# Bumper Boys and COOLLLLD Weather



## KEukaFlyer (Oct 7, 2005)

I've been reading back aways and it seems some people have problems with their Bumper Boys in cold weather.

Mine are hit-and-miss. The other day it was 15-20 degrees and one BB worked fine and they other shot both bumpers about 4 feet in the air. First step I cleaned out the inside of the launcher barrel, didn't help. I got out the directions and put some grease on the O-rings and yesterday it helped - 3 succesful launches and 1 failed off of the one and the other was fine.

I do have to mention the one I am having trouble with was left in a light rain one night, but I brought it in and dried it off...no long term affects I can see. They are also the newer models, I just bought them this year.

Does anyone else have these types of problems or any solutions?????

Thanks!!
Joe


----------



## roxie (Oct 23, 2003)

Hi Joe.

The moisture hinders the .22 cartridge powder from fully burning....thus creating weak/poor launches.

The key is to store them in a dry, low humidity area. Moisture and electronics are not friends. :wink: 

Good luck.


----------



## John Lash (Sep 19, 2006)

Joe,
I've been using Bumper Boys a long time. The few problems I've had were: 

Moisture, I'm sure you already know they don't work if the inside of the bumper or the barrel is wet or even damp. If you shoot them into water BB says to spin them around, like a windmill, or dry them out with a shotgun cleaning swab. I've done O.K. with a 12 gauge wire brush and patches to dry them. When the dogs bring them back you can lay them down so that water drains out instead of lays in them. It's easier to use spare dry bumpers though. Even wet cover, if the dog carries it a certain way or the bounce from when it's shot, it doesn't take much.


I've never had a problem that I think was temperature related, but I'm sure even a little snow in a bumper would be bad.

Bad ammo, I used to get no shot, looked at the blank and it had been hit hard by the firing pin. I used to keep the ammo in the box it came in, it takes a while to use it and invariably it would rain a few times in the course of using it. I now empty a new box into a waterproof container. No problems, maybe I just got some bad blanks, maybe it was water...They wouldn't fire at all though.

BB instructions say to use a dry lubricant in the firing pin assembly. I recently had some not fire occasionally and looking at the blank it had been hit very lightly. If you tried it again it would fire. I sprayed a gun cleaning solvent into the firing pin hole, let it run out the other end, then sprayed a little gun oil in and let it drain. Unlatch the assembly, cock it, spray the solvent and manually fire it a few times, then do the same with the oil. Watch your fingers... (Just trip the mechanism with the tip of your finger and don't hold onto the assembly in the back. If you're in doubt fire it with the transmitter.) Be sure to leave the assembly unlatched through all this so you aren't "dry firing" the pin into the barrel. Again this worked for me but they say to use a dry lubricant.


I've used them in the rain, even a light rain, set up several launchers and run several dogs. Once one is fired it's barrel is uncovered to let rain go into the hole in the top and possibly cause a misfire next time. I think if you reload and just shoot it you can dry the barrel, then reload and put the bumper on and it'll work so you don't have to walk back out because of a misfire.

If the batteries are low sometimes it will fire the first barrel, and not the second, then you reload, or walk out to check it, the battery has enough to fire again, like it's working erratically. If you have the sound option, hit the sound, and if it doesn't work the batteries are low. Don't overdo it though, BB told me that the sound option uses the most power to operate. They have a low battery light, but in my experience it doesn't come on soon enough.


If someone left it out in the rain it probably is O.K., if something was wrong with the electronics it wouldn't fire at all. BB instuctions say it's O.K. to use them in the rain. I think it says to keep them upright.

Hope this helps

John


----------



## lablover (Dec 17, 2003)

Also, don't store wet bumpers on the launching tubes. Causes light corrosion.
Wipe the launch tubes with Hoppes # 9 or similar solvent to remove burnt powder residue.
I almost will never leave the BB's "loaded", and always leave the actions open for air circulation. Mine stay in the Suburban.


----------



## KEukaFlyer (Oct 7, 2005)

Thanks for the great input. I try to follow most of those points religously. I store my blanks in a waterproof tube and always let my bumpers dry out off of the unit. The times I tried it they were definitely dry. I have launched many times with wet bumpers and have had pretty good results with a misfire only once in a while.

