I bought The Patriot from Wapiti River and received it a couple of weeks ago. I wanted to provide a review for this new elk call. I have no business relationship with Wapiti River thus this is my honest feedback. I have owned over 10 different calls in my life from about 6-8 different manufacturers. I am not a pro by any measure, but have called in bulls consistently the last couple of years with my (humorous?) attempts at calling. Enough to know bulls believe what I am selling.
I have went through about 12-15 practice sessions with it so far, so I cannot comment on durability.
First, I feel the very first call in a sequence is critical. if you need 2 or 3 squeaks before you make the elk sound you want it is most likely too late. The very first sound out of The Patriot was perfect. At each of the subsequent 4 sessions, the first sound was perfect. To me, that is a hurdle for any call to get over if they want to go hunting with me. Performance was exactly as I intended it right away.
Fit: As a domed reed, this really fits in my mouth perfect. I don't need to move it around and finally get it to sit in exactly the right spot after numerous attempts like some calls. This one goes where it belongs right away. This may vary as palate size differs.
Volume: The volume of air required is right on par with what I would expect. Maybe even a bit lower than average. This is important because if you run out of air, you run out of sound. Nobody wants that bugle cut off early cuz you have to blow too much air through the call.
Pressure: Like volume, too much pressure to get the sound intended is no good. This call functions with no more pressure than any call I have ever used.
Cow/calf talk: getting down to the important stuff now! One of the components of cow sounds that I (and I think a lot of others) struggle with at times is making that raspy older cow sound. This is 1 of 2 areas where I think The Patriot shines above its competition. With little effort and just a little less pressure from the back of my tongue, I can go from a higher, smoother, purer cow sound to more of a raspy cow sound. This works great when trying to emulate a cow/calf pair talking amongst themselves.
Nervous Grunt: The Patriot performed this call perfect. Like with many other calls, this is a fairly easy call to make. I do like you can be a little raspy with this if you so choose very easily.
Bugling: Here is where the rubber meets the road! And also the second area where I think The Patriot really proves itself as the best call I have used. Why? 2 reasons. First that low, guttural scream/growl at the beginning of a bugle and the chuckles at the end of a bugle are just easy and more realistic than any other call I have used. Secondly, I think this call holds that high note better than other calls I have used. Sometimes I struggle at the highest note to keep the exact same pitch/sound. With The Patriot, I seem to be able to keep it consistent easier and longer.
Other: I seem to have a few brown calls-I no longer know which one is which. With the Red/White/Blue coloring, you will always know which call is The Patriot. I will admit that my go to call in the past has been The Reaper by Wapiti River. It is very much like The Reaper, but better. I can give an update down the road, but if this thing doesn't fall apart or lose its sound, this will be my starter in elk country this year.
I have went through about 12-15 practice sessions with it so far, so I cannot comment on durability.
First, I feel the very first call in a sequence is critical. if you need 2 or 3 squeaks before you make the elk sound you want it is most likely too late. The very first sound out of The Patriot was perfect. At each of the subsequent 4 sessions, the first sound was perfect. To me, that is a hurdle for any call to get over if they want to go hunting with me. Performance was exactly as I intended it right away.
Fit: As a domed reed, this really fits in my mouth perfect. I don't need to move it around and finally get it to sit in exactly the right spot after numerous attempts like some calls. This one goes where it belongs right away. This may vary as palate size differs.
Volume: The volume of air required is right on par with what I would expect. Maybe even a bit lower than average. This is important because if you run out of air, you run out of sound. Nobody wants that bugle cut off early cuz you have to blow too much air through the call.
Pressure: Like volume, too much pressure to get the sound intended is no good. This call functions with no more pressure than any call I have ever used.
Cow/calf talk: getting down to the important stuff now! One of the components of cow sounds that I (and I think a lot of others) struggle with at times is making that raspy older cow sound. This is 1 of 2 areas where I think The Patriot shines above its competition. With little effort and just a little less pressure from the back of my tongue, I can go from a higher, smoother, purer cow sound to more of a raspy cow sound. This works great when trying to emulate a cow/calf pair talking amongst themselves.
Nervous Grunt: The Patriot performed this call perfect. Like with many other calls, this is a fairly easy call to make. I do like you can be a little raspy with this if you so choose very easily.
Bugling: Here is where the rubber meets the road! And also the second area where I think The Patriot really proves itself as the best call I have used. Why? 2 reasons. First that low, guttural scream/growl at the beginning of a bugle and the chuckles at the end of a bugle are just easy and more realistic than any other call I have used. Secondly, I think this call holds that high note better than other calls I have used. Sometimes I struggle at the highest note to keep the exact same pitch/sound. With The Patriot, I seem to be able to keep it consistent easier and longer.
Other: I seem to have a few brown calls-I no longer know which one is which. With the Red/White/Blue coloring, you will always know which call is The Patriot. I will admit that my go to call in the past has been The Reaper by Wapiti River. It is very much like The Reaper, but better. I can give an update down the road, but if this thing doesn't fall apart or lose its sound, this will be my starter in elk country this year.
