In an effort to be more connected with our customers and clients, we are revamping our social media sites. Now, when you connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, or YouTube, you can receive discounts on any order from our online store. We will also hold regular competitions where you can win free Action Target gear and steel targets!
For the month of September, we will be holding a contest to win a free Action Target Hostage!Details and updates can be found on our Facebook page.
We care about what you think and we would love to hear your suggestions and see pictures of you shooting on our steel. Help us better serve you by connecting with us online.
24-time national champion and 5-time world champion Rob Leatham didn’t get to where he is today by luck. In order to be the best, you have to train better than anyone else and that requires daily focused training and superior equipment. In this video, Rob shows how to get the most out of your Action Target Hostage with shooting drills and tips from the pro.
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.
With the end of this fiscal year right around the corner, now is the best time to obtain one of our innovative training solutions with your remaining budget. At Action Target, we understand that each company’s internal dynamics have different needs and time lines. That is why weapons training units, Rangemasters, firearm instructors, and others associated with their organization’s training division continually reach out to us during this critical time of year.
Spending your remaining training budget at the end of a fiscal year – to minimize the risk of losing it next year – sometimes takes creativity. Last year, we worked with an agency whose training budget consisted of five different accounts. Each account had varying levels of funds still available requiring an invoice for each one. With a little strategic planning, this agency placed five different orders with Action Target that were shipped at same time but charged to their different training accounts. Our dedicated sales staff helped this agency with their complex purchase and provided them with the equipment they needed. We are ready to do the same for you.
Whatever your training needs, we have the solution. If you are under a significant time constraint, we can help. Call us today and let our sales staff help you maximize your remaining budgets by providing the best training solutions available.
For product requests not available through our online store, please contact the Range Consultant for your geographic territory. They will work with you to stretch those last few budget dollars into your training solution.
At Action Target, we know budgets are tighter more than ever right now. We also know that training needs have to continually change to avoid complacency. To help ease the burdens these factors place on the training industry, we are excited to announce our Target of the Month program.
The Target of the Month program offers one of our portable target systems at an unbelievable low price to our newsletter subscribers. The discount price lasts the entire month that the specific product is advertised, so be sure to place your orders early before the month ends. There is NO LIMIT on the number of products ordered.
To kick off this program, we are featuring our PT Hold (Set of 3) Package . This package includes three target bases that utilize 1” x 2” strips of wood and provides a superior stable platform for you to mount targets onto. Regularly priced at $199 for the three-pack, this program allows you to purchase all three PT Holds for $150.
This offer is now available through June 30, 2011 at our Action Target online store, www.shopactiontarget.com , by entering the coupon code HOLDUP3 upon checkout.
With this promotional offer changing each month, we also want to announce our ‘Standing Offer’ that starts this June and continues through the end of December 2011. This offer includes our Newsletter Steel Target Package consisting of the following target systems:
AT Hostage (AR550 rifle rated steel)
AT Dueling Tree (AR550 rifle rated steel)
AT Plate Rack (only available in AR500 handgun steel)
When priced individually, these target systems cost about $1800, but through the Newsletter Steel Target Package, you only pay $1,500. To purchase these systems, add the Steel Target Package (AT Hostage, Dueling Tree AR550 & Plate Rack Package) to your shopping cart and enter the coupon code STEELSPECIAL2011 upon checking out to receive your discount.
As a leader of innovative solutions for firearms training, we recently announced the addition of two new items to our product line, the Pelvic Torso and Sport Rack, at the 2011 Shot Show in Las Vegas, NV. In this week’s newsletter, we will highlight the Pelvic Torso and how to utilize it to enhance your training.
Until recently, there were only paper targets replicating the pelvic area of the body, but with the Pelvic Torso, you now have the first and only steel target option in the world that simulates this area. The steel provides instant feedback to multiple senses as you hear the bullet strike and see the steal plate swing upon impact.
The idea to design the Pelvic Torso came from inquiries from law enforcement and the military for a training element that gave them a tactical solution when engaging with a specific type of threat. As they engaged with threats wearing body armor and no clear head shot, the pelvic girdle became the optimal target area. When an individual is struck in the pelvic girdle, the bullet strikes the ball-and-socket area, which not only causes immense pain but immobilizes the threat completely. If you are participating in disabling drills, the Pelvic Torso is the best training option in the market.
