DA Targets produces an innovative line of polymer, self-healing, reactive targets. They have silhouette targets. They have gong targets. And they have knock down targets, too.
Like other reactive targets, knock down targets make an excellent training aid. The marksman doesn’t need to wait to inspect a target following a series of shots in order to find out how well he is shooting. Instead, the target reacts immediately, providing instant feedback about the effectiveness of each shot. This provides more accurate and powerful reinforcement of marksmanship skills. It is also a lot more fun.
One of DA Targets’ most innovative options is a color-change technology. The heat of the bullet passing through the target changes the color of the target at the point of impact. That makes it easy for the marksman to see exactly where his shots have struck. After a couple of minutes, the residual heat of the strike dissipates, and the color fades to the natural background color of the target, making the target ready for reuse.
One great benefit of polymer targets over similar reactive targets made out of steel is the greatly increased safety factor. There is always the danger of shrapnel when shooting steel targets, especially from closer ranges. Polymer targets do not produce shrapnel.
I recently tested DA Targets’ knock down targets. I found them to be durable, reliable, and fun.
At the time of this writing, a six-inch, color-changing, knock down target cost $69.99 at da-targets.com . A six-inch, non-color-changing, knock down target cost $65.99 . The color-changing targets are available in cool weather (45-80 degrees Fahrenheit) and warm weather (60-100 degrees Fahrenheit) variants.
As I said, the knock down targets are a lot of fun, but you really need about a half dozen or so of them to make the walk back and forth to reset them worth the while. At $65.99 or $69.99 a pop, a half dozen or so targets adds up to a tidy sum pretty quickly. Of course, if you hang them upside down they are self-resetting. Then fewer of the targets are necessary to have a satisfying range session. But the gong type targets are even less expensive at $42.99 and $37.99 respectively for the color-changing and non-color-changing variants. And they are also self-resetting. So even though they are not quite as fun as the knock down targets, my thrifty nature recommends the gong targets instead.
DA Targets are made in the USA.
Background
I previously had the opportunity to test DA Targets’ silhouette and gong type targets. That review was published in SurvivalBlog in March of 2025. I liked the silhouette and gong targets so well that I decided that I would like to try their knock down targets as well. So I contacted DA Targets and asked if they could provide me with a sample of their color-change, knock-down target for testing and evaluation. They were kind enough to agree. Less than a week later, I came home from dinner at my daughter, Rivka’s house, and found a package waiting on my side porch.
First Impressions
The package was an 11 x 9 inch white plastic padded envelope. It had come via UPS Ground from DA Targets, 6500 Chapmans Road Unit 5, Allentown, PA 18106. Not long afterward, a second identical envelope arrived. Each envelope contained a color-change, knock-down target and absolutely nothing else.
I was glad to see that the base of each target was made of polymer just like the target. When I had viewed the item on the DA Targets website, I thought that the base might be made of metal. I was afraid that a metal base might cause either a ricochet or spalling/shrapnel.
DA Targets sent me the cool weather version of the targets, optimized for temperatures between 45 and 80 degrees Fahrenheit. I was grateful for that, since late autumn temperatures were already trending toward the lower side of that range.
Each target is a six-inch circle made of polymer that is about a third to a half inch thick or so. A smaller polymer rectangle intersects with one side of the circle and is molded into it. There are round polymer pins on each end of the rectangle. These pins fit into holes in a polymer bracket and allow the target to swivel within the bracket. The bracket is made to be screwed to the side of a 2 x 4 or other 2x something piece of dimensional US or Canadian lumber. If the target is standing on top of the bracket, the bullet knocks the target down. If the target is hanging from the bracket, it reacts to being hit by the bullet, but then resets itself. There is an adjustment screw at the base of each target. That allows the target to be set right at the tipping point so that it is easy to knock down.
Testing
I made a stand from a 24 inch 2 x 6 fastened on top of a 2 x 10 of similar length. I then fastened the two targets to the top of the 2 x 6. Then life happened, and fall stretched into winter before I could complete my testing of the targets. Finally, a gray day came in late January. The temperature was 10 degrees Fahrenheit. There was no wind.
I set up the stand with the targets in front of the backstop on the improvised range behind the pole barn. I then set up a table to hold the range bag and other paraphernalia 15 yards away.
I loaded 10 rounds of Federal AutoMatch 40-grain LRN .22LR into the magazine of a Smith and Wesson SW22 Victory. I used lead round nose bullets because hollow points can damage the polymer of the targets.
My first two shots knocked down each target in succession. It was much colder than the targets were designed for, so I was concerned that they might be damaged by the testing. I was pleased to see that the polymer self-healed well in spite of the cold. The color-changing properties of the polymer, on the other hand, were completely neutralized by the icy temperature. The passage of the bullet could not impart sufficient heat to cause the target to change color. That was not unexpected. In fact, I would have been shocked if the color-change process had worked under such extreme conditions.
I gradually adjusted the balance screw to make it harder to knock down the targets. And I continued to knock down each target with just one shot. Even when I adjusted the screw to the most difficult setting, I was able to knock down each target with a single shot. Since I was able to do this with .22LR, I was confident that I would also be able to knock down targets consistently with 9mm or other more powerful rounds.
The temperature was so cold that the ink began freezing in the pen that I was using to take notes. I needed to warm the pen up in my pocket between shots so that I could continue to write.
I was pleased that I did not miss even one shot during the course of my testing. It is fortunate that the jeep cap that I was wearing during the testing is quite elastic, because I am sure that my head swelled at least a little. Next time I will need to try shooting from 20 yards to make it a little harder.
Cost Analysis
DA Targets can seem a little pricey at first glance. But when anticipated life-span, effectiveness as a training aid, and the fun factor are taken into account, DA Targets end up being an excellent investment.
DA Targets have an anticipated life-span of 10,000 hits. Compare that with the cost of self-printed paper targets, which are not nearly as fun or effective. If each paper target were replaced after 10 hits, you would need 1,000 targets to absorb 10,000 hits. It would take two reams of paper to print 1,000 homemade targets. At $8 each, those two reams of paper would cost a total of $16. Printing 1,000 targets on a laser printer would expend approximately $10 worth of toner. So even boring paper targets would represent a $26 investment.
Then there is the factor of effectiveness as a training aid. Reactive targets are much more effective training aids than non-reactive targets. Although they might cost two or three times as much as simple paper targets, they are more than two or three times more effective.
Finally, there is The Fun Quotient. Reactive targets are a much more fun to shoot than non-reactive targets. More fun motivates more training time. More training time produces better marksmanship. Ergo, DA Targets are a better investment for improving marksmanship than boring paper targets.
Conclusions
DA Targets’ knock-down targets work as advertised. They are durable, they are a good long term investment, they are great training aids, and they are a lot of fun to shoot. I highly recommend them.
Disclaimer
DA Targets was kind enough to provide me with two samples of their knock-down, color-change targets for testing and evaluation. They had provided me with samples of their silhouette and gong style targets for an earlier review. I tried not to allow their kindness to interfere with my objectivity in this review, 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.
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