Pivitol trainer...gimmick or game changer?

[chucklenut]

Pfffft

Want real training? Tie a red balloon and blue balloon to an rc car , have your buddy drive it and try and shoot the red one without hitting the blue one

Lol i kid

 

[cmshoot]

I sent Triumph Systems an email about getting a unit for testing. I’ll let y’all know what transpires.

 

[Txcruiser]

My dad picked up a couple from Triumph during the NRA convention a couple of years ago. As someone above said, they work best if you have the ability to run more than one at a time. We use them in drills with IDPA type targets as well. The targets they use do force you to process the threat / no threat in a way that is different since you do not know which target will be presented. Also, the material they use for the targets make the bullet's entry and exit path obvious so there is no questioning which side was hit during the run.

As for the unit itself, it works okay. The target frame / stand is made from a material similar to PVC plastic. This makes it very light to transport, but also means they will need to be weighted or staked down if shooting in a strong wind. The square tubes can be replaced with 2"x2" wood if someone shoots a section of frame or the leg. From what I understand, Triumph also sells replacement sections if needed. The target can be presented manually, at a set delay time (i believe 1,2,or3 seconds) or on a random setting. The target will also turn right or left when presented so you don't become accustomed to a specific pattern.

The thing that stood out to me was the motor and receiver are not protected and they face the shooter. Get the AR500 steel protection plate, or have someone cut a protection plate from 1/4" steel (what we did). It was really disappointing that a protection plate did not come standard. It would really suck to have someone send a round into the controller or motor since the unit would become a $300 target stand at that point. One of my dad's had an issue where the receiver box or remote stopped working after about 4-5 months. Triumph was quick to ship a new remote and receiver and did not want the others shipped back. There have been no issues with the unit since.

Is it some miracle training device, probably not. However, it does introduce an element that forces the brain to process what is actually happening. I'll be interested to see what someone who teaches as often as cmshoot has to say about it's usefulness.