The Firearms Thread

[dangerousdon]

Okay...looking at the Mantis X and just checking out reviews and videos...I am super impressed without even using it yet. I'm going to start testing it out today. I'll go ahead and chart my use of the system. One of the things I like about this system is that it gives you the opportunity to start or join groups. So you can either compare or have a little competition. I personally don't know anyone else who has a Mantis X, but hopefully that will change at some point!

 

[Majorrich]

I dug out some Airsoft replicas we were using before I retired for cqb. They even break down like the real deal. If it weren’t for the red barrels, they would be indistinguishable from the real deal

 

[Blade-meister]

I dug out some Airsoft replicas we were using before I retired for cqb. They even break down like the real deal. If it weren’t for the red barrels, they would be indistinguishable from the real deal

I am familiar with the wax rounds used with the special barrels. Those hurt and a throat shot is serious and will get you a beating later if it was not necessary.

if not done properly you can pick up a bad habit or two

Yes, you are so right. One other mistake made is not drawing from your carry holster(s) and not doing magazine changes as part of your dry fire training. Many fumble with what to do with empty mags and how to draw a new one and those seconds cost lives. I was amazed at how rusty I was with these things. I've even seen people carrying spare mags twisted the wrong way so that when brought up to the handgun it would not slide in the right way. Muscle memory - muscle memory, but it can cause bad muscle memory too. Not sure why, but it never gave me any bad habits.

 

[dangerousdon]

Okay, so I will try to start off my review of the Mantis X3 shooting performance system. I will have to say, that right out of the box I was a bit underwhelmed. Not because of presentation or anything, but because of the sheer size of the apparatus, or should I say lack of size. This item is small. I mean real small. So it's a good thing that it comes with a really nice case. (Any pics of the hardware are stock photos unless otherwise denoted)



The case is a tough foam type case that has a double zipper. Seems rugged...not that I will attach it to my pack or harness...but it's nice to know that I have a place to store the sensor while I am not using it. On the inside of the "lid" is a little netting area which contains a Mantis X sticker and a VERY small Micro USB charging cable. Then there is the sensor.




Like I said...this device is small. As seen in the picture, the sensor slides right onto the accessory rail of your pistol. If you have a full size or even compact sized pistol...most these days come with an accessory rail. If you have an older pistol or a subcompact or micro pistol, then you will need a rail adapter. Mantis X sells magazine rail adapters so you can put the sensor on the bottom of the magazine. They also sell rail adapters that fit where most accessory rails are located. Both types are not much, about $25, but is an added cost if you need one. There is an advantage to having the sensor on the bottom of the magazine. Right now, my current holster won't accommodate my pistol with the Mantis X3 on it. That means that I will either have to get a new holster or get an adapter to place the sensor on my magazine. All of this is because I want to practice drawing my pistol from my holster during my dry fire exercises.

Installing the sensor on the pistol was super easy. There is a lever that you pull down with your thumb and then slide on the sensor to the rail. It took seconds!

Then there is an app that you download to your iPhone or Android. Once installed, you open up the app. The app will ask you to press the button on the sensor to pair with Bluetooth. This may have been the quickest pairing of any two devises I have done. After that, there was some very minor set up things to do and then you are ready to go.

Okay...I will have more in a bit. But it is time for lunch.

 

[GearNoir]

Don seen, in his now almost empty office, on break…

 

[dangerousdon]

Okay...lunch isn't ready yet so I will do a short section.

Did I mention that this particular model, the Mantis X3 can be used on both a pistol and a rifle? And did I mention that the X3 can be used not only for dry fire, but during live fire also? It most certainly can.

This seems to be a good place to list the different Mantis X systems and their general differences.

X2 - Use on pistols and rifles but for dry fire only
X3 - Use on pistols and rifles, for use during dry and live fire
X7 - Use on shotguns, for use during dry and live fire.
x10 - Use on pistols, rifles, shotguns, and bows (archery). Can be used for dry and live fire. Also does a whole lot more analysis than the other models, such as recoil, holster, multiple target, and rapid fire analysis. And even more than that.

