Let’s post our MantisX daily training experiences. What did you accomplish today with your MantisX system? Did you complete some at home, dry fire exercises? Or, perhaps you took the system to the range for live fire.
This is the place to discuss all things MantisX.
Stay safe out there.
My favorite dry fire/live fire exercise is the Compressed Surprise Break. I’ve been in the 93 range this past week. This morning scored 93.2 with a few errors for pushing.
I’ve found that this system is really helping me focus on the importance of proper grip and a smooth trigger press.
Stay safe!
So I assume you are liking your Mantis system? I’m thinking of getting one. Mostly interested in it for dry fire training but have you found the live fire version to be worth the extra cost?
@Shamrock. I did the research between laser systems, MantisX, SIRT and a few others and settled on MantisX for the cost fact factor as well as the flexibility for dry fire and live fire capability.
I did take it to the range for a short session early on. I wish that I had spent more time with it in dry fire practice before doing that. Because, it is sensitive to muzzle/firearm movement prior to the trigger press, movement during trigger press and muzzle movement after recoil.
It analyzes common shooting errors with grip, trigger finger placement and pressure, etc.
I spend quite a bit of time each day on dry firing. I’m looking forward to my next range visit without clients so that I can focus on my shooting. I purchased the X3 system and am very happy that I did.
Stay safe out there.
I’m definitely looking for more feedback from my dry fire training. I’m used to looking at the splotches on steel or holes in paper for feedback at the range but sounds like the MantisX can help there too.
Thanks for the input!
Dry firing is something that we all can and should do each week regardless of shooting skill level. I watch people come to the range and dump hundreds of rounds. I can almost hear their thoughts while they’re cleaning up brass … “Just what did I accomplish???”.
I can usually watch a client fire no more than 10 rounds and help them diagnose what errors they may be committing. Everything from grip issues to trigger finger placement to stance. You name it. However, I need an Instructor to watch me too and MantisX has been that instructor for me.
The X3 system costs about $170. The regular X system is $99.
Either is well worth the money IMO. With the price of ammunition these days, let alone availability. Dry fire just makes that much more sense.
Stay safe.
@Shamrock I bought the Mantis X3, but in the course of working out some hardware issues ended up being comped a swap into an X10. I’m only using it with handguns. I have just under 10,000 shots in over the past 20 months.
It has absolutely helped my shooting, but it’s a funny creature. It doesn’t care where you aim or where your shots will go. It only really cares whether your hand(s) remain perfectly still for a short period before and after trigger release. I refer to that as “teaching a quiet hand” — as in perfect trigger press and no milking, flinching, bouncing, or anticipating, etc. Learning a “quiet hand” has improved my shooting, even at speed. But…
If you tend to make adjustments of grip or trigger in the last quarter to half second before release — or if you squeeze off shots while the gun is actually still in motion — those will be called out as errors. Even if your repeatable point of impact is exactly your point of aim, and your elapsed time makes you smile — MantisX is unhappy with you for lack of stillness.
I don’t find the “coaching” tips provided by the Mantis app to be useful at all — maybe they are random, maybe they are about something, but they are of no help to me. The feedback I get is more like:
Eventually it has been effective, but more trial and error than guided. A bit annoying as a coaching style.
It is not effective as a complete dry-fire practice solution because it doesn’t care about your sight picture. Before or after a MantisX session, I use a laser cartridge with a recording app to see if I can actually hit targets of various types at various ranges. Combined, they are complementary and very useful. If I could only afford one, I think the laser cartridge is the better investment by far.
MantisX is a more versatile and engaging dry fire tool than Wall Drills — my mind goes numb at the thought of 10K rounds of Wall Drill. But there is more to dry fire than that.
Recently, Mantis has released “Laser Academy” which I gather may combine the two approaches. My old iPad will not run the required software, so I don’t know whether it is good or not — nor whether combined is more productive than separate.
In live fire practice I use a target — which I intend to hit — and a timer, and a planned course of fire for whatever I’m working on. Almost always out solo. Using the MantisX along with all of that is a logistic nightmare for me — too much to juggle, different methods of timing, failure to detect shots is just wasting ammo, and so on. There is satisfaction in confirming that I can indeed reproduce a dry fire “quiet hand” with real ammo — and I suppose it would be a message if I could not. Out of my 10,000 shots, just over 300 rounds have been fired live (plus maybe 10% fail to detect or otherwise botched). Maybe there are some ways it could be helpful for an instructor or group setting, but if my money were in short supply I’d put it to a laser cartridge, or holster, or fiber sights, or groceries.
