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LR Active U Caller

LR Active U Caller

Over the years I've perfected (or that's what I'd like to think) my fox calling 'squeak'. I first started by calling foxes into range after I'd finished a rabbiting session with my air rifle. I didn't shoot them of course, as an air rifle is obviously not up to the job, but it was fun doing it, and good practice. My technique involves puckering up on my hand, and making a sort of shrieking sound, mimicking a wounded rabbit. It's pretty effective, but can be a bit of a pain in the mouth, and I've obviously got to keep one hand close to my face. Since being sent the highly versatile U Caller by LR Active Ltd, the Fieldsports and country pursuits company from Ireland, snogging my hand is a thing of the past…

Calling All Critters

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The device isn't much bigger than a television remote control, being 5 1/2" high, 2 3/4" wide and 1" thick, and is made from sturdy black plastic. Power comes from four AA batteries in a compartment in the back, and the ready to go the weight is 8 ounces. The inbuilt speaker is at the top of the unit, and there's a belt clip on the back. A removable sound card fits in an aperture on the left, and once in place, it can be seen through the window in the front. Each card contains four separate recordings, which imitate animals in distress, calling for a mate, etc. The front of the unit has four squares printed on it, saying C1, C2, C3 and C4, and they relate to the sounds on the card. Noise level can be controlled by simply pressing the 'volume up' or 'volume down' pads. The sounds on the cards are incredibly realistic, of the two supplied one has a dog fox, a vixen, a rabbit and a hare; the other has crow, magpie, teal and widgeon.

Using the caller couldn't be simpler, you just press the ON/OFF button to turn it on, then the numbered pad relating to the sound you require. If the unit's inbuilt speaker isn't quite loud enough, an auxiliary unit can be plugged into the jack plug on the right hand side. Using this accessory, I've called foxes in from over 200 yards away, but the best result has to be when I was trying it out on crows. I wasn't shooting the crows you understand, as using an electronic device to attract birds in order to shoot them is illegal, but for observing them they're ideal. I set up in a concealed position, near a large ash tree, that at the time was not in leaf. The cawing sound was quite deafening in my hide, but it certainly did the trick, and crows were soon coming in from nearly 300 yards away! I could see them up in bare trees, and when I turned the speaker in their direction, they soon came to investigate. Not all the ash tree was visible from where I was hiding, but when I eventually came out, there were over 30 crows in it! I didn't have a camera on me I'm afraid, which is a real shame, as I'm sure people will find it hard to believe, so you'll just have to take my word for it.

Conclusion

The U Caller definitely gets the thumbs up from me, as it's compact, simple to use and very effective. The game caller is £74.79 and the external speaker is £30.59. A range of sound cards are available at £23.79, which make the device extremely versatile.

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