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Shooting clay targets with a shotgun is one of
the most popular, and most fun, things to do in the shooting
sports. They are cheap to shoot, and you don’t have to mess
with cleaning them and cooking them. Many formal shooting sports
involve the use of clay targets, from local club skeet shoots to
Olympic competition. In many parts of the world, clay shooting
is the most prevalent shooting sport to be found.
I have never been involved in any type of clay
shooting competition, but I do enjoy shooting at those little
flying disks for relaxing fun and for practice on my
wing-shooting skills, or lack thereof. I have for several years
owned a good manual trap from Do All Outdoors, and it has
served me well. At the 2006 SHOT
Show in Las Vegas, Nevada, I ended up sharing a cab from
the airport with the owner of Do All Outdoors, and he told me
about their new automatic trap they had coming out . I had seen
auto traps before, but they were always owned by a shooting club
or some well-heeled serious competitor. Then he told me that his
new auto trap would retail for under $500, and I became very
interested. Most basic auto traps start at about twice
that amount, and the price goes up quickly from there. Looking
at a prototype later at the show, I immediately put in an order
for one.
I didn’t receive my Do All Aerial Assault auto
trap until about eight months later. The new trap has been a
runaway success, with many thousands of them already sold, and
Do All was in a back-ordered situation for several months. I do
not think that anyone anticipated how popular it would be. The
trap has undergone a few changes to the plate and arm since its
introduction, and I think that Do All has now got the Aerial
Assault trap perfected, and dealers have them in stock ready to
ship.
There is not a lot to write about a trap, except
that the Do All works as advertised. It is a well-designed unit,
built of heavy-duty materials. The throwing arm has a hard
plastic strip that contacts the clay bird, and it does a good
job of protecting the bird from damage. My Aerial Assault has
yet to break its first bird, which is stating a lot, as
sometimes traps are bad about breaking them.
The Aerial Assault has an adjustable pivot which
attaches the trap to the base, allowing the angle of the throw
to be changed to suit the shooter. The trap throws hard, but
smooth. My trap was set up to sling the birds about seventy-five
yards, and I left it set right there. Do All claims that the
Aerial Assault can be adjusted to throw out to one hundred
yards, and I do not doubt that claim. The spring is easily
adjustable for a harder throw, if one desires. The cycle
time of the trap is just a couple of seconds. Be sure to
watch the short video of the trap cycling by clicking the
picture to the right.
One feature that I really like about this trap
is that the standard foot-pedal release can be extended with
regular everyday extension cords out as far as the shooter
desires. However, I got the optional wireless remote that allows
the shooter to walk freely to any position around the trap. The
shooter can even have the trap to throw birds towards his
position, to simulate just about any hunting situation. The
remote is like that supplied with new cars to unlock the doors.
The receiver plugs in to where the foot pedal is usually
plugged, and it hooks to the same battery as the trap. To supply
power to the trap, an automotive or marine (preferred) battery
is all that is needed. This makes the whole setup very portable.
The four-legged base can be set up just about anywhere, but I
placed mine in the back of my Yamaha Rhino, along with
the marine battery, and it is the perfect way to transport the
unit, leaving it in the Rhino for the whole shooting session.
The trap holds fifty targets in the magazine, and extension kits
are available to allow a greater capacity.
The Aerial Assault comes with everything needed
except targets and a battery. Do All has placed the ability to
own an auto trap within almost any shooter’s budget. The
Aerial Assault can be purchased at most any Do All dealer, or
can be ordered online from sources like Cabela’s, Bass
Pro, and several other places, even Amazon.com.
A link to these online dealers can be found on Do All’s
website. I checked several places, and all of them had the
Aerial Assault listed for under 500 bucks at the time of this
writing.
Check out the extensive line of Do All Outdoors
products online at: www.doalloutdoors.com.
If you are needing a good clay target thrower,
look hard at the Aerial Assault from Do All. I highly recommend
it.
Jeff Quinn
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Click pictures for a larger version.
Do All Aerial Assault auto trap.
Foot pedal (top) or remote unit (center) plugs into trap
(bottom).
Remote operates either one or two traps.
ON/OFF switch.
Plastic edge on throwing arm protects clay targets.
Throwing angle is adjustable.
The Aerial Assault is right at home in Jeff's Yamaha
Rhino.
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