Oh, another tip — if you want to do holster work, get a magazine adapter to mount the MantisX unit on unless you have a rig which would accept a random squarish lump on the rail. I keep a dedicated “Mantis magazine” in my training pile — weighted down with brass and plastic dummy rounds to the same weight as a loaded mag. Similar setup for other guns without rails.
I spent my practice time today writing to @Shamrock. 
But over the weekend:
I shoot the Benchmark once at the start of each session, whatever else I might be doing. Average 94.3 to date in October; 94.9 for September — both of which are good for me over multiple attempts.
Thanks for the review @techs !
Sounds like MantisX will help me to improve my form and technique but the laser cartridge would be better for practicing dynamic movement and shooting from awkward positions, etc. Sounds worth it to do both. That will allow me to save my ammo for more scenario based practice.
Any recommendations on a laser cartridge and recording app combo?
I have used (all links to Amazon):
CheapShot 9mm (2019)
CheapShot .45ACP (2018)
G-Sight .380ACP (2018)
They have all been working just fine. The CheapShot is about $36, couple bucks cheaper than when I bought. The G-Sight was $40 a couple years ago, but apparently it is now “improved” (i.e. $90). No experience with the new version.
I like O-ring versions, feeling like they are more inclined to be stable in the barrel without being so snug as to get jammed. Batteries and maybe O-rings will need replaced every couple years, I have not replaced the back end (maybe 15,000 hits on the 9mm?).
I’ve been using an older version of the free G-Sight app. It’s pretty rudimentary — hang up a target of your choice, register the camera on your phone/tablet in the app, shoot strings of 10 or less. Each laser strike on the paper target you hung is captured as a “ding” and a faux bullet hole on the image of the target in the app. Latest hit is displayed, at end of string all are displayed as a group, swipe to review shots one-by-one. Nothing tricky — no times, no games — just whatever you’re doing. It was the most satisfactory of what was available for iOS at the time. My old iPad won’t run current releases of anything, so I don’t have a survey of newer offerings — free or pay.
I would say that the MantisX will improve what you do with your hands, while a laser cartridge will improve what you do with your eyes (and the rest of your body, really).
I mostly shoot the MantisX at a blank spot on the wall — paying attention to sight alignment only. When I try to form a complete sight picture, I’m always making minor adjustments to maintain or recover relationships — and MantisX gives demerits for the motions.
When doing exercises with the MantisX that involve draw, presentation, or other movement to a target, I have to accept either: a) low scores (sometimes wildly low, like minus 400 points on a scale of 0 to 100 points), or b) a pause of 0.5sec to 1.0sec after coming on target to convince the device that I am settled. Apparently just a limit inherent in how the device interprets your technique using only motion sensing. Probably not a limitation in bullseye, but certainly impacts timed or dynamic activities.
Everything I do goes into my training book. Right now, my set goal is all 10 shots in the MantisX Benchmark drill above 95. My thought is this will help with both accuracy and consistency. It’s not as easy as it sounds, and I’m meeting that goal maybe 25% of the time.
No kidding. When I see it on somebody’s record I wonder if I’m looking at a long gun fired off a rest. Same goal here, but I think I’ve only hit it a time or two. Hot shooting!
Here’s my latest effort as part of the Elite Marksmanship qualification. The system has really helped me to work on my grip for both strong and support hand and of course 2-handed.
Stay safe out there.
I used to participate in a couple of the groups, but I got tired of looking at scores that were clearly faked.
When you see 20 shots with intervals of 0.5s and scores of 98+, you know you’re looking at the guy in the bar bragging to everyone about his time as a Navy S.E.A.L. 
I don’t use Mantis X to impress others. I don’t join groups either. I did form a private group for my clients so as to provide feedback and to help one another out. That’s why I started this discussion thread, to promote training and to focus on bettering ourselves.
Just like with this community, we have keyboard commandos in every venue I suppose.
Stay safe out there.
I think that’s the way to go.
Which of course, begs the question, why not a USCCA community group? So I just checked. There is indeed a USCCA group, but I don’t know how active it is, since it’s private.
Good question. Perhaps it was founded by USCCA Staff.
Stay safe.
I knew that bench vise would be useful for something — have to see what I can do.
I’m in a semi-private group that seems pretty straight. No real interaction between participants other than making our session reports visible. Haven’t observed anything I thought looked like cheating — most don’t even clean up their MantisX errors (i.e. device records a shot upon reset or holster and scores you 3.2 points, messing up an otherwise decent string.)
Just earned the Elite Marksmanship Badge and qualification. I also received an offer from Mantis for a free tee-shirt just for reviewing their products.
I’ve been working exclusively with my Sig P365 most of the time. One of my favorite exercise is the Compressed Surprised Break. Here’s today’s results.
Stay safe and practice your grip and trigger press daily.
