The Evolution of an Elite Sport
Clay Pigeon Shooting as an elite sport evolved from the practice of live pigeon shooting in 1800s England: live pigeons were released from a cage - a pigeon trap - by pulling a string to release them as a flying target to be shot mid-air.
Around 1875 shooting live pigeons began to lose its appeal, and the birds were replaced by clay targets that were thrown from a catapult-like trap. By the 1900s a machine, now officially called a trap, was throwing round clay or asphalt targets, which continued to be called pigeons, to be shot by shotguns using lead pellets.
The Age of Laser Clay Pigeon Shooting
These humble beginnings have developed into an established shooting sport. As of today a variety of clay shooting disciplines like skeet, trap and sporting clays attract professional and recreational sportsmen and -women alike.
In the late 1980s a UK company called Laser Sports adapted modern laser technology that was being developed for the British Army, to be used in traditional clay pigeon shooting - and so the age of Laser Clay Pigeon Shooting began.
The Technology
Laser Sports uses this technology in real shotguns by decommissioning and retrofitting them with an infra-red laser emitter and a laser receiver. The shotguns are further equipped with a software link to a digital scoreboard to allow for real-time registration of a hit.
In Laser Sports the traditional pottery clays are replaced by a polymer pigeon with reflective laser tape - we call them claysers. They are thrown from a professional trap, and if the shot from the laser shotgun is on target, the receiver in the gun registers a hit and this reflects on the scoreboard by the speed of light.
In Clayser Sports, the scoreboard plays a shot sound when the trigger is pulled and the sound of a broken clay if the shot is on target. There is a little light on the shotgun sights that will also go green if the shot is on target, and red if it is not.
Let the Fun Begin
Clayser Sports has no recoil. There are no broken targets as they are all reused. And there are no lead pellets being thrown into the environment. It is 100% safe, highly competitive and fun sport can be played in urban areas without the red tape that would be required for traditional clay pigeon shooting using live ammunition. Believe it or not - some of our claysers glow in the dark. Book one of our night shoots to get the experience!