Ace XR Update – 160,000+ Rounds In
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By now, y’all probably know how much I like Ace XR. If not, go check out my earlier post at the 20,000-round mark where I covered the basics.
Well, here we are—months later and 160,000 rounds down the virtual range.
Getting that 100k round coin in the mail felt pretty good.
Somewhere between finding the headset setup that works best for me and breaking a toe (I’ll spare you the details, but you can probably guess how that happened), I decided it was time to take what Ace had taught me and test it in a real match.
And that’s where the truth really comes out.
Training at Home, Testing in Reality
Not long after I got into Ace, I picked up two full setups. I loaned one to my son (he’s 25), and before long, he bought his own. We’ve had plenty of virtual range days together since then.
Now, as a dad with a one-year-old and a tighter budget, he doesn’t have the luxury of burning through ammo or spending hours at the range. Ace gave him a way to stay sharp in shorter sessions without the cost.
In March, he shot his first USPSA match.
He placed 36th out of 49 shooters in Carry Optics. For a first match—and with most of his training coming from Ace—I was proud. He didn’t dominate the field, but his performance was solid: only two deltas and two mikes overall.
I wasn’t able to make that first match with him, but I made sure I was there for the next one.
What Actually Transfers
Watching his performance (and later seeing it for myself), a few things stood out immediately.
Ace XR builds:
Target transitions
Consistent hits
Cadence
Shot calling
Trigger control
Sight alignment
No, you don’t get real recoil—though the gun simulates it visually.
No, reloads aren’t exactly the same—though with the right settings, you’re still forced to manage them.
But the fundamentals? The stuff that really matters?
They translate.
Moving and shooting. Transitioning between targets. Engaging from awkward angles. Keeping your sights where they need to be and breaking clean shots.
Ace XR trains that—and it shows.
The Real Test
This month, we shot an all-classifier match. It wasn’t easy.
My son edged me out, placing 37th out of 63 shooters. I came in at 42nd.
But placement wasn’t the real story.
When classifications posted Wednesday morning, we both had something to smile about.
This was only his second match—and he earned a high C-Class rating. When I say high, I mean he missed by .1072 percentage points of hitting B-Class.
To be fair, he had to reshoot one stage because a target hadn’t been fully reset. That reshoot cost him , otherwise he likely would’ve secured that B.
Ashton shooting Classifier 25-04 “We did our homework”
As for me—I landed in B-Class.
Me shooting Classifier 25-07 “Absolute Cinema”
That’s after never competing in a live match before and doing a significant portion of my training through Ace XR.
Now, I’ve been shooting for a few years, and I’ve taken it more seriously since around 2021. But there’s only so much you can gain from flat-range practice.
Without movement, without obstacles, without awkward shooting positions—you hit a ceiling.
Why USPSA Exposes the Gaps
USPSA doesn’t let you hide from weaknesses.
You’re on the clock.
You feel the pressure.
You get that adrenaline spike.
You have to:
Draw fast
Get on target quickly
Transition efficiently
Manage reloads
And most importantly—shoot accurately
It forces everything to come together at once.
And Ace XR prepares you for that environment far better than static range work ever could.
There’s no question in my mind—neither my son nor I would have performed the way we did in the classifier match without time spent on the virtual range.
Not Chasing Titles—Chasing Growth
Now, I’m not chasing Grandmaster. Neither is my son.
That’s not the goal.
The goal is to get pushed just outside our comfort zone every match. To move faster. Shoot faster. Think faster.
And still hit accurately.
To get better every time—or at least give it everything we’ve got every time.
One More Thing
Something else stood out at that last match.
At least half the shooters were saying some version of:
“I’ve run this stage in Ace before.”
Same here.
Most of the classifiers we shot—I had already seen and run in Ace XR.
A lot.
Final Thoughts
So if you’re still on the fence about Ace XR…
Jump in.
Get some reps. Push yourself. See what carries over.
Maybe I’ll see you out there—on the real range or the virtual one.
Prepared in Spirit. Ready in Strength.
