FOXPRO HammerJack Review: Quality & Features
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Are you looking to trade up your old electronic coyote caller? Or your hunting skills have advanced and you now want to try something new?
The FOXPRO HammerJack is an excellent mid-range FOXPRO predator caller that gives you the tools to customize your hunt and improve your hunting performance. It’s also fun to use, and it does what it’s meant to do.
This is a FOXPRO caller, so of course it has lots of great features as to be expected.
Main features of the HammerJack
- FOXJACK4 Decoy Unit with Fuzzy Wuzzy topper
- FOXCAST and FOXBANG technology
- Programmable caller, with a 300 sound capacity
- Comes with 100 FOXPRO sounds and 111 free sounds loaded and ready to go.
- Dual-amplified horn and cone speakers
- 2 external speaker jacks if extra volume is needed
- Timer to keep track of how long you’ve been calling for.
- FOXPRO customer support which is hard to beat
Let’s break it down a little. If you’re changing from ICOtec or Primos brands, or a lower end FOXPRO caller, some of these features might be unfamiliar.
The FOXJACK 4 is an integrated decoy in the HammerJack predator caller. The integrated decoy is a point of difference in the FOXPRO product line, so it’s worth noting up-front. Like all the FOXPRO decoys, the Fuzzy Wuzzy Decoy Topper is realistic – in this case it looks genuinely rodent-like to predators – and can be programmed into your FOXCAST sequence. Plain useful and simple.
If you’re not familiar with FOXPRO predator callers, you may be asking yourself, what is FOXCAST?
FOXCAST allows you to program a sequence of calls. You choose the sounds from your library, volume of the call and the number of repetitions, and periods of silence. FOXCAST is objectively, brilliant. This is technology far in advance of choosing a couple of favorite sounds and playing them as required or at random. FOXCAST helps you tailor your calling, efficiently. You have ideas about coyote behavior? Test them using FOXCAST. Or just make your life easier by keeping your hands free to take a shot.
Sound Capacity for the HammerJack predator caller is a total of 300 sounds (internal memory is 4GB). The unit comes with 100 premium FOXPRO sounds pre-loaded, plus access to 111 additional free sounds.
Why have such a large library? The HammerJack sound library capacity means you can experiment with FOXCAST, update your library, reject calls that don’t work for you, and use the HammerJack as a versatile predator caller for different seasons and different types of hunting.
So, you have lots of sounds and a FOXCAST program to sequence them. How are they projected? The HammerJack caller has two speakers, a front horn speaker and a rear cone speaker.
The front horn speaker works best for high-frequency distress sounds (rabbits). The rear cone speaker is better for low-frequency calls (bears).
You can use both speakers at once, but you don’t need to. Sound quality is FOXPRO quality – loud and clear. Even with wind or bad weather, the HammerJack will be heard.
Are you seeing a trend? The FOXPRO HammerJack gives you more than you need for an everyday predator caller. Like all FOXPRO callers, it gives you lots of options, topped off with a whole lot of quality.
FOXBANG is distraction technology, it reacts to muzzle blast and activates an assigned function (preset 1-5, toggle mute, toggle decoy). Not gonna lie – it probably won’t stop your original coyote running from a shot. But it will call in other coyotes in proximity. The KIYI and Coyote Pup Distress3 sounds have been proven effective at drawing in coyotes, so we recommend giving these a try.
FOXPRO Customer Support
We love FOXPRO customer support. They answer email. They hang out in forums answering questions. They’re prompt and they’re informative.
The product manuals are comprehensive; so if you buy a product and don’t read the manual – you are missing a whole other asset.
Does FOXPRO customer support mean you should buy the FOXPRO HammerJack over the FOXPRO Banshee or any other model? No. We recommend you buy the product that suits your needs and abilities best.
But FOXPRO customer support is not a bad reason to buy FOXPRO, if you’re in the market for a new predator caller and you’re changing brand.
Key differences between the HammerJack and other FOXPRO models
So you’re trying to figure what you need from a predator caller. The basic electronic predator callers on the market usually have a remote unit and a caller, between 15 and 100 sounds, they have a single speaker, and work at a range of up to 100 yards. Some callers give you a little more, some a little less.
Objectively, the HammerJack gives you an extra level of technology and hunt efficiency. HammerJack has FOXCAST and FOXBANG and an integrated decoy unit; the more basic FOXPRO callers, like the Patriot or Inferno, do not.
The HammerJack is a mid-range FOXPRO predator caller. So there are a few things the HammerJack can not do. You don’t get the full set of FOXPRO features with the HammerJack, such as FOXDATA,FOXMOTION, FOXFUSION or FOXPITCH. And although it won’t make your lunch, it still offers great value for some excellent technology and we do not hesitate to recommend it.
