Recently we took a look at the Do-All Outdoors Clay Cannon, a spring loaded handheld clay target thrower. A great step up from your average manual hand thrower, the Clay Cannon was an innovative solution to throwing clay targets with ease and when I conducted the review I noted that part of what made it a good option was the comparative outlay of buying an actual clay target trap which can be cost prohibitive and represent a sizable dent in your funds. I also mentioned that some cheaper and more portable options are becoming available and, as if on cue, we were offered another product from Do-All’s local distributor Outdoor Sporting Agencies. This time we’re looking at the ‘Fowl Play’ automatic trap, a portable free-standing clay target trap packed with features but which won’t break the bank.

The trap arrived boxed and does require some assembly using the tool list including 11mm, 13mm, 14mm sockets or spanners and 4mm and 2.5mm Allen keys. Instructions are pretty basic and most people wouldn’t have a problem putting it together though if you’re the kind who struggles with an Ikea build you may need to call on some help. The kit includes the main head unit with throwing arm, a base, four legs, main spring, hopper tubes and ring, orange safety exclusion ring and brackets, a bag full of nuts, bolts and washers and the foot pedal remote with cable. If you’re at all mechanically minded you should be able to throw it together quite quickly - even I managed.

Once together the head unit including the motor, clutch and throwing arm sits in a raised base with four legs and four upright metal tubes connected at the top with a horseshoe-shaped ring form the hopper to hold clay targets. The unit’s powered by a deep cycle 12V battery (not supplied) connected via a power cord with alligator clips permanently attached to the head unit. The throwing arm pivots off a geared clutch connected to the main spring via a threaded rod which runs from the rear of the throwing arm to the back of the main housing. The connecting rod protrudes through the housing to be held by a 14mm nut and tightening this nut increases tension on the spring for more power to the throwing arm.

In operation the arm begins at 12 o’clock in a fully extended position and when powered up and switched on the motor turns a gear which rotates the arm counterclockwise, loading tension in the spring. At 180 degrees (six o’clock) the arm hits a limiting switch that stops it at this cocked position and coincides with release of a clay target from the hopper to the throwing arm.

When the foot pedal remote is depressed the arm continues forward over the centre of the pivot point which releases the spring so the throwing arm flies forward to launch a clay target. This sequence continues each time the remote pedal is activated so long as there are clays in the hopper and the unit’s turned on.

A toggle switch on front of the unit has three positions - on, off and disarm. The first makes the unit operate as stated and when finished or if minor adjustments or reloading of the hopper are required the ‘disarm’ position serves to de-cock the throwing arm and make the unit safe. For transport and storage it’s recommended the main spring be removed as when spooled up the swinging throwing arm could present quite a hazard if you were to come into contact with it in any way so safety, care and respect are essential when using such a device. The trap includes an orange safety exclusion ring which resembles two-thirds of an orange hula-hoop and runs from a stud at the rear of the housing out in an arc through two brackets to a stud on the other side of the housing. This creates a halo if you will, which encloses the ‘arc of danger’ presented by the throwing arm in motion and serves as an active reminder of where the potential danger lies.

For testing I took the battery from my old tractor which I made sure was fully charged to start with though I note the recommendation is for a deep cycle marine battery so perhaps I should’ve used one from the Bayliner instead. As it happens the heavy duty tractor battery worked fine though I’m advised if you don’t use enough battery you could encounter issues. While on the power source I’d note the power cord isn’t any great length, about a metre or so, the idea being the battery sits pretty much directly behind the unit on the ground. If it was mine I’d replace the alligator clips on the power cord for an Anderson plug so I could simply run an extension from my truck, not an issue of course if you have a spare or buy a dedicated battery to use with the unit.

After basic set-up I had some minor issues with the throwing arm stopping prematurely which required adjustment of the limiting switch (this is covered in the manual). It took me a little fiddling to have it just right and, if not perfect, the arm stops short of releasing the next clay to the throwing arm and if too much it doesn’t stop at all and will cycle and throw clays continuously. I also found the instructions a tad unclear as to how much tension should be applied to the main spring (nut position) and found a contradiction between the official YouTube assembly video and written instructions but went with the latter and once up and running it worked like a dream.

The height of clays thrown can be adjusted by 5-35 degrees by loosening two of the four bolts holding the head unit in the frame then changing the angle and, once set, the angle thrown is fixed so effectively you get the same clay every time, strong winds notwithstanding. The foot pedal has a generous lead so you can move around within safe parameters to change target presentation or better still have a friend operate the pedal. If you want more variety in thrown targets, Do-All Outdoors have an optional wobbler kit which replaces the base and oscillates the trap up and down, left and right for greater variation.

The hopper holds 50 targets giving you plenty of action between reloading and the remote pedal allows for one-person operation. The unit throws clays out to around 50m-plus and would be great for those on private land with room to legally shoot farms, acreages and the like. It’s compact enough to transport in a ute or trailer but to my mind is probably best suited to a permanent address. Shooting clays is a ton of fun and the Fowl Play offers similar advantages and features of a commercial grade trap at a fraction of the cost. Pricing varies so check with your dealer. 

Published by SSAA

February 2023 Australian Shooter, written by Daniel O’Dea

www.ssaa.org.au