I first became aware of Mantis-X training systems a couple of years ago during the COVID lockdown. Ammo was so scarce and expensive that I thought seriously about buying one, but my job at the time was off and on and I had to put it off for a while. Several months ago, I got the opportunity to review the Mantis X10 Elite and I jumped at it.

The Mantis X10 Elite: Challenging, Sometimes Humbling, and Absolutely Worth It

By William Lawson

I thought I'd work with it for a couple of weeks, maybe a month, go all the way through it, and write the review. First mistake, and it was a big one. This isn't some video game that you beat in a week and never play again because it's no longer a challenge. Six months later, I haven't come close to mastering this thing and I really don't ever expect to. And there's the real value. More on that later.

But let me back up a bit.

What is the Mantis X10 Elite and what does it do?

Have you got a minute? Because this system literally does everything but rack the slide for you. It consists of a small sensor that fits right on your pic rail.

If your gun doesn't have a rail, never fear, because the X10 Elite has you covered. It ships with a short pic rail section that adheres to the bottom of your magazine. Attach the sensor and you're golden. That feature also allows you to use the system when drawing from your holster.

Next, you download the corresponding app on your phone, turn on the sensor, and hit the “connect' button in the app. Make sure your Bluetooth is on. Once you connect, you'll be presented with a menu of drills that you can access a la carte or as part of several courses, including Basic, Advanced, Elite Marksmanship, and Basic and Advanced Combat. There's also an introductory course to familiarize you with the system.

The drills are varied and challenging, and you can do them in dry fire or live fire mode. The system allows you to check benchmarks for yourself on a scale of 1 to 100, timed or untimed. There is open training to work on basic things like grip and trigger pull or drills with specific goals that still measure fundamentals. You can set it to announce your score on each shot, or just a beep with scores later.

Either way, you can review your scores for each session and even each individual shot. You can look at each shot as a value on graphs and break them down with presentation, trigger pull, and follow through on a simulated target.

You can even put each shot in motion to see what your muzzle is doing relative to the target during the shot process. Not only that, but the system also tells you what you should work on for each shot, whether it's too much or too little trigger finger, heeling, tightening your fingers, whatever. You can view your history on every drill.

The system allows you to pick your firearms so you can track your progress with that particular gun. They offer many options and, if they don't have your gun, you can add it. I did that for my IWI Masada, which is my nightstand gun, though most of my training has been done with my Walther PPQ. I intended to get to the rifle stuff but there's so much that I just haven't. Yet.

How does it improve your shooting skill?

I will say that working through the X10 Elite has often been humbling, and not a little frustrating. But I'm getting better. I was appalled to see that my initial averages were in the high seventies and low to mid-eighties in terms of percentage points. I sometimes left it alone for a few days because I was frustrated. But I soon learned that putting it down meant that I quickly lost any progress made. Shooting skills are perishable, and the X10 Elite drives that point home. I'm now consistently in the high eighties and low nineties with occasional trips near 100.

I've even started playing with the hostage rescue and basic combat drills. I won't share how bad I am at those right now. But, if the goal is to develop real skills, who wants a training system that's easy? Those skills will be better and more ingrained because you have to work diligently through the frustration to make them stick.

I thought initially that I would, at least, work all the way through the Elite Marksmanship course before writing the review so I could show off my patches in this article. Did I mention the app notifies Mantis when you complete a course, and they send you a patch for it? Free of charge. That's a nice touch. But I mentioned before that this thing is challenging. I'm still working on Advanced Marksmanship and, after seeing how good this system is, I'm not even embarrassed to admit it. Your mileage may vary, but I had, and still have, a lot of work to do.

I also thought I might be able to talk about each of the drills, but that is impossible in the space available. There are so many drills with so many variations that it just can't be done. I promise that you won't get bored with the X10 Elite. Tired of working on trigger pull? Try your hand at reload drills, holster draws, or hostage rescue. Or do some live fire and let the system critique your recoil management.

There is also a daily challenge drill that's always fun. My favorite so far (I can't remember exactly what it was called, and I didn't think to screenshot it) required me to roll out of bed, retrieve my pistol from the nightstand, and get off accurate shots in a given number of seconds. It was hard. But it was also eye-opening.

The X10 Elite ships with a nice soft case, the attachable sensor, a barrel adapter for shotguns, spacers, a USB charging cable for the sensor, and a quick start guide. It works on handguns, rifles, shotguns, airsoft guns, and bows. Yes, bows. I haven't tried that yet, but I expect I will at some point.

I've seen results on the range too. I'm still having a couple grip and trigger issues, but my groups have gotten significantly better.

The X10 Elite is the top end of the Mantis “X Systems,” which range in price from $99.99 to $249.99. This is a system that you can get into where you're comfortable and work your way up. You may think that $249.00 is a little steep. But think about how many rounds of ammo you'd spend doing these drills on the range. Not to mention the time and gas to get to and from the range. This system is a bargain. And let's be honest, can you do hostage rescue and home invasion drills in your house with live ammo? If you can, I want to come over and shoot with you. I like the X10 Elite so much that I bought one for my son for his birthday (you're welcome, Will).

Bottom line is that I can't recommend the X10 Elite enough. Maybe I sound overenthusiastic. If so, there's a reason for that. I spent the cold-ass Appalachian Mountain Winter with this thing, getting real work done inside where it was warm. Unless you're Jerry Miculek, Larry Vickers, or Mike Searson, this system will make you better. And if it doesn't, Mantis offers a 45-day money-back guarantee.

Check out the various available MantisX products.

But I bet you won't use it. I expect to use the X10 Elite for years to come. As I said before, shooting skills degrade if you don't practice them. This system is challenging enough that I honestly can't foresee it being put aside because it isn't useful anymore. It's that good, making it valuable far beyond the initial cost. Try it and see if you agree. Happy shooting, y'all.

Read the original article in its entirety at medium.com.