USCCA Firearms Instructor Uses Ace VR to Train Defensive Shooting at Fire Dragon
Today we’re joined by Andrew Lauckner, founder of Fire Dragon Tactical Shooting. He’s an accomplished professional shooter, former Law Enforcement, now a full-time USCCA firearms instructor. He’s taken a unique approach to incorporating Ace into his training courses, in addition to live fire work on the range, to help supplement students learning and skill development. Let’s dive in.
Q: Alright, let’s start with your background, Andrew. Tell us your story with shooting and what you do today.
Andrew: “Hey thanks for having me. I live in Billings, MT and we grew up on a farm. I spent time with shooting sports starting at age 7 with 4-H. I participated in the Junior olympics as a freshman in high school, and did some marksmanship training. We didn’t have any opportunities to get sponsored out there though.
Later on, I moved to Billings, MT for college and started shooting more and just never stopped.
Now, over 20 years later, I’m a full-time USCCA firearms instructor. I teach various levels of classes and work with civilians, professional shooters, law enforcement agencies, the U.S. Military, as well as private security groups.
I also consult with various groups to train Active Shooter drills, inform and advise on weapons and defense policy for schools, private companies, and churches.
Most of my training programs are focused on defensive shooting. We don’t cheat our scores or times, we don’t bypass restrictive aspects of our equipment or safeties, because we’re training to be true to real world scenarios.
We focus on the fundamentals, and ensuring safety and being comfortable with the firearm: Drawing the gun, presenting to the target, being safe in the process. Then we move on to transitioning between targets, both stationary and when they’re moving.”
Q: How long have you been shooting with Ace and how did you get started?
Andrew: “I demoed Ace for the first time in January 2024 at PrairieFire Nevada. I’ve used hundreds of different simulators over the years, and tried many of them while in Law Enforcement.
2 years ago, a system like this would have cost $20-40k (projector, sensors, special gun, software, license, etc). Now, you can get into this Ace system for less than $600 bucks. I’ve even picked up a slightly used Quest units for a couple hundred bucks less than retail and got right into it.
The Ace subscription benefits are super streamlined. It costs less than going out to a meal! This helps get rid of excuses for not practicing, especially when it’s cold and windy, you don’t want to go out and setup targets and have them blowing around, then resetting them; we just don’t end up doing it. Ace keeps adding new drills and stages every couple weeks so it really does give you plenty to keep going back for.”
Q: What other training tools do you use and how is Ace different?
Andrew: “I’ve used Mantis and Coolfire - the laser cartridge one - I’ve used CERT guns… I’ve tried them all. Those systems are good for what they are, but they’re limited, especially when it comes to taking multiple shots in a row, and getting real-time feedback and data.
With Ace, we can now get hundreds, thousands of repetitions of the same process, without physical recoil and that actually helps to prevent anticipation of recoil. The neural pathway that people are creating (muscle memory), they’re reinforcing the positive aspects of shooting and not the negative ones, which means it translates directly into their training and live fire, and I’ve proven it.
I train between 500 and 1200 people a year, and I’ve directly helped improve their accuracy and speed, and can prove it via recording their training in Ace. We’ll setup an external camera to watch their holster draw, their stance and posture, their trigger press, and make sure they’re not just going easy like they’re in game mode.”
Q: How do you use Ace features such as groups, multiplayer, leaderboards to cultivate community with your students and friends?
Andrew: “I love the ability to travel with this and train users all over the state. I can train people remotely and be in the system with them in real-time, and coach them through the various drills. I’ll do picture in picture - see them live on the phone screen, in their live feed in the Ace VR app. I use the feature where I can literally be on the virtual range with them at the same time. If they don’t know how to change out their gun, or the path to shoot a specific drill, I can get in live mode, be right next to them, they can see my avatar, and I’m able to show them what to do without asking a bunch of questions.
Another way we build the community in Ace is by hosting training and tournaments. I think I’ve got about 10 Ace units now. We’ll setup a training range at my cafe, after hours, and while they’re practicing, we’ll broadcast their live feed to the TVs on the wall. It’s fun because spectators can watch, they can take turns, and give each other feedback.
We’ve even brought Ace out and set it up at corporate Christmas parties. We did 3 of them last year!
It’s a lot of fun. There’s really no limit to how you use some of these tools like Ace, and exploring ways to use them. I actually keep an Ace unit in my vehicle at all times, so I can do a demo anywhere, anytime. I’ll have it with me when I go to Arizona in March to complete another USCCA certification.
There are so many folks that haven’t seen this or who don’t believe in it yet who say “Virtual training can’t be anything close to what I do with live fire” and I’ll pull it out of my backpack, let them throw it on, and say “Let’s see about that” – and you almost have to yank it back off their head because they’ve having too much fun with it now. It turns them into a believer pretty quick!”
Q: What Ace Stage do you find to be most helpful in your training classes?
Andrew: “The shoot / no shoot with 3 doors - probably the most valuable and impactful drill of the platform. I do a lot of role playing and simulation in my trainings, and people don’t fully realize the limitations of their skills or reaction times, but with this drill, they get that impact. That door opens, and their brain has to conclude immediately that there is a definitive threat from someone pointing a gun at them, and engage it.
This is really hard to create in a training seminar with actors and you can’t get that full realistic sense; but that target falling after 2, 3, 4 shots, this allows people to fully realize the extent of their need and training appropriately to it.”
Q: What advice would you share with new Ace members training for defensive scenarios?
Andrew: “Invest in accountability. The easiest way to start shooting and get good at it is to make sure it’s an enjoyable experience. Get into it as quickly as you can. Get familiarized with the menus and options, go through the tutorials, and jump right into training. Make sure you go through the tutorials, you will do better.
What’s great about Ace is that everything is matched to the real world - the VR replicas are exact. I can take my exact duty gun, build it in the system, shoot it, and feel very confident that when I drive out the gun, that dot is going to be exactly where I think it should be. Start getting practice in and getting more repetitions. You’ll build confidence and have more fun. I haven’t found anyone yet who hasn’t liked it.
What you train in VR will translate to real life situations. You have to acknowledge your plateaus and the point to where you might start developing negative habits like slouching your posture or not bending your knees…. You’ll start playing it as a game, and while that may be fun, that’s not training. The same thing happens on the real range with live fire.
My mantra is ‘Train like you live, live like you train.’” Ready to elevate your training experience?
