Cass Creek Nomad Predator Call Review

I’m an avid hunter. That means I’ve used my fair share of game calls. Mostly coyote calls, since I live in the Midwest. But I’ll be honest – lately, I haven’t been too impressed with a lot of those bulky, premium-priced models out there.

There are a few I like and recommend, but most are just cumbersome to carry, program and use. Not to mention that they’re often outrageously priced. Hence why I am writing this Cass Creek Nomad Predator Call Review.
When I stumbled across the Cass Creek Nomad Predator Call, I was looking for a portable, compact call I could stuff into a backpack. One that wasn’t too pricey, but still did the job. I hadn’t heard of Cass Creek before, but the company from Michigan has been around for a while now from the looks of it.

I’ll be honest, just looking at this call, it didn’t look like much to me. But, it was a bargain, so I thought “why not?”

I’ll say this – I’m glad I took a chance with this call because it’s a blast to use. I didn’t know what to expect when I bought it, but I definitely didn’t expect it to work as well as it does, given the price.

I’d like to go into what I like about this call and a few of its features.

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Key features

Works at long distances

One of the most important parts of any electronic call is the distance I can use it at. After all, I can’t just plop down right next to it, rifle ready, and expect a coyote to waltz in.

In this category, the Cass Creek Nomad Predator Call more than satisfies. To be clear, it can’t match the range of the pricier calls on the market. But, it still works over a fairly impressive distance. I’ve found the remote control will work with the stock speaker up to 50 yards away. However, I can set up more than one receiver in series, which will boost the range to 100 yards or more.

Traveling (“moving”) sound

One of the things I was very excited to try when I bought the Cass Creek Nomad Predator Call was its “traveling” (or “moving”) sound feature. It looks like Cass Creek has figured out that game reacts better to “moving” calls. The reason for that is that it’s just more realistic. Rabbits, coyotes, and deer are always on the move, after all.

Honestly, I didn’t expect a budget game call to have a feature like that in the first place. That’s usually reserved for the pricier calls, the ones in the $300 to $400 range. I have to applaud Cass Creek for including that.

A variety of high-quality call sounds out of the box

While, admittedly, the Cass Creek Nomad Predator Call doesn’t have a large selection of call sounds, the ones it has are pretty much the only ones I need for coyote hunting. And, luckily, they’re also very good call sounds. I read that they were recorded by world-famous naturalists and while I’m not sure about that part, I can tell you they’re good.

Personally, I’d rather have a few high-quality call sounds than a few dozen bad, ineffective ones. Thankfully, not only are the included call sounds good, the Nomad Predator Call’s loud stock speaker really helps get them across long distances. I’ll go over the included call sounds quickly, but you can read more about them on Cass Creek’s website:

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• There’s a jackrabbit call, which I’ve personally found works best for coyotes
• A howl, great for attracting male coyotes
• A pup yip, great for mother coyotes
• Cottontail rabbit.
• Lastly, a standard fawn distress

Again, that’s a very limited selection of call sounds, and I’ll be sure to note that later on. But, they work, which is the most important part.

Pros

One of the simplest and easiest to use electronic predator calls

Simplicity isn’t always a good thing. I’ve found that with budget calls like this one, “simplicity” usually means a lack of features. Thankfully, that’s not the case with the Cass Creek Nomad Predator Call. It may not be as fancy or as programmable as those $400 calls you see on Amazon, but that’s why it’s ready to use out of the box.

Maybe that’s not as important to the young hunters out there who like to tinker and are more computer-savvy than me. But, personally, I like that I instantly knew how to use this call.

And that’s not the only part I like. The stock speaker that’s included weighs about 12 oz, while the remote is a feather-light 3 oz, or maybe even less. The bulky calls you see with built-in speakers are nice, but they can get a little tiresome to carry around, especially on long trips. The remote control is tiny but ergonomic. And, as a bonus, you can strap it to your belt, in case you’re laying down.

Great audio quality

I mentioned the Cass Creek Nomad Predator Call’s great audio quality above. And I’ll be honest, with how this call looks and its price tag, I wasn’t expecting much. I thought the audio quality would reflect the price tag. That’s how most things are, after all. I’m sure you’ve heard the old saying before, “you get what you pay for”.

