Action Target

New Addition to The Action Target Journal

Action Target — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 13:00:15 +0000

To Our Action Target Journal Readers:

We want to thank each of you for making 2011 a great year for Action Target. Over the last 26 years, Action Target has been proud to provide training equipment for the police, for the military, and for the sport shooting industry as a whole. We are thrilled by the success of our weekly newsletter, The Action Target Journal, which has now kept our law enforcement, military, and the general shooting industry informed for more than a year.

The goal of our weekly newsletter is to inform our loyal readers about the happenings and developments within the firearms industry. Due to the enormous success and participation in our newsletter and to better fulfill the needs of our readers, Action Target is proud to announce that starting March 2012, we will begin publishing two separate Action Target Journal newsletters each week.

Because our readership has grown to cover a diverse group of readers, having two weekly articles allows us to better meet the different needs of a greater number of our readers. One newsletter will focus on law enforcement news and events while the other focuses more on the sport shooting community. Both newsletters will continue to offer Steel Deals and readers are more than welcome to participate in both newsletters. We are confident the additional newsletter will continue to be beneficial in delivering timely and relevant articles to readers.

Again, thank you to everyone who has participated in the newsletter and has offered suggestions and input. We want you to know that we do listen and value your needs and opinions. If you have any comments or feedback regarding our exciting new newsletter addition, please contact us or post your comment to this article.

Sincerely,

Addison Sovine
Co-Founder
Action Target, Inc.

Jay Henges Range – High Ridge, Missouri

Dakota — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 23:26:42 +0000

Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office Range

Dakota — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 23:10:35 +0000

[gallery] Read More →

Law and Order (Part Two)

Editor — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 13:00:37 +0000

Written by Keith Mehlin

Editor’s Note: This article was originally published on September 2, 2010. Due to the popularity of the article and the number of new subscribers since it originally went out, Action Target has decided to republish this two part series.

(Continued from last week…)A local firm was hired for the design of the range. We simply told them that we wanted indoor/outdoor ranges, how big we wanted them, and that we wanted classrooms large enough to seat 100 students at tables, which could also divide into smaller rooms. They did a tremendous job in laying out a preliminary plan. Both the police department and the sheriff’s department had firearms instructors who had visited an Action Target built range in Utah to observe that design. Those instructors, the sheriff and I sat down with the designers and came up with the final plan.

One of the largest learning curves for me was how to handle the air and lead contamination in the indoor ranges. One of the best decisions we made was to take the advice of Action Target and use a vendor out of Chicago who has been involved in building ranges around the world. The knowledge they brought to the project was invaluable.

One example of their contribution dealt with what came to be the final layout of the range. We had originally wanted a 20 station, 25-yard indoor range, a 10 station, 50-yard outdoor range, and a 5 station, 100-yard outdoor rifle range. During one of the pre-construction meetings, the representative from Careys, which was the range air handling vendor, asked if we normally had more than 10 people doing firearms training at one time. We normally do our training on the shift and do not have more than 6 or 8 officers at one time shooting. He suggested that we put a wall down the center of the indoor range, thus making two 10 station 25 yard ranges. That way we would only have to run one air handling system at a time under normal situations, saving us a tremendous amount of utility money over the long haul. It would also give us another range which gives us more flexibility when we schedule other agencies.

We ended up with a training facility that consists of two, 25 yard 10 station indoor ranges with state of the art Action Target computerized target systems and a 50 yard, 10 station out door range with the same target system. The ranges have outside doors in which we can pull vehicles onto the range or place anything we need to use to train in cover and concealment on the ranges. We were unable to obtain enough money to build the rifle range, however the building was designed so that that range could be added on at a later time.

The facility also has classrooms with removable walls. We can seat 100 students at tables with the walls removed, or have three classrooms that each seat about 35 students. All three classrooms have computers attached to LCD projectors for visual presentations. There is a wireless internet system throughout the entire building. We were able to physically separate the classrooms from the indoor ranges so you have little or no noise from the ranges while you are in the classrooms. We also have a weapons cleaning room with numerous stations. All stations have compressed air available for the cleaning of weapons. There are locker room facilities and a large break room that overlooks the entry way. The outdoor range has a separate control building that is also used for storage. There are bleachers near the outdoor range for times that an instructor needs to get the students together to stress a point or instruct all in a specific technique.

If I could give one piece of advice to those contemplating a new range, that would be to make sure that you have a competent person to oversee the construction of the building. We were quite fortunate to have access to the Council Bluffs Building Superintendent, Dennis Kuhlmann, who oversaw the entire project, from initial planning to the final walk-through. He has extensive experience in new building projects and was an invaluable asset to us during the entire project. Because of his experience and expertise, we avoided a lot of snags and problems as he took care of them with the general contractor, Action Target, and Carey’s.

