Mantis X10 Training System

A practical and affordable trainer-in-a-box!
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“I can help 94 percent of shooters improve in 20 minutes.” Sounds pretty presumptuous and smacks of those Get-Rich-Quick or Lose-50-pounds-in-two-weeks TV commercials, doesn’t it?

I don’t know the key to making you wealthier or thinner, but if my own experiences and the Mantis marketing literature rings true, I can make the majority of shooters noticeably better in such a short period of time. All I need to do is slap a Mantis X10 Elite-equipped gun into your hand and let the magic happen.

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Brent keeps a new Mantis X10-equipped Taurus G3 on his office shelf, ready whenever
writer’s block strikes.
Dry fire practice is the best known cure for the dreaded affliction!

What It Is

The Mantis X10 is a non-descript black plastic doodad about half the size of a matchbox. You clip it to your practice firearm using the accessory rail and wirelessly connect it (via low power bluetooth) to your Apple or Android portable device.

Once the system is running, the little black box starts sending a wide range of data to your mobile device, which then analyzes and displays the results. Regardless if you’re using a rifle, shotgun or pistol, dry or live fire, or even a CO2 powered gun, the Mantis X10 provides all sorts of useful information about every facet of your weapon manipulations. It records, analyzes and interprets every detail, guiding you to better shooting with each shot. The only thing it doesn’t do is make julienne fries or clear the dinner dishes!

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The app also offers plenty of video instruction to help you use the software to maximum effect.

What Else Can There Be?

There are devices and systems on the market doing similar work but none of them offer the combination of small size, ease of use and reasonable cost delivered by the Mantis X10. Aside from the lengthy list of training benefits, a major selling point to my exceptionally frugal (i.e. cheap) mind — the whole shootin’ match lists at $249.99.

For this price you get a sophisticated weapon data recorder and an equally cutting-edge software program to examine every facet of your weapons handling and offers coaching tips and drills. Pardon the pun, but you get a lot of bang for your buck!

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This is your ultimate goal — a trigger pull ranking above 90 percent.
If you do well, the software lets you know!

What you don’t want to see — a poor shot. The software analyzes what went wrong and
offers helpful suggestions. The circle graph lets you know where your shots trend.

Taking It For A Spin

Once you’ve set the system up — which literally takes about 10 seconds — the app offers all sorts of training options. Open training analyzes your trigger pull and timing, which is the mode I use the most. I keep an unloaded new Taurus G3 sitting on my office shelf with the sensor mounted, ready to use for dry practice whenever the whim strikes. The G3 is a great choice because it fires without a magazine and doesn’t require recocking. Using this set-up, I manage to get dry-fire practice almost every day without leaving the confines of my cell, er, editorial suite.

From open training you can progress to using a shot timer, doing a compressed surprise break drill, train with primary or support hand only, reload drills, holster presentations, cadence drill, hostage taker drills and more. Mantis says additional features will be offered with software updates.

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Setting up the app on a phone or tablet is simple and adapts to almost any weapon.
You can have dry or live fire practice using a pistol, rifle, shotgun or even air weapons!

See The Results

After each shot, the app displays and grades your results. If you don’t get a “great shot” rating, it will offer suggestions such as “grip too tight” while brandishing all sorts of parameters such as your muzzle trace before and after the shot, timing and trigger control analysis. All this information is displayed in several different ways and stored for future comparison. There is even a voice feedback mode so you don’t take your eyes off the target and you can add your own personal notes to the training session.

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Perfection Achieved?

For all my gushy, over-the-top enthusiasm, there are a couple of minor caveats. First, it’s a simple system but you do need to spend some time learning how to use the software. It also occasionally fails to register shots, especially during dry practice, but this doesn’t happen enough to be annoying.

The biggest question is — does it work? It’s hard to say definitively without long-term scientific testing but based on my own not-inconsequential training experiences as both teacher and student, I’d say there isn’t any way it can’t help you become a better shooter.

It’s not a magic pill, but consistent use of the Mantis X10 Elite to support your training will undoubtedly lead to improved skills. For firearms trainers, it would also be invaluable to help illustrate marksmanship deficiencies and resolve those occasional, “No, I didn’t do that!” arguments. I consider it a must-have personal training tool for anyone serious about their marksmanship.

www.mantisx.com

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