The Hidden Power of the Recoilmeter Drill (And Why You Should Be Using It)

If you own a Mantis X10 Elite, have you ever wondered what the “Recoilmeter” drill is and what it could be used for?  First let’s discuss that if you own a Mantis X3 or X10 Elite, you have the ability to run drills in live fire to capture the same data you can get in dry fire.  This live fire option is not used as often as dry fire, but I’d highly recommend using either of these units in live fire as well as dry fire to document your progress!  

One important note for using the Mantis X3 or Mantis X10 Elite in live fire is that split times or subsequent shots might not be captured if you shoot shots too close together in succession.  We recommend shooting no faster than 3 shots per second, or no quicker than a .30 split time.  With live fire there is a huge increase in movement and vibrations that the sensor has to read and analyze, so if you are shooting rapidly, it will not be able to distinguish between vibration of recoil and the vibration of the trigger dropping to capture a shot.

The Mantis X10 Elite includes a live fire only drill called Recoilmeter and that’s what we are going to focus on in this article.  Recoilmeter is a drill that focuses on recoil metrics, hence why it’s live fire only.  There are four specific metrics that it will capture and display on the Score Summary and Trace View screens and give you information on.  They are Recovery Time, Muzzle Rise, Recoil Width, and Recoil Angle.  Let’s look at each metric and what it captures, and what you can learn from it.

Recovery Time

Recovery Time is the time in which it takes for the muzzle to return and stabilize back on the target or original point of aim.  It is captured for each shot of the session.  It’s important, along with being a good reminder, that you obtain a sight picture quickly after each shot - even your last shot - so that the Recovery Time can be accurately captured.  Sight picture is viewing the appropriately aligned sights or dot on your target, including immediately following a shot.  If you tend to raise or lower the firearm to look at the holes on the target, or exaggerate recoil (flipping the pistol upwards), it could be reflected in the Recovery Time.  Make it a practice in live fire and dry fire to always take that second sight picture to build good habits and get back on your target quickly.

It’s good to review your session and see a consistent recovery time for each shot.  If you have a large disparity in your numbers, you might consider recording yourself, specifically your hands and the firearm, and seeing what might be happening if you have a much longer recovery time than your other times.  It is imperative to build that second sight picture in every single shot you take as that is the biggest impact to Recovery Times being higher.

Muzzle Rise

Muzzle Rise is given as an angle, specifically the maximum angle of rise that the muzzle of the firearm experiences during recoil.  Many people look at this angle as the most important piece of data for recoil, but it only paints part of the picture.  There is no ideal Muzzle Rise number that anyone should strive for.  The Muzzle Rise angle is affected by how someone handles and shoots a firearm, as well as the size of the firearm and barrel, caliber of ammunition, and even down to the grain of the ammo being fired.

For example, a 30 degree Muzzle Rise might seem high, but if the Recovery Time is low and the shots are consistently in the acceptable zone on the target, then that Muzzle Rise is acceptable for that shooter for that firearm.  A 30 degree Muzzle Rise may be excessive for a different combination of shooter and firearm.  Analyzing all factors and putting them in context is important.  Just as with Recovery Time, consistency is the key.  

Recoil Width

The first two metrics are pretty understandable, but as we get into the next two metrics, it can be hard to grasp the concepts.  Trust me, I’ve been there!  The Mantis X10 Elite unit captures data points in three dimensions, so we have to look at angles from different perspectives of the shooter.  Recoil Width is best looked at from the top down perspective from the shooter as shown in this graphic.  

When we manage recoil, our arms tend to move in a circle - so as the firearm recoils, the firearm generally also moves left or right.  Recoil Width measures the maximum angle that the firearm moved either to the left (denoted as a negative number) or the right (denoted as a positive number).  Typically a right hand dominant shooter will have Recoil Width to the right, and a left hand dominant shooter will have Recoil Width to the left, but that isn’t a hard and fast rule.  

Recoil Angle

Recoil Angle requires us to view the firearm from the perspective of viewing the firearm from behind, 

similar to how you as a shooter would view recoil.  Recoil Angle measures the maximum angle that the gun moves left (negative) or right (positive), similar to the cant or tilt of the firearm. This shows how much the gun angled left or right at the peak of recoil.

In fact, the Recoil Angle can be linked directly to the cant of the firearm during the shot process.  If the firearm is canted at the time of the shot (tilted to the right or the left), the path of least resistance is for the firearm to move in the direction of the cant of the firearm.  

Now that we know what the four metrics of Recoilmeter show, let’s discuss what we can use the Recoilmeter drill data for.

Firearm Comparisons

One of the most popular uses of the Recoilmeter drill data is to determine how a shooter handles one firearm versus another, especially if you are deciding what firearm might be a good fit for you.  Again, the Recoilmeter data is only one small data point when determining whether a firearm is a good fit, but it’s objective data that really cannot be captured by eye or feel.  Understanding how the firearm feels in recoil is only part of the picture.  Someone can say that a specific firearm has a great deal of recoil to them, but another person could disagree and like how the recoil feels.  Having the data can also aid in your decision whether the firearm is a good fit for you, and why I recommend always “testing” out a firearm in live fire prior to purchasing a firearm. 

