remote launcher

[minigooch]

Hi All. Can anyone recommend a reasonably priced remote launcher? I have not used one before and would like it to be simple to use and reliable. I will be launching chukar ,pigeon or quail . I rarely see any used ones for sale. Thanks in advance.

[SwitchGrassWPG]

I like my DTs. If you do some searching, you can find them very reasonable. IIRC, I paid about $200 each for mine. What I like about them is the ease to add additional launchers and they are powered by an easily replaceable 9 volt battery.

Jay

[DonF]

I've had several different one's over the years. Right now I have the Lion Country. Started with one because I didn't think i'd get very serious training anymore, medical problems. Didn't take long to find I couldn't live with just one. Now I have the three trap setup, price is definitely right. I made a few modifications on them though. The plastic wire tie that hold the lock piece is going to break. I replaced it with new one's and hard to believe, they broke too! Now I have them held on with plastic coated picture hanger wire. Also found that the roller the release goes past to spring the trap is fairly easy to get by by accident. I got an L shape flat corner bracket and fixed it so the arm has to move to let the trap launch. two simple changes. One more I did was to get another L shape corner bracket but like you might put under a shelf to hold it up. Put it where the lock bar anchor's to support the flimsy piece of tin there. That bends really easy so I did that before it had a problem. I don't recall the price but it was far less than any other's. I haven't set it off but maybe 100yds but they claim something like 300yds, I would not doubt it. My last set was over 20yrs old when I out them up and couldn't set them off from very far anymore. I don't think they can be had anymore either. i tried an easy set years back, didn't care for it at all; you had to be standing on the trap to set it off. My first set was Wag Ag and it was a pretty good set. Rubber bands held the release arm down. The a wire lit up and cut the band to release the trap. Problem with it was the wire would get hot several times and would twist out and not burn the rubber band any more. Wag Ag isn'tin business any more, at least not making traps. I have used a dogtra trap and for the price I though there should be more to it. Something about it and the Lion Country trap is the basket is a lot bigger than they were years ago. A homer pigeon would have to be squeezed into the old basket and at time's they would die in there. The Lion Country and dogtra both have bigger basket's and it is no longer a problem. The Dogtra make's one bigger trap for pheasant's and the thing is huge and heavy. Not sure you could carry two of them loaded out to plant. Avoid the pheasant size in any brand. If I were to go out and buy a new set now knowing what I know it would be the Lion Country and make the modifications I spoke of.

[oldbeek]

DT Launchers have a door on the end to load birds. A definite advantage when using quail. Quail are much stronger and wilder than pigeons. I have Dogtra. Really hard to load one excited quail. My trainer loads 2 or 3 quail using the end door on the DT to simulate a covey rise. Impossible with the Top loader Dogtra. The 9volt battery is a plus also.

[kdave21]

I have three launchers. I have a DT without a motor (have to pull a string), I have a DT with motor, and a Higgins remote launcher.

My favorite is the Higgins releaser because I open it when the dog gets close, and the bird flys when it feels too much pressure, which seems to me to be closer to how it happens in nature. The DTs are nice for when you want to control right when the bird flies. I do not enjoy using the one with the pull string only, its too much to fiddle with when you have a shotgun in one hand, and are trying to focus on what the dog is doing, etc. The Higgins releasers are expensive, thats why I only have one. I got a good deal on one of my DTs on Ebay.