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Tactical Gear Reviews
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KTAK Target System

To take training to the next level, beyond marksmanship and pushing into self defense, we need a reaction.  We need to reinforce that when we make good hits we will be rewarded with a visual stimulus beyond a hole in a piece of paper or the sound of hitting steel.

There are a few ways to accomplish this.  Awhile back I did a video on Making Reactive Targets.  While it works, especially in a shoot house, it can be time consuming to reset.  The KTAK Target comes at it from a different direction.  A steel target that will give the shooter an appropriate response based on where the target is shot.  There are 3 targeting areas, the Ocular Cavity in the head, Heart and Lungs in the thoracic cavity and the hips / pelvic girdle.

The KTAK Target is impressive to work with.  Admittedly it comes with a heft price tag of around $1400.  But keep in mind this isn’t for the recreational shooter to drag out to the range on the weekend.  More of something you should have your local range, department or unit pick up…

You can see and shoot the KTAK Target at Pacific Indoor Tactical.

Once you throw a cardboard silhouette up, those target areas can get hard to find…
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8 Comments

  1. Cool mechanical target. I’d say this is definitely next generation from the dueling trees. This would make a great target for USPSA style matches. Maybe use a torque wrench to tighten the hinge bolts to a specific setting depending on how hot the rounds are, less for pistol versus tighter for a rifle, just saying.

    I really like the way it drops to the ground first on a pelvic hit, symbolizing that the threat is still active. This target reinforces the idea to keep shooting until the threat is no longer a threat.

    You mentioned it was made from AR500. I’m curious to know what type ammo Greg used in the rifle and were there any penetrations in the plates from it.

    Great video, keep up the good work!

    1. Yes, beyond the fact that it “reacts”, the fact that you can adjust the amount of rounds it takes, per bullet weight / platform, is amazing. You can create whatever metric you want.

      As far as ammo he was using, just straight 55grn FMJ .223. I am assuming it is with the design (super steep angles) but the target is pretty untouched by rifle ammo. And you can crank rounds at it from about 5 yards away with the pistol. *Saw someone shoot it at 3 yards*

  2. Due to how steel is currently set up for USPSA and IDPA it’s just not an option to use my target in sanctioned matches. There isn’t time to change and recalibrate targets during a match.

    As for bullets you can hit it with anything, except solid copper, steel core or armor piercing rounds. Surprisingly, frangible ammo tends to do the most damage as it is usually made of solid copper or bronze powder that is flying super fast. At the moment of impact frangible acts like a solid until it breaks up.

    Another surprise is that you don’t need to reset between pistol and rifle as it tends to react in much the same way. I wont bore you with the physics of what I think is the reason for this. So it makes for great transitions between pistol and rifle.

    It is meant to be shot at close range, testing has included rifle rounds well within 5 yards…

    And it has proven to be extremely durable, I still haven’t replaced the plates on the target at Pacific Indoor Tactical and it has probably been hit well in excess of 10,000 times with much of that coming from AR 15’s in 223 and 556 surplus ammo.

    Lots more tech info is on my website, KTAKTargets.com

  3. A few questions.
    One has this been tested with M855 military?
    What are the results of scoring on the target?
    What are we looking at for damage to the floor?

    David Rosendale
    Pittman Range Manager
    Asymmetric Warfare Group
    Yorktown Systems Group

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