Cold Dead Hands Saloon

  • Home
  • Cold Dead Hands Saloon

Cold Dead Hands Saloon Cold Dead Hands Saloon is a Podcast dedicated to our founding principles. We cover every topic with

29/08/2024

Nobody is coming to save you when bad things happen.

If you don't know what's going on, well here is a sample of the response to gangs of illegals taking over parts of Aurora Colorado

25/01/2024
I was contacted by Mantis back in September 2021 about their new Mantis Laser Academy system. They were interested in se...
26/11/2022

I was contacted by Mantis back in September 2021 about their new Mantis Laser Academy system. They were interested in sending one out for us to review and do a write up. Well, life and covid got in the way and thanks to an email from them a couple of weeks ago I remembered to get around to opening it today. It was a good coincidence though because I recently bought a sig 365xl and haven’t taken it to the range yet, so some laser practice with a gun I haven’t shot before is an ideal first step I have never taken before.
Unboxing:
The system is packaged nicely and lets you know they took care in all aspects of the product. The “portable” kit includes your choice of laser module in .223, .357 sig, .40, .45, .380 or .38 special and a small tripod, 5x7 targets, phone holder, a laser removal stick (the instructions say to use a pencil) and a nice, zippered case for $99. Mantis sent me the “Laser Academy Training Kit-Standard” with the .45 laser cartridge. The standard kit includes everything from the portable kit and adds the target stands ($15), taller tripod and phone holder ($21.99) and 8x11 targets in addition to the 5x7 ones. I asked for them to include an additional 9mm laser ($39.97) for evaluation purposes. (All current pricing as of 11/26/2022.) The portable kit and standard kit appear to come in the same packaging and are better than I would expect for the price point. There are spaces for the additional laser modules in the storage case and a pocket for the small targets. There aren’t really any good places to store the batteries which they recommend you remove between sessions.
The included .45 module had a plastic disc between the batteries to disable them but I didn’t see that in the 9mm module.
Setup:
I was concerned at first because I couldn’t locate any instructions or booklets on how this system worked, but that’s the age showing on me. A small card directed me to the play store to download the mantis app. I am always nervous about spoof apps and a QR code linking to the app would have been a nice added touch with limited to no additional expense. The app downloaded quickly without incident. Once I opened it, I clicked on the tutorial, and it informed me that I had not enabled camera access. Again, this would have been a nice feature for the app to request any needed access during installation. I went to settings and enabled access to photos and files. After returning to the app, none of the modules would work. I closed the app and restarted it with the same result. I forced the app closed and restarted it and everything worked properly.
Once I got past the initial glitch with permissions, everything else was flawless. I have worked with several laser systems before and those all require a separate laser sensor and extensive setup. This one was very simple. The only thing that wasn’t clear immediately is setting up the targets. It appears that the small targets and large targets
have specific distances from the phone that you are supposed to use. Once that was dialed in, the setup was almost automatic.
Getting started:
The app includes several drills and 2 courses with the kit I was sent. There are several other drills you can purchase that are labeled “pro” that might be included with the full purchase. Their website includes language that with purchase you get a full access code to the Mantis Laser Academy. (a $99 value according to the website but showed to be $49.99 in my app) There are several drills with hostages, shot timing, accuracy, and even some activities that are more on the fun side like the Konami code target and the add on Die Hard expansion pack($17.99) which includes the movie specific target and some season’s greetings packing tape so you can tape your firearm between your shoulders and practice Bruce Willis’ final blow to Hans in the iconic Christmas Movie.
The app not only keeps tack of your shot placement, but also, time for first shot, between shots and elapsed time. It also has a history function that shows how much you have trained in the app over a period of time. You can set goals on how many shots per day you want to practice for a bit of personal accountability.
As far as accuracy, the laser seems to track right inline with the iron sights. I did not see any adjustment on the cartridge, as it does not index a particular way in the barrel but is just pressure fit with an o-ring. Removal is by shoving it out with the included stick or the flat end of an unsharpened pencil. (as recommended in the materials) They only drawback to practice in this manner is one not limited to the mantis system, but laser training as a whole. You must have a DAO firearm to activate the laser or you must work the action between shots. There are devices that help with this, but that runs the price up significantly.
Conclusion:
For the price, this is a great training system. It can be used in a minimal amount of space with the least setup of any laser trainer I have ever seen. If you order quick, this would make a great Christmas gift especially with the Die Hard accessory pack. -CDH Saloon

SHOT show industry day at the range is great! I'm guessing about 2/3 of the vendors were there compared to a usual year....
17/01/2022

SHOT show industry day at the range is great! I'm guessing about 2/3 of the vendors were there compared to a usual year. There are some cool new products to look for at you gun store this spring.