Doing the Recoilmeter drill will require either renting the firearm to try in live fire, or maybe you have a friend or instructor who has firearms that you can try out in live fire.  Most firearms will have a picatinny rail in which you can easily slide the X10 Elite onto.  If the firearm does not have a picatinny rail, the X10 Elite comes with a universal piece of MagRail that can be temporarily attached with 3M VHB double sided tape.  Don’t forget to go into the settings of the MantisX Pistol/Rifle app and set up that specific firearm and ensure it is selected when you run the drill so that you can easily refer to that data in your history later.

When running the Recoilmeter drill, ensure you have your expected grip and grip pressures on the firearm for each shot.  This is not a time to do rapid fire!  

You could even do sessions where you input more support hand pressure or utilize isometric pressure (push-pull technique) to help manage recoil more and see what the data shows.  

Remember, this is a great use of the notes function within a session to document what you might be doing for that specific set of shots.

What do you look for when analyzing the data?  There’s no single thing to be the “aha” metric to say that is the firearm for you, again context is important, but the data can help you understand what is happening.  For example, if you are trying to decide between two firearms that feel very similar to you, the data can help you make an informed decision.  Everything close, but you have a Recovery Time that is one tenth of a second better on one firearm?  That might be important to you to know that you recover quicker with that specific firearm.

Ammunition Comparisons

Using the data from the Recoilmeter drill can be a great way to analyze what ammunition works best for you and your firearm.  Whether it’s determining your preferred range ammo, or whether it’s deciding if carrying a higher grain round changes how well you handle the firearm.  As described before, it’s important that you build and use the same grip for each session and that you make good notes on the session to be able to reference when you have time to analyze your data.

With no data, listening to what the gun and the sights tell me when I shoot, I felt like for some reason I manage the firearm better with the 124 grain ammo.  Again, this is the manufacturer recommended grain level, so it might feel that way because the firearm was designed to work optimally with 124 grain, but I was curious to see if I could understand better with data.

I did some Recoilmeter comparisons between 115 grain and 124 grain 9mm range ammo (which is what the manufacturer recommends for my firearm).  Many times I will just grab 115 grain because that’s what seems to be most readily available.  Initially looking at the Recovery Time, Muzzle Rise and Recoil Width, they look nearly identical.  But when looking at Recoil Angle, for some reason in how I handle the firearm, I have more Recoil Angle during recoil with shooting 115 grain than I do with the 124 grain.  

What would be causing additional Recoil Angle with less punch?  I’m not sure.  That’s where I need to have a buddy or a tripod to film (slow-mo is best) what is happening, but the objective data tells me that I have less movement to the right with 124 grain ammo, and thus why it probably feels better and quicker to me.

The difference between 115 grain and 124 grain is minimal for most, but what about if you choose to carry 147 grain 9mm, or even rounds with higher pressure (+P or +P+) if your firearm is rated for higher pressure rounds.  Recoilmeter could show some significant differences in the four metrics and help you understand whether it works for you or not.  You don’t want to find out that the recoil is unmanageable on the worst day of your life!

Doing an ammunition comparison might also be used to determine the difference between two different calibers of firearms.  A .380 ACP and a 9mm are very close in size, but using Recoilmeter could give you insight to how you manage recoil between the two calibers.  Again, the full context is important when choosing, but Recoilmeter can provide that objective data to feed into the overall decision process.

Quantifying Fundamental Changes

Another great use for the data the Recoilmeter provides is changes that you may be making to your grip location, grip pressures, stance or posture, or other fundamentals.  It will help give you objective data on how that change impacts recoil.  First you need to gather some objective Recoilmeter data for your current shooting form and put it in the notes for the pre-change session.  Then when trying changes, note the change into those sessions.  Be specific to what change you are making, and even add to the notes post-session based on what you felt with the recoil or noticed with your sights during recoil.

Here’s an example of where I wanted to quantify what adding more support side grip would reflect in recoil.  That data showed me that while I have a shorter Recovery time, less Muzzle Rise and Recoil Width, there's a significant change with the Recoil Angle.  Is that change where the firearm now tends to recoil to the left side a big deal?  It’s a much less angle than the 7 degrees to the right, but what I was feeling was less control of the firearm, and the sights were more chaotic.  Again, should we change just because of what the data shows?  Not necessarily.  It’s important that you take into account all factors, the data is just more information for you to make that decision.

Data To Help You

The Mantis X10 Elite provides information that no other system on the market provides to give shooters objective data to make them better.  The Recoilmeter drill or just using the X3 or X10 Elite devices in live fire gives another dimension to practice beyond dry fire at home or live fire at the range just relying on holes in a target.  Be curious - analyze and use the data Mantis provides as a part of how you make educated choices about what firearm, ammo and fundamentals work best.