The Dan Thompson Red Desert Howler, a call which took eight years to perfect.

And if you’re working on perfecting your coyote calling game, you probably don’t want to have to go through the pain of sifting through coyote calls to find the best ones.

No worries, I got you. This review is more in-depth and well written than any other out there. And I went the extra mile to find the lowest prices, which you can find below! After some serious field testing along side other coyote calls, I put to test those eight years of perfection.

Here’s a few things I noticed:

The Dan Thompson Red Desert Howler For Beginners

If you’re starting into the game of coyote hunting, learning how to call can be a long, frustrating experience. The Red Desert Howler can be learned with time, but if you’re going to use it as your first call it will take a little longer to learn than the Primos Hot Dog or Zepp’s Kill Pole calls for example.

Here’s a few thoughts I have for you beginners:

#1: The Howls Can Be Difficult To Master

The Red Desert Howler’s main function is to replicate coyote sounds. Howls, barks, ki-yi, and pup in distress sounds. But it can replicate a far wider range of sounds such as distress calls.

Rabbit distress calls and barks come easy, and finding the right tones is easily done by navigating your way around the reed.

However, the coyote howl has been a little more difficult to manage. It takes some practice to nail the call without it getting raspy as you raise and lower the pitch of it. It seems to have a dead spot in the upper parts of the reed, just like you’d get with the Primos Hot Dog.

#2: It Does Not Have Instructions

Yep. No instructions whatsoever. We found this to be true with the Dan Thompson Weems Replica call as well. There are instructional DVDs which you can buy from the company, but other than that you’re on your own.

Due to this fact, it makes it difficult for beginners to learn and I would suggest starting with another howler, unless you’re ready to watch a lot of Youtube and do lots of playing around with the call.

Small Details About The Dan Thompson Red Desert Howler

Small things make or break a piece of gear. I want to make sure they don’t ruin a piece of gear for you.

Here’s a few small things that bugged me, and a few that I found really nice.

#3: It Doesn’t Come With A Lanyard

The Red Desert Howler does not include a lanyard, which can be a little frustrating. The call is too long to fit comfortably in a pocket without sticking out, and it would be nice to be able to hang it around your neck.

However, the bell does have a small notch carved into it, making it possible to attach a lanyard. You can find lanyards designed for Dan Thompson calls here.

#4: It Does Come With A Pesky Sticker

Just a small detail, but one that got me.

The bell has a Dan Thompson sticker attached to it, which is difficult to remove and leaves a lot of sticky residue on that beautiful wood bell.

#5: It Does Come In Several Colors.

The call’s bell generally comes in a high gloss finish, which looks really nice. However, if you’re not a fan, it does come in several other camouflage finishes. Snow, sagebrush, and even a pink coloration if you’re into that type of stuff.

#6: The Bell Detaches

The Red Desert Howler’s bell detaches, which is a nice feature if you’re going to put the call into a backpack or squeeze it into a pocket. Removing the bell also improves the quality of your distress calls, and can even help imitate the sounds of two different male coyotes.

The Dan Thompson Red Desert Howler’s Practical Side

If you’re not into the pink camouflage, or maybe you’re already an unstoppable coyote killing machine, you might want to know more about the practicality of this call.

It’s a pain when the call doesn’t sound as good as they said it would or last as long as you think it should. Here’s a few of my personal thoughts:

#7: This Call Has A Wide Variety Of Sounds

The Dan Thompson Red Desert Howler’s description claims it is “the most versatile long range call on the market.” Although I don’t find this call to be any more versatile than other open-reed calls, it still has the ability to produce a wide variety of calls.

Jackrabbit and cottontail distress calls, bird distress calls, fawn distress calls, and your typical range of coyote vocalizations are included in its repertoire. Dan Thompson’s site also claims the Red Desert Howler to be capable of ducks calls, elk bugles, and deer grunts (although I seriously doubt the quality of any of those).

#8: It Can Make Loud, Quality Coyote Vocalizations

The Red Desert Howler was designed to imitate male coyotes, and it does a good job of this. The call, although not as good as the Zepp’s Kill Pole, does sound legit. The bell ensure the howls are plenty loud, and I often hear them echo while howling in the mountains.

The barks are nice and crisp, and the other vocalizations sound good after some practice.

The distress calls sound pretty average. About what you’d expect from a versatile open-reed call like this, but if your looking for quality I’d stick with the Mini-Blaster or Dan Thompson Weems Replica calls.

#9: It’s Durable But The Finished Wood Will Scratch

This call seems plenty sturdy. The bell and mouthpiece are solidly constructed, and I can’t foresee either on breaking any time soon.

However the bell will scratch if your scraping it through rocks and brush, and I do worry about breaking the reed while shoving it into a backpack or a pocket. If you do end up needing a replacement, you can find one on their website here.

Concluding Thoughts About The Dan Thompson Red Desert Howler

If you’re looking for a good all-around call, I would suggest the Dan Thompson Red Desert Howler. It can do a lot of different things, and it’s pretty decent at what it does. But if you’re looking for the best coyote howls, the sharpest barks, or the most convincing distress calls, this wouldn’t be my top pick.

I’ll be sure to keep the Red Desert Howler around, but I’ll probably take different calls with me on my next trip.