Clay Thrower Recommendations?

[Lawnmower2021 426]

The recent (attempted) meet at Clinton WMA inspired me to look into getting my own clay thrower for use at the same range.

Any suggestions? Most of the time it would just be for myself, maybe a couple other people like my wife.

I've hit some clays but I'm no pro. I'd like something that can be transported / operated by one person. Any suggestions?

 

[maintenanceguy 510]

I recommend two features:

(1) A counterweight on the throwing arm and
(2)a mechanism to stop the arm in the partially cocked position instead of letting it swing back to it's home position.

Very few clay traps have a counterweight and traps without one jump around every time you throw a pigeon.  So you have to mount them on something heavy and inconvenient to drag around like an old truck tire or you have to put cinder blocks on the plywood it's mounted onto.  Buy one with a counterweight and it stays where you set it.

Cocking a clay trap is much easier if the arm swings and then stays at the end of it's travel.  Most throwing arms swing around to throw the clay and then swing back to it's home position.  A one way bearing or some sort of ratchet mechanism stops the arm from swinging back.  That means the arm is already 75% cocked and you only have to push it a little bit to cock it every time.  Makes cocking the trap much easier.

I have a Flightmaster Jr.  Not expensive, not fancy, but it has both of these features.  Looks like they're about $80 and available on Optics Planet.

I made a very simple "T" out of 2x4's to mount mine on.  Light weight and easy to transport and I don't need the heavy weights.

[Scorpio64 5,171]

How much do you want to spend and how often will you be using it? 

For relatively little money you can get by with a foot pedal type where you stomp on the release bar.  I bet if you put up a WTB ad, someone here has one they'd love to get rid of.  A manual trap will be easy to transport, there is no battery to lug around and they are substantially less expensive than an electric trap.

However, once set up, it is much MUCH easier to shoot by one's self with an electric trap, unfortunately the ease comes at a stiff price. 

Champion and Do-All both make great machines in the $250 to $400 price range.  Champion's WheelyBird is popular because it comes with wheels, and can be upgraded with a wobbler when you are ready to up your game.  They all come with a foot activated switch, but some (like my Do-All) came with both foot switch and a wireless remote.  I like the wireless because there is no cord to trip over, but the remote is tiny and can be easily lost.

If you add up the cost of a thrower, wobbler, battery and accessories, you could easily end up spending over $750.  You might be better off shooting at trap range if you are only going to shoot a few times a year.

 

[Lawnmower2021 426]

13 hours ago, maintenanceguy said:

I recommend two features:

(1) A counterweight on the throwing arm and
(2)a mechanism to stop the arm in the partially cocked position instead of letting it swing back to it's home position.

Very few clay traps have a counterweight and traps without one jump around every time you throw a pigeon.

Thank you for the suggestion! I was wondering what would keep these traps from dancing and this definitely answers that

10 hours ago, Scorpio64 said:

How much do you want to spend and how often will you be using it? 

If I had a trap I'd be inclined to go more often, especially if it's something easy to transport and operate alone. Wishful thinking is I could bring bring my wife and kids with me, but they're too small to shoot and would get bored.

In general I like to buy things that are quality and will last. I might not go for all the accessories at once, but if I have something dependable I'm sure I would enjoy the hobby more often either alone or with friends. I did specifically buy a shotgun with clay shooting in mind.

Right now Amazon has the Wheelybird for about $250. It looks stable after you park and stake it in. But it does need a battery.

I'm going to spend a little time thinking between these and similar options. Thank you!!

[Mr.Stu 1,927]

I have the wheelybird with the wobbler attachment. It does not move around much at all, even without staking.

[brucin 923]

10 hours ago, Lawnmower2021 said:

But it does need a battery.

I use one of these way easier to carry than a full size battery and it's run for hundreds of throws and still had a 90% charge.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B072J6DDVL/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o09_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[Krdshrk 3,878]

I got a full size battery and regret it - I never use the full capacity or even like half of it... 

[Scorpio64 5,171]

12 hours ago, Lawnmower2021 said:

I like to buy things that are quality and will last.

If you end up getting a WheelyBird, fret not, they are very durable, my Do-All Flyway has not had a problem in 5000 throws.  Because of the violent shaking, you will have to preform PM or just tighten stuff up as it gets out of spec.  The foot switch does need looking after, they eventually loosen up and should be checked before each use.

[Mr.Stu 1,927]

I use an AGM gel battery. 335 CCA from Walmart. Not as heavy as a full sized battery and I don't have to worry about it tipping over and spilling acid in my car. 

[Lawnmower2021 426]

Well, we decided to get ourselves a Wheelybird as a Christmas present on discount from Amazon I look forward to trying it out, maybe next month.

Thanks for all the advice and feedback!