Interesting question. I'll follow to get some answers.

 

We store our targets on a pallet, in a garage with standard ventilated soffits, concrete slab floor, with no heat.
Temperature ranges from mid 30s C to minus 40C, normally with low humidity.
There's no perceptible effect on target quality over years.

 

I though we were going to beat that horse about the hardness of different brands of clay targets.
Over the years we have found moisture is the cause of most our broken birds and careless handling.
All our traphouses have pallets on the floors and we don't push them up against the concrete. All 5stand machines have covers and no clays are to be left out even during shooting.
Extra birds and broken birds eat up your profits really fast.

 

I think you will find that the classic 'pitch' targets are pretty insensitive to time, weather, storage.

'Bio' targets, on the other hand tend to be sensitive to humidity. A club I used to shoot at stored target in a wooden shed (back yard type) near a creek and after sitting there for roughly a year they were almost useless. The targets 'sticking together' meant they became monolithic.

Most trap machines will free up pitch targets that are 'stuck' together as it rotates and operates. Many of the bio targets I have seen just stay a solid mass...

 

I think you will find that the classic 'pitch' targets are pretty insensitive to time, weather, storage.

'Bio' targets, on the other hand tend to be sensitive to humidity. A club I used to shoot at stored target in a wooden shed (back yard type) near a creek and after sitting there for roughly a year they were almost useless. The targets 'sticking together' meant they became monolithic.

Most trap machines will free up pitch targets that are 'stuck' together as it rotates and operates. Many of the bio targets I have seen just stay a solid mass...

My Club in Illinois threw pitch targets for years. In 2001 we had to move to the Bio and throw steel shot.

Bio targets broke, but by their composition, they were tougher than pitch. We used #7, 6-1/2 and #6 size steel shot, thrown at faster velocity. You could toss Bios in the grass v. Pitch and I could notice a notable difference in breakage.

We stored our targets in an unheated, ventilated garage on pallets. Chicago temps and seasons... heat, cold, rain and snow... generally, stayed unaffected as well as our trap machines... we didn't get the problems some club encountered.

My observations...

 

I watched a video a while back where a guy tested the targets with some contraption

he put some in the freezer and let some bake outside in the sun. Using his tool they measured the force to crack
targets and found no difference in the amount of force to bust a target cold or warm.

 

I watched a video a while back where a guy tested the targets with some contraption

he put some in the freezer and let some bake outside in the sun. Using his tool they measured the force to crack
targets and found no difference in the amount of force to bust a target cold or warm.
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Did he test different brands, different makeup (pitch or bio as an example)? Using only one brand made of pitch may be very different from another brand made of something else.

 

 

I watched the same video. He only used one brand but it was pretty interesting.

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I usually find there is a hard target or two in every round I shoot.. They don't break!!!! I think the shot bounced off of them and I am sure I hit them. Can't prove it though, they broke when they hit the ground. Lol

 

Wouldn’t a hard target fracture easier and thus spin apart more effectively than if soft by composition they would be more resilient to fracture since they could more effectively absorb pellet energy?

 

Interesting thought. I know that many years ago , Remington provided the targets for the Grand ( I was there that year) Before I shot ,some shooters told me to get # 7-1/2s at the shell house. A lot of targets were being knocked SIDEWAYS but didn't break. I shot 7-1/2s the whole time. As the story goes it turns out the targets were not fully cured. Some claimed they wee too hard but, in reality , they were more "rubbery" than hard. Some guys went out and picked up targets with several holes in them. On that basis I believe your narrative is correct.

 

Two targets dropped from 8 feet. One at room temp. One out of the freezer. Which do you think was the frozen one?

 

We hold a boxing Day shoot, then a week later a New Years shoot. One year the targets were left in the houses, which normally isn't a problem for only a week, but it was extremely wet on Boxing Day and a couple more, then we had a hard freeze.
The targets had obviously picked up some moisture, then froze, because I saw many targets hit and change course up to 15-20 degrees without breaking, then hit the frozen ground, bounce, and still not break. I've never seen that happen before or since, and can only attribute it to targets getting damp and then freezing solid.
Our targets are stored on pallets on a concrete floor, inside an uninsulated building. There's no problem in winter normally, but being locked in a small space, on concrete without a pallet under them, was definitely a disaster that year.