To be able to work on and be part of a project that gave our officers one of the nicest training facilities in the country was quite satisfying. The range and classrooms have been accepted by both the instructors and the officers who are trained there. Practically all of the agencies in the Omaha metro area have either used the range or toured it and I have not heard one negative comment. I thought for sure that we would hear at least a couple of “you should have done this”, or “you should have done that” comments, but we have not heard one. We held an open house for the public which was very well attended. All of the community members who toured the facility were impressed. It all came together quite nicely and we are quite proud of the facility.

I don’t think that there are any major changes that we would make if we could do it over again. Adding the 100-yard rifle range would be one of course, and I believe that we will add that in the near future. Other than that, we are quite pleased with how the facility turned out. It meets our expectations quite nicely. We now can train regardless of the Iowa winters, do night training at high noon, and still train in inclement weather on the outdoor range. We have state of the art classrooms for other types of training and meetings which are available at all times. Over all we are very pleased and proud to have this training facility for the officers of Southwest Iowa.

Law and Order (Part One)

Editor — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 13:00:52 +0000

Written by Keith Mehlin

Editor’s Note: This article was originally published on August 26, 2010. Due to the popularity of the article and the number of new subscribers since it originally went out, Action Target has decided to republish this two part series.

The Council Bluffs Police Department had an outdoor 50 yard range for 30 years plus located near the Council Bluffs Airport. This range was built in a large depression which was protected by dirt berms on all sides, including a wall of dirt approximately 20 feet high behind the target area. Approximately 5 years before the range was closed we had added computer controlled turning targets from Action Target and a two story control tower. The tower was built with the help of the FBI. Our range was built in such a way that we could easily place vehicles, both cruisers and simulated suspect vehicles, and other types of items to simulate cover and concealment on the range, quite easily. We also had a small structure in one corner of the range that we could use as a shooting house.

The Department scheduled four firearms training sessions yearly for all sworn officers, which were integrated with defensive tactics training. Our tactical team would shoot once a month. Having been a firearms instructor and defensive tactics instructor myself, I know that we were consistently providing for our officers realistic training that would mimic as best we could combat situations on the street.

Once we added the computer controlled target system and the control tower, we did not feel that we were lacking anything. At that time we had no patrol rifle policy so the 50 yard range was adequate for our needs. Nor did we have any safety issues for the officers using the range, which at the time was being used by 24 different agencies in the Omaha metro area. We were not getting any rounds coming back at the officers from the berm behind the target area. We had mined the lead some years before and it appeared to us that it did not need to be done again. We also had no liability issues on the range as far as officers using the range. We had not had an accident or serious injury on the range for the 32 years that I have been a police officer here. The only injury that I can recall came from a top strap blowing on a revolver several years ago, and fortunately that injury was not serious. We were under the impression that with the improvements that we had made, we were good to go for at least another 30 years on the range. Little did we know that was about to change very quickly.

Our troubles began in mid summer of 2002. One of the tenants at a hangar claimed that he had heard a deflected round hit the roof of the metal hangar when he was working on his airplane. He went to the city and the police department and demanded that we immediately close the range. We did not close the range but did an investigation and concluded that a deflected round did leave the range and land on the roof. We contacted Action Target, who immediately flew out and inspected the range. They made some recommendations, which were implemented, and we continued to use the range, believing that was an isolated incident and that we had fixed the problem. This did not please the individual whose roof the spent round landed on.

A few months after that, this same individual made another complaint outlining the same circumstances; however, this time he had the spent round as evidence. After a very brief investigation, we were able to determine that the rounds that were being fired on the range that day were not of the same caliber of the spent round that this person offered up as evidence. Again, we thought we were safe and continued to operate the range.

That all changed a few weeks later when several construction workers, who were working on a building project near the range, reported hearing deflected rounds going over their heads while they were working. I immediately closed the range because of safety concerns. While we will never know exactly how long rounds had been leaving our range, we feel that we became aware of it because of the encroachment upon the range by an airport expansion project and other building projects near the range. Before those projects, we were isolated enough that spent rounds leaving the range was not a recognized problem.

It was at that point we knew that we needed a new range. Not only were we suddenly without a place to train with our firearms, so was 23 other federal, state, and local agencies. I will always remember the feeling of despair when I realized that my officers and many other officers were suddenly without an adequate place to train to defend their lives and the lives of the people they were sworn to defend. We had to build a range.

The questions that we had when we faced up to the task was where to find the money, where to put the range, how big to build it, and what type of range equipment did we want to use. I knew that I wanted to build the best training facility possible for the officers, but I had no idea how to go about it.

