This is an example of a safety guard fitted to a Promatic. It's a marvellous bit of kit
to keep anyone away from the arm as it throws a clay but it is useless if you stand in
front of the trap.
If you are the owner of a clay trap then these pages are for you. They're all about how to set up and use traps safely with tips that could save time and money either in you back garden or at your local straw bale shoot. Promatic, Bowman, Farey, Laporte, Juba and any others you can think of, ask me if you want to know something and I'll try to help.
Safety Hoops/Guards
Look at many of the new manual or automatic traps you can buy and you'll find that they may be fitted with a brightly painted hoop or guard just outside the arc of the throwing arm. They are brilliant at keeping people away from the arm as it whirls round while it throws a clay and then rewinds itself for the next target but what they can't do is stop the clay being thrown into the face of anyone who stands in front of the trap and nor will it stop bits from a no-bird careering out of the side of the trap into someone standing beside it. When an automatic trap is being used make sure that everyone stays either behind the trap or to the 'safe' side, that is the opposite side to the throwing plate, usually the left side as you look at it from behind. Anyone near a manual trap should stay behind the throwing arm or be on the 'safe' side, that is the side on which the arm is pulled down to cock it, usually the left as you look at it from behind. All this is basic safety that should be taught to anyone who goes near or uses a trap; just because there is a brightly coloured guard, it doesn't mean you are safe from being smacked in the face by a clay.
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This is an example of a safety guard fitted to a Promatic. It's a marvellous bit of kit |
Manual Battues
If you are using a maual trap to throw a battue and you find that the clays are breaking regularly there a few things you need to look at. The battue is usually thrown upside down, so the hollow side is downwards. Check that the trap you are using has a rubber drive strip fixed to the bottom of the trap arm so the clay is not running against metal. Check the rubber strip has not worn at the end so the clay is hitting the corner of the steel retaining strip as it leaves the trap. If a teal clip is fitted to the trap arm, make sure that the battue is pushed down onto the throwing plate for the whole length of the clip; if the clip is only holding along its middle edge the clay will start to vibrate as it travels along the arm and it will break before it is thrown clear. Similarly, a bent or kinked throwing arm will start a wobble and the battue is more likely to break before it leaves the trap. If the clay is used with the hollow side upwards there isn't much area in contact with the arm and the battue is likely to tilt and break as it leaves the teal clip or shatter as it vibrates on it's way up the arm.
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A battue loaded incorrectly on a trap. Note that the drive rubber is too high to contact |
Manual Rabbits
Using a manual rabbit trap is more difficult than a normal trap because the clay doesn't sit on top of the arm but has to be held edge on in the vertical plane, usually by a teal clip or plate. The outer rib of the rabbit must be held against the drive rubber when the trap is cocked, if not there is a good chance that the when the trap arm is released it will be travelling faster than the clay and smash onto the rib breaking the clay before it has had a chance for the rubber to even start to drive the clay. We also need to ensure that the clip will hold the clay against the trap arm as it flies round so the drive rubber is actually driving the clay along all it's length; if the clay is loose there is a chance it will become unstable and vibrate on its journey along the arm and shatter. Many rabbits are made with a rib on one face of the clay so that if you load the clay with that rib against the trap arm either the clip will not be able to hold it or the clay will twist causing it to break as it leaves the trap. The rib should be facing away from the trap so there is a flat or concave face against the arm.
As a rabbit is heavier than a normal clay we have to make sure that the trap is throwing the clay efficiently because firstly it can't throw the target so far and secondly because a rabbit by its very nature will travel along or bounce on the ground, thereby slowing it up and shortening the flight path. When loading a rabbit trap the book will tell you to put the clay under the teal clip and then pull the trap arm into the cocked position. Great care must be taken with this method because it is all too easy to shake the clay out of position during the cocking process or when the trap locks in the armed position. Once this happens the clay has dropped away from the drive rubber and the operator will usually put his hand in front or underneath a cocked trap to shift the clay back under the clip, usually whilst bending over the arm to look at what he's doing. This problem is compounded if using a double rabbit trap, it's hard to see what has happened to the inboard clay without looking from underneath. There is not a guaranteed safe way to load a manual rabbit trap but I have found that the least likely to go wrong option is to cock the trap first, hold the arm from above with the left hand and load each rabbit with the right. Make sure each clay is correctly held in position by feel, with a bit of practice there is no need to bend down to look at the clay.
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This Rabbit will leave the trap without breaking because it is against the drive |
Please come back soon to find some more articles or ask me about traps.
Copyright of this page belongs to Andy, How to Break Clays.com - the website for the amateur clay shooter, July 2007.