 

My problem is usually the targets are too brittle and break while being thrown. The way I store my targets is in their original box and in a closet. Can't say I've ever experienced targets that were so hard that the shot bounces off it, but I might use that as an excuse for a clear miss next time I'm shooting with a group.

 

Fun fact.
Ky had ordered to many clays for the state shoot and stored them in a well ventilated barn for a year.
Witnesses claim that when shot the following year they smoked like a freight train.
Using this information tells us the longer they cure in a dry ventilated inviroment the better.

 

Maybe when I retire, I will get make an air gun for 7.5 shot, attach a target to a drill and spin it, then see how many pellets it takes to break it.

 

I figured by now we be shooting lasers at holograms with hits judged by AI robots. Imagine the discussions on the porch..630 vs 520 nm..

 

Wouldn't that more properly be 750 nm vs 800 nm??

 

BIO targets really suck in my opinion. Kills all grass in the fall area. Can take a hit and keep going too. We tried the Blackout targets and that was a disaster so we went back to pitch targets. Had too much breakage off of the machines no matter how they were adjusted.

 

Champion BioBird biodegradable clay targets are formulated to be pH neutral, and thereby they will not kill the grass in the drop area due to any sulphur (or other) based acidity.

 

Had a buddy who spun some targets out of aluminum - perfect replicas and painted to match. We used them as awards for one of the clubs I shoot with.

One day (alcohol may have been involved in the plenary stages) we slipped a few of them into the trap machine, OK a whole bunch into the trap machine.

Mayhem ensued...

 

Softness is not a synonym for frangible when it comes to clay targets.
It’s also important to remember that the pellets must break the target from almost side on, not by direct strikes on the dome.

 

Good point. When first looking at a clay in hand one would probably automatically see it from the top or bottom. When most are shot at the side is what’s viewed.


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I’ve never heard of this before interesting. We keep our targets in cold storage all year long. I have never noticed a difference in breakage. But never gave it any thought

 

Same here. Keep our targets in cold storage all year round, with no issues.

 

Years ago a small club bought a load of pitch targets they had no good place store over winter they froze got very damp the boxes showed signs of being wet then dried in spring had a shoot ,boy oh boy was there complaining they very herd to break no consistency you could actually move the target and no visible piece a few of us went out to look at some their were plenty with upto 8 holes in them ,I'm by far no expert but damp wet storage might have some effect

 

Most targets do not age. Temperature and humidity may have a slight effect. Biodegradable targets have a limited shelf life and may be weaker when they are old. Not sure if some may be harder when new to compensate.

 

 

Do you know what type of pigeon? it sounds like you believe the excess moisture is changing the clay or plasters in your pigeons which sounds plausible.

Performance
The composition of clay pigeons must be firm enough for the targets to remain intact when they are shipped, stored, loaded, and thrown into the air. The targets, however, must also be fragile enough to break when struck by a small number of pellets from a shotgun blast.

Traditional Pigeons
Most clay pigeon targets consist of petroleum-based hot pitch and milled limestone. These two ingredients are hot-molded together. Limestone makes up 60 to 80 percent of the target; the remainder is pitch.

Nontoxic Pigeons
Newer pigeon designs are made from nontoxic ingredients, including plaster, calcium bicarbonate, fly ash and heavy spar. These are not biodegradable but are not as harmful to the environment as traditional clay pigeon designs.

Biodegradable Pigeons
Patents for biodegradable “clay” pigeons include simple, edible ingredients, such as sugar, birdseed and water. Grain is a possible substitute for birdseed.

It is a concern when we all try to do our best and compete at whatever level we choose.

Discussion are in the "they say group" that White Flyer is changing the formula on their clay targets because material costs are increasing, but White Flyer keeps the per-box prices the same. Rumor has it the Missouri Targets are more challenging to break than their past chemical mixture. From the internet, "White Flyer Targets, LLC operates five state-of-the-art target manufacturing facilities throughout the United States to ensure total coverage of the country plus Canada and Mexico: Coal Township, PA Plant, (Northeast U.S.) | Dalton, GA Plant (Southeast U.S.) | Webb City, MO Plant, (Central U.S.) | Knox, IN Plant, (North Central U.S.) – San Bernardino, CA Plant, (Western U.S.). Some clubs are securing truckloads to avoid being "lab tested" on their trap club lines." Kind of like when were heard that we can keep our doctor if we change over to Gov't run healthcare..... no, I don't want change on my traps.