How Ace Bridges the Gap Between Dry Fire Training and Live Fire
What was that “Wow!” moment the first time you started using Ace?
Josh: “For law enforcement, if you’re In a gun fight, speed and accuracy are the two shooting fundamentals that matter most, so that’s what our training classes focus on. We don’t say practice makes perfect. We say deliberate practice makes permanent.
Seeing my reaction times and split times go through the roof on Ace Virtual Shooting was insane! I’d say helping you get a faster first round on target by reducing the reaction time of “shoot / no-shoot” decision making is one of the things it really does well. It helps you exercise those neural pathways so it’s not just muscle memory.
What it does really well is helps you improve your reaction times (the decision to shoot), focus on eye tracking between targets for transitions, and shoot no-shoot scenarios. It’s truly an immersive experience and just after the first time I used it, I realized there’s really something special about Ace.”
Let’s rewind real quick and get your background, Josh. You’ve got some impressive credentials. Give us the scoop.
Josh: “I started my career in the Air Force working on a Nuclear weapons convoy. We’d transport thermonuclear warheads on a semi truck, usually from the missile silos back to base, and my team was security for the convoy. We were the “break glass in case of emergency” contingency plan. Think SWAT team for nuclear weapons.
After I got out, I worked street crimes and homicide for Chandler Police Department in Arizona, and made arrests from hand to hand drug transactions to drive by shootings. Gang members, dope, and guns were my 3 food groups. I loved that job. Marksmanship really matters in that role.
Later, I became a firearms instructor for the NRA and got into law enforcement training for the state of Arizona. It kind of snowballed from there. I got certified to be an expert witness on ballistics and use of force in officer involved shootings, where I’d have to testify in court. Oh, and I’m also a Certified Instructor with USCCA.
Nuclear warheads, gang crimes, drive by shootings, and drugs… you really saw it all. How about now? What do you do these days?
Josh: “My wife Karen spent 11 years with Chicago PD and then another 11 years as a Federal Air Marshal. We both retired from service and decided to start Guardian Training and Consulting. We saw so much need from both the civilian side and the law enforcement side for people and organizations wanting more training and that only increased after 2020. People really became more aware that they couldn’t always depend on the police to keep them safe. And it’s true; you can’t expect the police to be there every second of every day. So that helped shape our company ethos – what are you doing today to prepare for tomorrow?
What type of training systems do you use and what do you like about them?
Josh: “We’ve been using simulation systems for a while now. We have the Ti training simulator, and that system was close to $50,000 all-in. We’re also looking at Operator XR, a professional grade training sim, and that runs about the same amount by the time you add in all the equipment, sensors, and controllers. It’s great for training organizations like us, but it’s not remotely within reach for the average consumer.
On the civilian side, the SIRT pistol had been our big thing, and of course we’ve tried Mantis and the laser shot stuff. We’ve tried it all. But you don’t get that immediate feedback, and there’s stuff you just can’t do with those systems. Or if you can, it’s not as good as Ace.
So you’ve tried just about everything – how did you first get started with Ace?
Josh: I’d been seeing Ace around the web, maybe from some ads, and I’d never used a Meta Quest or Oculus before. So I looked into it, bought the Quest 3 and the Arctus handset. I think it was around $800 all in.. a far cry from $45,000! As soon as I put it on, it was truly an immersive experience. I realized I can actually quantify and track my performance.
The movement in VR is huge. Learning how my body moves, lower body, upper body perspective. It feels like a real gun in your hand. Every time I give it to my clients just to try, they pick it up and they say how it’s heavy - like yeah, it’s not a Duck Hunt gun!
Another key factor for me is the community. Where I stack up to my buddies, or within law enforcement, or other people in Arizona. I just want to see where I stack up! That’s huge.
The round count is also something you can quantify, and see how much money I’ve saved on ammo. So Ace is super cost effective - $15 bucks a month, it’s like 2 Starbucks and you can get your whole training for the month.
My instructors started buying and using them. We’ll login and shoot different drills, and do instructor development every month. We can all meet virtually - nobody flying in, no ammo expense, we don’t have to deal with ranges. There’s always things you can’t do on a public range that you CAN do in Ace. There’s something to it about being able to train in the comfort of your own home. The smack talking, the team building, the cohesion… and for me, I can see where people need improvement and focus on specific skill sets.
Does it replace live fire? Absolutely not. But that’s not the point. They should be worked together.
Now you have a system that you can actually work specific skillsets and quantify your progress.
Give us some specific examples of how you’ve used Ace to train and build pistol skills.
We rented a lane at a range recently and tried some of the same drills in real life as we’d trained in Ace and we saw statistical improvements. It’s real.
We’re constantly looking at human performance training and trying to get it down to the citizen level. And that’s where Ace is huge, because now you’re training your eyes to move faster and focus on what you need to focus on by doing it over and over.
Ace removes all of the excuses “I don’t have a range” - “I can’t afford ammo” - “I can’t afford a red dot for my gun” - and the intimidation factor of going to a range, or even going to your first match. Ace removes all of these barriers so you have a positive training environment. There’s only pluses to this. It’s huge.
That everything is quantifiable and tracked is the big thing. I can track my progress through days, months, years. There are guys with 300-500,000 rounds in Ace. Nobody is ever going to have access to that much ammo.
What do you find to be the most impactful drills in Ace?
Shoot no shoot
Bill Drills - just works my trigger finger
Double Bill - helps with reloading
Marksmanship drill that goes back to 40 yards
Transition Hell, the Max Michel drill, it’s slow then fast then slow
What advice would you share for new shooters?
Get some level of training with a quality instructor. Don’t buy it on Groupon. Start with a good foundation, don’t just go to the range and shoot by yourself. Get training as quickly as you can.
What about advice for new Ace users?
Just dive in and get started. Don’t worry about ranked shooting, just practice the drills. Set aside some quiet time. I try to get on every day. I spend at least 10 minutes a day doing a couple drills and focus on that hardcore. I never miss a day. I take my Ace Virtual Shooting setup with me when I travel. And also, don’t forget to have fun with it. Get your buddies involved and compete against each other.
Ready to elevate your training experience?
