Overview
You technically don’t need anything extra to dry fire, but a gamified system can be fun. For years, I’ve enjoyed the feedback from systems like MantisX, so I was immediately intrigued when I saw an ad for Ace Virtual Shooting.
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To use the Ace Virtual Shooting System, you need three things:
- A Meta Quest 2 or 3 headset you own or will need to purchase separately.
- An Ace club membership, which includes access to the app and the Arctus pistol handset.
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The Ace VR app that you download from the Meta App Lab.
Meta Quest Headset
Currently, Ace works with Meta Quest 2 or 3. We own both versions but only use Ace with the Quest 3 because it’s a higher-quality headset. If you’re looking to buy a Quest, it’s worth noting that the mixed reality feature only works on the 3.
Ace Club Membership
To access the app, you’ll need to join the Ace Club and get a PIN to log in. The annual membership costs $228. Ace also offers a generous 20 percent discount to military personnel, veterans, and first responders. My husband is a veteran, so we used the discount and paid $182.40 for the year.
The membership cost also includes the pistol handset, but you will have to pay $15 in shipping. Mine shipped the same day and took about a week to arrive on my doorstep.
All told, membership and shipping for the handset will cost about $243, or $198 if you qualify for the discount. This isn’t chump change by any means, but it’s less than a case of 9mm ammo for a year of unlimited practice “rounds.” Of course, if you don’t already own a Meta Quest headset, you’ll need to buy that, too.
Handset
The Ace Arctus handset is made of SLS nylon and feels surprisingly realistic. When I took it out of the box, the first thing I noticed was the weight. After installing the Meta Quest controller, the setup weighs 29.05 ounces. They’ve worked out the size and balance to feel like a real pistol.
The Arctus doesn’t feel like a cheap toy or game controller. The trigger is surprisingly realistic and has a pull weight of roughly 4 pounds. There’s a tactile and audible break and reset. The magazine release button feels realistic, too, and you can use it to drop your mag in-game.
Installing your Quest controller into the handset is easy, and you don’t need any tools. The rear hook point is spring-loaded, so it only takes a few seconds to pop it in. You can also take it back out quickly.
The system is relatively new, so only one pistol handset option exists. It’s about the size of a SIG P320, which is on the large side of my small hands. I’m hopeful they will offer a variety of handsets in the future.
After a month of enjoying the system, I connected with a guy on Instagram who makes aftermarket 3D-printed parts for the handset. I bought a kit with two flat trigger types, three different sears, two thumb rests, and an extended magazine release. I also wrapped the grip in Goon Tape, which I use on my carry pistols.
Skills
The app is where all the magic happens, and it’s very good for a relatively new system. You start in the range hut, which is the base of all your operations. Here, you can choose your pistol and spend currency to make upgrades like adding an optic. You can view your stats and check your leaderboard status. Most importantly, this is where you access three categories of training: skills, drills, and thrills.
The skills category features two options: target acquisition and accuracy. Target acquisition helps you improve by focusing on the fundamentals. The goal of this drill is to place two hits successfully in a certain amount of time, which decreases every round.
In the accuracy portion, the goal is to place three consecutive shots on a tiny plate. If you do that successfully, the plate moves farther away, and you try and hit it again. When you miss, the plate comes in closer, and you start over again.
Drills
In this section, you’ll find traditional stuff like the Bill drill, steel challenges, and USPSA drills. There are dozens to choose from, and Ace regularly adds more.
Before you start a drill, the instructions pop up on a screen in front of you and disappear when you begin. After you’ve completed the drill, another screen will pop up, analyzing your performance and showing your score.
Looking off to the left, you can also see where you’ve placed on a leaderboard. I’ve noticed that in the ACE community, there are a lot of talented shooters, including many professional competitors.
Thrills
If you want to have fun with your training, the thrills section delivers several mini games. You can defend your fort from zombies or shoot plates off the bottom of drones. The open ranges are my favorite. They have tons of different targets, like pumpkins, plate rates, and Texas stars. Shoot at your leisure or use the shot time to run your preferred drills.
I really enjoy the mixed reality option, which is only available on the Quest 3. Instead of being at a virtual range, you see your own space with virtual elements dropped in. One of the thrills games spawns balloons over 360 degrees of your room, and you have to shoot them before they explode.
Will Ace Make You a Better Shooter?
Aside from the lack of recoil, this feels about as realistic as dry fire can be. Surprisingly, there is no lag when playing. Everything you see is clear, and everything you feel happens in real time.
You must maintain all the fundamentals of a shot, such as proper grip and trigger press. If you mess that up, your virtual sights will move, and you won’t place your shot. It’s like dry fire, except you can see what’s happening through the headset.
Training your vision through a course of fire while seeing a virtual range is a big plus. It feels more realistic, which might be the most valuable part of the Ace system.
I also like that you can move around the range with enough space. I don’t train movement nearly as much as I should, and this feature feels pretty realistic. If you don’t have enough space, you can teleport to different spots, but I encourage you to try it somewhere open.
Drawbacks
Like any new gadget, there are a few drawbacks and areas that need improvement.
- The system is expensive if you don’t already own a Quest headset.
- For now, the Arctus pistol handset only comes in one size.
- The app is subscription-based instead of one-time pay like other video games.
- You cannot designate multiple shooters in one account.
- There are almost no holster options, although I hear Ace is working on some.
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The features inside the app aren’t complete yet, but Ace is constantly adding things.
Conclusion
After two months of using the Ace VR app, I’m impressed. I thought it would feel like playing a video game, but it doesn’t. It feels like training dry fire at the range but with an extra layer of value and fun. I think this technology and training will grow in the coming years, and I’m happy to see it unfold in real time.
