Recently I read about an attempt by a couple of politicians to try to convince gun owners in their district that they were “gun guys”. They invited the media to a range event in which they were shooting handguns and AR-15s. But there was a problem. They were shooting steel targets with those AR-15s from only about 10 to 15 yards away. Predictably, shrapnel became an issue. One of the reporters at the event was wounded. The politicians were lucky to get away with just one relatively minor injury. In addition to shooting steel targets with rifles from inappropriately close range, these two gentlemen were firing at targets without a proper backstop, and were not wearing their eye protection correctly.
I do have at least one helpful hint for politicians who are preparing to stage a range publicity event. They should have used DA targets rather than steel targets. Unlike steel, DA targets produce no potentially dangerous shrapnel.
DA Targets produces an innovative line of polymer, self-healing, reactive targets. Their most innovative option is a color change technology. The bullet passing through the target changes the color of the target at the point of impact. This makes it easy for a marksman to see where his shots have struck. After a couple of minutes, the color fades back to the natural background color of the target, allowing the target to be reused.
I recently tested three DA targets: a Full Silhouette Color Change Self-Healing target, a Six Inch Self-Healing “Gong”, and a Four Inch Self-Healing Rifle “Gong.” All three targets worked perfectly as advertised. They were also a lot of fun to shoot.
The Full Silhouette Color Change Self-Healing Target cost $161.99 at the time of this writing. The Six Inch Self-Healing “Gong” cost $33.99. The Four Inch Self-Healing Rifle “Gong” cost $39.99.
DA Targets are 100% made in the USA. I highly recommend them.
Background
The advantage of reactive targets over non-reactive targets is two-fold. First of all, reactive targets provide immediate reinforcement with each shot, making training more effective. Second of all, reactive targets are a lot more fun than non-reactive targets.
When I found out that DA Targets made reactive targets that were also self-healing, I was immediately interested. I contacted them and asked if they could provide me with a sample for testing and evaluation. They did me two better, by promising to send a total of three samples rather than just one. Not long afterward, a box appeared on my doorstep.
Description
The 29 x 20.5 x 5-inch box weighed 7 pounds, and arrived via UPS Ground. It was sent from DA Targets, 6500 Chapmans Road Unit 5, Allentown, PA 18106.
As mentioned above, the box contained one full silhouette target, one six-inch “gong”, and one four-inch rifle “gong.”
The full-size silhouette is regulation USPSA size with built in A, C, D zones. It weighs four pounds. The version I tested is designed for cool weather (45 to 80 degrees Fahrenheit). It is black between 45 and 60 degrees, and red between 60 and 80 degrees. Hits register as yellow. There are also versions designed for mild weather (60 to 80 degrees Fahrenheit) and warm weather (60 to 100 degrees Fahrenheit). Half-size silhouettes are also available.
The non-color-change “gongs” are orange in color. They also come in color-change versions for cool, mild and warm weather as described above. The standard “gongs” come either four or six inches in diameter and are 3/8 inches thick. The rifle “gong” is four inches in diameter and is one inch thick. It comes only in a non-color-change version. DA Targets also produces six-inch knock-down targets in both color-change and non-color-change versions.
As I mentioned, the color-change targets capture the energy and heat from the bullet passing through the target. This causes the target to turn yellow at the point of impact. The target turns back to its background color (black or red) after about 30 seconds to two minutes, depending on ambient temperature. The advantages of self-healing technology are that the holes instantly close, the targets are ricochet and shrapnel-free, they are safe to use at any distance, they are fully weatherproof, and they are rated for all calibers from .17 to .50. A six-inch gong has an estimated useful service life of thousands of hits. A full-size silhouette has an estimated useful service life in excess of 10,000 hits.
It is recommended to use only FMJ and LRN bullets when shooting DA targets in order to extend target useful service life. Hollowpoint, flat nose, and similar bullets wear out the polymer much more quickly. The targets should also be stored away from exposure to UV radiation.
Testing
It was a beautiful, sunny, autumn day. The temperature was 54 degrees Fahrenheit. There was a gusty breeze out of the north.
I brought the DA targets out to the backstop on the improvised range behind my pole barn. I began by securing the full-size silhouette to the frame of the backstop with a length of paracord. I then set up a table 10 yards away.
I then loaded 10 rounds of Federal Automatch 40 grain LRN in .22LR into a Smith & Wesson SW22 Victory. I put a small square of masking tape on the center of mass of the target to serve as a point of aim. The first few hits knocked the tape off of the target. I shifted my point of aim to the orangish-yellow circles produced by the first few hits. As promised, the colored circles faded after about 90 seconds.
Next, I loaded 10 rounds of Wolf Military Classic 115 grain FMJ in 9mm into a Rock Island Armory MAPP FS. As expected, the 9mm hits produced larger colored circles than the .22LR hits. As I examined the target, I could tell the order in which my shots hit the target by the order in which the colored circles that were created by the hits faded away. The colored circles had mostly faded after about three minutes.
Next, I tried the six-inch “gong.” I hung it from just one point of the backstop frame. I then loaded and fired 10 rounds of the Automatch ammo. The single point of support allowed the gong to spin if the hit was off-center. On-center hits caused the gong to rock back and forth. Then I tried 10 rounds of the Wolf ammo. This caused similar patterns of movement, though the 9mm hits caused somewhat more vigorous motion than the .22LR hits.
Finally, I tried the four-inch rifle “gong.” I hung it by a single point, just as I had with the six-inch target. I then fired 10 rounds of the Automatch ammo at the target. Even though the rifle target was significantly heavier than the six-inch target, it reacted much more vigorously to hits. The greater thickness of the target allowed more energy to be transferred from the bullet to the target. As a result, the target danced, spun, and swung quite vigorously after each shot. Follow-up shots became much more challenging on a rapidly moving target.
As expected, the 9mm Wolf ammo produced even more vigorous movement than the .22LR Automatch ammo.
I then suspended the rifle “gong” from two points on the frame of the backstop rather than just a single point. This brought any spinning motion under control more quickly, directing more of the motion onto a single plane forward and backward. The motion was still quite vigorous. I tested 10 rounds of Automatch and 10 rounds of Wolf ammo. I was having so much fun with the rifle “gong” that I then fired another 10 rounds each of both Automatch and Wolf ammuntion types.
Next, I moved up to five yards from the target. From that range, it was easy to make the target dance vigorously under rapid fire. It was nice not to have to be concerned about potential shrapnel or ricochets such as could be produced by steel targets.
Due to its greater reactivity, the rifle “gong” was significantly more fun to shoot than the other targets.
Conclusions
DA Targets are great. Their patented color-change technology is quite ingenious, as is the self-healing polymer. It is nice not to need to be concerned about ricochet or shrapnel when firing from shorter ranges.
I recommend reactive targets as a training aid, and DA Targets are among the best reactive targets that I have tried. I highly recommend them.
Disclaimer
DA Targets provided me with samples of three of their self-healing targets for testing and evaluation: a full-size color-change silhouette, a six-inch non-color-change “gong”, and a four-inch rifle “gong.” Rock Island Armory had loaned me a sample of their MAPP FS for a previous review, and I subsequently purchased the handgun. I tried not to allow the kindness of these vendors to interfere with my objectivity, and I believe that I have succeeded. I did not receive any other financial or other inducement to mention any vendor, product, or service in this article.