In my introduction to the Convergent Bullet HP at the 2018 Dallas Safari Club, I was skeptical, very skeptical. The hunting world is full of gimmicks, gadgets and gizmos. As for videos all over YouTube showing people calling in cats and dogs with an electronic call, sure, but calling in hogs? Surely hogwash, right? As an avid hog hunter, of course I wanted to be excited about the Convergent Bullet for calling in hogs. But could it really work? “Probably not,” I thought, and the idea of using it quickly vanished.
Starting in late 2018, Convergent Hunting came back into my life via social media and I pestered Jonathan about getting the Bullet call for a review. With a hunt coming up in May, the pestering kicked into high gear and my persistence paid off because Jonathan sent me a text saying, “Convergent on the way to your house.”
Unboxing the Convergent Bullet HP
When the package arrived, I couldn’t wait to open the Bullet HP Complete Bluetooth Game Calling System. Convergent included not only the Bullet HP but also a water resistant, Realtree Max-1 carry bag and their phone mount for a picatinny rail (which I had previously purchased in my first encounter with them back at the DSC in 2018). As I pulled the Bullet out of the box, my 8 year old said, “It looks like a bullet.” She was right, it resembles a big, overgrown .45 ACP round.
“So how does this thing work?” I wondered. The bullet has no visible speakers, holes or plugs. I grabbed the top of the bullet and twisted it counter clockwise a fraction of a turn, pulled this top portion up 6 inches (giving it a total height of 16 inches), and twisted back to lock it in place. Once I did that I saw that the power button, Bluetooth button and charging port. I also discovered a compartment that housed the decoy that sits on the top of the call (and acts as a tail, I guess) and the ground spike that screws into the bottom of the call to help it stay where you put it.
Super Portable and nicely designed! The Bullet call here with an LWRCI gun and Pulsar XP50 LRF thermal scope. It all proved a winning combination!
After downloading the free “Predator Pro” app from the App Store, I was disappointed with the 10 calls that I saw on my phone not realizing that if you scroll down you’ll find another 40 more. Some of these calls were cottontails, coyote, bobcat, jackrabbit, red and grey fox, fawn, squirrel and a variety of birds. While a great package for predator hunting I needed to buy the “Hog Pro” app which was less than $5. That’s a great deal for 30 different calls.
Kids Love Convergent
At this point, the whole family was in the living room and the kids really wanted to hear the Convergent Bullet call. We played a couple of rabbit and coyote calls in our living room when my wife quickly but politely told me to turn down the volume. As we moved over to some of the hog calls, the kids lost it when they heard “Vampigra”. It’s an audio clip of a piglet squealing at the top of its lungs and for whatever reason they thought it was hilarious.
We had extended family over on different occasions between the time the Bullet HP showed up at the house and our first hunt with it. Invariably, my oldest child would ask, “Daddy, can we show them the Bullet?” She thought it was so cool but we needed to get this out for some real world testing.
To the middle school track we headed. Setting the Bullet HP at the finish line of the 100 meter dash, we connected my phone to the device via Bluetooth and played the calls. I had a good connection out to 30 or 40 meters.
The Convergent Bullet HP Goes Hunting
So my kids loved it, it had sufficient range and now it was time to actually see if it worked on hogs. I headed to the farm with more of the SHWAT™ Team, Jonathan, Robert and Casey. On the way we discussed how we could integrate the Bullet HP into our hunting style. We like to spot and stalk, which means we drive around the many fields we hunt, scanning with thermals until we find hogs we can stalk and shoot. We are always on the go and typically don’t wait in a field for something to show up. So we decided that if we saw hogs, either several hundred yards into one of our fields or on an adjacent field, we would set the Convergent Bullet out and test it out.
Our first success came with a coyote from, calling and shooting from the coziness of the farm house back porch. I could see something a couple of hundred yards away through my Pulsar Helion XP50 and knew it wasn’t a pig. It was time to set up the Bullet HP for its first test.
Coyote Calling with the Bullet HP
We set the Bullet call in front of a tree about 10 yards from the house and started the calls. There were several rabbit calls that we cycled through before we found one that was sweet music to this coyote’s ears. At this point I was literally in the dark because Robert had my Helion. He became the play by play announcer. The coyote was now on a mission, but it wouldn’t end the way it hoped.
Casey had a steady bead on the coyote. He gear included FLIR PTS536 on an LWRCI 308 beast of a gun. It was almost comical seeing Casey chilling at the back porch picnic table like that. When the coyote got to 175 yards, he squeezed the Geissele trigger and we had our first Convergent Bullet victim.
First Hogs with the Convergent Bullet HP Call
Later that evening we located pigs that were further out in some fields and we tried calling them in but they were either spooked or ignored the call altogether. Again, I really wanted the Bullet to work but this fed my skepticism.
Wrapping up our evening we spotted a lone boar between the house and the county road to the south. It had been a long night and we could tell that this boar was retiring for the evening, heading south into the brush. We knew EXACTLY where he was going.
Robert threw the truck in reverse and it was a race to get to the exit point before the hog could. Fortunately, he wasn’t in a hurry and we got there with plenty of time to spare. Now I focused on putting the Bullet to work. As the usual anticipation built, so did my hope that the call would work.
