We fell in love with the Mantis Blackbeard last year– perhaps the best black rifle training tool on the market– and now Mantis has upped the game (just in time for Christmas) with the new BlackbeardX.
The concept behind the earlier Blackbeard is that it is not a trigger replacement or a trigger modification. It isn’t fancy snap caps or some sort of oddball accessory. What it is a drop-in bolt carrier group and magazine that drives your own trigger. Via some sort of electromechanical black magic, Blackbeard can handle 10 shots a second, resetting the trigger after each shot. We ran one extensively and loved it.
Well, the new BlackbeardX is a second-generation take on the system and blends feedback that the company had received on its MantisX pistol training system– which is in use with military and police around the world by the way— and now, in addition to giving you instant analytics and diagnostics on your shooting via the system, the new BlackbeardX adds drills to analyze your efficiency and technique in high-speed multi-target engagements. So besides having the actual weight and break of your own installed AR trigger, you also get feedback on your Bluetooth-connected tablet or mobile device that you can use to help develop your marksmanship. You can practice magazine changes as well, which is a nice option.
The company contends it is the first and only platform to analyze dynamic shooting techniques– in three dimensions with measurable data– and we cannot argue with them.
Check out more on the new BlackbeardX, including some dynamic examples of the drills, below:
Now, what if you already own a Blackbeard and want the new 30-round BlackbeardX format and the new drills? Well, Mantis tells us that instead of buying the full BlackbeardX system, you can pick up just the BBX magazine and use it with your existing Blackbeard BCG. You will use the same MantisX app but once you connect the new BBX hardware it will offer additional drills and courses only available using the BlackbeardX.
Mantis also says they will have a trade-in program to swap out the old 20-round Blackbeard mag with the new 30-round BBX.
Stay tuned as we have some more feedback from evaluating the BlackbeardX in-house in the coming weeks.
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