clay trap machine

[sgtluke 0]

hi guys after some advice im  going to put my rifles down for a while and give clay shooting a go, im looking to buy my on trap as I have lots of land I can use.

can any one recommend a good trap I can buy online to get me started don't want to spend a fortune. also a semi auto or an over and under gun ? any advice welcome cheers 

[philpot 4,966]

If you are shooting on your own, you will need an autoloading trap with a magazine and also a 12 leisure battery. The clay magazines vary in terms of holding capacity which range from about 65 - 350 clays but remember that if you go for a large capacity model, make sure you have it mounted on a cart of some kind as the bugger will be heavy.

Cost wise, there are some decent makes and some utter crap available on ebay so be aware. Makes that I have experience with and can confirm they are good products, these are Bowman, Promatic and world champion John Bidwell's own traps, the Auto Sporter. There are others out there but these I have confidence in the build quality if however you see another make for sale, please feel free to send me a pm and I will be happy to check it out for you.

There is a make for sale on ebay, GDK which I wouldn't bother with, yes they are a great price but they are not in the same league as the others listed here but that is down to you.

If however you are going to be shooting with friends who will share the job of trapping on a manual trap, then the price drops and if that is the route, stick to Bowman traps without question and definitley not GDK as they have weak springs so only throw a short distance from the ones I have seen and used.

 

Guns......................................how long is a piece of string, how big is your budget.  The big three will outlast you and outperform you and at the end of your use, will always sell and those are Beretta, Browning and Miroku. I am a total Beretta fan and own a few but it is really what you can afford and what fits you, a few hours in a good gun dealer will help find you a decent gun. It is worth contacting North Wales Shooting School/ Sealand as I believe they have a gun room or will certainly put you onto a good dealer, they may also sell new and s/h traps as well.

I have both semi auto and o/u guns but I would suggest you go the o/u route which is far less to go wrong and the gun that 95% of clay shooter use. I would also suggest you look at a barrel length of 30'' which be be a nice alrounder,  shorter barrels are good for shorter range clays as the gun is quicker to move such as skeet shooting,  longer barrels such as 32'' which I use are great for trap shooting (birds all going away from the shooter) which offers great pointability and I use mine for 90% of my shooting but could be a bit heavy and slow for a newcomer to the sport.

 

I could fill pages on these subjects but don't worry , I won't however if you want info on any aspect, just come back to me.

 

Phil

[Meece 1,957]

Where are you in Wales.? On one of the son in laws stag do we came up to Aberystwyth area to do offroading and the Strata Florida run.  I organised us to go clay shooting.  We rang Dovy but they were most unhelpful and us less.  We rang Mid Wales Shooting Ground.   What a difference.   Couldn't be more helpful and accommodating.  Very nice people.   We had a great time and the boys came out with a glow. It wasn't expensive either.  On the way up We loaded up with lead at a dealer in Cwbran on an industrial estate. Again helpful people.  Guns are a personal choice. It's all a fallacy that any type is better or worse than another. A charge of shot is sent down a tube to a target.  It's all about fashion which has gone from long to short and back to long. If you were out in America it would be pumps and autos. A few years ago it was all side by sides. Now people can't shoot them because they've got two triggers. It's all between the ears.  OH I forgot about the chokes and the shot sizes, ect,ect.  

[philpot 4,966]

On 18/06/2020 at 09:39, Meece said:

Where are you in Wales.? On one of the son in laws stag do we came up to Aberystwyth area to do offroading and the Strata Florida run.  I organised us to go clay shooting.  We rang Dovy but they were most unhelpful and us less.  We rang Mid Wales Shooting Ground.   What a difference.   Couldn't be more helpful and accommodating.  Very nice people.   We had a great time and the boys came out with a glow. It wasn't expensive either.  On the way up We loaded up with lead at a dealer in Cwbran on an industrial estate. Again helpful people.  Guns are a personal choice. It's all a fallacy that any type is better or worse than another. A charge of shot is sent down a tube to a target.  It's all about fashion which has gone from long to short and back to long. If you were out in America it would be pumps and autos. A few years ago it was all side by sides. Now people can't shoot them because they've got two triggers. It's all between the ears.  OH I forgot about the chokes and the shot sizes, ect,ect.  

Ah yes, Mid Wales Shooting Ground, that is the one I meant not North Wales.  Good on yer Meece.

Phil

[shovel leaner 7,650]

On 09/04/2020 at 11:06, philpot said:

If you are shooting on your own, you will need an autoloading trap with a magazine and also a 12 leisure battery. The clay magazines vary in terms of holding capacity which range from about 65 - 350 clays but remember that if you go for a large capacity model, make sure you have it mounted on a cart of some kind as the bugger will be heavy.

Cost wise, there are some decent makes and some utter crap available on ebay so be aware. Makes that I have experience with and can confirm they are good products, these are Bowman, Promatic and world champion John Bidwell's own traps, the Auto Sporter. There are others out there but these I have confidence in the build quality if however you see another make for sale, please feel free to send me a pm and I will be happy to check it out for you.

There is a make for sale on ebay, GDK which I wouldn't bother with, yes they are a great price but they are not in the same league as the others listed here but that is down to you.

If however you are going to be shooting with friends who will share the job of trapping on a manual trap, then the price drops and if that is the route, stick to Bowman traps without question and definitley not GDK as they have weak springs so only throw a short distance from the ones I have seen and used.

 

Guns......................................how long is a piece of string, how big is your budget.  The big three will outlast you and outperform you and at the end of your use, will always sell and those are Beretta, Browning and Miroku. I am a total Beretta fan and own a few but it is really what you can afford and what fits you, a few hours in a good gun dealer will help find you a decent gun. It is worth contacting North Wales Shooting School/ Sealand as I believe they have a gun room or will certainly put you onto a good dealer, they may also sell new and s/h traps as well.

