Do All Aerial Assault Auto Trap

 

by Jeff Quinn

photography by Jeff Quinn & Boge Quinn

December 11th, 2006

 

 

 

Click for video! (Quicktime format)

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.