MantisX System Gives Real-Time Shooting Feedback
Recently, Casey from MantisX reached out to GunLink to tell us about their system, which they describe as “a firearms training system that mounts on the rail of your gun and gives you real time feedback via an app on your smart phone,” going so far as calling it “most innovative development in personal firearms training in years.” Bold claims, to be sure, but Casey was confident enough in the system to send one over for us to try out.
First of all – what exactly is a MantisX? You are probably familiar with the ubiquitous Pistol Correction Targets. Our Pistol Correction Target posts have seen hundreds of thousands of pageviews the GunLink Forums and the GunLink Blog, and have been shared far and wide on other sites, gun stores, and ranges.
When Casey first contacted us, the MantisX system was essentially a feature-packed, electronic, “smart” 21st century version of the targets that have been around decades (it has since gotten even better). It works by attaching the MantisX device – packed with sensors, gyros, and other electronic wizardry – to your pistol and connecting it wirelessly via bluetooth to your Android or iOS smart device using their free app.
With the device attached and connected, the sensors inside of the MantisX unit track movement of the firearm before, during, and after your shots, analyzes them, and presents them in a variety of formats through the app. Continue reading
From My Cold, Dead iPhone
Apple Changes Gun Emoji from Revolver to Squirt Gun, Twitter Snubs Olympic Events, Microsoft Trades Space Gun for Revolver
In an apparent attempt at political correctness, Apple is trading in their six-shooter for a squirt gun in their latest update, which also includes a plethora of diversity-minded updates to the emoji set used on iPhones, iPads, iPods, and other Apple devices.
According to this week’s release from Apple, “[t]his exciting update brings more gender options to existing characters, including new female athletes and professionals, adds beautiful redesigns of popular emoji, a new rainbow flag and more family options.” Thank goodness! Our Apple devices were barely usable with their misogynistic, homophobic emojis full of hatred and violence and cartoon guns. Continue reading
SHOT Show Mobile App Helps Keep Attendees on Track
The NSSF Shooting Hunting and Outdoor Trades (SHOT) Show features more than 1,600 exhibitors that cover 630,000 net square feet of exhibit space. That’s over 14 acres, making SHOT Show the largest trade show of its kind in the world and the fifth largest trade show in Las Vegas, the SHOT Show. With so much to see in just four days, navigating the show aisles can be challenging, but it doesn’t have to be.
The SHOT Show mobile app is an invaluable tool for helping to navigate the show. Not only does the app allow attendees to make a to-do list of exhibitors that they want to visit, it also allows them to create a schedule to better manage their time, add notes about exhibitors, and view the New Product Showcase. The app can also save you the trouble of carrying around an armload of exhibitor lists and maps since it also includes a full show program featuring show floor maps and event schedules. Users can also plot a direct route from their current location on the show floor to an exhibitor’s booth – no more wandering around bumping into people while you try to figure out where you are, orient your map and navigate the aisles.
On top of all that, the SHOT mobile app keeps you up to date with what new products are creating a buzz by plugging you in to show related social media feeds like Facebook, Twitter, and the SHOT Show blog.
The 2015 SHOT Show exhibits are open January 20-23 at the Sands Expo Center. If you will be attending, be sure to check in on the GunLink 2015 SHOT Show Thread and then head over to shotmobile.com to download the app. And don’t forget to share your good finds from the show floor on the GunLink Forums. If you can’t make it to the show, you can also request coverage of specific products or product categories there.
BATFE Tests of 3D Printed Firearms
There has been buzz among the firearms community for some time now regarding 3D printing, rapid prototyping technology and how it can be used to produce firearms. Much of the fervor was stemmed by the Wiki-Weapon project.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (BATFE) led a multi-agency working group testing the use of 3-D printing technology in the making of firearms. The test, focusing on the Liberator design, resulted in several videos which were posted to the ATFHQ YouTube Channel.
The Bureau tested the Liberator produced with ABS material with what appears to be successful results: Continue reading
Are “Smart Optics” Catching On?
During last year’s SHOT Show, we covered the Tracking Point Xact system, a closed-loop weapon system with “smart optics” that compute ballistic data and make long range shooting so easy a caveman can do it. Although there were skeptics in the GunLink crew at first, they were won over. So, it seems, were others…
Remington recently announced their 2020 smart optic, powered by Tracking Point technology. In addition to a line with more caliber options – .30-06 Springfield, .308 Winchester and .223 Remington versus Tracking Point’s .338 Lapua and .300 WSM – the price is significantly lower. Where the Tracking Point offerings tip the scales in the $18,00-23,000 range, the Remington packages have a more palatable MSRP well under $6,000. Where the factory rifle offerings from Tracking Point were totally custom numbers, Remington 2020 packages come with familiar Model 700 and Bushmaster rifles underneath their smart optics. Continue reading
