Anyone using Caldwell targets?

I have shot a lot of them in the last few weeks. Shooting Skeet with Beomat machines and they seem to work just as good as the White Flyers. Pretty much zero breakage. I have not spoken with the Trap shooters on how well they have been working in the Pat traps. Have not to tried them in Sporting traps with a lot of spring yet either. But as long as the machine is set up properly I do not see having any issues.

The price difference is certainly worth a look.
 
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Back in time we used to use only Caldwell in our Pat Trap, no significant issues that I recall. When we started sporting clays about 12 years ago we had excessive breakage. Switched to White Flyer and the problem went away. Its not only the target that breaks in the machine that is wasted. Usually a broken target results in debris in the machine which needs to be cleared, so a broken target may result in loosing another 1, 2 or 3 other targets. If you are hosting sporting clays competitions, broken targets will not make you any friends among the shooters. Bottom line, I think we were better off with White Flyer even though they cost more, now $20 for a case which is up about 50% from what it was when we first started using them.

I think most of the sporting clays clubs in Western Canada are using White Flyer, probably a good reason why.
 
salter said:
Back in time we used to use only Caldwell in our Pat Trap, no significant issues that I recall. When we started sporting clays about 12 years ago we had excessive breakage. Switched to White Flyer and the problem went away. Its not only the target that breaks in the machine that is wasted. Usually a broken target results in debris in the machine which needs to be cleared, so a broken target may result in loosing another 1, 2 or 3 other targets. If you are hosting sporting clays competitions, broken targets will not make you any friends among the shooters. Bottom line, I think we were better off with White Flyer even though they cost more, now $20 for a case which is up about 50% from what it was when we first started using them.

I think most of the sporting clays clubs in Western Canada are using White Flyer, probably a good reason why.
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Our Club went through the same issues as yours. Word is they were having raw material issues at the time and their supply is now more consistent. I guess we will see as our Club has committed to a load to give them a good try. For Trap and Skeet I am sure they will be fine and we throw very little Sporting. If I was operating a Sporting only Club I would not be using them for no other reason than the need for specialty targets (60’s,70’s,90’s,rabbits,battues). I hope it works out and we are able to support a Canadian company long term.
 
Westward

Certainly the availability of the specialty targets was another factor as well as the various color schemes.
 
Between Trap and 5 stand we go thru about 20-25 pallets of Caldwell targets a year. Almost no breakage in our 2 Pat traps and very little in the 6 Mec machines for 5 stand. Simple math works out to about $7000 of EXTRA profit to the club .
 
Bogman said:
Between Trap and 5 stand we go thru about 20-25 pallets of Caldwell targets a year. Almost no breakage in our 2 Pat traps and very little in the 6 Mec machines for 5 stand. Simple math works out to about $7000 of EXTRA profit to the club .
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Hard to pass up that kind of money.
 
There has been a lot of talk lately on shooting forums about supporting Canadian companies and Canadian made products. Here is the perfect opportunity for Trap and Skeet clubs in the west to do more than talk.
 
Westward1 said:
There has been a lot of talk lately on shooting forums about supporting Canadian companies and Canadian made products. Here is the perfect opportunity for Trap and Skeet clubs in the west to do more than talk.
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I agree 100% and it ticked me off to no end when I received the annual program from the Edmonton Gun Club on their 2022 shoots and in it was a note that the APTA has mandated that EGC throw White Flyer targets for the 2022 AB Provincial Trapshoot and it meant that target fees would be going from $40 per hundred to $47 per 100 to cover the cost increase. I am not impressed that the APTA is telling the club hosting the shoot what brand targets they must throw. I just bought two complete trap layouts from a fellow whose father passed away last year and owned a two trap range club. My wife and I will be buying an acreage and putting a private range in our back yard and we'll be using nothing but Canadian made targets!
 
bdft said:
Just heard today from our club guy in charge of targets that Caldwell is closing up shop. Now we have to find a source for White Flyer I guess.
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Why not go with Lawry? They are Canadian made and they ship all over Canada and the USA. The Lawry family has done more to support Canadian shooters and Canadian clubs, especially smaller clubs with very limited budgets than White Flyer ever has or ever will. With White Flyer you have to deal with a dealer, with Lawry you are dealing with the source (manufacturer)...
 
What I have heard is that no one has bought the business yet, the family members don't want to continue running it and haven't heard any rumors about possibly interested parties. Have also heard that those clubs who were using Caldwell exclusively are now scrambling to find targets.

Caldwell was in business many years, it must have turned a profit. Perhaps it could be a good business for someone with an acreage for example. Not sure what is used for heat, electricity or natural gas. That might determine whether it would be best in BC or AB. Perhaps energy costs are low in SK, don't know.

Perhaps some clubs should form a consortium to buy the business.
 
We are one of the clubs scrambling for targets. Lawry's will only ship by the container on the train or we can drive to Prophet River and buy them. Both options are unworkable. We are presently trying to put together a deal with Tom Ferguson for a truckload. Freight is the killer throughout most of Canada outside of Ontario.
 
bdft said:
Just heard today from our club guy in charge of targets that Caldwell is closing up shop. Now we have to find a source for White Flyer I guess.
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Check with your local Canadian Tire. They will do bulk orders on Champion targets and other brands they stock...before Lone Pine in Outlook, SK closed they were buying their targets from Canadian Tire. When I bought all the equipment from the family they gave me 300 cases of Champion biodegradables for free.
 
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