The Pelvic Torso is designed to have two 4” round reactive and auto-resetting head plates added to a non-reduced torso-type head plate. These “bolt-on” options are able to attach to your existing Static Target Stand or PT Practice Stand . We recommend using the torso head plates to protect the reactive components and keep all bolts/brackets out of the shooting zone, although it can be used with the Hostage and Full Size IPSC Torso Head Plates . This allows the splatter to continue to be directed down from the head plate and will not be redirected toward the shooter.
Since the Pelvic Torso is still in prototype mode, it is not yet available for sale. However, if you are interested in purchasing one of these in the future, please let us know:
For more information, download the Pelvic Torso Cut Sheet here (PDF). Stay tuned to for next week’s newsletter focusing on our new Sport Rack.
Action Target was recently represented at Shot Show 2011 at the Sands Expo & Convention Center in Las Vegas, NV from Jan 18-21. The overall scope and size of our booth represented the overall growth success of our company for the last 25 years. The amount of traffic generated this year was astounding. We hardly had a minute to catch our breath and we are grateful for it.
Here is a photo shot of our both taken about an hour before the show opened on the last day:
We rolled out many new targets, systems and concepts during Shot Show 2011. Some included:
Reactive Target System (RTS) – These self-healing targets are best fit for close quarter live fire engagements. We wanted to create a viable solution to meet the significant demand we have received from organizations and agencies all around the world. Some of the benefits of the RTS are the ability for the target to fall when struck, count the hits a target takes in a cost effective manner and you will not need to manually count the holes anymore during qualifications. Major benefits of the RTS include the ability of the target to fall when struck and the ability to count the number of hits to a target in a cost effective manner rather than manually counting the holes after qualification rounds. We devoted an entire article to this innovative product line last week.
Real Terrain Range (RTR)– Chuck Habermehl helped to develop the concept of the Real Terrain Range to bring a complete realism to training scenarios. At Action Target, we scoured the globe looking any current option narrowing our focus to a company that has been designing Hollywood movie sets for years. Their unique approach and materials allow pullets to pass through a simulate such as a rock, tree or wall causing no ricochet, splatter, inhalation or visibility hazard if any negligent discharge occurs. The RTR design allows Action Target to recreate any training environment you need.
FlexTact by Hufcor– FlexTact is the quickest and easiest reconfigurable shoothouse on the market today. As the exclusive worldwide distributor of FlexTact, Action Target was fortunate to have this small example of the system in the booth along with Hufcor’s training staff. The FlexTact increases the quality of your training and throughput and can benefit law enforcement, military and fire departments. The panels are suspended by an overhead railing system which allows you to recreate any building layout in minutes. There are panels are designed with doors, windows and graphics to truly enhance the realism. This is a great compliment to Action Target’s MATCH.
Pelvic Torso – The Pelvic Girdle was one of two new steel target prototypes brought to the show. It received a great response, and gave us the opportunity gather feedback that we will put to good use as we continue working on this target as a training solution. This prototype can be added onto an existing Action Target Hostage , IPSC Torso or Full-Size IPSC Torso target. It easily bolts onto the stand, has no welds and replicates the pelvic girdle. There are two swinging plates that will react when hit. With many agencies training on disabling drills, the Pelvic Torso is the only steel target on the market that addresses this training need. Look out for an article on this product next week.
Sport Rack – As a world leader, Action Target has been asked time and again for a portable plate rack. Our existing Plate Rack has the highest quality and design that organizations all around the world over have used with much success. It is however, difficult to carry for long distance shooting which is why we were excited to announce our new Sport Rack. It looks just like a miniature version of our larger model, but it does not have true plate rack properties. The Sport Rack has four inverted round target heads, with no welds, so that when struck they swing upward, similar to the target movement on our horizontal dueling trees . Once again, there was a great deal of interest in this prototype, and look out for a full article about it in two weeks.
If you are interested in the Sport Rack or Pelvic Girdle and would like to add your name on our waiting list to be notified when they are for sale, email chadb@actarg.com. If you have questions or are interested in speaking to one of our Range Consultants, please Contact Us.
In an effort to be more connected with our customers and clients, we are revamping our social media sites. Now, when you connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, or YouTube, you can receive discounts on any order from our online store. We will also hold regular competitions where you can win free Action Target gear and steel targets!
!Details and updates can be found on our Facebook page.
suggestions and see pictures of you shooting on our steel. Help us better serve you by connecting with us online.
Until recently, there were only paper targets replicating the pelvic area of the body, but with the Pelvic Torso, you now have the first and only steel target option in the world that simulates this area. The steel provides instant feedback to multiple senses as you hear the bullet strike and see the steal plate swing upon impact.