Y'all got any advice on a sporting clay/skeet range?

[Wingman]

Not something huge like the tournament stuff...but something small, yet fun. We had a sporting clay range down at a place I guided for back in college. About 12 stations, maybe 50 targets...along the course, but that kinda setup could get rather costly. I am interested in something to keep folks occupied in the afternoons when the duck hunting is done. Also, what kind of throwers are good but affordable?

Thanks
Wingman
ISAIAH 40:31
http://www.fowlmood.com

[GulfCoast]

I have seen someone mount 2 lincoln manual traps to a 4 wheeler basket frame and drive it from station to station as needed. One was a standard arm, and one was a teal. He took a wrench and changed the angle on the traps at each station. It worked very well, and only cost the price of 2 manual traps for an entire 100 bird course. If you never saw him move the 4 wheeler, you would have never known he did not have 12 lincoln traps out in the woods.

You could also use a single remote controlled trap on a trailer either by itself or combined with the above and have a dual trap option for every stand, but only need one trapper. I have seen this done as well.

The best manual traps are lincolns. The best auto's are Mattarelli or Laport. Auto sporter and others make more economical automatics. I would not buy anything in a manual trap but a lincoln if I was gonna leave it outdoors.

[Delta Duck]

Wingman,
You should set up a five stand. A group of guys would have a great time on a five stand in the afternoon.
I've got some guys that I will let go out to a blind in the afternoon and sit and watch the birds.

[Wildfowler]

You might want to contact WNGROG for some help. He's a personal friend of mine who used to be a hunter. Now he only likes to ride Jeeps. Way back when, he helped run a sporting clays range in LA. They had a two story trailer with about 8 or 10 traps mounted on the rig. The range was centered around this trailer. I have no idea what that thing was called or who makes it. But it was self contained and worked nicely.

[GulfCoast]

You can buy those setups at Sams, or they used to have them. The only problem with the concept was that the individual traps were not very high quality, pretty slow, and prone to rust. I cannot recall if they were 3/4 peepee or not. A friend of mine got one from the Sam's in Mobile. Now it sits around unused. I am sure he would part with it cheap.

[tunica du4u]

Wingman you can buy a Pro-Matic Ranger for about $1900 delivered. That might be a little pricey for some, but it is a good high quality machine that should last forever in a situation like you talk of. I have 1 mounted on a platform I take in & out of my Ranger, you can throw from 0-70 degrees and being mobile like mine makes it interesting to shoot. They also have cheaper auto machines from about 1000 up. The manager at the Willows recommended Pro-Matic to me saying it was one of the best. So far I agree. Have only had mine 6 months or so.

[Anatidae]

I'm with DD.....5-stand is compact and you can run a lot of folks thru it in a short period of time. It may require more initial investment, but is a great game. You can run flushes and flurries on the same software.

Contact Michael Goines at Computer Learning Works in Starkville......323-3542.....for information on the 'Ventriloquist' and 'Dealer'.

[GulfCoast]

You are looking at about 15K for a good five stand with infared controller. More if you get fancy. Lucky for me I have a buddy who put one in on his back 40

[Wingman]

If I was close enough to the big cities to draw year-round customers on a clay range, I could see spending the big bucks...but this would be primarily an afternoon deal during duck season, with folks that are at my place anyway. So I gotta look at the cheaper alternatives...not talking trash, but something to keep folks occupied, while providing quality entertainment. Showgirls are out

Wingman
ISAIAH 40:31
http://www.fowlmood.com

[wngrog]

Lincoln traps are the best and they come in variants for guys like you that won't be giving them commercial use.

When I built the club in Shreveport on Barksdale AFB we had one of those Traphouse Trailers like was mentioned above.

Even thought the traps were crap, it was a very fun machine and it threw and is still throwing tons of clays 8 years later.

If I were going to set up a small range at the duck club, I would get 2-3 manual Linclons and one Manual rabbit machine and set up a small course with mulitiple stations around each trap to simulate different flight patterns.

Oh yeah, Wildfowler....it's a Land Cruiser.

BTW, how is your Golden Retriever?