Virginia Citizens Defense league

Defending Your Right to Defend Yourself

va-alert-Legislative Update

Published 4/1/2026

Review and Auction of the

Mantis X10 Elite Shooter Performance System

VCDL was sent a Mantis X10 Elite (“Mantis X”) for a review and that unit is now being auctioned on the VCDL website. To bid in the auction, click here. (The auction runs from April 1 through April 14, 2026.). THANK YOU TO MANTIS FOR HELPING IN THE FIGHT TO PRESERVE THE 2A IN VIRGINIA!  You can visit their site here.

What is the Mantis X?

The Mantis X is a tiny unit that attaches to your handgun or rifle and analyzes how you shoot the gun by watching your movements before, during, and after you fire your gun. It can detect the most minute movements and can also determine that movement’s speed. The Mantis X is controlled using your smart phone via Bluetooth. The Mantis X app not only analyzes your shooting, but it can also do drills and offer training courses.

How does the Mantis X work?

While the Mantis X is turned on, it is continuously watching your movements. When a shot is triggered, the Mantis X backs up a little in time to look at what was happening in the seconds leading up to that shot and what happened in the seconds after the shot. It gives you a score and, if you are doing something wrong (slapping the trigger, heeling, breaking wrist up, tightening fingers, too much/too little trigger finger, etc.), the Mantis X provides information on exactly what you did wrong and how to correct the problem. The Mantis X catches problems that you cannot possibly see in real time.

How does the Mantis X attach?

The Mantis X attaches to most handguns quickly and easily using the rail on the front of the gun. Adapters are included so it can be used with some handguns and rifles that don’t have a rail.

The internal Mantis X battery is charged using a USB cable (provided).

How is the Mantis X configured?

You load the Mantis app on your phone. It links to the Mantis device via Bluetooth, and the Mantis device is controlled from the app. You configure the following information on the app:

• whether your gun is a handgun or a rifle
• the gun’s make and model
• whether you are right or left-handed
• whether you are shooting live fire, dry fire, or dry fire with CO2 generated recoil (such as Cool Fire)
• which direction the Mantis device is facing when mounted on your gun (forward or backward)
• where the Mantis device is located on the gun (bottom, top, left, or right)

Mantis X training drills and courses

The Mantis X provides a variety of drills. For example, one drill has you shoot 10 shots in 20 seconds to measure your precision and performance over a specific timed interval. You can also practice shooting with a shot timer or a par timer (a cut-off buzzer when you have exceeded the maximum time you set to complete whatever drill you are working on). There are reload drills, cadence drills, decision drills, even hostage rescue drills and analysis of your holster draw!

There are also courses, from basic marksmanship to elite combat.

The Mantis app supports multiple users, keeping track of each user’s scores separately.

My experience with the Mantix X10

I attached the Mantis X10 to the rail on one of my Sig P365 pistols. I used the Mantis to analyze my shooting using both a Cool Fire training system and live fire. It worked flawlessly in both configurations, providing feedback both in writing and in graphs (a graphical analysis of each shot is provided). It caught some minor pushing and healing issues, as well as tightening my fingers too much on occasion (if you tighten too much it causes the gun to shake) and some trigger slapping.

Final words

Mantis X is an excellent resource to analyze how you shoot, offer suggestions on fixing what you are doing wrong, challenge you with various training drills, and educate you with some courses.

To learn more about the Mantis X, click here.

To bid on the Mantis X10 Elite in the VCDL auction, click here. (The auction runs from April 1 through April 14, 2026.)

Thank you so much to Mantis for donating this excellent training tool!