The best traps for a DIY clay shooting setup

With Lockdown in full effect and shooting grounds having been closed for over a month, people are missing their regular fix of dusting clays. The envy of everyone’s eyes are the lucky people who hold the winning combination of a shotgun license, land, a clay pigeon trap and of course cartridges!

 

If you’re on the lookout for a good trap to put on some DIY clays and join the aforementioned group, then here is our best trap for home use – the Supermatch 1 (SPM1).

 

The SPM1 is our entry-level automatic trap and in my opinion the best single stack auto on the market. It’s our family's ‘go to’ trap when we go for a couple of hours shooting. Working at Bowman, there’s no surprise this is my opinion, but, here are the facts to support my claim.

 

To my knowledge the SPM1 is the ONLY entry level automatic on the market that has a high tensile cast aluminium frame. This superior frame is the same type that most manufacturers would use on their higher spec traps that typically go into clay grounds. This reduces vibrations giving the SPM1 excellent reliability and durability with some of our customers still happily using their SPM1 after 10+ years.

 

The SPM1 has a heavy-duty motor and gearbox which we know stands the test of time. Being one of the most expensive components of a clay pigeon trap, cheaper automatics on the market use lesser quality to fit within a certain price bracket. At Bowman we are unwilling to compromise on quality and confidently offer 3 years warranty on all our automatic traps, which is something you don’t always see at the entry level of the market.

 

The SPM1 has hard wired circuitry and the motor is protected by a 30-amp fuse. Being the heart of any auto, it’s important to have reliable electrical components.

 

Now onto the fun stuff….

The SPM1 comes with 2 hoppers, so you can switch between practising with standard and midi clays. The stack can hold 65 clays and can be extended to 100 by adding the hopper extension and support bar.

 

It fires a standard clay 80m which is a great distance considering most sporting targets will be taken anywhere between 15-45m. This means you can entertain yourself with a wide range of targets from going away, incoming, crossing and quartering.

 

The trap re-cycles every 0.9 seconds and has no problem firing out clays at a superfast rate. The SPM1 can put on a fast following pair with ease and if you hold the fire button down continuously you get a rapid 6, with the 6th clay getting in the air before the first one hits the ground!

As with all our automatic traps, the SPM1 doesn’t require any spanners to adjust the height or spring tension; we use simple lever lock handles. The best part of all, our entry level model has full elevation from horizontal to springing teal at 75 degrees. Other traps on the market can range between 30 and 50 degrees elevation, so you wouldn’t be able to practice teal or high clays and may get bored with limited targets.

 

Considering the above, the SPM1, although not the cheapest trap on the market, in my opinion represents good value for money. At the moment we are offering the SPM1 at a special price to beat the lockdown blues. At a RRP of £1,029 the trap, including mini barrow has over £100 of savings at £899.00.

 

Furthermore, to ensure our trap remains versatile and that you as a shooter progress and remain entertained by your purchase here are some of the optional extras available to purchase with the SPM1.

 

 

And there you have it… we hope everyone is safe and well during these tough times and we look forward to seeing you out there in the near future.