Because the city had been caught flat footed with the range suddenly closing without warning, money was definitely the biggest problem. I decided to attack the problem on three fronts: local money, federal money because several federal agencies used the range, and through a local foundation. Early on in the process I came to realize that without more local involvement, the federal and foundation money would not come into play. I contacted Sheriff Jeff Danker, Pottawattamie County Sheriff, the county in which Council Bluffs is located, and we agreed to make this training facility a joint city county venture. After that decision, and jumping through a lot of political and bureaucratic hoops, local, federal and foundation money was obtained for the building of the training facility.

The research and planning stage actually went quicker than I anticipated. We already had a history with Action Target and were pleased with their target equipment and level of service. I had no knowledge of Action Target bullet traps, or any other traps on the market, but I knew that my biggest concern beyond safety was ease and cost of maintenance. After a short amount of research, I thought that Action Target had the corner on the market on ease of maintaining and simplicity of a bullet trap. The decision was made to go with that company for range equipment.

(This article continues in next week’s newsletter)

The Head-Shot Cadence Drill

Action Target — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 13:00:27 +0000

By Richard Mann

Editor’s Note: The views in this article are the author’s own and don’t necessarily represent those of Action Target, Inc.

Gunsite Instructor Il Ling New believes one of the best ways to train with a defensive handgun is to practice head shots at moderate to extended ranges; meaning as far out as 20 yards. At first glance this may seem a bit extreme but consider that if you can consistently and quickly get heads shots at these distances, center punching a troll at between three and five yards should be easy.

The most common way to practice head shots is to draw from the holster and fire a single shot at the head of a target. Action Target’s Steel Hostage Target works great for this because you can use either the square head of the silhouette or the flapper head that will swing from side to side when hit. This flapper target actually adds a new dimension to head shot training that is impossible to achieve just about any other way.

Regardless of the defensive handgun training that you conduct, training to only deliver one round is not tactically sound and does little to advance your skills, especially when working at varying distances. One question firearms instructors often get asked is, “How soon after my first shot should my next shot be?” In other words, students want to know what their shot cadence should be. The answer is, of course, as fast as you can get hits, and this will vary as your ability increases.

With the Action Target Steel Hostage Target you don’t need a shot timer or an instructor telling you you’re shooting too slowly. Since the flapper target swings from side to side based on energy imparted to it by the bullet, the further away the target is, the slower it will flop over to the other side. The time it takes the target to flop lets the shooter recover from recoil and reengage the target at a new location.

This is realistic because it’s doubtful a bad guy will stand still while you are shooting at him and the greater the distance to the target, the more time it will take you to recover and align your sights. This time is matched very well by the flapper target. If you are ready to shoot as soon as it reappears, you’re shooting fast enough and not too fast, if you get a hit.

Here is a simple drill you can use to practice head-shots at varying ranges while fine tuning your shot cadence:

Set Action Target Hostage Targets at 5, 15, and 20 yards
Start by practicing at each individual distance, engaging the flapper target only
After you are consistent at each range, engage all the flapper targets starting with the closest and moving to the furthest, with at least two shots each (more shots at each range are even better if your handgun has a higher capacity).
If you only have two Action Target Hostage Targets or limited ammo capacity, place one at 5 yards and the other at 20.

You don’t need a shot timer. Your goal is to engage each flapper target as soon as it reappears. Do this often and you’ll become at-one with your proper shot cadence at near and far ranges. This drill, coupled with the Action Target Steel Hostage Targets, offers a simple mechanical solution to a complex firearms training problem for shooters of all abilities.

To read more from Richard Mann check out his blog Empty Cases, www.empty-cases.com.

Action Target Finding Success at Shot Show 2012

Action Target — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 13:00:46 +0000

Shot Show 2012 is a huge success so far and Action Target is thrilled to be part of such an important shooting industry event. Whether constructing our larger than life Action Target booth, demonstrating the variety of innovative training solutions and products we offer, or connecting with some of the 60,000 shooters and enthusiasts attending this year’s event, Action Target is enjoying it all.

Working with Media Day at the Range in creating and presenting this year’s first Action Target Safety Award has been an amazing opportunity and a success for gun safety. “Using Action Target as an exclusive provider of targets has been key to our success,” said Cory Cannon, of Triple Curl Public Relations and Advertising. “Targets need to be fun to shoot and even more important, safe.”

With Shot Show coming to a close tomorrow, we want to invite everyone who hasn’t had a chance to stop by yet and even those who have already stopped by, to come visit us at booth #10564. Action Target is giving away a great offer to everyone who stops by our booth, so come say “Hi” before this year’s show is over!

Shot Show’s Media Day at the Range Announces the Action Target Safety Award

Action Target — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 13:00:49 +0000

Las Vegas, NV — Media Day at the Range announces its partnership with Action Target to create the 2012 Media Day Safety award. This award will be given to the media day exhibitor that holds to the highest standards of safety during the shooting event on January 16, 2012. Each exhibitor will be judged by a panel of safety auditors that will score each exhibitor on their firearms safety practices during the event.