I shot a 45-70 lever action with no ear protection thanks to central.

I shot a 20ga air rifle with .

There are some cool new binary triggers from armory(including a prototype for glocks)

I also found a brand new gun company, with a striker fired poly 9mm at a great price point with some awesome features. We hopefully have a long term test set up with them.

Hey Everybody,       Have you heard of Blackbeard?   Not the pirate.   The great new product from Mantis.   It is the au...
26/10/2021

Hey Everybody,
Have you heard of Blackbeard? Not the pirate. The great new product from Mantis. It is the auto-resetting trigger system for the AR-15 platform. This is not a drop-in trigger. There are not any modifications that need to be done to the trigger. The Blackbeard replaces the charging handle, BCG, and the magazine. This is a simple install. You just pull the rear pin out enough to rotate the upper upward. You will need to remove the charging handle and the BCG. Once you have all of that removed, then slide the Blackbeard into the upper receiver. Before you close the AR, you will need to make sure that the hammer on the trigger is reset. Close up your AR and push the pin back in. That is all that you have to do on the install. That will take less than a minute. You can insert the battery pack into the magazine well. You should hear the click when you insert the battery pack. There is a switch on the battery pack. It controls the laser that is built in. The laser is in the Blackbeard. The switch allows the laser to be always on or based on the trigger pull.
So how does it work? The battery pack is required for the Blackbeard to work. It took a long time to charge the battery pack. It took almost 24 hours to charge it the first time. It has bars across the top that show the battery strength. You can’t check the battery strength without plugging the charger back in. The battery pack runs the trigger reset and the laser in the Blackbeard. It seems like it takes a long time to charge, but how long does the battery last? I really don’t know. I have been using it for about 15 hours now. I haven’t needed to charge it again. Ok, but realistically how many times have you pulled the trigger? A ton. On one of the drills, I shot 70 times in about a minute. I did several drills like that. That is one of the big issues that I have discovered over the years. The battery life has been terrible on other laser systems. I was impressed with this one. The battery powers the trigger reset and the laser. It lasts a long time. I am ok with it taking a while to charge the battery if that means that the battery lasts a long time.
I started using this with the Mantis Laser Academy (See my review of the Mantis Laser Academy) during my testing. It worked really well with it. I changed the settings on the Mantis Laser Academy to match up for the AR-15. It performed flawlessly with it. I tried this on another laser simulator. It worked great on it also. This should work with any laser simulator if that is your goal. If you goal is just to practice your dry firing, then this works fine for that also. You could just put up a target and pull the trigger to your hearts content. The battery should last several sessions of dry fire practice for you and your friends. This is a great product for the cost. MSRP on this is $219. This will allow you to save money and still be able to practice.

Hey Everybody,       Today we are reviewing a great product from Mantis.   The product is the Laser Academy Training Kit...
26/10/2021

