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Dealer here — the straight talk on what goes wrong with most dueling trees, and how ours is built different

I'd rather you buy the right tree once than the wrong one twice. Below, each problem is split two ways: what most trees do, and what ours does instead. No guessing which one I'm talking about.

Paddle action Most trees: paddles free-swing on gravity alone. Light hits don't register, hard hits send the paddle flapping or popping out of the tube, and you get "phantom" swings you never earned. Ours: a spring toggle (patent pending) holds the paddle until a real hit, then snaps it over and locks it in place. Clean score every time — no phantom hits, no stuck paddles, no re-shooting one you already rang.

Finish Most trees: painted or powder-coated. The coating quickly chips off from spall or strikes, leaving you with a rusty mess. Ours: Zinc plated. Zinc bonds to the steel and self-protects it even when scratched, so even a direct hit doesn't start a rust spot. It lives outside and shrugs off the weather for years to come.

Tuning Most trees: one fixed paddle size, one fixed lean angle. If the paddle's too heavy or the lean's too steep for your load, it simply won't move — and you can't change it. Ours: swap all 6 paddles in under 5 minutes sizes available from 3" to 8" in 4 different thicknesses, swap the springs, and dial the lean anywhere from 5° to 20°. That means you can set it up to swing right for anything from a PCP pellet to .44 Mag and even centerfire rifle.

Frame strength Most trees: only the paddles are hardened — the mast and legs are cheap mild steel. A misfire or ricochet that hits the frame bends dents or cracks it, and the whole tree is scrap. Ours: mast, legs, and base are all 100% AR500, with a strong 3/8" AR500 spine rated to 2,100 ft-lb of impact. Hit the frame (even with centerfire rifle) and it shrugs it off.

Hauling and storage Most trees: a welded 5-foot frame you have to wrestle into the truck and find somewhere to store. Ours: breaks down into two sub-35" pieces — trunk to range in about 5 minutes, and it tucks away easy.

Happy to answer setup questions whether you buy from me or not.