SO we got that out of the way. Since I am just starting off with the Mantis X3, I went ahead and set my app for my pistol. You can then add a manufacturer and model for the pistol. I am using a Glock 23 so I entered that stuff. I then entered other info: Right handed, sensor facing forward (evidently sometimes the sensors fit better if you put it on backwards, so the sensor will work in any direction), sensor mounted on the bottom of my rail. Now I am ready to start my exercises!

 

[CBLindsay]

Last summer I bought myself and my daughter pellet rifles because I couldn't get 22lr ammo. Lots of fun.

Ill have to look into dry firing as my pistol skills really suck and ammo is still expensive.

What did you get? I’ve had a Kodiak duel barrel (.22 and .177) set up with the .22 barrel for years. I used to take it on boy scout camp outs so the boys could shoot it (when the location was appropriate). It took at least 250 rounds for the spring to settle in, now it’s quite accurate. There has been a lot of build-up around my house over the years so I don’t do much target practice in my front yard anymore but I still use it for pigeon and rat control (if left unchecked they really take over my barn).
The kodiak is a decent “cheap” springer but I’d like to get something better.

 

[The Monkey]

What did you get? I’ve had a Kodiak duel barrel (.22 and .177) set up with the .22 barrel for years. I used to take it on boy scout camp outs so the boys could shoot it (when the location was appropriate). It took at least 250 rounds for the spring to settle in, now it’s quite accurate. There has been a lot of build-up around my house over the years so I don’t do much target practice in my front yard anymore but I still use it for pigeon and rat control (if left unchecked they really take over my barn).
The kodiak is a decent “cheap” springer but I’d like to get something better.

I bought a Gammo swarm .22.

Swarm Magnum 10X GEN3i .22 Inertia Multishot Pellet Air Rifle

The GAMO Swarm Magnum is a .22 multishot pellet air rifle that features the 10X GEN3i Inertia Fed Technology and an IGT Mach 1 gas piston.

gamousa.com

This thing packs a punch. My daughter can't use it because she isn't strong enough to break the barrel and pump it. This could easily be used for hunting small game.
Because the Gammo is too much for my daughter I got her a Daisy powerline 880. Pretty inexpensive but shoots both bbs and pellets. I also found an older model (from the 80s) and they are both fun to shoot.

 

[dangerousdon]

Okay, so after I got the Mantis X3 set up and ready to go (which was super easy) I decided to go ahead and start with the introduction to get acquainted with the system. First order of business, five dry fire shots. Easy right?

So the X3 measures the movement of your barrel during your trigger pull. The system gives you a score of 1 to 100 after each shot. One being the worst and 100 being the best. This first dry fire session was my first on the Mantis X3. I was in an isosceles stance with my strong hand griping the pistol and my weak hand supporting. Pretty standard. Just wanted to see how this would work. As you can see, from the first shot...I was really rusty. Okay, have to pay attention to what I w s doing. Go through the fundamentals. Say them out loud. Second shot was better...much better. Anyway...finished up the first exercise.

What did I get out of that? So immediately you get your shot scores.



The next bit of info is that you see where your shots are going.



The app gives you possible solutions to your problem shots and if you tap on a red section the app will give you what the problem means and how to possibly fix an issues.


The app continues to give you more analytics. There is a lot more here than I know what to do with at this point. But I will eventually learn it all.



The last bit of info you get is a visual trace of how your muzzle moved before, during, and after the shot. The blue is before trigger pull, or holding and sighting. The yellow is during trigger pull. The red is after the trigger pull...follow through, or shot breaking and recoil pattern.



And that was the first part if the introduction.

I went ahead and did a few more drills. I will let you all know what those were after a few. But even after just those five shots, I can see where this will be very beneficial.

 

[dangerousdon]

Next part of the Introduction was the Mantis X Benchmark Drill.



The Benchmark drill was basically ten shots untimed. My average score on this part was an 87.5.



And again, it gives you the direction your shots are going.

 

[The Monkey]

Okay, so after I got the Mantis X3 set up and ready to go (which was super easy) I decided to go ahead and start with the introduction to get acquainted with the system. First order of business, five dry fire shots. Easy right?

