Anybody use the Mantis X system?

[boylit]

Wife and I got a couple of Mantis X kits (X3 for her and X10 for me).

Live fire seems to work as advertised and helped us in analyzing mistakes.

Dry fire is a mixed bag. For the most part, it reflects what the live fire sessions say. It's the extra "shots" recorded that's an issue. On my P10S, it records some trigger resets as shots. No issue with her TH9C.

Anybody have experience on this?

[M1A4ME]

Mine did that for awhile and then seemed to stop.

I need to use mine more.

Doesn't seem to do that on the striker fired guns, just when I'm thumb cocking the hammer fired guns.

[boylit]

Mine did that for awhile and then seemed to stop.

I need to use mine more.

Doesn't seem to do that on the striker fired guns, just when I'm thumb cocking the hammer fired guns.

Reverse in my case. It detected false dry fires on my striker P10S but was ok on her hammer TH9C

[DanMore]

I have the X3, the X10 and the X7 (Shotgun).

Using the X3 and X10 on my P10 hasn`t had any issues. I had them on the old MantisX System. Even cocking the hammer would be recorded as a shot every now and then.

But when practicing drawing from the holster on any striker fire pistol (in my case a Gloc 17 Gen 4 and the P10 F), partial slide racking to bring the striker into battery will be recognized as a shot.

[CCWLearner]

I have an original MantisX that I use for both dry and live fire on a CZ P-07.

When dry firing, there are a couple of things you can do to avoid false shot detection, when cocking the hammer.  I expect these would also work for resetting the trigger on a striker-fired pistol.

There's a setting in the app under "advanced settings" to add a one-second delay after a shot before detecting another shot.  This only affects dry fire mode so you don't need to worry about turning it off if you carry your MantisX to the range for live fire.

There's also a behavioral attribute of the MantisX, where if you have it pointed downward, it won't detect a shot, at least not in dry fire mode.  I haven't tested it in live fire mode... range officer probably wouldn't like that.

So you can turn that setting on and do your cocking / reset within one second, or you can bring your gun down to a low ready, then cock / reset, then re-target for your next shot, to avoid false shots.

[boylit]

Will try that. Thanks

[Joe L]

Good to see some people using the MantisX device.  I have one of the original versions but haven't used it much in the last year or so.  When I was using it, it was especially helpful with a new-to-me pistol.  I always had to struggle with the trigger finger placement and grip shapes, as well as the trigger finger control, at first, and the little MantisX was very helpful in letting me see whether I was making changes in the right direction or not, in dry fire, with a hammer fired pistol.  I need to try it with the P-10 series pistols.

I think the device can be a good feedback tool for a new shooter in dry fire, in a classroom, to show the new shooter what happens to the pistol when he jerks the trigger or otherwise moves the gun while pulling the trigger.  It will save some live fire time if the student can refine their trigger pull a little before moving to live fire. 

As far as experienced shooters go, the device will definitely show a less than optimum trigger pull, but so will a 7 ring hit instead of a 10 ring hit.  I remember seeing consistently high MantisX scores in live fire when I was shooting well, and lower scores when I wasn't.  I think the value of the device is greatest for beginner and medium skilled shooters. 

But, since I revert to medium skill level when I haven't shot in a few weeks, perhaps I should get mine out again and try it with the P-10!

Joe 

[boddington]

I just learned about this system and I'm going to have to buy one - will make sitting at home much more enjoyable~

[JBear1]

Got my X3 two days ago and it already makes me feel like I've got a lot to improve upon! Having immediate feedback helps dry fire a lot. And my decocking registers as a shot unless I point the muzzle up while decocking.  I'd love to hear opinions on the X10! Holster draw analysis and recoil management seem like useful tools.

[Joe L]

I just did a video where, in live fire, I recorded the scores as I was shooting.  I also did a lot of dry fire with mine last weekend.  I think it helped.  For those who have the little device, maybe these scores will mean something. 

In dry fire, I used a 3 second delay between shots to keep the cocking of the striker from registering on the device as a shot.  Since I was practicing a slow shot sequence anyway, this worked great. 

Here is that video if you want to take a look.  The one bad shot out of 10 coincided with a low MantisX score.

https://youtu.be/V6_Nb8t393o

Joe

[JBear1]

Thanks for the video.  It really shows that the Mantis X system doesn't record accuracy, but precision.  I'm still getting used to the suggestions for improvement but its good to hear that it seems to translate to better performance in live fire too.

[Joe L]

...  It really shows that the Mantis X system doesn't record accuracy, but precision. 

Exactly.  It doesn't know how well you were able to aim the gun before the shot was released.  From a rest, where the aim point accuracy is maximum, when I have a bad shot, it is always because I move the gun slightly as I pulled the trigger, and that shows up in the MantisX score.  Standing, single hand, the correlation between MantisX scores and 8 ring hits versus 10 ring hits is not as good, because the gun is constantly wobbling, even with a perfect trigger pull, but the correlation between 6 ring hits and low MantisX scores is still good!  I don't aim THAT badly, ever. 

To give an example.  Before I polished the trigger parts and installed the CGW trigger in my P-10S, my scores in dry fire two handed, unsupported, were low 90's.  After the trigger work, I started seeing a lot more very high 90's and fewer below 95.  Just a little more practice and nearly all of my dry fire scores were above 95.  At the range, in live fire, from a rest, the scores held high 90's.  It was the first time I remember seeing consistent high 90's in live fire, but I don't have a lot of history to compare. 

Bottom line for me is that the dry fire practice at home with the MantisX helped me a bunch in reducing the number of shots it took for me to get good results live fire at the range, at least from a rest at 100 yards, which isn't a normal yard stick, I know, except for me. 

Joe

[JBear1]

I took my Mantis X3 out to the range and it was all over the place.  It wasn't registering shots half the time and the other half it was totally off giving me scores of less than 50, even though I hit the target consistently.  I tried playing with the settings but nothing seemed to work.  Its an indoor range and there's a few other people firing, but their shots didn't register on the Mantis X...

Any suggestions to help with the live fire?

[Joe L]

Go back through the settings very carefully.  Make sure the app is set to live fire and that the direction of the device is input correctly.  Then try some slow fire, possibly with an "ignore" period and see if that works, then go back to a string of live fire at your normal pace. 

I've not tried mine in an indoor range, so there may be some difficulties there that I've never experienced. 

Hope you get it working. 

Joe