RetrieverTraining.Net - the RTF banner

bumper boy

4K views 20 replies 10 participants last post by  Wayne Nutt 
#1 ·
I am looking at getting a couple bumper boys and I can not decided if I should get a 2 or 4 shooter. I only have 1 dog and I will not be getting another one for awhile. I meet up once maybe twice a week to train with a group. What do you guys think?
 
#2 ·
Get a 4 Shooter. You'll regret getting a 2 shooter even with one dog.
Say with two shooter you fire a mark, dog has trouble and you need to fire another bumper or run mark again. When you go to shoot 2nd bumper you have a dud! There goes the lesson.
If you had a 4 Shooter just fire off 3rd bumper and you're good to go. With 2 shooter you could be stuck.
If possible get yourself two 4 Shooters and two wingers of some kind.
 
#6 ·
Lots of reasons really.
You need to run marks off multi guns so that means 3 or 4 of something.
It's easy to load 2 BB's, 2 wingers, stickmen and other crap on a 4 wheeler.
BB's are good for some things and wingers for others. Wingers are <1/2 cost of BB's.
With bumper boys you just shoot bumpers or shoot bumpers to birds. You can also use the to dry pop for running blinds.
With wingers you can throw birds, bumpers or use to make it easier to shoot flyers with one person.
With a winger it's easier to tweak toss to land on a specific spot if needed. BB fall is more random.
Throws look different between hand tossed, BB's and wingers. Dog needs to see it all I guess.
Anyway I'd rather have 2 of each than 4 of one.
 
#7 ·
I took 4 of 1.
Compared to wingers BB's are easier to transport & 1/2 the reloading.
I rarely repeat and with only 1-2 dogs at a time I have stayed with 2-shooters. About 7-8 yrs ago starting out with (2) 2 shooters (now about $200 more that (1) 4 shooter) I now have (4) 2 shooters for my weekday work by myself. With a group it is real throwers.
IMHO for 1 dog 4 marks from the same gun has the least value.

Tim
 
#8 ·
well, having never used 2 shooters and Tim does know what he's talking about, I guess it's boils down to personal preference and if you train with a group often.
 
#9 · (Edited)
I'd go with two shooters. I guess it's possible you could throw a mark and need another and have a dud but it'd be rare. I started with 2 two shooters and now have 4. If you really want a 4 shooter you can set 2 two shooters at one station. Or put all 4 at the long gun station if you're training with a group for an 8 shooter.

I disagree that BB throws are random. It is one of their strengths. Use yellow loads, put PVC spacers over the barrels and the bumpers will land on top of each other. Precisely where you want them. Set the BB up at the "fall area." Shoot a bumper "backwards" to the gun station, then go set the BB up where the bumper lands. It will land just where you want it, just in the cover, just short of the cover, by that bush or in front of that tree, precisely as a human thrower.

I've heard plausible arguments against it, but we put ducks in the AOF and shoot the bumpers toward them. Dog sees a fall and gets a duck.

If you add a winger or two in the future you can plug them into the BB receiver and use the BB transmitter to control them, for the cost of a wiring harness. $10 the last time I bought one. Or add a receiver from BB dedicated to the winger and use the BB transmitter.

Wingers are cheaper than BBs until you add the price of the electronics to control them remotely.

People talk about using wingers and they do have their place but they are a pain to reload. We use them to simulate the flyer station, cause it's usually closest to the line. You need 1 or train with someone that has them. If you don't and they use one at a trial you are probably going to have a bad day.

One guy shooting a live flyer out of a winger is very hard. Maybe it's me but the bird always seems to "wake up" while you're waitng for the signal and starts moving around in the pouch. Once that head comes up it isn't long until they're out.
 
#10 ·
I have four two shooters. I like the versatility of the two shooters. You can do two doubles with four dogs, you can do a quad with two dogs or however you want to arrange them.

I also have four winger zingers.
 
#11 ·
I prefer the 4 shooters with two of the guns pointed opposite of the others which works great for doubles. If you are working on singles, you can skip one gun so you can shoot another to the same area if the dogs needs help. The guy I train with has three 4 shooters. We use his for triples and add mine for walk ups and diversions.
 
#14 ·
about 25 lbs i think i have never weighed mine
 
#16 ·
I called BB when they first came out and talked to them. I'd decided I needed 4 shooters and they talked me out of it. I got 2 shooters instead. I was impressed that they talked me out of the "upsell."

I think I've posted this before, but with a two shooter and especially with a four, be sure to run young inexperienced dogs last when there are no bumpers left unfired on the BB. I had one get to the fall and saw the bumper on the BB and start dragging the whole works in. It didn't go off but it was a scary experience.

Brokengunz, I've always wondered about the bi-directional capabilities on the BBs. I never got how you would use them. Do you have one stickman there or two? Does the dog see it as two areas or 1 in front of the gun and 1 behind?
 
#21 ·
For young dogs the duck/goose, etc sound is essential. It is used to get them to look in the right direction. The type of sound doesn't matter as the buzzer on the Tritronics remote launcher control works just as well.

If you don't use an attention getter noise it will make retrieving progression more difficult.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top