# Thunder 500 Equipment Launcher or Bumper Boy 4 Shooter Pro



## Fogle (Oct 9, 2011)

I am new to the dog training curcuit and I am starting to get hooked. I do not have a club close to help me train and I am thinking of taking the plung and purchasing an electronic bumper thrower. I did not know much about these products and am asking for advice. I have been reading lots of negative posts on Bumper Boys and am becoming a little sceptical. I am in the market for a 4 or 5 shot thrower. I would like sounds of ducks and shots. Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks.


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## Wayne Nutt (Jan 10, 2010)

I would suggest two BB two shooters. Then you can do doubles or you can still put both in the same place. I have been using Bumper Boys for almost 10 years and have had good success.


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## Joe Dutro (Nov 20, 2007)

If your wanting the duck sound go with Dogtra electronics.

As for which type- I own and use the Thunder products and have had great sucess with them. I have used the Bumper Boys a few times but cannot really respond to their reliability. One question I do have is why do you need a 4 to 5 thrower? Are you training multiple dogs? If so I agree. But if you only have 1 or 2 dogs I would save some money and buy the new Thunder 2 shooter. It can always be sent back to the factory and upgraded to a 5 shooter if need be down the road.


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## Fogle (Oct 9, 2011)

Joe Dutro said:


> If your wanting the duck sound go with Dogtra electronics.
> 
> As for which type- I own and use the Thunder products and have had great sucess with them. I have used the Bumper Boys a few times but cannot really respond to their reliability. One question I do have is why do you need a 4 to 5 thrower? Are you training multiple dogs? If so I agree. But if you only have 1 or 2 dogs I would save some money and buy the new Thunder 2 shooter. It can always be sent back to the factory and upgraded to a 5 shooter if need be down the road.


I only have one dog. I guess I was not thinking about how may it threw. Was just thinking more is better. But, I guess in most testing and hunting situations there are not many more that two birds downed or doubles thrown. Thanks again for the advice.


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## Fogle (Oct 9, 2011)

Wayne Nutt said:


> I would suggest two BB two shooters. Then you can do doubles or you can still put both in the same place. I have been using Bumper Boys for almost 10 years and have had good success.


Thanks for the advice on getting two smaller units. Really did not think about that. Great idea.


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## DoubleHaul (Jul 22, 2008)

Fogle said:


> Thanks for the advice on getting two smaller units. Really did not think about that. Great idea.


Unless you have a truck of dogs, 2 two shooters are always a better idea than one 4. Just more flexibility. As someone who dumped my BBs for Thunder, I would go with Thunder. I have not used the two shooters but if they are as reliable as the 5, I would recommend them over the BB.

As Joe said, if you want the duck call, go with Dogtra electronics. However, it really doesn't make any difference to the dog what sound comes out. You just want to focus his attention on the station.


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## Joe Dutro (Nov 20, 2007)

DoubleHaul said:


> Unless you have a truck of dogs, 2 two shooters are always a better idea than one 4. Just more flexibility. As someone who dumped my BBs for Thunder, I would go with Thunder. *I have not used the two shooters but if they are as reliable as the 5*, I would recommend them over the BB.
> 
> As Joe said, if you want the duck call, go with Dogtra electronics. However, it really doesn't make any difference to the dog what sound comes out. You just want to focus his attention on the station.


The 2 shooter just came out. We just took inventory last week. Its basically the same machine just 2 bumper ports instead of 5. But it can be upgraded to a 5 shooter at a later time if needed.

I agree with the sound. The attention getting is more important than the duck sound, but many people like quack.


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## Renee P. (Dec 5, 2010)

I recently bought a Thunder 5 shooter, I'm liking it a lot. I chose it over the Bumper Boy because it looked like it would be easier to haul around in my vehicle and to carry. I had seen both of them in action. I have just one dog, and I like the multiple shots for some of the drills my young dog needs, like trying to teach her water entries.

I also have some wingers, and I prefer these for doing setups because you can put birds in them.

I've been at this dog stuff only about a year.


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## Bamaboy (Aug 28, 2009)

I was in your position a couple of years ago. While I had trained a few dogs in the past, I had used/abused family and friends to throw bumpers. The only thing I had as far as launchers was one of the hand held units that got very little use. Dogs turned out fine. However, assistance from family and friends became harder to come by. So with my last dog, I decided to look into remote launchers. I wound up with a little bit of everything .. actuallly a whole lot of everything. I have BB"s ( 2 shooters and 4 shooters), Thunder 500's and wingers. If I could only have one type, it would definitely be the wingers. Sooner or later you are going to want to use birds and, with birds, wingers are the way to go. With a 2+ year old dog, I rarely use anything other than the wingers. Drawback with wingers is that, it is one shot and done. No immediate repeats and a lot of time spent reloading. However, if I could only have one type, I would still go with a couple of wingers. With the remote bumper launchers, I personally prefer the BB's. The Thunder 500's are good units, fairly light and will launch five bumpers with each reload. Problem is that all five are to the same location ..... great for repeats but you have to adjust the launcher if you want to throw in a different direction. I used these with early training but less and less as the dog progressed ... and started to use the BB's more. With the BB's you can set them up so a unit will throw all bumpers in the same direction or in different directions. So, with a 2 shooter, you can throw both bumpers in the same direction ... for a repeat. Or, you can set it up to throw one bumper to the left and one to the right. With two 2 shooters, you can see that you have lots of options. You also have the option of two different types of bumpers with the BB's. One is a pretty standard, round bumper. The other is a bumper that looks like a small bird. The small bird can be thrown a VERY long way. It is so small/fast, that it is difficult for a dog to see at any real distance. However, I have used it up fairly close to simulate birds coming in over a treeline, coming from behind over a treeline, etc. I have used both the old/new BB electronics. I have not had any significant issues with either. I did not like the long wait for the new electronic, and am still convinced that the changeover could have been managed better, I finally got my new electronics and have found them to work as advertised. So, if I had it to do over, I would get two BB 2 shooters and three zinger wingers. You would definitely not need them all to start so you could start small and work your way up as the dog progresses.