Action Target is a leading global supplier of superior shooting range products, equipment, design, manufacturing, and training for law enforcement, military, and commercial ranges. Action Target is recognized for developing innovative new firearms training technology, and for having the experience to properly apply that technology to solve today’s safety issues on firing ranges all over the world. “We have been a major supporter of Media Day at the Range for many years and being the sponsor of the 2012 safety award is an honor for us,” said Chad Burdette, Portable Target Manager for Action Target.

Scoring and grading each exhibitor at the shoot will be based on specific safety criteria of handling firearms, ammunition placement, and maintaining a safe environment at their shooting station. The winning exhibitor will be awarded the Action Target safety award trophy at the Action Target SHOT show, booth (#10564), on Tuesday afternoon January 17th during the show. The safety award winner will also receive $3,500 toward their 2013 SHOT Show Media Day at the Range shooting lane.

In its sixth year, SHOT Show Media Day at the Range will host over 120 exhibitors and over 1000 media members of the hunting and shooting industry. This award will give recognition to that industry member that is an example to all others of the importance of safely demonstrating their products to the media on that day.

For additional information concerning SHOT Show Media Day at the Range, contact:

Media Contacts:

Cory Cannon
801-644-4773
ccannon@triplecurl.com

Cathy Williams
703-587-7142
cathy@cmgmarketingandevents.com.

Action Target Renovates Ohio Indoor Range

Action Target — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 13:00:44 +0000

Action Target first worked with Ohio State Highway Patrol back in 1999 when we installed our “state of the art” Total Containment Trap. When it was determined the Highway Patrol would renovate the rest of their existing facility in 2011, we were contacted directly by the architect for specifications on the new equipment that would be provided. Because of the quality, performance, and robust nature of our Total Containment Trap, it was the only piece of equipment not removed and replaced in the 2011 renovation. Due to the heavy use of the range, the project was to be completed on an extremely tight time-line with only six weeks of manufacturing time. Action Target acted as a sub-contractor to Williamson Builders Inc. and together completed the tremendous facility in the time required.

This 24 lane, 25 yard indoor range now provides officers a variety of training options, including timed training qualification courses and decision making drills. In addition, the total containment trap system, and tactical baffle layout allow for dynamic cross lane firing and moving and shooting drills, accomplished under the watchful eye of the RSO through our clear ballistic glass stalls. Such dependability, quality, and versatility are completely unique to Action Target’s design. We thank Ohio State Highway Patrol for their continued business and support!

Action Target Gears Up for Shot Show 2011

Action Target — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 13:00:34 +0000

ATTENTION LAW ENFORCEMENT:

Shot Show 2012 is in a month and Action Target still has meeting times available! The show is going to be held at the Sands Expo Center in Las Vegas, NV and runs from January 17-20, 2012. If you, a member of your department, or other law enforcement professional you know will be attending, it is imperative that we meet! Action Target has two separate booths and meeting rooms for the show. Have us show you some of the latest technology that will help raise the level, quality, and throughput with your firearms training programs.

We will have our entire sales staff available to discuss our vast product line with you. Our team of sales representatives wants to work with you to understand your training needs. They can quickly discuss our products that will meet your requirements and possibly provide you with a demonstration if the product is in our booth.

Whether you are looking to build a state of the art indoor shooting range, live-fire shoothouse, or simply need some portable steel targets, come see us at the show. Our booths (#10562 & #10564) are located on the 2nd Level of the Sands Expo Center.

To secure a date and time to meet with a member of our team, please make an appointment today. If you do not know your regional representative, please see below to contact a representative today.

Military Contact

CLAY SMITH
Managing Director: Military Division
888-377-8033 ext. 142
801-705-9142 Direct
clays@actiontarget.com

Law Enforcement Contacts

ROBB ANDERSON 801-377-8033 ext. 124 801-319-0977 cell robba@actiontarget.com	LAYNE ASHBY 801-377-8033 ext. 143 801-376-3773 cell laynea@actiontarget.com
CHRIS HART 801-377-8033 ext. 149 801-319-1314 cell chrish@actiontarget.com	AARON LUDWIG 801-377-8033 ext. 132 801-592-6613 cell aaronl@actiontarget.com
MATT BRINKERHOFF 801-377-8033 ext. 130 801-380-8973 cell mbrink@actiontarget.com	MIKE STILWELL 801-377-8033 ext. 144 801-602-9776 cell mikes@actiontarget.com
SCOTT DESANTI 509-396-7177 801-854-8863 cell scottd@actarg.com	JASON SNELL 801-377-8033 ext. 158 801-809-6966 cell jasons@actiontarget.com
	CHAD BURDETTE (Portable Target and Specialty Sales) 801-377-8033 ext. 113 801-380-9634 cell chadb@actiontarget.com