This is topic Les Johnson's Calls in forum Predator forum at The New Huntmastersbbs!.


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Posted by Randy Roede (Member # 1273) on August 06, 2008, 06:38 PM:
 
Met Les at the VHA Jamboree, party afterwards like in TA's post. He gave me three of his calls to try. Have to say they are easy to blow and have excellent range in them. Personally I like the black one the best. Took the little Black one, the Ruffidawg Coaxer, out with me on a couple complaints and got some good puppy whines howls,and good pup distress out of it. Makes excellent distress sounds too, just not what I want to use right now on these deals.

Les sure seems to be a down to earth nice guy, hell I guess he'd have to be if he survived the party that nite!!!!




 

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Posted by Cranky Farmer (Member # 3029) on August 06, 2008, 06:56 PM:
 
Nice shooting! It appears those calls are working mighty fine.
 

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Posted by MULE (Member # 63) on August 06, 2008, 08:23 PM:
 
Les is one of those guys who I would like to meet.

All he has done and he still hasn't got a big head.

Thats rare these days
 

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Posted by Rich Higgins (Member # 3) on August 06, 2008, 10:02 PM:
 
Hey Randy, great calls aren't they.
The black one is our favorite. Les left a couple of each here, including a prototype that seems to have disappeared. If Les gave you just the calls you missed out on the instructional DVD that is packaged with each. They are worth the price of the call alone.
The black one makes the best estrous chirps.
No blonds yet.
 

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Posted by Scott F. (Member # 1961) on August 07, 2008, 04:19 PM:
 

quote:

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Les left a couple of each here, including a prototype that seems to have disappeared.

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Along with a nasty dry bitch in heat howl!!!!

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How many pup distresses have you heard?

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More than enough to realize that that Mark Zepp call is the loudest around plus it has a nice rougher high pitch tone I think sounds great.

[ August 08, 2008, 09:15 PM: Message edited by: Scott F. ]
 

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Posted by Leonard (Member # 2) on August 09, 2008, 09:41 AM:
 
The camo job on that little bugger reminds me of a frog. But, I like it. Seems to be made of cast aluminum? Maybe that's why it is so loud, harmonics, or sumthin'?

Maybe it's just me, but a camo game call or better yet, a camo flashlight, is that a good idea? Even a electronic caller, you could sometimes use a little help locating it under a bush. Be honest, you have been puzzled once or twice, right?

Good hunting. LB
 

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Posted by Scott F. (Member # 1961) on August 09, 2008, 12:57 PM:
 
Most certainly.

Case in point. This morning Rich and I were out calling and I got off my camo 3 legged cheap stool to go look down into a wash after the calling was over and ended up walking right past the stool on the way out and not seeing it and leaving it. I bet a coyote is seated in it right now still carrying the set of camo shooting sticks I lost a year ago and Rich's he left out by the airport in Florence 2 years ago.

Unfortunately I just purchased a nicely camo'd Stoeger 2000 that will be lost in the desert brush within a month or so.
 

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Posted by smithers (Member # 646) on August 09, 2008, 03:32 PM:
 
Do you have a crush on RH?

Are you a name dropper?
Nevermind, I know the answer to that.
 

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Posted by Leonard (Member # 2) on August 09, 2008, 03:37 PM:
 
come on smithers, he's just rehabilitated, why poke him? Besides, Higgins is my bitch.

Good hunting. LB

edit: anybody notice Randy Roade kinda looks like Dennis Hopper's Easy Rider, but in fashionable camo?

[ August 09, 2008, 03:40 PM: Message edited by: Leonard ]
 

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Posted by Scott F. (Member # 1961) on August 09, 2008, 03:54 PM:
 
Leonard, let him play. His comments don't bother me. When his IQ reaches 50, someone on here should tell him to sell.
 

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Posted by smithers (Member # 646) on August 09, 2008, 04:22 PM:
 
Nice third grade toss, Farkus.

Rehab'd. Did he just finish that procedure where they stretch out "little people" and make them long and shit!

Not tall. To you midgets WE THE PEOPLE above 6' ARE CONSIDERED LONG...
 

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Posted by Scott F. (Member # 1961) on August 09, 2008, 04:36 PM:
 
Ah, It's nice to know that even though you're gone a while, everyone stays the exactly the same. Smithers old pal, you have yourself a great Saturday afternoon.
 

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Posted by smithers (Member # 646) on August 09, 2008, 05:07 PM:
 
Absence makes the heart grow fonder.
Welcome back...
Hope the calls work out well for you. All of you lucky buzzards.



Thanks for adding the kissy faces Leonard! Nice touch!