Why Buy The FOXPRO HammerJack?
HammerJack Pros
As with all FOXPRO electronic callers, we find the HammerJack pros don’t need much explaining. If you look at customer reviews on FOXPRO and Amazon, it’s all positive feedback from satisfied hunters. We’ve already provided details of the main features above, but here is a summary of what we see as the main pros of the HammerJack Predator Call:
- Great technology: If FOXCAST does not warm your heart, you might not be breathing.
- The sound library provides a good range of sounds, with excellent sound quality.
- Great range (approximately 200 yards).
- Practical considerations: The HammerJack is a reasonable weight (3.5 lbs) to carry around.
- It’s a well-made (American-made) durable unit, and FOXPRO also provides a 3 year limited warranty for that extra peace of mind.
HammerJack Cons
There are a bunch of criticisms of electronic predator callers that tend to be pretty generic and usually fall under the heading of “Know Your Caller”. You can solve most of the problems experienced by just reading the manual. Without a word of a lie, the FOXPRO people are one step ahead, all the time.
Here are some issues that you might run into with the HammerJack, and some ideas about how to deal with them.
- Batteries and Run Time: The HammerJack (caller and remote, together) require 11 batteries. That’s a lot. According to FOXPRO, the run time is 3-7 hours, which is a substantial range. The reason for such a variation in range? Some people just don’t use their callers efficiently. The answer, learn how to use your e-caller effectively and always plan ahead by carrying extra batteries with you. Use the approved type of batteries (NiMH, 2300 mAh and above). To save on battery power, don’t use both speakers if you don’t need to.FOXPRO, one step ahead, sell a rechargeable battery unit, so you don’t need to be buying batteries every other week.
- The remote and the caller need line of sight. Yep. It’s a radio signal. More than that, you optimize your range when the caller is off the ground (3 feet), and higher than the remote. Nuisance? Not, really. It does mean you should be scouting your stand.
- Remote range is reduced in snow, cold or wet weather. Or the signal may transmit intermittently. Again, this is not strictly a HammerJack issue but a radio signal issue. There’s not a whole lot you can do about this, other than protect the caller unit from the weather.
- FOXBANG can be sensitive. We’ve heard that FOXBANG can be activated by knocking the remote. And we’ve done some research on this issue. If you find FOXBANG is too sensitive, you have at least two fixes. The first is to check your settings to make sure your sensitivity suits your rifle calibre. If FOXBANG still activates when you don’t want it to, then harness your remote where it can’t be knocked (bino harness, thigh strap, or someplace else). It’s worth taking a look at the FOXPRO lanyard if you’re concerned about FOXBANG activation.
- For night hunting, the remote buttons don’t glow. Best thing is to practice using your remote beforehand and get familiar with the button locations.
- No thread to attach a tripod if you want to get your caller up off the ground to either protect it from the elements, improve sound projection or increase remote range.
- Insufficient volume. The HammerJack has two speakers which usually does the job for most large areas. If you find that you need more sound, the HammerJack has two speaker jacks, so you can hook up external speakers for more volume. Easy fix.
Decoy
FOXJACK decoys look authentic and works to distract a coyote, like it should. Ultimately, you’re going to want a decoy, at some point.
What you use as a decoy should depend on the preferences of your target, and maybe the weather conditions. What appeals to a coyote? Well, they eat just about anything, so a decoy that resembles food-prey is a good option.
You can just tie a couple of turkey feathers to a wire and hang it in a tree, but you can’t program those feathers into your FOXCAST to make them dance when it counts.
FOXPRO Accessories
If you are considering a FOXPRO electronic caller, you might also be interested in some of the accessories available that will help make your overall hunting experience much more enjoyable.
- FOXPRO Lanyard and Carry Sling will give you the option to keep your hands free.
- A range of battery charging kits, including a FOXPRO Fast Car charger kit so you never run out of power mid hunt.
- For increased sound, a range of external speakers are available that fit 3.5mm speaker jacks.
- To keep your caller protected from the elements, reduce possible damage to it while transporting it, and just to keep everything a bit more organised, you might want to consider the FOXPRO carry case.
Verdict on the FOXPRO HammerJack
For us, the two key features of the HammerJack that make it a winner are the FOXJACK 4 decoy with FOXCAST technology. FOXPRO is an excellent producer of digital game callers, so you straight up know you can trust the brand.
If you have decided on FOXPRO, your next two big decisions are your price point and the features you just can’t live without. At this price point, FOXCAST is the goods for us.
If we could get FOXDATA at this price point, life would be about perfect. Failing that, an integrated decoy that works in your FOXCAST is plenty to be happy with and will make for a very satisfied hunter.