Years ago, I was at SHOT show, and I met a couple of guys at a small booth who talked about how they realized their smartphone tracked its location perfectly. They rubber-banded their phone to a gun, and the idea for the MantisX was born. Through the years, I have used many of the Mantis products, including their flagship MantisX, the company’s Laser Academy, and the BlackbeardX for AR rifles. Now, Mantis is introducing a new dry fire pistol with a built-in MantisX called the TitanX.
Why the Mantis TitanX?
I was not born a “good shot.” At the end of my first law enforcement academy, my scores were halfway between perfect and failing. I was a solid grade “C” shooter.
Fast forward one year, and I was completing the DEA Academy and competing for top shooter in the class. Two years later, I passed the 3-week DEA/FBI firearms instructor school shooting the Bullseye course, one-handed, at 25 and 15 yards. One thing took me from an average shooter to a great shooter: dry firing.
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Dry firing has always been a great way to teach new shooters the fundamentals of breaking that perfect shot.
If you have a double-action pistol, dry firing can be as easy as getting some snap caps and sitting on the couch, going “click,” “click,” “click,” until you have a perfect grip, sight picture, trigger press, and follow-through, every time.
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But the heyday of the DAO pistols and revolvers has come and gone. Today, shooters and law enforcement agencies prefer striker-fired pistols. They’re simpler to teach, simpler to operate, have a faster first shot, and have the same trigger pull every time. Second in popularity are hammer-fired SAO pistols like the 2011s, which dominate competitions.
Neither of these lend themselves to dry-fire practice because of the need to rack the slide after each shot. This disrupts follow-up shots and creates poor muscle memory.
The TitanX
I received the Mantis TitanX for my evaluation. It is the exact dimensions of the Gen 5 Glock 17, so finding a holster was easy. My guess is that they will come out with other popular handgun configurations.
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The TitanX emits a momentary red laser beam with each trigger press. The laser can be sighted in using an included hex key. My test unit only required a small amount of adjustment. I noticed the elevation adjustment was opposite to the directions it showed on the gun. However, that wasn’t a big deal, and I was still able to quickly “sight it in.”
The TitanX is far from the first laser-emitting, dry-fire pistol on the market. It isn’t even the first one designed to mimic the Glock 17. However, it is the first one to have MantisX built into it.
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I activated the app on my phone and took my first five slow-fire shots with an average score of 94.5. The app walked me through different pages where I could see I had a slight downward movement (anticipation) on three of my shots, just before the trigger broke. It then provides basic instructor-style directions on possible causes and solutions for common shooting errors.
I went on to look at a target trace that shows exactly where the gun was pointed before, during, and after each shot broke. Then, I performed other drills while it told me my “goal” for the day was to get in at least 50 shots.
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Training
The TitanX is rechargeable using a provided USBC cord. It comes with two weighted magazines for reload drills (the slide does not move). The magazine release is reversible.
Best of all, it is optics-ready. It comes with a cover plate and fixed iron (actually plastic) sights. However, it can take optics with the RMR, RMS, or RMSc footprint. This is huge because optics on handguns are slowly but surely becoming the norm rather than the exception.
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The TitanX uses the same app and has the same training courses as the MantisX. This includes three skill levels (Basic, Advanced, and Elite) in Marksmanship, Combat (with more timed drills, reloads, one-handed shooting, and judgment shooting), and Concealed Carry (timed drawing and engaging targets from concealment).
The app analyzes your efficiency of movement in drawing, firing, and follow-up shots. It has a number of drills, such as El Presidente, 1-Reload-1, and more. All of these are free, as well as the future software that Mantis regularly adds.
The Mantis TitanX is a Dry Fire Game Changer
I have several dry fire systems that I love, including a VR headset with a realistic gun and USPSA-style scenarios. However, I am more excited about the TitanX for two reasons: speed and ease of use.
In the DEA, we had a number of laser systems that gathered dust 90% of the time. I once set up an AR carbine with a laser bolt and an Aimpoint sight and left it lying on a file cabinet by my desk. Every agent in the office would pick it up almost every time they walked by, get 5-10 dry fires in, set it down, and move on. They literally wore it out multiple times.
The TitanX is exactly the same. I can leave it out on the kitchen counter or at the top of the stairs, and every time I walk by, I get a few good trigger presses. If I have an extra minute, I can open the app and do a quick drill.
Throughout the day, I get more practice than a dedicated trip to the range, all in just a few seconds. Plus, with an MSRP of $199, it literally pays for itself in saved ammunition from a single range day.
Now, if you will excuse me, I am going to go set up the Mantis Laser Academy and give my kids a five-minute shooting lesson in the comfort of our living room. That is about as long as I can hold their attention.