[ August 09, 2008, 05:08 PM: Message edited by: Leonard ]

[ August 10, 2008, 05:15 PM: Message edited by: smithers ]
 

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Posted by Kokopelli (Member # 633) on August 10, 2008, 10:37 PM:
 
I'm sure that Les is a great guy, and he puts out some pretty watchable videos.........but $29 for a Crit-R-Call knock-off??? Seems to be a bit pricey.
 

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Posted by Rich (Member # 112) on August 11, 2008, 07:36 AM:
 
Smithers,
I really like your signature line. Nice to know that someone actually loves us PAKMEN.
 

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Posted by Rich Higgins (Member # 3) on August 11, 2008, 07:51 AM:
 
Kokopelli,
I'm a big fan of Major and his Crit R-Call.
Les's Ruffidawg calls have a distinctly different mouthpiece. A bonus is the DVD that accompanies every call. Three different DVDS that are specific to the call. Very entertaining and good instruction.
Everything is first class including the very expensive packaging. $29 has to be a rock bottom price.
 

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Posted by Kokopelli (Member # 633) on August 11, 2008, 09:55 AM:
 
Well, hell..........now I'm going to have to pick one up & try it.
 

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Posted by coyote whacker (Member # 639) on August 11, 2008, 11:05 AM:
 
You buy the 30.00 call to call coyotes and his setup on this stand is the nice packaging to call the coyote caller! Works every time LOL!
 

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Posted by Kokopelli (Member # 633) on August 11, 2008, 02:09 PM:
 
LOL!!! Yeah, & I need another call like Custer needed another 1ndian, but what the hell......
 

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Posted by TA17Rem (Member # 794) on August 12, 2008, 01:04 PM:
 
Les does have some good calls and i think there worth 30.00.. The coyotes seem to like them as well..
 

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Posted by coyote whacker (Member # 639) on August 12, 2008, 03:11 PM:
 
I'm wondering who is manufacturing them?

I think 30.00 for plastic is a right bit good, I have no doubt they make some fine rabbit blues but then again so do many others like the critter call, he took some good advice from Major when building these calls, he outlined what makes a good call in his demo's.

[ August 12, 2008, 03:17 PM: Message edited by: coyote whacker ]
 

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Posted by Semp (Member # 3074) on August 13, 2008, 03:57 PM:
 
I met Les for the first time at the NRA Annual convention in Louisville in May.

Seems like a real nice guy. But he's sooo easy to embarass. I told the guy with me when we walked up to the booth. "Hey, that's Les Johnson! One of them Coyote Huntin' Gods!" Les's face turned beet red and grinned like a possum eatin' chit. We all had a good laugh.

[ August 13, 2008, 03:58 PM: Message edited by: Semp ]
 

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Posted by RedRabbit (Member # 796) on October 03, 2008, 01:03 PM:
 
What makes this call stand out amongst other tried and true howlers other than the price? I mean I can see a cow horn howler going for that. I think that price could of been a little more reasonable.

Is coyote hunting going to the big spenders?

its a piece of molded plastic with a reed for God sake!

Does it make just the right pitch in sound that sends "call shy coyotes" into a come to me frenzy?

Dont get me wrong I like the guy he's very informative in his Quest video and is a contend er. I just feel that price is a pretty good gouge.

RR
 

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Posted by Krustyklimber (Member # 72) on October 03, 2008, 07:15 PM:
 
Red Rabbit,

If you read back through this thread, you might see where Leonard stated he thought this call was made from aluminum... and (possibly) cast aluminum at that.

If that is the case, there's a lot more to manufacturing one, than there is molding plastic.

And, if you do read back through, you might also find that these calls are sold with an instructional DVD, at one of Les' seminars... $15 each, at that point, seems plenty reasonable (and way too cheap in my book).

"Is coyote hunting going to the big spenders?"

No... it's been gone, that way, for a long long time.

Let's look at all the other "spending" involved...
How many of you have a cheap Stevens, a Handi-rifle, or some other bottom of the line firearm?
How many of you drive old crappy trucks?
And how many of you don't hunt because of the price of fuel?

I find it really hard to listen to, guys with big ass trucks (with a full tank, or two), with a $1000 AR-15, a $500 Foxpro, hundreds of dollars in camo, and a plane ticket to Arizona every year, bitch about the price of calls.

Now I'm not saying you are one of "those guys", but this crap gets old. (sigh)

Producing calls, whether by hand or mechanically, and selling them, takes a lot more than the actual manufacturing process.
Just like any other business is a lot more than just the job that gets done.

There's a reason you buy a Stevens at Wal*Mart, and you go to a different place, and pay more, for a Savage...

