.
The front speaker is where you will get high frequency sounds like a coyote while the back puts out low frequency calls like a bear, owl, or mountain lion. This lets the speakers specialize in frequency ranges and gives the best possible quality sound.
Sound library
The sound library on the HammerJack has space for 300 different calls and comes pre-loaded with 100 sounds. FOXPRO also has 111 free sounds that you can easily download when you want them.
The pre-loaded sounds range from coyote distress calls to a red fox rally. With the downloaded sounds you can add the sounds of buck fighting and coyote sirens to your repertoire.
Lightweight
When you’re moving around the bush and trying not to make a sound, you don’t want to haul a heavyweight speaker system along with you. The HammerJack weighs a mere 3 pounds, meaning it’s easy to move and pack along with you for your trip.
A lot of other electronic callers are going to add a lot more weight to your pack. Going with FOXPRO means you bring along less weight and more portability.
Decoy
The Fuzzy Wuzzy topper is a surprisingly high-quality decoy that comes along with the HammerJack. It has a high level of resemblance to a rodent along with its realistic movement. This adds to the likelihood of bringing more game your way.
Warranty & Customer Support
FOXPRO makes quality products, and they know it. They have an outstanding three-year limited warranty that has been known to cover damages not even included in the fine print. They strive to have the top customer support in the industry and it shows.
Three years to make sure this is the right electronic caller for you should be more than enough time to know that it is.
Disadvantages
While the FOXPRO HammerJack is outstanding in so many aspects, there are a few minor disadvantages to choosing this product.
Batteries
With the 11 AA batteries, FOXPRO claims that you can run the HammerJack for 3-7 hours of continual use. It’s highly recommended that you purchase NiMH rechargeable batteries to get a better battery life, but these aren’t included and will add to the cost.
11 AA batteries is a lot. This is a cost that can quickly become high and not worth it. This is a huge drawback because a quality product should have a much longer battery life, especially with the quality of battery technology today.
Not Waterproof
The rain doesn’t stop the most passionate and dedicated hunters from going out, so it shouldn’t stop the gear from working either. Unfortunately, the HammerJack isn’t waterproof and should probably stay at home on those rainy days.
This is one of the biggest areas of improvement for the HammerJack so it never had to sit out on any hunt.
While the screen has a red light that helps visibility, the buttons don’t glow. This makes it difficult to know how you are controlling the caller when out in the night or hiding under the brush. You need to memorize the positioning of the buttons or bring along a small light to get a better operation from this remote.
Insufficient volume
Some hunters feel that the HammerJack doesn’t provide enough volume. The speakers are high quality and produce a fantastic sound, but there is a level of volume that some people are after that this caller can’t give.
There is, fortunately, the option to connect two additional external speakers. While we think the HammerJack is enough for most cases, there may be times when you want the additional volume.
Alternatives
One alternative to the FOXPRO HammerJack that we still find to be of great value is the ICOtec Sabre Programmable Predator Call. It has a longer range, a 5-year backing guarantee, and comes with 280 pre-loaded sounds so you don’t have to do the work of getting more.
It’s got some of the features that the HammerJack has, and has some of the ones that it is also lacking. The buttons on the remote glow to help you have a more successful night hunt as well. This one is well worth looking into if the HammerJack doesn’t seem to be the fit for your needs.
Final Verdict on Foxpro HammerJack 2
We couldn’t recommend the FOXPRO HammerJack more. It brings a huge range of sounds, customization, and high speaker quality to the hunt. With these qualities and all the other features mentioned in our FOXPRO HammerJack 2 review, you can boost your hunting game to an entirely new level.