So the X3 measures the movement of your barrel during your trigger pull. The system gives you a score of 1 to 100 after each shot. One being the worst and 100 being the best. This first dry fire session was my first on the Mantis X3. I was in an isosceles stance with my strong hand griping the pistol and my weak hand supporting. Pretty standard. Just wanted to see how this would work. As you can see, from the first shot...I was really rusty. Okay, have to pay attention to what I w s doing. Go through the fundamentals. Say them out loud. Second shot was better...much better. Anyway...finished up the first exercise.

What did I get out of that? So immediately you get your shot scores.

View attachment 70833

The next bit of info is that you see where your shots are going.

View attachment 70834

The app gives you possible solutions to your problem shots and if you tap on a red section the app will give you what the problem means and how to possibly fix an issues.
View attachment 70835

The app continues to give you more analytics. There is a lot more here than I know what to do with at this point. But I will eventually learn it all.

View attachment 70836

The last bit of info you get is a visual trace of how your muzzle moved before, during, and after the shot. The blue is before trigger pull, or holding and sighting. The yellow is during trigger pull. The red is after the trigger pull...follow through, or shot breaking and recoil pattern.

View attachment 70837

And that was the first part if the introduction.

I went ahead and did a few more drills. I will let you all know what those were after a few. But even after just those five shots, I can see where this will be very beneficial.

Don, are you shooting a a special target?

 

[CBLindsay]

I bought a Gammo swarm .22.

Swarm Magnum 10X GEN3i .22 Inertia Multishot Pellet Air Rifle

The GAMO Swarm Magnum is a .22 multishot pellet air rifle that features the 10X GEN3i Inertia Fed Technology and an IGT Mach 1 gas piston.

gamousa.com

This thing packs a punch. My daughter can't use it because she isn't strong enough to break the barrel and pump it. This could easily be used for hunting small game.
Because the Gammo is too much for my daughter I got her a Daisy powerline 880. Pretty inexpensive but shoots both bbs and pellets. I also found an older model (from the 80s) and they are both fun to shoot.

That one looks like nice, similar in many ways to the Beeman Kodiak BUT with more punch. I have a daisy 880 myself, as well as a couple Red Ryder's and little Crossman. All are great for plinking. One Christmas MANY years ago I made the boys a bunch of interactive targets, they loved having a shooting gallery of sorts to shoot at. I also modified a bunch of hollow point pellets by crushing up match stick tips and filling the points with match stick tip putty. When they were shot at hard target they would "Crack" and at night you could see a large spark.

 

[dangerousdon]

Don, are you shooting a a special target?

Good question...I guess I should have covered this. There are no special targets required for the Mantis X. The only reason you need a target at all is for you to focus on. In my case, I was just using a knot in one of my pickets on my back yard fence as a target. You could as easily use a piece of tape, a random object, or pin up an actual target if you wanted.

A lot of other dry fire systems work with a laser on a specific target. There is no laser with this Mantis X3 devise. It is just a sensor.

Here is a video that might help out and probably explain things better.

 

[dangerousdon]

Next drill was taking 10 shots with your supporting hand only. I honestly have only done shot with my supporting hand only maybe one other time in my life. So I was interested to see what I could do.



Honestly...it was a lot better than I expected.



The above graphs were my best and worst shots in this group.

 

[dangerousdon]

With the introduction finished went ahead and started the basic combat course. First up was Complete the Benchmark section twice with and average score of 85 each. Completed that and went on to the next drill.

Supported hand only drill twice -10 shots each

Compresses Surprise Break three times - 10 shots each. Each shot fired when the app tells you to.

That is as far as I got yesterday. So a total of 80 shots taken yesterday. Now that I know what to expect, I am going to try to do two to five of these sessions each day.

Oh, and you can view your total breakdown of groups. You can view by day, week, month, 3m, 6m, 12m, or all of them. Here is a pic of mine...please don't laugh too hard!

 

[dangerousdon]

So far I am very impressed. And while I don't think it is absolutely necessary to have the Mantis X3 or a similar dry firing system...it sure does make it fun and all the analytics and information id very interesting. I'll keep you guys updated on my training.