Without seeing (test driving) one, or knowing Les (which I don't), I'd guess his calls are in the Savage class.

Krusty
 

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Posted by RedRabbit (Member # 796) on October 04, 2008, 06:28 AM:
 
Krusty,

Ok, I believe your confused with Mark Zepp and Les Johnson. Yes Zepp's calls are made out of aluminum and the price is probably right maybe a little low, since how one of them is made with what looks like 3 JC reeds inside the barrel had to be some machining to get the reeds stacked that close...For $15 at the seminar thats not a bad deal.

Ok, back to the topic Les's calls are $29.95 for one and for all three its 89.95 not including tax thats steep when you compare other calls across the rack...

Custom calls are a different animal when you consider the thought that goes in to them then the blood, sweat and tears that go into making them. OK! maybe not tears, but I think you can relate.

Kirby Taylor helped him design the call I dont know who this guy is.

Ill probably end up with all three calls, but right now Im saying ouch! befor the fact.
 

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Posted by coyote whacker (Member # 639) on October 04, 2008, 07:27 AM:
 
Krusty yes your are confusing calls, Les's calls are made from what looks like acrylic plastic, albeit more money than other plastics, some of the top end duck calls are made from the same, but who is going to pay 125.00 for a duck call to go smashing through the swamps with? These are competition calls, hardly any get used in the hunting fields.

I would agree 89.95 for 3 calls that all give various forms of distress sounds and some puppy vocals seems a little high even with the 1.10 cost of the mini DVD. Each to his own those that want to drop 30.00 on a rabbitt squaller great others won't though, just the facts! At 16.00-18.00 I'm betting the retail sales would be much higher just a guess.

Each to his own, but many have other good mouth calls that are far cheaper, I have some alum body calls that cost 15.00 and these come with a lifetime guarantee.
 

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Posted by Scott F. (Member # 1961) on October 04, 2008, 11:39 AM:
 
I've hunted with Les and have seen him work his own calls out in the field and I was impressed. Remember, his calls come with an instructional DVD also. The retail packaging presentation is also top-notch. All that costs money.

If you can't afford the more pricey calls on the market then stick with the cheaper ones. Your grumbling about it here wont change their prices on the shelf.
 

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Posted by Krustyklimber (Member # 72) on October 04, 2008, 11:50 AM:
 
Okay, so I was confused and combined elements of two guys' work... I still find it hard to listen to guys bitch about call prices.

Hunting is a luxury, for most, it's not something very many people do on a shoestring budget, or out of necessity, no matter what animal they hunt.

Hand calls, are (IMO), compared to most of the other "tools" used, woefully under-priced, and just as often under-valued (monetarily, and in practicality).

Krusty
 

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Posted by RedRabbit (Member # 796) on October 04, 2008, 03:35 PM:
 
yeah! Im certainly not one that has alot of money to throw around and just like everything I do, I try to make my hunting as cheap as possible thats why I try my hand at call making from time to time using horns, antlers etc. they'er not works of art but they work.

Im not bitching, but I dont hold back my criticism, but thats just the way I am. I dont feel his calls fit in the custom call class, price range.

His calls are probably great I can clearly see he, or they nailed the angle of the mouth piece and the width and depth of the air channel.

Thats why I want to know who this "Kirby Taylor" is, since he helped him design the calls.

Red
 

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Posted by Krustyklimber (Member # 72) on October 05, 2008, 12:05 AM:
 
"Now I'm not saying you are one of "those guys", but this crap gets old. (sigh)

I'd rather give calls away... than to be screwed out of them, for $30.

"Without seeing (test driving) one, or knowing Les (which I don't), I'd guess his calls are in the Savage class."

There's an eclectic new class of calls, the production custom.
Some, like Les', are commanding a significant price.
With others, competition has spurred a price war of sorts, and they are selling for the $15 you guys want to pay.

Just like the Stevens Savage analogy, you can (usually) find a tool that will do the job, in your price range... but you also (usually) get what you pay for.

Krusty
 

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Posted by Randy Roede (Member # 1273) on October 05, 2008, 08:15 AM:
 
Yes there are cheaper calls out there, yes they will call coyotes, yes there are more expensive calls out there and they will call coyotes, visit with a call maker about the cost of making a call they do invest alot of money on the cost of the call and the hope that it will return a profit. It's not always a money making deal or amount of money some assume.

The amount of time they donate to promote at seminars and answer those same old questions over and over. I don't know if a person could make enough $$$ to make it worthwile. The hunting, editing ,traveling, etc. It all figures into it. Let alone being worth a dam as a caller to kill stuff. I know he loves what he is doing but it's not all sunshine and roses. He's got to have a ton of his own cash invested in this deal to go along with the sponsors cash which only comes around after you have sold yourself to them.

