(GunReports.com) — On Friday, June 1, representatives of the Shikar Safari Club International Foundation joined with the USA Shooting National Team Members for Shotgun to officially fire the ceremonial first shots from the new international trap bunker the club helped construct.
Groundbreaking on the international-style bunker in Colorado Springs began in June 2011 and upon its completion in February now increases the facilities capacity, provides better training opportunities and allows USA Shooting to host larger national and international competitions.
The addition brings the number of Trap and Skeet fields on-site to five, making the International Shooting Park one of the largest international complexes in the country. Unlike the existing four fields that are overlaid, the new fields are separate, which will allow for competition of one event fully utilizing five fields and leaving a separate field for training of athletes in another discipline. The new fields provide a 20 percent increase in participation to accommodate the growth that the shotgun discipline is currently experiencing.
“Never before have we had a field that replicates the style of bunker we see at international competitions,” said Kelsey Zauhar, a U.S. Olympic Training Center Resident athlete and third-place finisher at the 2012 U.S. Olympic Team Trials in Women’s Trap. “This will allow us to prepare more accurately and ultimately more successfully. Shikar has provided the resident athletes an invaluable advantage and will strengthen our team in the future.”
The new international bunker and all skeet fields operate with the Promatic target systems, which were also donated to USA Shooting. The new bunker features a completely flush top which provides a similar look to the target presentation that athletes see in international competition. The bunker has quickly become a favorite for resident athletes preparing to shoot for the Olympic Trials and international competitions. Another feature unique to the international trap bunker, is a change in design providing for a ramp to accommodate a forklift to place pallets of targets directly into the bunker for easy storage.
