For many of us, shooting a round of sporting clays means heading to the local course. But what if there was a safe way to shoot sporting clays with a single thrower on just a few acres of land? Enter Renair Shotgun Sports and the ClayBot series of mobile target carriers. By providing a platform for mating a trap to a chassis equipped with a power source and remote control, Renair has made designing your own custom sporting clays course a reality.
CLAYBOT UTC
One of the coolest gadgets I’ve seen this year was Renair Shotgun Sport’s ClayBot Universal Target Carrier at the National Sporting Clays Association U.S. Open, held in May at Back Woods Quail Club in Georgetown, South Carolina. Sporting a bright orange color scheme and relatively large tires, this machine was hard to miss while walking by. Essentially, it’s a remote-controlled adjustable base for mounting a trap—but the ClayBot UTC is much more than that.
The heart of the ClayBot Universal Target Carrier is a 25-horsepower gas engine, which powers a hydraulic system for drive and trap tilt. A hybrid system, the engine also powers the electronics with an on-board alternator that charges the Universal Target Carrier’s battery as it is running. Custom electronics provided by a firm in California are the “brains” inside the UTC, and the battery supplies power for it, along with for the target release, trap spin and spring tension mechanisms.
Trap movement is adjustable by using an RC-style remote, which also handles the drive system control. The range of the remote control is about two miles. A capable machine, the Renair ClayBot Universal Target Carrier’s gas motor also provides for variable speed and increased torque.
What really sets the Renair ClayBot Universal Target Carrier apart is that nearly any implement you can think of can be plugged into it, thanks to the powerful hybrid system that provides electric and hydraulic power. “There are a lot of other uses for the ClayBot UTC besides a mobile trap,” says Ben Rennert, the son of company founder, Casey Rennert. “For example, you can pull a rough cut mower, split wood or even spot a trailer with it.”
While the Renair ClayBot Universal Target Carrier that I observed at the 2022 National Sporting Clays Association U.S. Open in South Carolina was equipped with a Promatic trap, just about any trap will fit. Ben mentioned to me that the three most popular trap brands are Promatic, Laporte and Atlas.
CUSTOM COURSE
With one Renair Shotgun Sports ClayBot Universal Target Carrier and a few acres of land, you can make a custom sporting clays course. All you have to do is use your imagination. Small adjustments to the trap’s tilt, spin or angle, or moving the ClayBot UTC itself, can all be performed easily with just a button press or two on the remote control. You can even lower the trap or adjust the spring tension to change the velocity. With the remote control range of approximately two miles, if you have a full tank of gas, the sporting clays presentation possibilities are nearly endless with the ClayBot UTC.
Since the ClayBot Universal Target Carrier is state-of-the-art, it does not come cheap. Pricing starts at $16,500, sans trap. Renair Shotgun Sports also offers more affordable models in its mobile target carrier lineup, including the compact ClayBot MKIV ($8,500), which swaps the on-board generator for a 30-watt solar panel, among other things. Visit renairshotgunsports.com to learn more.
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