How do they say that,"DON'T HATE THE PLAYER, HATE THE GAME"

"PEACE OUT, WORD"!!!!!!!!!!
 

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Posted by UTcaller (Member # 8) on October 05, 2008, 09:03 AM:
 
I know that Les has killed a hell of a lot of coyotes in his life.Won a ton of contests too.And I'll bet that if you ask him which call he was using to kill most of those coyotes he would say it was with one of those "cheap" calls(Crit'r calls $10.00).I know that Q Wagoner has killed a $&%* load of coyotes in his day to,again with a "cheap" ol Crit'r call,and I could probably list another dozen or so guys that have done the same with a "cheap" ol Critr call.

I'm not saying Les' prices are to high or even if they are not high enough I really couldn't say,never seen or heard them.But I do know that the "cheap" $10.00 calls that he used before he went out on his own are tough and very effective calls and have accounted for alot of coyotes.So it is possible to save some cash and still kill alot of coyotes.FWIW

Good Hunting Chad

[ October 05, 2008, 09:04 AM: Message edited by: UTcaller ]
 

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Posted by Leonard (Member # 2) on October 05, 2008, 11:00 AM:
 
Les has killed a few coyotes with a critter call, but that doesn't mean he has no opinion on how it could be improved, or made easier to use, at least for him. You know, Toyota didn't invent the automobile, nor did Henry Ford. You take an idea and create a different version, if not, (arguably) an improvement.

If the intermediate people involved in concept to reality need a cut of the action, that's not my concern. The market place will determine if Les has a worthwhile product at a fair price.

I will say this much. I wish I had kept the first "portable" electronic caller I designed and built many decades ago. It was a Motorola 8 track player with 4" (stereo) speakers in the sides, and I lugged a separate (non spill) aircraft battery for power, which also powered a spotlight. Yeah, the whole rig probably weighed over fifteen pounds, no remote, of course, but this was way before Dillon ever thought of game calls, it was when the only thing available was a 45 record player.

Now, who's the one that capitalized on a concept, and who was too dense to see an opportunity? Me? I had no desire to share my creation with anybody. I thought it gave me an edge. Brilliant. Might have gained a belt buckle along the way. Whoopie!

So, whoever can make a living from these things, I suppose I should be a bit jealous and envious, but that was never my goal, to make money from my passion and hobby. We all have a few regrets, missed opportunities, etc.

There are people that deserve reward and a few that are decidedly "undeserving". In my opinion, (not that anybody asked me) I'd put Byron in the undeserving catagory and Les in the deserving catagory.

Hell, if Ed Sceery can afford airplanes and Canadian fishing trips by selling rabbit calls, why not Les Johnson? Ed has a degree in somethng or other, but how many contests has he won? Ya know, when the rubber meets the road?

Good hunting. LB

edit: I threw away the case, but I still have components around here somewhere? Let me see what I can find.

[ October 05, 2008, 11:05 AM: Message edited by: Leonard ]
 

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Posted by RedRabbit (Member # 796) on October 05, 2008, 08:47 PM:
 
Yeah, I here ya there Leonard like bottled water who woulda thought, and then I see your mixed urine idea put it in a pressured can, now bottle. I believe you have one hell of a think tank here even though thats not what its all about....If I were to do research on predator hunting this is where Id start first. You really got some front line ppl here....and certainly my hats off to Les he's come a long ways good to see he did put out some calls.

Randy Roede, I used to work with a guy with the same name only his last name has an "s" at the end. It threw me for a curve at first when seen your name on the board definately not the same guy.

I hope your wrong about the "not all shunshine and roses" part. I hope Les benefits the most from his success and his new calls and elevates this sport as a result.

Some ppl use lip pressure and some use both lip and teeth in combination, as I do the latter when I use a howler, since my teeth are worn down flat to some extent on my upper central incisors its an aid to using a howler atleast thats the way it feels for me. To me it comes easy, but some calls by design have inherent features that lend them selves easy to use and Les's looks like it has those features. I hope you can give us some more feed back espeially when you howl in some coyotes with that call id like to here about it. Oh! Thanks for posting those pics...damm good job!

Chad, that critr call is a damm good call for the money its hard for me to open a stand with anything else. I just let it rip with the pee-wee and just wait and here they come then clasp my hand over the exit slide out at the end of the reed for some low level volume squeeks when they go out of sight for a bit.....Works like a charm.

[ October 05, 2008, 08:50 PM: Message edited by: RedRabbit ]
 

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