The point about the firing pin not striking hard enough is of interest to me. I was under the impression as long as it struck enough to ignite the load it would all go. i'll have to check them out next time. They did sound more like a cork gun launching than a sharp crack. I wonder if some water got inside of the mechanism.

Thanks for the tips, I'll try this out and let you know. If anyone else has any ideas please let me know!!

Thanks again!!
Joe


----------



## badbullgator (Dec 20, 2004)

What everyone said above and store you ammo in a waterproof container. Get yourself a desiccation pack. One of those little paper packages that come in pill bottles. They suck the moisture out of the air and will help a lot.


----------



## Goldenboy (Jun 16, 2004)

Also, periodically fire off a round from each tube without the bumper attached to help clean out any residue.


----------



## lablover (Dec 17, 2003)

Goldenboy said:


> Also, periodically fire off a round from each tube without the bumper attached to help clean out any residue.


There's an idea I had not considered. Probably use a yellow or red load for that.


----------



## KEukaFlyer (Oct 7, 2005)

Thanks again for all of the great input. As a follow up to my question I think I fixed the problem.

I replaced the O-rings with new ones. The old ones didn't look worn, and I didn't think I've used them enough to have to replace them. I just bought them this last summer! It might be with the onset of the cold that's all they needed to malfunction.

The new ones I put on offered _just_ a little more of a seal than the old ones. So little you can hardly tell, but what a difference it made. They are now shooting as far as they did the first day out of the box.

Just wanted to share, thanks again for all of the great input!

Joe


----------



## lablover (Dec 17, 2003)

Another thing to be cautious of.

When applying the silacone grease to the o-rings, wipe off any excess that may be on the tube. Excess grease attracts dirt & crud and may interfere with proper launching. It also will get into the hole of the bumper and attract additional dirt & crud, and prevent a proper seal.


----------



## Kris Hunt (Feb 25, 2005)

And the grease will make the bumpers slide around too much. One way to control the distance the bumpers go (sometimes they go TOO high in the air) is don't push the bumper all the way down onto the tube. This gives a little better throw when you have a mixed background and a dog that has trouble seeing the bumpers.

I'm getting a new one today, can't wait! I've really enjoyed the bumper boys although initially they were a pain, but it was all about learning how to use them and nothing about their function.

Has anyone tried the bird baskets? Or putting duck wings on the bumpers? I know they have super birds, but they are expensive.

Kris


----------



## brockdb (Dec 28, 2003)

I've tried the bird baskets a few times and never had any luck. I had problem with them flipping the launchers over and did not get very good throws using a Doken dove. I've always meant to try them out again and experiment a little to try to get them to work.

When I get the urge to use real birds, I’ll skin a teal and wrap/tape them around a Bumper Boy Bumper or Superbird. Works great.


----------



## brockdb (Dec 28, 2003)

Duplicate post.


----------



## brockdb (Dec 28, 2003)

Duplicate post.


----------



## lablover (Dec 17, 2003)

Kris Hunt said:


> And the grease will make the bumpers slide around too much. One way to control the distance the bumpers go (sometimes they go TOO high in the air) is don't push the bumper all the way down onto the tube. This gives a little better throw when you have a mixed background and a dog that has trouble seeing the bumpers.
> 
> I'm getting a new one today, can't wait! I've really enjoyed the bumper boys although initially they were a pain, but it was all about learning how to use them and nothing about their function.
> 
> ...


Kris,

You can adjust the distance and height of throw by changing the throw angle with the adjcusters.
On 1 on my 3, 4 shooters I have a 1.5" piece of PVC pipe temporarily glued to the base of the launcher pole. Same on 1 Derby Double. That automatically shortens the throw. Use the adjusters to determine the hight and distance.

I normally do my land work first, then water work, because of the problems associated with poor throws after the bumpers hit the water and don't have enough time to dry out.

Super birds go a little further than the bumpers. The dogs seem to like them fine. Show to dog before using in the field, so they know what they are looking for. 
I have a bird basket, but never used it. 
Got A Gunners Up SOG model to throw birds. You can attach bird wings to the bumpers/Super Birds with cable ties and they will work fine. Just tighten them as much as possible.


----------

