# New Toy - GU Retired Gunner



## FOM (Jan 17, 2003)

I just got a GU Retired Gunner (an early Christmas gift) today. First impressions have me excited about heading out to training tomorrow and I know a certain black dog who kept trying to figure out where the bird was that the stickman was suppose to be throwing! He even fetched up the wihite handler's jacket once as to say, "Hey Mom this guy is sleeping on the job!"

Pretty simple to put together and operate. I like how it is all compact once it is "folded up" and ready to travel. I'm most interested in how the adjustable heights will help/look with the longer gun stations. I also really like the mini-blind used to hide the jacket once it is retired - I hope Rich sells them seperately as they would make great blinds to hide bumper boys behind. I'd also like to know if the blind stakes for the mini-blind are the same style as your full size blinds? If so I think I'll need to pick up a couple.

Anyway, I will take some pictures from the line at various distances to give you an idea of who well it stands out.

Yippppeee, a training fix planned for tomorrow!

Lainee, Flash and Bullet


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## Jay Dufour (Jan 19, 2003)

hey that reminds me of when I put baseball caps on the stickmen....and a little male ran out and got his hair up and barked at the man with no face.It was priceless!!!


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## Jason E. (Sep 9, 2004)

So these r available to buy ?????


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## FOM (Jan 17, 2003)

I got out this weekend and got to play with the GU Retired Gunner, I have a few pictures - all in all very happy with it and it will definately be part of my training setup.

More to follow shortly....

Lainee, Flash and Bullet


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## Jason E. (Sep 9, 2004)

When will they be available to purchase ????


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## FOM (Jan 17, 2003)

Jason,

I would send an PM to Rich, that's how I got mine - I do not see them on the website.

FOM


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## FOM (Jan 17, 2003)

As I stated before I like the GU Retired Gunner. It does has its Pros and Cons however.

Cons:
-> It does not unretire.
-> Wind conditions does effect setup
-> Hard ground where I trained made it a little difficult to stake into the ground, but once it was in, it was in.

Pros:
-> Light weight and easy to setup
-> Simple precautions can be taken to minimize any issues the wind may cause
-> Variable heights are nice when doing longer marks
-> Dog did not run toward the mini-holding blind as I thought might occur
-> Mini-holding blind can be used to hide a Bumper Boy behind it 
-> Pieces and parts break down into managable sizes

Here are some pictures:

These are the parts and pieces of the GU Retired Gunner, all except the remote release system. The "stickman" folded up, mini-holding blind and the relase mechanism. 










This is David having a marshall's talk to the retired gunner after a little mis-hap with the wind - medium wind.










This shows the distance we had the holding blind to the base of the stickman/release - not very far and did not account for any wind.










This is a picture of what "could" happen in a stiff wind. Now note we set this up on purpose as I noticed from the line that the wind was blowing the jacket all over the place wind to my back. This would cause the stickman/jacket to dissappear at times. So David put some sticks in the jacket pocket to give it a little weight and we did not have a problem. Also we figured we should of reverserved how we setup the stickamn part and used the pole to reduce too much movement. Both pictures showing the jacket on the wrong side of the mini-holding blind were setup on purpose with the wind blowing directly from the back of the stickman (basically the wind in the dog's face) By placing a little weight on the jacket and moving the mini-blind a little further out this should not be an issue. 










This is a single setup - I have David standing next to the retired gunner so you can see how the retired gunner looks next to an actual bird boy. Also because I had Flash running the setup and wanted him to see the mark. <grin> This mark is around 200-225.










What you can't see it? This is zoomed in. David on the left, GU retired Gunner on the right.










Continued......


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## FOM (Jan 17, 2003)

This is the GU retired - note Flash is got some speed for an old man <grin>. Actually what I like is he did not run toward the mini-blind which is something he would normally do with a station that was out in the open - I think having the mini-blind is small enough not to suck a dog in.











And this in the world's best bird boy with the world's best black dog modeling with the GU Retired Gunner  Aren't they both cute?










I enjoyed using the GU Retired Gunner - I wished I had more time to test it in various conditions, but this is just an initial review.

FOM


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## Howard N (Jan 3, 2003)

Lainee, David's wearing a whistle. Is he handling Flash now? When's he getting a puppy?


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## FOM (Jan 17, 2003)

Howard,

Yes he handles Flash 99% of the time now - we went duck hunting prior to taking those pictures and he was in charge of his dog  But for this review I handled the old man. 

As far as a puppy - well you have to ask him. If doesn't get one soon I might just explode!  Hey Dave when you getting a puppy?????

FOM


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