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## duckhnt (Jun 29, 2010)

Wayne Nutt said:


> I would suggest two BB two shooters. Then you can do doubles or you can still put both in the same place. I have been using Bumper Boys for almost 10 years and have had good success.


I second Waynes Note!


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## Micah Duffy (Jan 21, 2010)

Bamaboy said:


> I was in your position a couple of years ago. While I had trained a few dogs in the past, I had used/abused family and friends to throw bumpers. The only thing I had as far as launchers was one of the hand held units that got very little use. Dogs turned out fine. However, assistance from family and friends became harder to come by. So with my last dog, I decided to look into remote launchers. I wound up with a little bit of everything .. actuallly a whole lot of everything. I have BB"s ( 2 shooters and 4 shooters), Thunder 500's and wingers. If I could only have one type, it would definitely be the wingers. Sooner or later you are going to want to use birds and, with birds, wingers are the way to go. With a 2+ year old dog, I rarely use anything other than the wingers. Drawback with wingers is that, it is one shot and done. No immediate repeats and a lot of time spent reloading. However, if I could only have one type, I would still go with a couple of wingers. With the remote bumper launchers, I personally prefer the BB's. The Thunder 500's are good units, fairly light and will launch five bumpers with each reload. Problem is that all five are to the same location ..... great for repeats but you have to adjust the launcher if you want to throw in a different direction. I used these with early training but less and less as the dog progressed ... and started to use the BB's more. With the BB's you can set them up so a unit will throw all bumpers in the same direction or in different directions. So, with a 2 shooter, you can throw both bumpers in the same direction ... for a repeat. Or, you can set it up to throw one bumper to the left and one to the right. With two 2 shooters, you can see that you have lots of options. You also have the option of two different types of bumpers with the BB's. One is a pretty standard, round bumper. The other is a bumper that looks like a small bird. The small bird can be thrown a VERY long way. It is so small/fast, that it is difficult for a dog to see at any real distance. However, I have used it up fairly close to simulate birds coming in over a treeline, coming from behind over a treeline, etc. I have used both the old/new BB electronics. I have not had any significant issues with either. I did not like the long wait for the new electronic, and am still convinced that the changeover could have been managed better, I finally got my new electronics and have found them to work as advertised. So, if I had it to do over, I would get two BB 2 shooters and three zinger wingers. You would definitely not need them all to start so you could start small and work your way up as the dog progresses.



I agree with everything said above. I use the BB and have good luck with them. They are very convienient especially when you are short on time because you can do a setup really fast. If you where to get the two shooters you can shoot about 5 different style of bumpers from them. You can adjust the arc height and change the bumper to get two different tight marks off of the same unit or flip one side around and shoot them like whats called a flower pot. Combine that with all the different bumpers that they shoot and they make some nice scenarios. I still think there is nothing better than using real ducks to train with but its just not an option. I can take a dog to work when its cooler, air them on lunch and breaks and then stop and train for a few minutes on the way home because I can carry all of the stuff with the BBS with me, Now if you have the money to spend get it all!!! lol.


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## Renee P. (Dec 5, 2010)

Bamaboy said:


> I was in your position a couple of years ago. While I had trained a few dogs in the past, I had used/abused family and friends to throw bumpers. The only thing I had as far as launchers was one of the hand held units that got very little use. Dogs turned out fine. However, assistance from family and friends became harder to come by. So with my last dog, I decided to look into remote launchers. I wound up with a little bit of everything .. actuallly a whole lot of everything. I have BB"s ( 2 shooters and 4 shooters), Thunder 500's and wingers. If I could only have one type, it would definitely be the wingers. Sooner or later you are going to want to use birds and, with birds, wingers are the way to go. With a 2+ year old dog, I rarely use anything other than the wingers. Drawback with wingers is that, it is one shot and done. No immediate repeats and a lot of time spent reloading. However, if I could only have one type, I would still go with a couple of wingers. With the remote bumper launchers, I personally prefer the BB's. The Thunder 500's are good units, fairly light and will launch five bumpers with each reload. Problem is that all five are to the same location ..... great for repeats but you have to adjust the launcher if you want to throw in a different direction. I used these with early training but less and less as the dog progressed ... and started to use the BB's more. With the BB's you can set them up so a unit will throw all bumpers in the same direction or in different directions. So, with a 2 shooter, you can throw both bumpers in the same direction ... for a repeat. Or, you can set it up to throw one bumper to the left and one to the right. With two 2 shooters, you can see that you have lots of options. You also have the option of two different types of bumpers with the BB's. One is a pretty standard, round bumper. The other is a bumper that looks like a small bird. The small bird can be thrown a VERY long way. It is so small/fast, that it is difficult for a dog to see at any real distance. However, I have used it up fairly close to simulate birds coming in over a treeline, coming from behind over a treeline, etc. I have used both the old/new BB electronics. I have not had any significant issues with either. I did not like the long wait for the new electronic, and am still convinced that the changeover could have been managed better, I finally got my new electronics and have found them to work as advertised. So, if I had it to do over, I would get two BB 2 shooters and three zinger wingers. You would definitely not need them all to start so you could start small and work your way up as the dog progresses.


This is a really helpful review, I just wanna thank Bamaboy for taking the time to respond.


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## Fogle (Oct 9, 2011)

I would like to thank everyone who replied for their valuable insite and information. You guys really gave me a new perspective on training and tactics. Thanks again.


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