One of the sites supporters, Steve Huber Trap Service, is listed on the site. I bet he can give you a hand. http://hubertraps.com/
Your best bet would be to find a set of Winchester single stack machines.They seem to work forever with little maintance.They throw some of the best skeet targets you will ever see.Very little problems with these machines.
We are considering replacing our Promatic Club Skeet machines at Edgar County Sportsman Club. They are Promatic Ranger 6 machines. They operate on 12v DC. The two traps are about seven years old. We may have a decision on this at our February meeting. Jim Skeel VP Edgar County Sportsman Club Central Indiana
Nashville Gun Club has had great luck with Mattarelli Skeet machines. Their Sporting machines are less than stellar, but when under a roof, they keep on throwing targets for a long, long time.
I agree with Palos Shooter. We built our own skeet field and bought some Western (Winchester) single stacks. They just keep throwing great targets. They are also easy to adjust and maintain - and inexpensive to purchase.
The Winchester machines have a sololoid release which is fast.The long throwing puts a lot is spin on the target,makes them nice and stable.The hardest adjustment is getting the elevator shimed just right.Most of the parts run in a bath of oil and last a long time.
Although a factory trained Promatic guy, I will say they are complicated for the average club. The Matt traps are simpler with fewer parts and a simpler operating system. Matts do much better in a trap or skeet house. After about 5 years outdoors, the wiring and electronics become a service issue.
The Winchester single stacks are o.k but you have to fill them after each full squad. The have to be warmed up for a while in cold weather. The 110 volt motor runs constantly. We went from Winchesters to Promatic Club Skeet machines. The Club Skeet machines do not have a solenoid release and therefore there is a delay in the release. The Promatic Pro Skeet machines have a solenoid release. We are going to replace our Promatics with Laporte 185 Skeet machines. Jim Skeel ECSC Vice President
Dear Jim I have worked on a truckload of Laporte machines. The Promatic is very similar to them. The newer Lapukes have more circuitry than the old ones. If you had bad luck with the Promatic solenoid release machines, guess what? At one time, the NSSA/NSCA range in TX used Laportes. They had four full time trap mechanics. The main difference is arm timing. The solenoid Promatics don't have witness marks or Woodruff keys for arm timing. If you torque the throwing arms to 105 ft/lb WITH A TORQUE WRENCH, they stay in time pretty well.
Our Club Skeet Promatics do not have a solenoid release. That is the primary reason we are wanting to replace them. There is a noticeable delay in the release with the Promatics. They are good traps except for the delayed release. They have been very reliable. We are running them on 12 volt batteries with a solar panel to charge them.
If the arm timing is slightly advanced, they will give a quicker target release. If no one at your club can do this, call Promatic and they will hook you up to a local rep or tech. I would try this and see if the shooters like it before spending mucho dinero on new machines.
Try calling Rod Shyda at lincoln traps. He is one of the most knowledgable people in the shooting industry about traps. Roger C.
My club, Edgar County Sportsmans Club, has a pair of Winchester single stack skeet machines for sale. SOLD SOLD SOLD Jim Skeel VP ECSC 812-240-3257 cell
We just installed two LaPorte 185 Skeet traps at Edgar County Sportsmans Club. The LaPorte Skeet traps are great machines. They throw a stable target and feature an instant solenoid release. They run on 120 VAC. We replaced a pair of Ranger Six Promatics that ran on 12 VDC. Sold the Promatics for $2000 and also sold a pair of Winchester single stack machines for $1000. We spent $6200 on the LaPorte traps. Our net outlay was $3200. Jim Skeel VP ECSC
Any machine that has a solenoid release will be slow on the pulls if the voltage is not up to par in the skeet houses. I used to have my solenoids made to operate at 100 volts not 120. 120 volts will not harm them, but low voltage will. You may want to check this before scraping machines for slow pulls. Roger
Machines with out solenoid releases should be shunned by clubs and shooters. It is very difficult to get two machines to give the same pulls. Machines that do not have a solenoid release are called motor surge firing machines. Meaning when the button or voice call is activated the motor pushes the arm over center to fire it. If that arm is not set to stop in exactly the same distance from the center on every machine you are going to get differing time lapses on your calls. I was the manufacturer distributor for the Remington trap and skeet machines. It was an excellent machine but it had a flaw it was a motor surge fire machine. Shooters did not like the quality of the pulls from them. This led to their demise in the industry. Most mechanics that work on this type of machine do not have a clue as to how to keep them operational so that they work properly. This will get me flamed. Most so called mechanics do not know how to keep any machine operating properly. Or how to set them up. I f anyone wants to contact me that works on the machines at their club do so I may be able to help you. Roger
Voere, Are these to be used by a club or for a personal skeet field ? Far and away, if you have limited resources and perhaps a small club or personal field, the old Winchester single stack machines would be the best to begin with. As for the elevator shims, nothing to it if you read the directions. The arm with the roller that actuates the elevator will at times get worn and that is the primary reason for shimming the plate. Do not be scared of these machines. A simple little maintenance a couple times a year and you will keep throwing really great targets. Remember, these machines were used for many, many years by most all of the skeet clubs in America and the folks didn't mind them a bit.
We use Western (Winchester) machines at our small skeet club. Once we got them tuned up, they have just kept on firing great targets. "And the hits just keep on coming!" Yes, we have to reload them after each full squad, but what great exercise........ (I love filling the high-house; going up and down the stairs is great activity.)
I purchased 2 western 1574 skeet traps 2 years ago for my personal skeet range.I have spent very little time working on them .They were well used machines.Purchased 2 more this year and they are in much better shape . Now I have a good set of spares We have thrown about 16,000 birds so far . Word got out and we have a small group 10 to 16 people who shoot once a week from spring to fall.We have a lot of fun. Closest skeet range to me is about 75 miles I think.
Voere, You can also bend the arm that the elevator plate is attached to, Up or down as needed. I rebuild those machines for over 20 years, they are good work horses. Roger C.
There are two brands that most serious clubs use, Laportes and Beomats. The new Lincolns are supposed to be pretty good but I haven't shot on them yet. Clubs have experimented with other brands, but typically they end up buying Beomats or Laportes eventually when the machines they cheaped out on can't throw a decent target.
Where do you get parts for Beomats? They are interchangeable with Super Star machines. GMV oweners should know this. Roger C.
Palos shooter. You can bend the lever that raises and lowers the throw plate. To raise the plate put something under the plate bracket and hit down in the middle of the lever(gently) as it is aluminium and will bend fairly easy. To lower the plate put something under the center of the arm and (gently) hit on the plate. Roger C.
our club has a set of winchester single stack skeet traps for sale. Make offer and we'll talk. target manager
