So, I got my hands on a Mantis Blackbeard and man is it cool. I have the Mantis X that I use for dry fire practice at home and it’s great for pistols. But now, I get to have fun with my AR platform firearms (pistol and rifle) and dry fire from home as well.
The installation is super easy. Replace your actual BCG and charging handle with the one-piece Blackbeard. Then insert the magazine that comes with the Blackbeard which is the battery. Voila! You're ready to fire!
Now, I’m not sure how many trigger presses you will get with a full charge because I haven’t ran out of battery yet and I’m around 5000+ trigger presses, but according to the Mantis website, it will run to 100,000 shots per full charge. Which in my opinion is a hell of a lot cheaper than buying 100k rounds.
First and the biggest thing is obviously the Auto-resetting trigger system. Basically, you don’t have to run the recharge handle between every shot. This is great because you won’t develop any sort of muscle memory habits which allows you to train as if you would with a real rifle (minus the recoil). The reset is near instant so if you have a Jerry Miculek finger, you will be blazing harder than Elon Musk on the Joe Rogan podcast. Fast and smooth. It’s also great when you want to engage multiple targets. When the trigger reset is automatic, you can do that.
Other really cool features is you can easily adjust for windage and elevation with a small wrench that comes with the package.
I know this isn’t an in-depth review because I don’t normally do them. But I wanted to write this small one up and talk about how integral this has become to my training. I get it. We all know money is tight and gun ranges (at least membership) is also expensive. Let alone ammo prices still. But for the current cost of 500 rounds, you can get the Blackbeard and train endlessly at home, day or night. Throw some targets up on the wall and you can do transition drills in the comfort of your own underwear without anyone telling you to put some clothes on. Heck! Your wife or husband might even get involved if they are watching you go commando, I mean play commando.
Final thoughts: Truly, though, the Blackbeard is fantastic and I can’t wait to keep on training. The ease of use and installation makes it so that even Alec Baldwin can't get it wrong (umm...maybe not).
It's a great holiday gift for someone or for yourself.