Best Birds to Buy

[mswestfall]

Our club had a meeting yesterday. One of the topics was what brand of clay pigeons we should be throwing.

We've thrown a name brand target for years (old targets). We recently changed to the most popular target in country (new targets). Here is what I know:
Old Targets
Had some quality problems, odd shapes and paint problems; the manufacturer made good on the odd shapes problem but it's occurred more than once.
Occasional delivery problems; distance and reliability
More broken birds coming off the throwers
Made in a Canada

New Targets
Will cost our club about 8-8.5% more than our old targets.
Perceived to "smoke" better
Perceived to fly truer
Fewer broken birds coming off the throwers
Made in the USA

We voted to continue to purchase the new targets. I voted that way because I believe we should throw the best target possible. I believe the new targets are more stable in the wind. I also believe that we are throwing the target that our members will most often shoot at at AT and NASA events. Also we seem to be moving toward hosting a registered shoot. (Which I'm not wild about.)

Do you think these things matter?,
Do you believe that different targets fly better/worse than others?
Is throwing the same bird for practice as the one that will be shot in competition important?
Do you personally prefer one target over another?
Any other comments are welcome

Thanks

 

[Oldnamvet]

If you are going to shoot in competiton, practice had better be with the same birds, thrown the same, same speed, same elevation,.....,. In other words, align the machines properly and have the same color, brand, etc. birds for practice. Making a mental change in competition really handicaps you unnecessarily.

A few % more in initial cost is negligible for most skeet/trap shooters. It really breaks your rythym when birds come out in pieces and you have to reset your personal computer, half expecting the next one to come out in pieces too.

 

[mswestfall]

Oldamvet

Thanks for the comment!

That works for the 10-12 people that shoot competitively but what about the rest? Do you think they get any benefit from better birds?

 

[PJR]

Our club went through an acrimonious split on this very question and I suspect we are talking about the same two makers, certainly the Canadian maker, and the pros and cons are about the same although the distance and delivery issue goes with the American maker in our case.

The "new" targets at your club (and mine) fly better. We tested them on a couple of manual launchers. The new targets break easier and we find fewer of them downrange with holes in them.

Although I'm never going to be a serious competitive shooter I think it's worth the extra dollars to throw the better targets.

 

[RNB65]

White Flyer's are the standard around here. That's all I see at every clay shooting range I go to. I've broken ten's of thousands of them. Unfortunately, I've also missed ten's of thousands of them as well.