After putting the Bullet about 20 yards to our east, I climbed into the back of the truck and pressed play on my phone. The Bullet belted out the call. The 3 shooters waited, 10 feet from me and set up along the fence line that ran perpendicular to us. It took several minutes calling, but soon the boar was visible through my Helion. He meandered through the field not yet aware of us or the Bullet. He continued moseying around and then in an instant his demeanor changed. This boar was on a mission and he was moving. His pace dramatically increased as he made a beeline for the Bullet. I wanted to scream, “It’s working, it’s working!” Not a good idea, that would have pissed off the three hunters below me. As the boar continue to charge, the shooters started their countdown.
5…4…3…2…1…Bang!
In perfect unison, the three shooters hit the boar at 78 yards. He was very much dead right there. We were all excited! The Bullet HP worked as advertised. We reeled in that boar like we had a rope on him.
As solid as the demonstration of the Bullet’s effectiveness was, we needed more experience before doing the review. We knew with certainty now that the Bullet call showed great potential. The skepticism faded, replaced with hopeful expectations for the next hog hunt.
I’ve taken the Convergent Bullet call on several hunts now. Standard Operating Procedure at this point.
Another Coyote Falls
Fast forward a couple of weeks and we are back at the farm, this time with Casey and Jared Devine from DFW Shooting Sports. Now that we had some confidence in the Bullet HP, we really wanted to utilize it more.
Just like the last hunt, our first victim was a coyote called in and shot from the back porch of the house. It was nice to score before we even got into the field. This was an older, bigger coyote than the one we killed previously. Perhaps he was more perceptive. The rabbit broadcasts from the Bullet call didn’t deceive him quite as well, but it was enough to get him within shooting range. And again, Casey had the honor of taking him down kitted up with an N-Vision Halo LR and PWS 308. I am not sure if Casey knows how to shoot anything else besides a 308.
Win Some, Loose Some
We knew that we could attract a single hog with the Bullet but we wanted to know if the Convergent call could pull a whole sounder onto a field or closer to us. Finding that answer would be my mission for this hunt.
Throughout the night the pigs had mixed reactions to the Bullet HP. Some groups would flat out run from a field when they heard it. Others were lured to the Bullet like sailors lured to the Sirens of Greek mythology.
As we approached a neighboring field, we ran into a roughly 50 pig sounder. Unfortunately, we couldn’t hunt that property but it gave us a chance to test the Convergent Bullet on a big group. Initially, these hogs appeared spread all over the field in a big arc in front of us from 9:30 to 12. As the Bullet began its serenade, their behavior changed.
Most of the hogs were instantly aware of the Bullet calling, but there were several different reactions within the group. Some pigs noticed it, but it didn’t really alter their behavior. Others became skittish and distanced themselves from us. However, most of them were intrigued, cautious and curious. They knew something was up but weren’t sure what to think.
I tried one call for a minute or two, then changed to another, then to another. It’s kind of like someone giving you a janitor’s ring of keys and telling you that one or two of those keys will open the door. You just don’t know which keys are the winners and you have to keep trying them until you find the ones that work.
Finally, we found a call that worked. I honestly don’t remember which one it was, but we had a sow sprinting to us. She ran so fast that I barely had time to set my phone and handheld thermal on the back of the truck. By the time I had my gun up and a solid sight picture it was too late. I didn’t get off a shot.
Casey and JD shot her before I could get on target. That sprinting sow was dead a mere 30 yards from where we stood. The Bullet calling was a success; we collected a dead pig and killed a couple more from that group before the dust settled.
But the big question was still on the table, and the night would run out soon enough.
Another hunt, another hog succumbs to the Bullet. Yes, you can read that two ways and be right twice.
Can the Bullet Really Call the Hogs?
Casey volunteered as wheelman for the night, navigating the truck completely blacked out while wearing FLIR BNVDS. We were headed north, JD riding shotgun with me in the backseat behind the driver. I’d left the Bullet powered on, sitting right next to me as we scanned the fields.
We drove just over a hundred yards then spotted a sow and her piglets skedaddling. We stopped the truck and those hogs ran for safety down into a low area. I could hear other pigs down there.
With nothing to lose, I quickly grabbed my iPhone and played “Sow Hysteria.” (A lot more intense than Def Leppard’s hit “Hysteria” from 1987!).
My expectations were low. As far I was concerned it was a lost cause. Virtually as soon as I hit play a group of pigs emerged out of nowhere. Looking through the Helion I was in utter disbelief as they barreled full speed ahead towards the truck. In a matter of seconds we went from ZERO hogs to four hogs with many more pouring in behind them in a matter of seconds. We’re broadcasting from INSIDE the truck!
https://www.instagram.com/p/ByiusD3gBdZ/
JD and Casey were in better positions and able to shoot, but he fact that those hogs reappeared so quickly shocked all of us. The surprise and speed at which all that developed might explain some of the bad shooting that transpired in that field.
Final Thoughts for this Convergent Bullet HD Review
As we packed the truck the next day, I grabbed the little camo bag weighing less than three pounds and set it in the bed of the truck. Thoughts of the possibilities that we have yet to discover with this call swam through my head. Convergent hunting never claimed it was 100% or a magic bullet. But I went from a doubter and skeptic to a true believer looking forward to using the Bullet HP on my next hunt.
Priced at $298.95 retail the Bullet HD offers a pretty compelling value. Convergent Hunting has also released the Sidewinder Weapon Mounted Game Call, which mounts on the side of your rifle. Perhaps that’s an even better solution. Hopefully I’ll have that story for you not too far down the road.
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