Many years ago, I decided that I would play video games rather than doing live fire or dry fire practice before an upcoming USPSA match. I figured that the hand-eye coordination and target recognition I was learning while playing first person shooters would translate to the range.
I couldn’t have been more wrong, and wound up placing almost dead last. This led to the rather painful conclusion that mashing the buttons on a video game controller had no effect on my real-world performance on the range.
However, the people behind the Ace XR Virtual Shooting Simulator say that maybe it does, and you know what? They may be right.
The Ace XR system is a virtual-reality shooting environment composed of three parts: A Meta Quest 2 or 3 virtual-reality headset and controller, an Ace XR handset and a subscription to the Ace XR app. The three working in conjunction with each other create a simulation of a shooting range that gives everything except recoil (more on that later) and the smell of gunpowder in your nostrils.
The Meta Quest VR rig is made by Meta, the same company which owns Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp. The primary difference between the two models is that the Meta Quest 3 version allows for a better version of its “augmented reality,” where the graphics of the simulation are projected into a full color version of the real world around you, while the Quest 2 is lower resolution and does not have the “pass through” of the Quest 3. The Quest 2, on the other hand, is less expensive than the Quest 3, and both versions work just fine with the Ace XR system.
The Ace XR handset is available in three models: A generic full-size polymer gun that sort of feels like a SIG Sauer P320, another that is near-perfect copy of the Staccato P and a new model that is based on the P365 XMacro. The right controller for the Quest fits into a clever cradle that’s built into the Ace XR handset, allowing you to hold what feels like an actual pistol inside the virtual world, rather than just an oddly shaped game controller.
The XR handset is more than just a cradle for your game controller, though. There is an actual trigger on the handset that connects to the “A” button on the handset, allowing you to squeeze off a shot like a real pistol. The trigger is adjustable for feel, and it can be tweaked further by the settings inside the game. Speaking of those settings, the virtual gun you use can be changed to any one of many different types of pistols. Popular firearms from SIG Sauer, Staccato and CZ are represented, as well as red-dot optics from Shield, Holosun and others.
The iconic F.A.S.T. drill is just one of the included scenarios.
Where this system really shines, though, is the variety of shooting environments available in which to use this cool (virtual) gear. Want to shoot on the same range that Halle Berry and Keanu Reeves used to train for the John Wick movies? It’s in there. The iconic “You homey, is that my briefcase?” scene from Collateral? It’s in there. A Mozambique (failure) drill? Yep, and a F.A.S.T. drill, too. The icing on the cake are all the standardized competition stages that are available for you to shoot. All the Steel Challenge stages are in there, as well as many USPSA classifiers and stages from major matches.
So does this mean the Ace XR is useful for people who shoot practical pistol matches and that’s about it? Not hardly. Let’s pause for a minute and consider these words from a recent post on this website from noted firearms trainer Steve Tarani: “The visual process is what provides your sighted-fire confirmation and determines when you press the trigger. The old saying “let your eyes fire the gun” is a direct result of applying the visual process.”
The Staccato P handset is not a perfect match to the author’s carry gun, but it does the job.
This is where the Ace XR system really shines. No, there is no recoil, so if you’re still getting used to the gun going bang while it’s in your hands, this is not the system for you. Perhaps try a Cool Fire Trainer instead. However, if your technique has progressed to the point where your mastery of the grip and trigger means the sight (red dot or not) settles back down to the same place every time, then this system will help you see that happen faster, enabling you to speed up your shooting while still maintaining control. I found that my real-world split times (aka the time between each shot) were significantly faster after a few weeks of practice with this system.
That’s not the only benefit to training with the Ace XR system. A crucial element of both the practical shooting sports and armed self-defense is pre-visualization, where you “see” your course of action before it happens, and that’s exactly what this system does. This also means that the Ace XR excels at practicing your stage strategy before a match or coming up with new ways to run a stage which might save you a second or two at the match.
Most importantly, the Ace XR is fun. Oodles and oodles of glorious, time-wasting fun. Actually it’s not time-wasting, because unlike my misbegotten attempt to get better at shooting by playing video games, this is one video game that will actually make you a better shot. You can send thousands and thousands of (virtual) rounds downrange for practically zero cost per trigger press after you buy the system, and you’ll have a blast doing it.
Where does the Ace XR system fall short? Well, first, there is the price. At $199 for the handset, $19 a month for the membership (less if you buy a yearly subscription) and anywhere from another $199 for a used Meta Quest 2 to $499 for the latest Meta Quest 3, it is far from the cheapest dry-fire-practice setup around. However, that amount of money is right in-line with high-end laser training pistols which have nowhere near the flexibility of the Ace XR. On top of this, every trigger pull in the virtual world has zero ammunition costs associated with it. All that practice I did in the virtual world cost me nothing but a few hours of my time and it had a big improvement on my pistol skills. Shooting the equivalent amount of real rounds would have sent me to the poor house, and quickly.
In addition to this, the trigger feel on an Ace XR handset can be adjusted so that it can come close to the trigger feel of your race gun or carry gun, but it’s never going to be a one-to-one match. Also, reloading your pistol is simulated inside the simulation. To change magazines, you tap the bottom of the “magazine” on your pistol-shaped handset and then get back to shooting. This is better than nothing, but it doesn’t represent what a speed reload or emergency reload is really like, so be sure to practice those by other means.
All in all, if you’re looking to take your pistol shooting to the next level and be an outstanding marksman, not just a competent shot, the Ace XR system might be just be what you need to accomplish that goal.
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