For years the law enforcement community has had to deal with problems related to pneumatic turning target systems.  The problems were many and varied!  Contaminants in the air clogging solenoids, solenoids freezing in cold weather, rodents eating the air lines, rodents eating the electrical lines, problems with the slave cylinder linkage and lubrication, and on and on.  The new MGM Targets ALL ELECTRIC 180° Turning Target system solves all of those problems.  And it is controlled wirelessly!!

The basic frame for the 180° Turning Target System is made of 3/8” thick steel plate that is laser cut and then precision formed.  With laser cutting, hole sizes can be adjusted by thousandths of an inch, so all the equipment mounting is VERY precision!  After fabrication the frame is powder coated to extend the life dramatically.   We made one giant step up related to the cover, and that is, we make it out of stainless steel!  Powder coating is extremely durable, but in an application such as the lid (cover) for the mechanical equipment, the Stainless is only slightly more than the cost of mild steel with the powder coating. AND, you never have to perform any maintenance on it!  The stainless will tarnish in the weather, and the shine will go “flat”, but you’ll never have any expense related to coating it.  We use the same stainless for the wire trays.  Not bullet proof, but much more durable than anything we’ve seen so far.

The power we use to turn the targets is a 12volt DC reversing motor.  We control it with simple proprietary electronics that give us precision turning AND it is done wirelessly.  More on the wire(less) later. The turn speed is about 7/10 of a second, so MUCH faster than what most cops can draw their gun. If you want it faster or slower, we just need to know and we’ll make it that way for you.  (It won’t be adjustable after it is installed.)  Also, it is smoooooth!  It doesn’t slam to one side or the other and break sticks or tear off targets as many pneumatic systems do.

The programming system doesn’t need to be stuck in the Tower.  It is a Toughbook laptop with an antenna attached, and the wireless communication programmed in.  You can take it home, or to your desk, or to the mountains to program it.    Each target is infinitely variable for Start time (or delay), right face time, left face time, edge time, and ANY combination of those.  You can store an infinite number of programs. You can have a folder full of Beginner programs, a folder with program for the middle guys, a folder for the high speed SWAT guys, and a folder for the office girls.

Once you get to the range, you can run all the targets with the Toughbook from the tower, OR from under the shade tree.  Also, we provide a hand held remote control that will ALSO run the programs prepared on the tough book.  You can’t program it from the remote, but you can start and stop all the programs. We have also pre-programmed some basic actions on the remote, so if the other guy left the Toughbook at home and the dog ate it, you can still run your quals.

We decided to make the whole system wireless for several reasons.  The man reasons are there are fewer wires to short out or get eaten by rodents or get pinched/cut some place, and the installation time for that wire goes from a lot to ZERO. The components we use are good for a few hundred yards if out in the open.  If you need everything to work at 600 yards, just let us know. The increased component cost is minimal.

All of the electronic components are COTS parts (Commercial Off the Shelf).  NOTHING will take weeks or months to get for you.   You place an order, we put our magic into the parts for you and ship it to you.  WORST case, we should be able to ship anything you need in 2 weeks or less.

The most popular target holding system we have holds two sticks in brackets, and you staple your cardboard/targets to the sticks.  If you want the rubber band at the top and the target clamp at the bottom, that is easy to do.  Again, we just need to know what your specific needs are. If you go with the rubber band concept, the “post” that supports the rubber band is AR500 steel, not mild steel round bar.  Shoot it with your AR to your hearts content…..

On the installation, as you’d expect of MGM, we do it right.  We can demo your old system and retrofit your old concrete with new turners, or we can start at the dirt and work our way up.  We design/build Rappel Towers (www.rappeltowers.com) so we can certainly do some excavation, trenching, pouring of concrete, and the other steps that need to be done to get your target system operational.  Related, we also have a great design for a bullet proof (literally) knee-wall, to put in front of your targets.  The main component is AR500 steel plate, but we face that with 2” rubber and we face THAT with a stack of RR ties. The ties are going to get shot. The top row of ties can easily be replaced in 10 or 3 years, depending on the skill level of your shooters.

Our company motto is Leave Nothing to Chance.  When we build a system for you, there are no surprises.  Everything works. Maintenance is low to zero.  You and your maintenance people will be glad you bought a system from MGM.  Thank you.

Mike Gibson, President