Firearm Ready Positions and MantisX

When using firearms we have many options in which to hold our firearms, these range from carry methods like holstered and slung to ready positions and movement positions.  They are all meant to allow us to keep the firearm pointed in a safe direction while they wait to be deployed for their main purpose.  While there are a vast number of options available to use, and you should know multiple options, this article will focus on the options listed in the MantisX Pistol/Rifle app.

We use the broad term of “Ready Position” as a configurable setting to allow you to train your drill from a starting position of your choice.  Depending on if the app is set to Pistol or Rifle will dictate what options you see and how they are measured.

There are many versions of ready positions and since this is your training the app is generous in what it allows to register as “in position”.  Depending on when and where you learned about firearms can give your technique variations compared to others even when using the same terminology.  We have opened up the sensor parameters to accommodate these positions and are looking for a general orientation of the muzzle to be registered in the selected position to know when to begin your drill.  

While not every possible option is listed individually they all fit within one of the ready positions, and we even give the option to not worry about it at all and work at your own discretion.  Let’s take a look at the available options.

Pistol Ready Positions

When pistol is selected there are 7 different ready positions to choose from and while some drills have a default set most of them allow you to change positions if you’d like.  To access the drill settings select the “Drill” option on the start screen.  If you already have any drill configurations set the button will flash red, and the parameters will show in red text at the top.

Other [No Beep]

Choose this option if you want to start at your own discretion.  No beep will go off as a start signal and the sensor is not looking for the gun to be in any particular orientation.

Other [Beep]

While this option will give you a beep for a start signal it does not wait for the gun to be oriented in any direction, this gives you the freedom to start the drill like you would with a regular on range shot timer.

On Target

To use this ready position you want the gun in front of you and oriented down range.  The allowed range for the sensor to register as On Target is +/- 20 degrees from parallel to the floor.  It does not register how close or extended the gun is from the shooter, this means that depending on your particular posture for something like compressed ready may or may not fall into being On Target.  

Holster

While not strictly a ready position it is a common starting point for running drills and so is included as a ready position for the ease of app settings.  The holstered position assumes this is a holster on the waist and has the muzzle oriented downwards.  If the holster is canted forward or backwards there is about 40 degrees in variation it can move from straight down for either direction.

Retention

Retention positions have a great amount of variance and so require only a 10 degree cant away from the body to account for the slide to clear.  There is no requirement for the orientation of the muzzle up or down, that is up to your technique.  The sensor additionally does not look for a specific indexing point from the firing hand to the body.  This position is meant to accommodate a wide variety of techniques and body compositions.

Low Ready

This option needs the muzzle to be oriented downward at least 35 degrees.  While a typical low ready is 45 degrees, this gives some room for error in human approximation for the downward angle.  

High Ready

In order to register as high ready the muzzle must be pointed upwards at least 35 degrees.  Again how close or extended is not accounted for so depending on technique compressed ready may naturally fall best into this ready position.

All ready positions have fixed degree parameters to register but if you are not within the allowed degrees the app will direct you to move up or down a specific number of degrees to meet it.  Each time you need to hit that ready position, the app will wait for you to be within it for several seconds before moving to the standby command and waiting for the buzzer delay.  This can be seen on screen as a red bar fills up in the ready position, move out of the ready position and the red bar will empty.

Some drills will start off with the ready position for each individual shot, others will use it for the start of a string of shots.  How a drill behaves will be described in the drill start screen.  As stated before most drills can be configured.  If you want to change the drill so the ready position and accompanying buzzer to go off for each shot you can, simply set the sliders for Shot Count and Repeat.

Rifle Ready Positions

When you select rifle you will have 5 ready positions to choose from.  Just like with pistol some drills have a default ready position which may or may not be able to be changed.  If you are out of position the app will direct you in what direction and how many degrees to move the muzzle to register within the position.  Drills are still configurable, the only thing that changes are some for the definitions of the ready positions.

Ready Position Identical to Pistol

Other [No Beep], Other [Beep], and On Target will all remain the same.  They are defined and used the same way regardless of if pistol or rifle is selected on the settings tab.

Low Ready

While the term is shared with pistol the parameters differ slightly in that the muzzle needs to be oriented at least 20 degrees downward.  This allows for variation in the definition of low ready and works well with scaled dry fire targets which use simulated distances.

High Ready

Much like the low ready position the same term is used with pistol settings but the parameters differ in that the muzzle needs to be pointed at least 20 degrees upwards.  This allows for more freedom in technique and variations of muzzle up ready positions.  

Unlisted Positions

To list every possible ready position would be unrealistic in the app settings so the main ones with generous parameters cover the spectrum and allow for individuals to apply their preferred technique.  Of course if proficient shooters may want to add in more variations to keep their skills sharp, that’s no problem.  

To use unlisted positions there are a couple options.  Simply use one of the two Other ready positions.  Or do a two step process to find out where your muzzle naturally orients in your unlisted ready position.  

Go to any drill with Other [No Beep] set as the ready position and go to the live tab.  Get into your unlisted ready position and observe what the pitch angle is registering as on the left hand side of the screen.  This gives you the angle of your muzzle for your ready position.  Now you can pick an existing one that allows that angle (On target, low ready, or high ready).

Either way it will be helpful to use the Notes button to add in your specific unlisted ready position.  Type it in and save it.  Next time you enter the notes field it will be a quick note option for you to select from so you don’t have to retype it and it becomes easily filterable with consistent text.

Practice a Variety of Ready Positions

A good shooter can flow through skills as needed, cycling between each of them as the situation dictates.  The only way to obtain that ability is to practice, make each skill smooth and second nature.  Use the MantisX Pistol/Rifle app to check what your timing and shot scores are like from different ready positions, pick the weakest one and focus on getting fluid and accurate with it then pick another.  One of the advantages to the app is having all your times and scores recorded automatically, you can watch your stats improve on rifle low ready with a few minutes of daily practice for a week.