But, much to my delight, the Nomad Predator Call surprised me with its robust, hi-def audio. I mentioned that the call sounds were good, but the best call sounds in the world won’t sound good through a poor speaker. Thankfully, Cass Creek struck a balance here.

And not only is the audio crystal clear, but the stock speaker is surprisingly loud for a unit that’s as compact as this one. Maybe if I were out hunting in open grasslands, I’d want a more powerful, external speaker. But I’ve found the stock speaker projects well up to about 200 yards.

Portable and compact

One of the parts I like most about the Cass Creek Nomad Predator Call is just how light, compact and portable it is. I can clip it onto my belt, carry it in a backpack of any size, put it in the back of my car, and carry it just about anywhere.

It won’t weigh me down on long trips, like a lot of the bulkier (and pricier) calls do.

Good variety of call sounds included

Again, one of the flaws of the Cass Creek Nomad Predator Call is its limited selection of call sounds. But, to be honest, I have all of the call sounds I need for hunting coyotes on it.

The call I use the most, by far, is the jackrabbit call. It just works most of the time. That’s not to say the other call sounds aren’t any good, or that I don’t ever use them. The one I use the least is probably the fawn distress, but how well that works depends on where you hunt, of course.

I’ll say, the high-quality call sounds and the Nomad Predator Call’s “moving” sound feature really work well together. So far, I’ve had more success with this call than I’ve had with other pricier and bulkier calls.

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Cons

A limited collection of call sounds to choose from

If I had to pick one thing that’s my biggest gripe with the Cass Creek Nomad Predator Call, it’s the very limited selection of call sounds out of the box.

So far, the ones included have worked great for me, but that’s not really an excuse to only give us five sounds to choose from. It’s hard to ignore the stunningly small number of call sounds Cass Creek ships this call with, when other calls come with a few dozen at least.

It’s true I’d take five good call sounds over a few dozen bad ones, but why not just throw in a few more? Hopefully, Cass Creek will do that next time.

Build quality could be better

Sadly, a low price tag usually means a product made of low-grade materials. The Nomad Predator Call is no exception. That’s not to say it feels like it could fall apart at any moment, but it looks and feels a little cheap.

Then again, it is cheap. That’s just a compromise I chose to make when I bought this call. Yes, there are game calls out there made of hi-grade materials and with truly stunning construction. But, they likely cost a few hundred dollars more than the Nomad Predator Call. Is it worth it? Maybe, but it isn’t for me.

No Expandability

Lastly, I’m annoyed that Cass Creek chose not to include an SD or a micro SD card slot in the Nomad Predator Call. For all intents and purposes, that would have fixed my biggest gripe with this call, which is the small number of call sounds.

It’s true, memory cards can be lost, and they can break in the field. But I’d still like to be able to use one if I wanted to. Maybe it’s just another compromise for the price tag, but it’s a feature Cass Creek could have easily included. Hopefully, they’ll do so next time around.

Why buy the Nomad Predator Call?

As far as compact, portable and bargain-priced predator calls go, I doubt you will find a better one than the Cass Creek Nomad Predator Call. It may not be much of a looker, but it works. If you’re an avid coyote hunter like me, the Nomad Predator Call will do the job better than a lot of the pricier calls out there.

The one thing that holds it back is its very limited selection of call sounds. I’m not sure why Cass Creek didn’t include a few more, or at least a memory card slot. If they had, this call would have been a dream come true. But, sadly, I’m stuck with the five call sounds that come on it.

They’re not bad call sounds. In fact, they’re great. But, when other calls have a few dozen to a hundred call sounds out of the box, it’s hard to ignore.

However, if you can get past that, then I definitely recommend the Cass Creek Nomad Predator Call.

Final thoughts

There isn’t a lot I can say except that the Nomad Predator Call surprised me with how good it is. That’s a lesson in not judging a book by its cover if I ever saw one.

I hope Cass Creek includes a memory card slot and a few extra call sounds in the next version of this call. I’ll gladly pay a few dollars extra for that.