Thunder 500 Equipment Launcher or Bumper Boy 4 Shooter Pro

[Micah Duffy]

I was in your position a couple of years ago. While I had trained a few dogs in the past, I had used/abused family and friends to throw bumpers. The only thing I had as far as launchers was one of the hand held units that got very little use. Dogs turned out fine. However, assistance from family and friends became harder to come by. So with my last dog, I decided to look into remote launchers. I wound up with a little bit of everything .. actuallly a whole lot of everything. I have BB"s ( 2 shooters and 4 shooters), Thunder 500's and wingers. If I could only have one type, it would definitely be the wingers. Sooner or later you are going to want to use birds and, with birds, wingers are the way to go. With a 2+ year old dog, I rarely use anything other than the wingers. Drawback with wingers is that, it is one shot and done. No immediate repeats and a lot of time spent reloading. However, if I could only have one type, I would still go with a couple of wingers. With the remote bumper launchers, I personally prefer the BB's. The Thunder 500's are good units, fairly light and will launch five bumpers with each reload. Problem is that all five are to the same location ..... great for repeats but you have to adjust the launcher if you want to throw in a different direction. I used these with early training but less and less as the dog progressed ... and started to use the BB's more. With the BB's you can set them up so a unit will throw all bumpers in the same direction or in different directions. So, with a 2 shooter, you can throw both bumpers in the same direction ... for a repeat. Or, you can set it up to throw one bumper to the left and one to the right. With two 2 shooters, you can see that you have lots of options. You also have the option of two different types of bumpers with the BB's. One is a pretty standard, round bumper. The other is a bumper that looks like a small bird. The small bird can be thrown a VERY long way. It is so small/fast, that it is difficult for a dog to see at any real distance. However, I have used it up fairly close to simulate birds coming in over a treeline, coming from behind over a treeline, etc. I have used both the old/new BB electronics. I have not had any significant issues with either. I did not like the long wait for the new electronic, and am still convinced that the changeover could have been managed better, I finally got my new electronics and have found them to work as advertised. So, if I had it to do over, I would get two BB 2 shooters and three zinger wingers. You would definitely not need them all to start so you could start small and work your way up as the dog progresses.

I agree with everything said above. I use the BB and have good luck with them. They are very convienient especially when you are short on time because you can do a setup really fast. If you where to get the two shooters you can shoot about 5 different style of bumpers from them. You can adjust the arc height and change the bumper to get two different tight marks off of the same unit or flip one side around and shoot them like whats called a flower pot. Combine that with all the different bumpers that they shoot and they make some nice scenarios. I still think there is nothing better than using real ducks to train with but its just not an option. I can take a dog to work when its cooler, air them on lunch and breaks and then stop and train for a few minutes on the way home because I can carry all of the stuff with the BBS with me, Now if you have the money to spend get it all!!! lol.

[mitty]

I was in your position a couple of years ago. While I had trained a few dogs in the past, I had used/abused family and friends to throw bumpers. The only thing I had as far as launchers was one of the hand held units that got very little use. Dogs turned out fine. However, assistance from family and friends became harder to come by. So with my last dog, I decided to look into remote launchers. I wound up with a little bit of everything .. actuallly a whole lot of everything. I have BB"s ( 2 shooters and 4 shooters), Thunder 500's and wingers. If I could only have one type, it would definitely be the wingers. Sooner or later you are going to want to use birds and, with birds, wingers are the way to go. With a 2+ year old dog, I rarely use anything other than the wingers. Drawback with wingers is that, it is one shot and done. No immediate repeats and a lot of time spent reloading. However, if I could only have one type, I would still go with a couple of wingers. With the remote bumper launchers, I personally prefer the BB's. The Thunder 500's are good units, fairly light and will launch five bumpers with each reload. Problem is that all five are to the same location ..... great for repeats but you have to adjust the launcher if you want to throw in a different direction. I used these with early training but less and less as the dog progressed ... and started to use the BB's more. With the BB's you can set them up so a unit will throw all bumpers in the same direction or in different directions. So, with a 2 shooter, you can throw both bumpers in the same direction ... for a repeat. Or, you can set it up to throw one bumper to the left and one to the right. With two 2 shooters, you can see that you have lots of options. You also have the option of two different types of bumpers with the BB's. One is a pretty standard, round bumper. The other is a bumper that looks like a small bird. The small bird can be thrown a VERY long way. It is so small/fast, that it is difficult for a dog to see at any real distance. However, I have used it up fairly close to simulate birds coming in over a treeline, coming from behind over a treeline, etc. I have used both the old/new BB electronics. I have not had any significant issues with either. I did not like the long wait for the new electronic, and am still convinced that the changeover could have been managed better, I finally got my new electronics and have found them to work as advertised. So, if I had it to do over, I would get two BB 2 shooters and three zinger wingers. You would definitely not need them all to start so you could start small and work your way up as the dog progresses.

This is a really helpful review, I just wanna thank Bamaboy for taking the time to respond.

[Fogle]

I would like to thank everyone who replied for their valuable insite and information. You guys really gave me a new perspective on training and tactics. Thanks again.