Review: ROJO RJ4 Tactical Target

In this article, Friedrich Seiltgen reviews the ROJO RJ4 Tactical Target designed for air guns. Used during the testing is a Springfield Armory M1A .22-caliber air rifle with H&N pellets — both of which were provided to the author by the company to facilitate this review.

The ROJO RJ4 Tactical Target caught my eye as a quick and easy expedient target for field use. The ROJO target was created by former NCAA Division 1 athletes who wanted a better practice target than the standard shooter tutors they trained with. Conventional targets are bulky and require more setup time, which means less trigger time.

The ROJO Tactical Target is 11.5 inches long, with a 4-inch target area, a 1.75-inch middle ring, and a red 1-inch bullseye. It’s made from ultra-premium high-tech polyurethane, and the target area utilizes a screen printing technique that remains visible and will never crack or peel. It is weatherproof, highly durable, and will last for hundreds of rounds, or even thousands, depending on the type of ammo used, as well as other factors such as range and velocity.

The ROJO team put their engineering backgrounds to use and designed this target to make skills shooting as quick and easy as possible. They wanted an easy-to-use, durable and practical target to help serious athletes take their shooting game to the next level.

Use of the target is simple: wrap the tail around a tree branch, hanger, or target stand to the desired tension, then insert the tail tip into the slot on the target arm. If you want to shoot at ground level, simply push the semi-rigid tail into the ground and start shooting.

The ROJO RJ4 Tactical Target is made from an ultra-premium polyurethane, and the target area uses a screen printing technique that stays visible and will last for hundreds of rounds, or even thousands, depending on what type of ammo is used, as well as other factors like range and velocity.

I thought what better way to field test the ROJO target than with a Springfield Armory M1A Underlever Pellet Rifle.

The Rifle

The M1A Pellet Rifle is a beautiful copy of the 7.62mm rifle. Available in .177 and .22 caliber, it’s manufactured by Air Venturi under a licensing agreement with Springfield Armory. This rifle is solid, weighing in at 9.9 pounds with a length of 45.6”, which is about one inch longer than the .308 version.

The spring piston operating system requires 35 lbs. of force to cock, and it’s equipped with an extendable underlever placed where the gas cylinder would be that extends about another 6” for more leverage for smaller-framed shooters.

The 18.9” barrel is rifled steel with a faux flash suppressor made of polymer. Sights are a rear peep sight adjustable for windage and elevation with a fixed blade front sight. It’s equipped with a two-stage non-adjustable trigger with a manual safety that’s a pivoting tab located on the front of the trigger guard.

[Be sure to read Dr. Will Dabbs’ Springfield Armory M1A underlever pellet rifle review.]

The rifle features a nicely finished wooden stock that matches the Springfield National Match version, a recoil pad with rubber insert, and a polymer upper handguard instead of the original fiberglass unit.

There are threaded holes on the left side of the action to attach an available scope mount. Although it’s non-functioning, there is a spring-loaded charging handle on the right side that adds to the realistic look and feel of the rifle.

Due to the underlever action, the rifle is not equipped with the standard M1A sling. There are, however, sling options available specifically for this type of action. Even without the box magazine, the Springfield Armory M1A air rifle does a great job of matching the appearance and feel of the original. Perhaps a faux magazine is in its future?

If you are unfamiliar with an underlever rifle, the loading port is frequently called a “bear trap”. When loading the rifle on specific models, care must be taken not to touch the trigger, or the bear trap will close and give your finger a sound bite.

The Springfield M1A doesn’t have that issue as it features a cocking lever release that is located on the left side of the rifle where the bolt release would be on a standard M1A. It requires the shooter to press down on the release and move the cocking lever back into its bracket/firing position, which simultaneously closes the loading port. The velocity is rated at up to 1,000 feet per second in .177 caliber and up to 800 feet per second in .22 caliber.

Testing

I had never fired an underlever air rifle before, but the simple operation of the M1A air rifle got me in a rhythm remarkably quickly. As noted, the cocking lever requires 35 pounds to cock the rifle, and the extension is great for smaller-framed shooters. The length of pull was about right at 13”.

I mounted the ROJO target to an old sign frame and left it a little loose so that it could spin freely when hit. I ran through some rounds of German-made H&N Barracuda 18 match grade .22 caliber pellets at different distances, and the ROJO target came out with marks on the screen printing, and a few small holes where rounds struck in the same place. The ROJO took a lot of punishment and was ready for more. It’s a great design that’s simple, quick to set up, and makes an excellent addition to your range bag.

The Springfield M1A finished with flying colors. It looks very much like the iconic M14, and it’s highly accurate out of the box, with an outstanding balance to it. The trigger pull and break were consistent and excellent for an air rifle of this type, and the spring piston provided plenty of consistent power to spin the ROJO target around several revolutions.

The Springfield M1A replica air rifle is a joy to shoot. With a price of around $250 for a rifle and ammunition, it makes an excellent choice to take to the field for hunting small game, pest control, or the backyard for some plinking time with friends and family. With the cost of .308 ammunition these days, it’s also an inexpensive way to train the next generation of shooters on the basics like the safe handling of firearms, aim small — miss small, sight picture, and the shooting sports.

So, with the excellent M1A Underlever Pellet Rifle and the ROJO RJ4 Tactical Target, you have the means to not only have a lot of fun trigger time but also tune up your shooting skills. Sounds like a great deal to me!

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