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Trainging Simulators - Are they Good?

smokeless-range

How do you get good at defending yourself with a gun? The same way you get good at anything else — lots of practice.

However, there are a few obvious practical problems with practicing defense with a gun. First off, it gets expensive to shoot live ammo on a regular basis at the range. Secondly, you can’t effectively practice 360-degree target finding, ducking, hiding, and shooting from different positions at a linear range. Finally, you can’t actually go around shooting people or fully understand what it is like to have someone shooting at you.

So, how do you practice?

Technology has blessed us with gun training simulators that effectively put us in different scenarios and allow us to train “under pressure.” In the past, these simulators have been prohibitively expensive for all but law enforcement agencies with big budgets or wealthy aficionados.

Until now…

Dry Fire Training

Before we get into the simulator too much, let’s talk about dry fire training. If you aren’t familiar with the term, it simply means training in some capacity without using live ammunition.

This can be done with a special training gun, a modified airsoft gun, a real gun shooting blanks, or a real gun outfitted with a training barrel, among other options.

Why do shooters use dry fire training? Let’s look at some of the benefits.

Cost Savings

Ammo isn’t cheap. To get the kind of practice in that you need to hone your shooting skills, you need to make thousands of shots and the cost can add up quickly. For example, .22 rounds, one of the cheapest types of ammo, will cost you around $0.10 per round.  Now consider a basic 9mm round is now about $0.60. Even if you’re only shooting 1,000 rounds per month, your training is now costing about $600 a month. Hardly an inexpensive hobby!

Dry fire “ammo” doesn’t cost anything after the initial investment, making it a much more economical choice.

Convenient

Dry fire training is also convenient. When you shoot at a range, you have to pack up your guns and ammo, go to the range, get all geared up, and take a few shots at a stationary target before heading home. Depending on how far away the range is, there’s a big time investment just getting there.

You can do dry fire training right in your own living room or backyard — anywhere you like! Set up a target, or multiple targets in various locations and have fun with it! 

Ability to Move and Fire from Different Positions

For safety’s sake, your ability to move while shooting is severely restricted at the range. You can stand facing down the lane and shoot from a ready position and that’s about it.

You can’t shoot in multiple directions, you can’t practice drawing and shooting from the holster, and you can’t lie down or duck behind things like you might in a real-life situation.

When you do dry fire training, you can do all those things and more!

Safety

When you shoot responsibly and follow all the rules there is little chance of someone getting hurt. However, whenever you shoot with live ammo there is always a chance — no matter how small — of seriously injuring yourself or someone else.

Dry fire takes away those risks and allows you to focus on your form and not worry about shooting yourself or anyone else in the foot — or worse.

Lack of Recoil

You might think a lack of recoil would be a disadvantage because you don’t get to practice controlling the gun after you fire. Surprisingly, shooters who complete the majority of their training using the dry fire method tend to be more accurate than those who primarily shoot live fire.

Why?

It boils down to muscle memory. Every time you shoot a real gun, the gun “kicks” upward. To counteract this, you exert a downward force. Over time of practicing with live fire, because of the muscle memory you’ve created, you can begin to unconsciously push down a split second before firing the weapon, causing your shot to go low.

Primarily training with dry fire keeps you from developing that reaction to the recoil. Live fire training is still important because you need to get used to the weapon going boom! in your face, among other things, but dry fire helps you hone and keep your accuracy. 

The Smokeless Range Simulator

Any shooter who has ever used a training simulator can’t deny its effectiveness. Anyone who tells you different hasn’t actually tried using one.

The main problem with simulators is that they tend to be expensive. Like several thousand dollars expensive. However, the Smokeless Range laser simulator by Laser Ammo brings the price down to something the average person can afford.

Now with just a decently fast Windows computer and a projector, anyone can practice everything from shooting drills to sophisticated scenario-based training right in their own living room.

Advantages of Using the Smokeless Range Simulator

A simulator takes dry fire training to the next level. Now on top of multiple targets, you can have moving targets and surprise targets popping out at you. You can play games that teach you to react quickly to a threat and become more accurate with your shots.

Suddenly, your training becomes a whole lot more complete when using a simulator. Let’s look at some advantages using the Smokeless Range simulator.

Scenario-Based Training

Video scenarios place you in different situations and the storyline changes depending on either the trainer’s cues or in reaction to your shot placement. When the scenario finishes, the shooter can view their shot placement throughout the drill to evaluate their accuracy.

Tactical Thinking

The simulator can also present the shooter with various shoot/no-shoot targets, helping them hone their ability to make split-second decisions about what to shoot at.

Accessible Training

The simulator makes firearms training more accessible in many ways. First, you can practice in the comfort of your own home in various ways, making it quick and easy to work your training sessions into your schedule.

Second, it turns firearms training into a game. By taking away the explosion in front of your face and the potential lethal factor, it is making firearms training less scary for beginners and people who might be nervous about using a gun.

Over time, using the simulator helps develop the mental training required to diminish the fear of the weapon and they can eventually move to shooting a little with live ammo. At the very least, if the trainee ever needs to use a gun in a life-or-death situation, they have the practice they need to be successful, regardless if they ever worked up the courage to shoot a real gun on the range.

How Does the Smokeless Range Simulator Work?

In addition to being financially accessible, the Smokeless Range system is easy to set up. To run it, you need is a PC with Windows 7, 8.1, or 10 and at least the minimum specifications to run the software.

The software can be used with a projector or an HDMI TV. A projector capable of 1280x720 minimum resolution and 2000 to 3500 ANSI Lumens is recommended to get a bigger picture of up to 12 feet wide. This will give you more of a feeling of realism as you use the simulator.

For best results, the system should be set up in a dark room to avoid glare and the image should be projected against a white projection screen or a non-glossy, white wall.

The system will work with any laser training device that emits the correct wavelength of light, though the official devices are recommended.

Basic Software

The basic software package includes various drills that allow you to practice shooting at moving targets, recognizing targets, and tracking targets with your laser training device.

Add-Ons

For even more options, you can get add-on software to further customize your training experience. Enjoy an open range add-on where you can use pre-made courses or create your own. M-Range allows you to build a customized course of fire qualification training software.

Are you an IPSC competitive shooter? Check out the IPSC add-on. In addition, serious/competitor shooters will enjoy training for fast draw competitions with software specifically designed to allows two shooters to compete.

Training with the Smokeless Range Simulator

Here at Defensive Tactical Training, we firmly believe in a well-rounded approach to defense training. In addition to live fire training, we use the Smokeless Range system to provide basic training to new gun owners without going to the range, provide students  a way to learn in a more comfortable setting and to ingrain students with repetitive ‘muscle memory’ exercises all in a safe environment for extensive.  

The only way to become an excellent shooter and defender is through lots of practice. Using a simulator gives students the opportunity to practice for hours without spending hundreds or even thousands of dollars on ammunition. Students are also free to experiment with their bodies and different shooting positions without the restrictions that are enforced at the range.

Ready to get started? Check out the courses at Defensive Tactical Training (DTT) in Scottsdale or the DTTHQ shop for more information on the Smokeless Range by LaserAmmo or other great training aids. Contact us today to sign up for classes!

 

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