Auto Trench pushed Hobbs
to new level 

 

Brandi Hobbs. Trap-shooting advantage at home The Lake Edinboro Sportsman Club, in partnership with the National Rifle Association and family of Brandi Hobbs, sprang for a $29,000, high-tech international trap simulator. The simulator, produced by Canterbury Trap International Ltd., will allow Hobbs and other local shooters interested in international trap to cut out weekends of intrastate travel and allow them to sharpen their game throughout the year. The simulator imitates international trap bunkers by mixing the speeds, angles and locations of clay targets. It was shipped to Edinboro from New Zealand. - Interested in helping Brandi Hobbs? Contact her at 13851 Arneman Road, Edinboro, PA 16412

When 19-year-old Edinboro native Brandi Hobbs began her chase for a USA Shooting National Championships title in spring 2010, an adjustment to a new, smaller shotgun had her slightly off target.

Fast forward 11 months and it's now Hobbs' wallet that requires reloading.

"This is one of the most expensive sports you can get into," said Skeeter Hobbs, Brandi's father. "All the competitions are far away. Everything costs a lot."

Although Hobbs' résumé has fattened over the past year, equipment and travel expenses continue to add up. Like travel hockey, costs in shooting sports are significant, from top-of-the-line equipment and instruction, to ammunition, to fuel costs and registration fees.

But along with expense comes opportunity. During Hobbs' victory at the Baschieri and Pellagri USA Masters' Cup in May, she shot so well that she caught the attention of Allen Chubb, president of Chubb International Shooting Sports Inc.

"With the way she's shooting right now, I can see good things in her future," said Chubb, a former U.S. Army marksman and 32-year veteran of the sport. "She's matured in her style and in her mental game."

Chubb offered Hobbs an opportunity to shoot alongside him and other Olympic-level competitors during a 10-day trip to Europe in August. It would be her third overseas competition -- she's shot in Slovenia and Italy in the past, but as a member of Team USA.

"I'll be shooting with the best shooters in the world," said Hobbs, a sophomore biology major at Edinboro and a General McLane graduate. "All those people do is eat, sleep, breathe and shoot."

The rub, however, is that the trip will cost about $4,500. After spending thousands on her new gun, a Perazzi MX 2000, and more than $20,000 on a new high-tech bunker trap simulator at the Lake Edinboro Sportsman Club, $5,000 is no small sum to the Hobbs family, who own Edinboro's Hobbs Do It Center

So Hobbs has launched a marketing campaign, sending letters, narratives and résumés to 40 companies in northwestern Pennsylvania in a search for sponsorship or financial support.

"I'd be blown away if they were even interested in helping me," said Hobbs, who started trap shooting when she was 9. "I'd be speechless. Words couldn't describe how appreciative I'd be."

Hobbs' coach, Josh Lakatos, a two-time U.S. Olympian, said the experience would do wonders for Hobbs' dreams of one day competing in the Olympics.

"There is no substitute for stepping on the world platform and knowing the people to your left and right are some of the best shooters in the world," Lakatos said. "To implement your game in that type of environment is the only way to gain confidence in those situations."

The fundraising efforts for the 10-day excursion to Germany and France are nothing new, and pale compared to what Hobbs has to do just to train. Hobbs, a member of three different shooting clubs, has to travel a minimum of four hours across Pennsylvania to practice on international trap bunkers.

"She has to get up early, drive for hours, get out of the car and then start busting caps at clay targets," Chubb said. "Shooting well is hard enough with a good night's rest."

The trip across the state is a walk down the street compared to the cross-country journey she has to make for one-on-one time with Lakatos, who is based in Los Angeles.

Lakatos said that, with a nearby place to regularly shoot trap, there would be no telling how good Hobbs could become.

"It's hard on her because she works so hard with what little she has," he said. "If she ever got the funding and training, it'd be impressive to watch. She'd be lethal."

For the moment, Hobbs would be content with just doing the watching this summer. Hobbs, who needs to book a ticket for her flight soon, said that no matter the cost, the trip to Europe would be priceless.

"I can't explain how beneficial to my shooting career this would be," she said. "I've dedicated everything for this the past five years."

The Santa Ynez Valley Sportsmans Association in Solvang CA recently purchased and installed their new Auto Trench into a custom built mobile bunker allowing them to run Olymipc Trap  training camps around the local shooting clubs . The trailer and Auto Trench purchase were made possible with the support from the Santa Ynel Valley Sportsmans Association and the NRA along with the vision of Charlie Carroll the driving force behind the project.

Auto Trench installed at
Project 2000 Range
El Cajon, CA

P2K Range in El Cajon, California has recently installed a new Auto Trench system extending there already extensive facility. The new field has an overlay of 5 Stand, DTL, Double rise as well as ABT/Wobble, and Olympic bunker shot off the new Auto Trench system.
This is the first commercial installation for the Auto Trench in America and according to Dennis Rohman the complex manager this multi use facility will be a major draw card for all shooters in the area.

This new facility is a real credit to Dennis and his team at P2K and Canterbury Trap wished them all the best for the future.

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                          Auto Trench available in Australia.

Canterbury Trap International is very proud to announce the arrival of the
production model of our latest innovation - the AUTO-TRENCH . In recent
times target delivery systems have been stagnant ie: no real new development
has occurred. We believe that our new system will be hard to eclipse. As a
training and club competition machine, the rest have to catch up and
probably never will.

As well as our proven range of trap products, remember that the Crusader is
the target thrower, this new design shows the way for the club that is
innovative. Members of the club that installs this product will have an
advantage over others. Not only do you get:- Ball trap , but a new and
effective training tool for your young (and not so young) shooters. Ever
practiced or shot Trench??? You should, DTL becomes almost sedate. Your
shooters skills will be enhanced, along with grades and scores. Never
before have you been able to select what you will shoot from the lanes,
instead of setting the traps. No longer will you have to entrust members
without the necessary skills to alter machines inside the bunkhouse. The
only task left to them is loading the hoppers. The rest is push button. So
no more continental set up, no more straight away target set up. Remember,
you can reduce the speed of the targets, but still shoot the programmes,
increasing speed as skill improves. What shooter would not want that
advantage??

Along with Autotrench-Australia our sole agent for this equipment in Australia
we will be offering a "try at your club" option in the New Year. Steve and his
staff will be presenting autotrench in a slip on slip off bunker on a
trailer. The unit will come complete with all you need to operate the unit.
At this stage we propose that Steve would deliver the unit to Eastern States
(initially with SA and WA to follow if they wish to compete) and demonstrate
the unit to several Clubs at the one venue. The trailer would then be left
at that venue, to be moved by participating clubs to their venue. You can
now "try before you buy". Ever had anyone offer that before?? We are so
confident in the units capabilities that we offer this to your club at "NO
COST" which means no cost to the club. Split of the proceeds from the sale
of targets will be discussed to cover the cost of transport. There will be a
token system in operation for the machine, so practice on your own is no
problem.

To be part of this exciting offer you need to register interest to
autotrench-aus@hotmail.com without delay. Remember first in first served.

Canterbury Trap International.