I have both semi auto and o/u guns but I would suggest you go the o/u route which is far less to go wrong and the gun that 95% of clay shooter use. I would also suggest you look at a barrel length of 30'' which be be a nice alrounder,  shorter barrels are good for shorter range clays as the gun is quicker to move such as skeet shooting,  longer barrels such as 32'' which I use are great for trap shooting (birds all going away from the shooter) which offers great pointability and I use mine for 90% of my shooting but could be a bit heavy and slow for a newcomer to the sport.

 

I could fill pages on these subjects but don't worry , I won't however if you want info on any aspect, just come back to me.

 

Phil

A good post that Phil , with sound advice .

[philpot 4,966]

Thanks SL but I don't think the guy has been back on since so a bit of a waste really, never mind, one of those things.

Phil

[sgtluke 0]

cheers phil great info im still looking I have since been to dovey valley witch was great fun time to start shopping around

[sgtluke 0]

On 18/06/2020 at 09:39, Meece said:

Where are you in Wales.? On one of the son in laws stag do we came up to Aberystwyth area to do offroading and the Strata Florida run.  I organised us to go clay shooting.  We rang Dovy but they were most unhelpful and us less.  We rang Mid Wales Shooting Ground.   What a difference.   Couldn't be more helpful and accommodating.  Very nice people.   We had a great time and the boys came out with a glow. It wasn't expensive either.  On the way up We loaded up with lead at a dealer in Cwbran on an industrial estate. Again helpful people.  Guns are a personal choice. It's all a fallacy that any type is better or worse than another. A charge of shot is sent down a tube to a target.  It's all about fashion which has gone from long to short and back to long. If you were out in America it would be pumps and autos. A few years ago it was all side by sides. Now people can't shoot them because they've got two triggers. It's all between the ears.  OH I forgot about the chokes and the shot sizes, ect,ect.  

im up by Porthmadog I have been to dovey, I will give mid wales shooting ground a try next time 

[sgtluke 0]

On 09/04/2020 at 11:06, philpot said:

If you are shooting on your own, you will need an autoloading trap with a magazine and also a 12 leisure battery. The clay magazines vary in terms of holding capacity which range from about 65 - 350 clays but remember that if you go for a large capacity model, make sure you have it mounted on a cart of some kind as the bugger will be heavy.

Cost wise, there are some decent makes and some utter crap available on ebay so be aware. Makes that I have experience with and can confirm they are good products, these are Bowman, Promatic and world champion John Bidwell's own traps, the Auto Sporter. There are others out there but these I have confidence in the build quality if however you see another make for sale, please feel free to send me a pm and I will be happy to check it out for you.

There is a make for sale on ebay, GDK which I wouldn't bother with, yes they are a great price but they are not in the same league as the others listed here but that is down to you.

If however you are going to be shooting with friends who will share the job of trapping on a manual trap, then the price drops and if that is the route, stick to Bowman traps without question and definitley not GDK as they have weak springs so only throw a short distance from the ones I have seen and used.

 

Guns......................................how long is a piece of string, how big is your budget.  The big three will outlast you and outperform you and at the end of your use, will always sell and those are Beretta, Browning and Miroku. I am a total Beretta fan and own a few but it is really what you can afford and what fits you, a few hours in a good gun dealer will help find you a decent gun. It is worth contacting North Wales Shooting School/ Sealand as I believe they have a gun room or will certainly put you onto a good dealer, they may also sell new and s/h traps as well.

I have both semi auto and o/u guns but I would suggest you go the o/u route which is far less to go wrong and the gun that 95% of clay shooter use. I would also suggest you look at a barrel length of 30'' which be be a nice alrounder,  shorter barrels are good for shorter range clays as the gun is quicker to move such as skeet shooting,  longer barrels such as 32'' which I use are great for trap shooting (birds all going away from the shooter) which offers great pointability and I use mine for 90% of my shooting but could be a bit heavy and slow for a newcomer to the sport.

 

I could fill pages on these subjects but don't worry , I won't however if you want info on any aspect, just come back to me.

 

Phil

i have managed to  buy a browning 525 witch I really like just need more time on the gun naw to get as I can hit the clays

[philpot 4,966]

Great news, I hope you enjoy the sport of clay shooting and hope your pocket is deep because we clay shooters do have a habit of spending a bit.   Try to get some coaching as this will help you no end and give you confidence.  A few hours with a coach can make the world of difference and FAR FAR BETTER than some mate helping as the mate doesn't have coaching experience.

Phil

[Meece 1,957]

2 hours ago, sgtluke said:

im up by Porthmadog I have been to dovey, I will give mid wales shooting ground a try next time 

What we couldn't understand was that how can any business turn away any trade.? There were 5 of us and we just wanted a bit of informal sporting.  We called mid wales and there was  no problem at all. they were friendly, helpful and there is a really good ground with a big variety of setups.  We were there late afternoon and were concerned that we were holding them up from going home and stopped shooting.  We had shot several  hundred and decided to stop but they weren't in any hurry.  We left there with a glow.  If that shoot was down here in Kent we'd be there regularly.  It would be a fair bit of a trek from Kent up to Wales and back for an afternoons fun clays.  I did an informal simulated driven game day down here the other week with son in law. That was good fun and I fired about three hundred cartridges.   I would have shot more but two of the drive's I had big trees in front of me.  And son in law and his mate who were two pegs away were shooting loads of the clays the other side of the trees that should have come over me. Really good day and the way forward.

Edited September 18, 2020 by Meece