By: Teresa Mull

It’s shooting sports season!

But…because of the COVID outbreak and ensuing shutdowns, recurring riots, and Joe Biden’s promise to ban guns and ammo, ammunition is hard to come by these days, making practicing your shotgunning skills something of a predicament.

Not to practice is a problem, as you need to keep your skills fresh for hunting, sporting, and defense purposes. But practicing also entails using up valuable ammo (even reloading materials are scarce right now!) – so what’s a shotgunner to do?!

Enter the Robert Louis Company Ultimate Practice Shooting System (UPSS): a laser shooting product that allows you to practice from the warmth, comfort, convenience, and safety of your own home, without expending hard-to-find and expensive shotgun shells.

“Practice, practice, practice” is the mantra of the Robert Louis Company, and as a novice trap shooter eager to improve my skills, I jumped at the opportunity when the company’s founder and owner, Bob Foege, offered to send me the Basic Ultimate Practice Shooting System in exchange for my honest review. Here’s what I found:

Daunting instructions, but easy to assemble

The system arrived beautifully packaged in a handy and secure case. It’s clear Bob and his team have put tons of time and thought into this system, its design, function, and presentation.

That said, the instruction manual did intimidate me a little at first. It’s full of useful information and advice pertaining to installing, operating, and using the various systems the company offers. As someone eager to get going right away, the Robert Louis Company’s website offers a quick start guide that had me practicing in no time:

It is a two-step process: 1. Making sure your gun is free of live ammo, put the LaserShooter in your gun’s muzzle; 2. Put the LaserPro on its tripod on a flat surface and turn it on. Aim in the direction you want the moving target to travel and fire away at the target.

How it works

The UPSS I used includes a LaserShooter – the part that fits into the muzzle of the gun and is connected to the trigger ring, which you slip over your finger and place on the trigger when you “shoot” and fire the laser (red or green or both); and a moving target projector that “throws” laser birds on the wall (you can even set it to fire with voice-activated commands).

Also included are tripods for mounting the target projector, tools with which to adjust the LaserShooter, should it become necessary, as well as a paper target by which to sight in your gun, and a charger to recharge the system.

Other options for this system include a “Bang Box,” which mimics the sound of gun firing each time the user shoots and “adds a touch of realism to the practicing experience.” Another fun option is “The Wobbler,” which provides the option of unpredictable target patterns.

The skeet/trap banner is another optional item. The banner is 9 feet wide by 4 feet, 5 inches in height, and hanging it on the wall puts the person practicing “right in the field.”

In use

The target projector enables you to adjust the speed, window size, and position of the “wall birds” to duplicate a skeet, trap, etc. target. It also allows you to throw singles or doubles, depending on your chosen sport.

The Robert Louis Company offers this advice to users:

Practice until you feel you have had enough. It is better to practice in short sessions for several periods than to push yourself and become tired. In a typical 15-minute session you will shoot your gun about 200 times. In a week of 15-minute practice sessions you will fire your gun about 1000 times providing you with the practice at various targets and the repetitions required to develop muscle memory.

Users of this product have testified that it especially helps those living in urban areas and those instructing new shooters. I can testify that the system is simple to set up, and Bob is extremely generous and patient with any questions customers may have.

Conclusion

This product is great for any shotgun shooter serious about improving scores on moving targets. With the uncertainty of the world these days, gun and ammo control looming on the horizon, and the price of life ever-increasing, this system is more important now than ever.

Plus, it’s just nice to be able to practice out of the elements now and then without the hassle of having to clean your gun every time!

For more information on this product, visit this website: https://robertlouisco.com/faqs.

Happy shooting!

Teresa Mull ([email protected]) is editor of Gunpowder Magazine.