PALM-SIZED PERSONAL SHOOTING COACH: MantisX Firearms Training System

What if you could have a personal shooting coach with you anytime and anyplace to help you improve your shooting?Well, now you can with MantisX™ Firearms Training System, a patent-pending one-of-a kind digital shooting coach. It takes firearms training into the 21st century and promises to revolutionize training. And it won’t break the bank, either.

MantisX was founded to accurately diagnose shooting mechanics in order to improve accuracy more quickly. Prototypes were developed in 2013 and underwent rigorous testing with shooters at all levels prior to entering full product development mode. Then there was the lengthy FCC approval process before MantisX could become commercially available.

Necessity was truly the mother of invention for MantisX. Austin Allgaier, MantisX co-founder, was frustrated by his lack of improvement in shooting and that no diagnostic tool on the market was able to help him. MantisX was developed to remedy this.

“What we found with MantisX,” says Allgaier, “is that both targets and instructors can’t always accurately identify what is a problem with the shooting mechanics versus incorrect sighting versus overcompensation versus an inaccurate firearm. MantisX removes all outside factors in order to see clearly what issues exist with core shooting mechanics.”

“Our early testing showed shot accuracy improvement within 40 rounds 94% of the time,” says Pavel Yurevich, an engineer on the project. “Since then, interest from law enforcement, military, and private gun owners has been very, very strong.”

MantisX consists of a wireless sensor that works in conjunction with a free mobile app available for both iOS® and Android®. The sensor features a rugged glass-filled nylon housing designed to stand up to abuse. It is exceptionally compact and lightweight, measuring a svelte 1.88 inches long x 1.0 inch high x 1.25 inches wide, and weighing just 1.0 ounces.The sensor attaches to any pistol or rifle with an accessory rail (or rail adapter) and gathers movements of the gun to diagnose the mechanics of the shooter.

HOW IT WORKS

A three-axis gyroscope and three-axis accelerometer in the sensor gather movement data during the trigger pull. They do this at a sample rate of hundreds of times per second. The data is transmitted real-time to the app for recording and analysis via Bluetooth®.

Revolutionary? You bet! MantisX can be used with live fire, dry fire, airsoft and CO2, allowing you to train virtually anytime, anyplace and save money at the same time.The app is continually undergoing improvements. MantisX releases significant app updates every four to eight weeks, with new screens, data, features, and functionality. Improvements are continually being made based on ongoing rigorous testing and user feedback.

Anyone who purchases the device can access all future enhancements and improvements for free.

MantisX analyzes the movements of the gun prior to, during, and after the shot, and aggregate shooting session data to diagnose what the shooter was doing right and wrong. It scores the shots and provides feedback to the shooter on how to improve.

It keeps track of all shooting sessions, generating reports to identify trends, gauge progress, and set improvement goals. And it does all this real time.

The MantisX app user interface is well thought out and intuitive to use. The app has four function areas: TRAIN, HISTORY, LEARN, and SETTINGS.

• TRAIN displays shooting results with the ability to display data as to direction and magnitude of movement, shot-by-shot analysis, and detailed trace. It has various drills for pistol training. You can track your speed and accuracy in different scenarios.
• HISTORY has several screens that provide an overview of progress over multiple shooting sessions. It has the ability to select and track your progress with different guns. You can swipe left on any session to delete it if desired.
• LEARN provides you with what may be the cause of movement and what you should focus on during the next round of shots.
• SETTINGS allows configuration for different guns, rifle or pistol, left- or right-handed shooters, live, dry-fire or CO2, sensor positioning and location, and a special “bullseye” mode for bullseye shooters. It also lets you clear the history, disconnect, and report any issues.

MantisX is easy to set up and use. Download the free MantisX app from the App Store® or Google Play®. Attach the sensor to your gun. Turn the sensor on. Open the app and press the “connect” button to pair the sensor with the Bluetooth-enabled iOS or Android device. Wait a few seconds for MantisX to calibrate. Press the START button to begin collecting data.When you’re done with a round of shooting, press STOP and analyze the data. Press RESET between rounds of shooting to store your data. It’s that simple!

The sensor is powered by an integral rechargeable lithium-ion battery. It has a 12-hour run time and can be easily recharged via its micro-USB charging port. A USB cable is included that can be plugged into a computer or any phone/device charger.

A single button turns the sensor on and off. LEDs indicate whether it is on, searching for or has a Bluetooth connection, has a low battery, and is charging or charged. The device automatically powers itself off if it doesn’t detect any significant movement for five minutes.

MantisX promises to improve shooting accuracy in a shorter period of time, reduce ammunition cost, and maintain a history of performance to enable deeper analysis and improvement.It is an exceptionally valuable tool not only for shooters but also for those providing firearms training or instruction. My own experience with MantisX bears this out. Shooters of all levels will benefit. I did and so will you.

The most effective way to train with MantisX is to utilize aggregate shooting data rather than individual shots. Each shot is scored depending on how much the shooter pulled away from the sighted position.

MantisX tracks the direction of barrel movement during the trigger pull. Shots are grouped according to movement pattern on a wheel graph based on the shooter’s diagnostic wheel, aka the “Wheel of Misfortune” developed by the U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit as a marksmanship training tool and widely used by trainers.

If the shooter tends to shoot left, the left sector will light up on the wheel in the app, showing the direction and magnitude.

Each shot is also scored based upon movement from sighted position during trigger pull. A score of 100 is perfect, meaning no movements—something that is virtually impossible for a shooter to achieve. MantisX provides a suggestion as to what may be causing the movement of an individual shot or group of shots, and what should be focused on for improvement.

Data can also be displayed as a shot-by-shot analysis and a detailed trace. Shot-by-shot analysis tracks each shot individually to analyze trends. Detailed trace shows hold/sighting, trigger pull, and recoil/shot management.

Most of us do not get to the range as often as we want or should. Dry-fire practice can be a valuable supplement to live fire, especially in conjunction with MantisX. Although MantisX was designed for live-fire use, it is also effective in dry-fire practice.Live-fire shot detection by the sensor is obviously easier than dry-fire shot detection. It is also essential to try to eliminate false positives that can arise, such as from racking the slide or other movements that can mimic a dry-fire striker or hammer fall.

Complex algorithms are necessary to accomplish this. MantisX engineers have tested their algorithms on hundreds of firearms and are continually updating the app with new data sets.

There are tradeoffs between eliminating false positives and missing some actual dry-fire shots. MantisX has chosen to reduce false positives in the shot detection, meaning some dry-fire shots will be missed as well. MantisX has the ability to delete a shot that has been wrongfully detected.

According to MantisX, with the latest version of the app at press time, dry-fire practice accuracy is consistently above 85%, usually above 95%, while the false positive rate is <1% on average. My own dry-fire testing bears this out. Future app updates promise to improve shot detection even more.