ESP Big Shot Catapult

How well is it built?

The frame is moulded from glass-filled nylon, which is stiffer and tougher than plain plastic, and that matters on a pult you'll be drawing back hard all session.

The wide gape gives the elastic plenty of room to travel past the forks, and the long handle gives you more to hold than the stubby grips on some cheaper catapults.

The standout detail is the machined stainless-steel rotation pins where the elastic joins the frame. They let the elastic turn rather than wind up on itself, and stainless steel won't rust after a season of wet hands and damp bait bags.

The Large version adds Twin Wall elastic for punch and recovery, so it's built to keep its power over a long baiting session.

For me, it's one of the more solidly made carp pults around, and the 8.5 reflects that. It's a tough, well-thought-out tool rather than a throwaway.

Accuracy & Range

Which version should you pick? The Medium is made for accurate baiting at short to medium range with minimal spread, and its lightweight pouch has vent holes to reduce drag and recoil as the bait leaves.

That should help keep a pouchful of boilies tight together rather than spraying them across the swim.

The Large is the long-range model, with Twin Wall elastic and a large vented pouch that takes bigger helpings of boilies.

On a big gravel pit or a wide lake, that extra power is what you need to reach a spot that's too far for the Medium, and the angled forks set up the firing position so each shot should start the same way.

To be fair, no catapult turns poor technique into tight groupings at range, and it takes practice to get consistent. With the right version for your distance, though, I think it's a very capable boilie pult.

Ease of Use

The long ergonomic handle and the angled forks put your hand and the frame in a consistent position, which is handy when you're baiting up in a hurry before dark.

The easy-grip pull tab on the Medium pouch is simple to hold, and the rotation pins should mean far less time untwisting elastic between pouchfuls.

So, why only an 8.0? The Large's Twin Wall elastic is built for power, and that should mean a harder draw than a light particle pult, which will tire your arm over a big baiting session.

You also need to know your range before you buy, because the Medium and Large are separate catapults rather than one pult with adjustable tension like the Guru Incredible 'Pult.

Overall, it's pretty much fuss-free once you've got the right size, but it isn't the most forgiving pult for a beginner.

Is it good value for money?

Is it worth paying a bit more? The Big Shot costs about the same as the Korda Katapult and more than the Gardner Ultrapult, so it isn't a cheap way to bait up.

What you get for the money is the glass-filled nylon frame, the stainless pins and vented pouches, which are proper long-term features rather than gimmicks.

The catch is that one size won't cover every swim. If you fish both close spots and distant ones, you may end up with a Medium and a Large, and that doubles the spend.

I'd recommend the Large to carp anglers who bait boilies at range on big pits and lakes, and the Medium to anyone who fishes closer and wants tight groupings with little spread. If you only bait at short range now and then, the Gardner Ultrapult does the job for less.