Hey Everybody,
Today we are reviewing a great product from Mantis. The product is the Laser Academy Training Kit. The Laser Academy comes in 2 models. There is a standard model and a portable model. The portable model is just that. Portable. It is designed so that you can take it to your office, motel room, etc. The portable model comes with a code giving you full access to Laser Academy. This code gives you access to all of the drills on the App. This is a $99 value. It comes with the Pink Rhino laser cartridge. You get to choose which caliber that you want. It comes with a complete set of smart targets. There are 14 targets. There are several different targets including B-27, hostage, and bullseye. These are 5” x 7”. They are that size to allow them to be portable. It comes with a mini tripod and smart phone holder. It comes with an extraction stick to help get the laser cartridge out if necessary. It also comes with a portable carrying case. This is a great buy especially for the money. This retails for $99. That is the cost for the full access on the App. If you just download the App, you get 4 training modes for free. With the code, you get an additional 10 training modes.
If you get the Laser Academy Training Kit – Standard, you get everything that is included in the portable kit plus some. You get a complete set of the larger smart targets. There are 14 of the larger targets. There are several different targets in this collection including hostage, b-27, dot torture, etc. These are 8” x 11”. You get a large tripod with smartphone holder. It comes with 5 target stand holders. This retails for $149. You get a lot for a little cost.
Now that you know what all that you get, let’s go into details about the product itself. How about the Pink Rhino laser cartridge? I have tried several other manufacturer ones over the years. I was impressed with this one. Why? Battery life! The batteries in the other ones would only last an hour or so. How long do the batteries in the Pink Rhino last? How many shots do you get out of the batteries? Those are great questions. I don’t know the answers to those questions. Why? I haven’t had to replace the batteries in it yet. I am not sure how many shots that we have done with the Pink Rhino laser cartridge. It is A LOT. We have used it for over 15 hours now. That is a far cry from the 45 minutes to an hour in the other ones. This is easy to replace the batteries. You remove the cartridge and unscrew the cap. You remove the old batteries and insert the new ones. You will then screw the cap back on and insert the Pink Rhino cartridge back in the gun. You are up and running again. The batteries are cheap for Pink Rhino laser cartridge. Just to give you an idea of how cheap. I ordered 40 of them online for less than $9. It uses 3 of them at a time. That adds up to a lot of trigger time. We all like trigger time.
Will other laser cartridges work with the Laser Academy? I think that they will. I didn’t have another regular laser cartridge to try. I tried an IR laser with the Laser Academy. It didn’t work with it. Maybe it will be an update to the App sometime.
Let’s talk about the App itself. It is a really good App. You will need to download the app to your smartphone. You have to create an account and complete the setup before you start. You can complete the setup in a couple of minutes. You can choose if you have an optic on the gun, what the offset is, etc. You choose If you want sounds, if you have a suppressor on your gun, etc. You can also choose the distance that you are shooting. When you are setting the targets up, you will need to consider the lighting. If you have too much light, the App has a hard time working properly. I found that it worked best in a semi-dark room. I left all of the lights off and just used the natural light from the windows. I like the sound options. It announces when to start and where you hit on the target by the score. The App uses the camera on your smartphone to capture everything. You can even zoom in if you want or need to. You have drills and courses. The drills consist of a lot of different training options. There are 14 total (4 free and 10 additional with the full course). You get open shooting at single targets, multiple targets, bullseye, drills from the holster, duels, etc. Once you get through running the drill, you can look at the target. It will show where you hit on the target with each shot. Each shot on the target is numbered. If you are doing the open shooting it even counts your number of shoots that you fired. Look at the pictures. I tried to show all of these in the pictures. This allows you to get in a lot of dry fire practice. A lot of us are probably doing a lot of dry fire practice now with the cost of ammo. We all need to continually get trigger time in to keep our skills up. There is a history section so that you can go back to review your previous sessions to see if you are improving. This is an excellent and fun way to do it. If you are an instructor, there are a lot of benefits to using the Laser Academy. You can work with students to help them learn how to squeeze the trigger properly, aim properly, and work on the rest of the fundamentals of shooting. It will help the students feel more comfortable with shooting before you actually head to the range. This is a great product and well worth the money for it. I just opened the app and they have added a Pistol Marksmanship course to the app. I havent tried it yet. I guess that is what I get to practice (have fun) with this weekend. Maybe we will review it later.

06/05/2021

Texas Constitutional Carry passed the senate today.

Still needs to pass the house but it's not over yet.

Go Now, You need this in your ears!
08/12/2020

Go Now, You need this in your ears!

‎Show Keep Your Powder Dry Podcast, Ep Singer/Songwriter Cody Jasper from Canyon,Texas - Dec 5, 2020

2020 just got kicked in the teeth with a great show out of Canyon Texas!  Go follow these boys on all the platforms!
08/12/2020

2020 just got kicked in the teeth with a great show out of Canyon Texas! Go follow these boys on all the platforms!

19/05/2020

I support your right to wear a mask. I understand that it makes you feel safe. I think a private business can require you to not wear a mask and that you can choose to shop there or not shop there based on whether or not you agree with their policies. I do not support the government requiring you to not wear a mask. I do not support the government restricting wearing of masks in government controlled buildings.

Liberals need to read that back to me and replace wear a mask with carry a gun. Now maybe you understand.

17/05/2020

Juan Vaquero said he knew the boy wasn't treated nicely, but had never witnessed any physical abuse, until he discovered he was locked in a shed.

15/05/2020

The Thin Blue Line  Perhaps you’ve seen the Thin Blue Line graphic somewhere – the back of a car, on a flag, maybe an article of clothing – but have you stopped to think about what it actually means? Sure, it’s a symbol of general law enforcement support but the actual thin blue line. ...

06/03/2020

Hey everyone. We will be at the Bass Pro Shop in Grapevine this weekend(March 7-8). If you join NRA this weekend, we will give you a $25 gift card that you can use at Bass Pro and/or Cabelas. Come out and join. Give me a call 806-433-0435

The saloon is boots on ground at SHOT!
20/01/2020

The saloon is boots on ground at SHOT!

02/09/2019

Body cam footage released by police in Athens, Georgia shows police responding to a call about a blood-covered man holding a knife and the horrific situation that ensued.

Address


Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Cold Dead Hands Saloon posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Videos

Shortcuts

  • Address
  • Alerts
  • Videos
  • Claim ownership or report listing
  • Want your business to be the top-listed Media Company?

Share