RX Target Systems Review

Over this past month we have had some great time spent with a new Airgun product manufactured by RX Target Systems. These are very unique targets that are brilliantly made right here in the USA by a friend of mine David  Bitkowski. Over the past year I have watched the progress of these target systems develop through post made in the many Facebook groups we’re both a part of. I enjoyed the enthusiasm David put into making these target systems. I soon wanted to reach out to learn a little more about him and this product he developed. Through our several emails and phone conversations he was kind enough to send us one here for us to review. To look back as to how David became involved in creating the RX Target Systems we will share this short story written by his daughter Melissa:

“My name is Melissa Bitkowski. I  am a third grader in Rossford, Ohio.  In March of 2017, I was diagnosed with a very rare chronic inflammatory disease called GPA, (Granulomatosis PolyAngitis). GPA occurs in 3 and 100,000 and mostly in older people. GPA  commonly affects the lungs, sinuses, and kidneys, and is caused by the immune system attacking the blood vessels . My sinuses and lungs were ok; but my kidneys became very sick and I had to use dialysis three days a week to clean my blood out, sort of like an oil change. We were told that the damage to the kidneys is called “Crescentic Glomerulonephritis” which happens to 7 in a million people with kidney damage. It  caused high blood pressures, seizures, and anemia that needed managed by medicine. There is no cure. Doctors treat GPA by making the immune system “go to sleep” or into remission using medicine so it stops attacking my kidneys . However, the first choice of treatment failed. We were told two thirds of my kidneys were unrecoverable. The second treatment put me in remission, but my kidneys still failed. I received a kidney from my Mom’s cousin which saved my life. Now I’m on anti rejection meds for the rest of my life and close monitoring by my doctors. This has been a very rough time for my family who has given up everything to help me live the new normal. My Mom has left her job of 15 years to take care of me, making sure I got to my dialysis appointments 3 days a week and doctor visits at CS Mott Children’s Hospital in Ann Arbor. My dad took money from his retirement and is working a lot of hours to help pay the bills. Dad started making Airgun Targets to keep his mind off the stress and to help others get better with shooting. He also wants to help support other families who have a child in Dialysis. Please consider supporting I our business . My  family and I thank you for taking time to read our story.”

After reading this letter it became apparent that it needed to be shared for spreading the word, and to hopefully play a small part to help out. David is a very dedicated family man and has spent countless long hours in his garage putting together these fine target systems.

About the RX Target Systems

FROM SKETCH TO FINAL INSPECTION, EVERY EFFORT IS MADE TO ENSURE A QUALITY PRODUCT IS PRODUCED. THOROUGH RESEARCH WAS DONE PRIOR FILING FOR A UNITED STATES PROVISIONAL PATENT, 60207-US. THE DESIGNS ARE ENTERED INTO AUTO-CAD THEN CUT OUT ON THE PLASMA TABLE.  THE FACE PLATES, TARGET PLATES, AND RESET BARS ARE THEN CLEANED OF THE ROUGH EDGES, AND WASHED TO PREPARE FOR PAINTING OR RETAIN NATURAL FINISH. WOOD IS CAREFULLY SELECTED AND CURRENTLY CONSISTS OF PREMIUM CUT PINE.  RUSTOLEUM BRAND SPRAY PAINT IS USED FOR ITS COST EFFECTIVENESS AND WIDESPREAD AVAILABILITY.  FIELD TESTING IS DONE WITH EACH MODEL TO ENSURE IT HANDLES THE FORCE TO WHICH IT IS RATED.

David does extensive testing of all his products to ensure they can withstand the repetitive force of Airgun use.

 KITS ARE SHIPPED ASSEMBLED WITH THE EXCEPTION OF THE FACE PLATE WHICH ATTACHES WITH TWO HEX BOLTS.  ONE KIT WEIGHS ON AVERAGE 8 POUNDS. EACH BASE IS 16″ LONG. FIELD TARGET WIDTH IS 8″ AND BULL CHALLENGE IS 6″. HEIGHT IS 4“. The RX Target Systems are available in many different styles and colors that can be used for many different shooting applications. Most of these targets are designed for smaller calibers but that may change soon as the need for something that can withstand large calibers is growing. These are very well made for the cost and was a bit surprised seeing just how well these have been built. Terry and I spend some time with them in the field and found the target to be extremely enjoyable to practice with.

Rx Bull Challenge, shown with black and white style. Standard with 1 inch bulls but can be customized to skill, down to 1/4 inch. Great for biathlon style shooting.

These targets can be custom painted directly from RX Target Systems or customized by the user. We found this camo model to be an excellent challenge as well as looking really cool during field use.

Terry, Marley and I headed into the remote mountains of Southern California to film for several videos as well as to give us a great opportunity to test out the RX Target Systems.

 Terry is a very well accomplished field target shooter and can be found on the Offhand Airgunner YouTube channel. I figured Terry would be a great candidate to try out this target as I felt it was the perfect tool for practicing for field target. We spent a good portion of the day filming as well as taking several photographs of various products. We set up near a riverbed that offered some good cover from the wind as well as a safe area for some long range shooting with a Big Bore we were testing.

Terry and I set up the RX Target System at 25 yards, we nestled it between two bushes that left a great backdrop to the target.

At 25 yards this target was a good challenge for me, especially offhand.

The RX Target System was easy to set up, we spiked it into the ground with stakes through the provided holes on the base.

The reset hinge has a nicely riveted hole that’s makes a secure place to tie the reset string. David has obviously done his homework on this design because everything works so smoothly. The major working components of this target system are protected well and stronger than they need to be to last during heavy use. Lets face it, they have to be to withstand thousands of pellets hitting them at 25+fpe. Terry had brought his .22 Tapian Mutant with the newly mounted Discovery optics scope. This is a great kit for both target shooting and hunting and is no doubt one of the most accurate bullpups on the market.

Terry made using this target look easy, doing it all offhand. I had a difficult time and found the kneeling shots to be much easier for me, you can see from the photograph I missed a few times. This is the type of target I can easily set up in my backyard to practice some improvement on my offhand skills. I can see the RX Target Systems being an excellent gift to ANY Airgunner and something that will last for years. I hope our readers will reach out to David and share his story with others, he’s a great guy and has a strong foot in the Airgun community.

We had a great time with this target and was able to gather some good video of our use of it that will be enclosed at the bottom. I would urge anyone interested in purchasing the RX Target Systems to visit Davids website or Baker Airguns who is now a distributor of these awesome targets. You can also find RX Target Systems on Facebook here.

If you would like to make a donation to help families affected by Childhood Kidney Disease in your area, contact David for help finding these locations. Here is his email:

dave@rxtargetsystems.com

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