Paragraph4

MantisX…. An On Going Review

by Steven Horsky

---

First thanks for reading what will be the first chapter in an in-depth review of the MantisX system.

I purchased the MantisX X10 on July 3rd, 2020 after reading several reviews and in depth review of their website. Their torture test video really gave me an idea of the quality of the product being constructed of electronics and gyroscopes and its relation to ability to survive various recoils of the firearms I own and shoot.

In this first post I intended to focus on initial setup of the application and device. I also want to go over what I have encountered during use at this point, which has been dry fire only. I do however plan on taking a range trip in the next few days with it and give review of that perspective of the products features.

Initial setup: First off I ordered the device directly from MantisX but it can be purchased at other online vendors such as Midway. While waiting for the device to arrive I grabbed the app from the Apple Store. It asks instantly to Connect or Skip Connection. At this point I did not have the device but wanted to look at the application. Well I was pleasantly surprised that I could get my account setup and also enter my firearms in to the system. Having long guns and pistols that I wanted to enter was really quick as they made it super easy by listing many manufactures in their database along with their models and calibers. This is all easily done in the app.

As we all know Sig has many firearms with their proprietary rail but guess what, the MantisX mounts to it no problem. What about firearms with no rail? Well with the MantisX X10 it comes with a mount to mount to your barrel or the optional accessory mount to mount to magazine bases, some are available firearm specific or you can get the universal one.

Dry Fire Use: Once attached push a button and a green light flashes. Open your app hit connect and leave the firearm still on a surface for a few seconds while it calibrates and you are good to go. You can switch firearms in you arsenal and recalibrate right in the application quickly if you took the few minutes to enter the firearms. You have no way to tell where impact is unless you supplement with a laser system when dry firing. But typically in a dry fire scenario you are working on draw from holster, trigger pull, and sight picture. This will do this with ease. There are different modes of training that are very valuable in my opinion. You can train one handed, both hands, from the holster, and other modes while using it in a dry fire configuration.

You might be sitting there going this will not really help me I don’t move around a lot when pulling the trigger or that your mechanics are flawless. Well, this tool is super sensitive and will tell you more than you thought you knew. I always thought I had a smooth trigger pull or great basic mechanics and this tool proved me wrong. Do I have good or decent mechanics, probably. I have been able to see that no matter what I have room for improvement and I have seen that after doing may dry fires I go from breaking my wrist down (recoil anticipation) to starting to push with my weak hand as I fatigue. I think you would be amazed with how sensitive this tool is. As you use it you start getting good muscle memory as you correct your issues and you see them in real time. When I started using this tool I was scoring mid to upper 80s, mind you a perfect score is 100. I have had a few lower scores in the 60s when I did something I instantly felt was wrong. Now that I have used a few firearms with this system I am scoring low to mid 90s consistently.

It amazes me how I had issues and the most notable was going from my P320 M17 to my 1911 or P227. Just by switching to the larger caliber firearms you could see the scores drop as my muscle memory knew these firearms have more recoil along with weighing more. So to confirm this I went from My M17 to my P320 VTAC and noticed minimal score issues and control issues, but as soon as I picked up my Ruger MKIV the scores climbed a little as there is almost zero recoil.

Now not everything is perfect…. With the sensitivity of the device sometimes I did not lock the slide and when it settled in it would read as a shot… This is not a device issue, it was a me issue. The good news is you can delete that “shot” so that your average is not affected. The key take away is to not ride the slide.

Dry Fire Conclusion: While I have yet to test this device with live fire I can feel and see results of improvement at this time. I believe this tool will be fantastic especially to keep the skills sharp during the winter months where it is harder to get out and shoot due to the weather here in NH. I see it as a valuable tool and while it is not the least expensive item out there it has already began to pay for itself. Coming in at $249.99 it is comparable with the cost of a single day of professional instruction at Sig Sauer Academy. I think that this tool will hone your skills and make taking a course with a professional instructor more beneficial as you will be working on tightening up your mechanics on your own versus having a class slow down to clean up the sloppy mechanics. If you have taken a course you know there is always that one person who slows things down as their skills are not quite up to par with everyone in the class. This is a great value and thus far I believe it is a must have, especially with these trying times.

Steven Horsky is a New Hampshire native who has been a firearm enthusiast and hunter of 30 years. A student of American History and modern firearms, he enjoys reloading and building AR-15s. He believes in rigorous training and has completed several courses at Sig Sauer Academy.

Images courtesy of MantisX.