The Primos Hoochie Mama produces a very realistic Elk “mew” that all bulls love to hear. Using only one hand, this Cow Elk call is very simple and easy to use by pushing the bellow with your thumb. The HM can create mew, lost and estrus sounds by twisting the call. Primos also made an Elk Calf call called the Baby Hoochie, which is based on the same design as the HM. The BH is smaller and has only 2 sounds, mew and lost. Both are effective and can be purchased together for around 50 bucks.
However, there are a few issues about these calls that I do need to address. Both the Hoochie Mama and Baby Hoochie sound awful if dirty and require tools to loosen screws for cleaning. Cleaning the HM in the bush would suck and if a screw was lost, the call is considered useless. Also to mention every time bellow is squeezed both calls produce the exact same sound, at the exact same pitch. This teaches the elk about the sounds they are hearing and relate them to death. A Cow call should have the ability to vary the pitch of the sound to be more lifelike, where the HM and BH cannot.
Here’s an example. A hockey player shoots a puck on net at the same spot every time. The goalie may get scored on the first couple shots, but then will realize where the player is shooting and adjust to make the save afterward. Unless the goalie is Roberto Luongo, the hockey player needs to change his shot placement in order to score another goal. Sorry Nuck’s fans, please don’t burn this review to the ground.
Even with their faults both calls work quite well, as long as they are used in an area where they haven’t been used before. I did happen to find these calls work well for predator hunting. Using lost sounds on both the HM and BH attracts Coyotes and (if legal to hunt in your area) Wolves, looking for a big meal.
