Let’s take “gaming” to a whole new level, shall we. Loke Uei Tan, a self proclaimed geek and USPSA shooter, spent a few months developing a virtual reality shooting simulator for the Oculus Rift. Dubbed the ‘Practisim VR’ the software’s goal is to provide competitive shooters with the ability to stay sharp in the off months when weather may make it impractical to train on a hot range

“The aim was the simulate the sport of USPSA, IPSC, Pro-Am and Steel Challenge so that shooters can use this during the winter season or as dry-fire practice,” said Loke. He has submitted Practisim to Steam’s Greenlight to make it available via Steam for purchase/download.

Whether training for competition or tactical missions, virtual reality setups like Loke’s will eventually be commonplace. With the obvious benefits of safety, logistics, realism and cost, VR and the firearms industry are bound to collide in a big way in the near future.

Check out the YouTube demonstration below.

Practisim VR – Virtual Reality Shooting Simulator:

When I first came across this story, I sent the demo video to a family member who is heavily immersed in the Virtual/Augmented Reality industry. He doesn’t shoot, but without provocation brought up the same concerns I had: Will training “virtually” create bad habits in the real world? Apparently, there is an effect called “ghosting” where VR activities adversely affect a users abilities to do the same task in the real world.

Now, bad VR training habits for competition might manifest as lower scores, but bad VR training habits for military and law enforcement personnel could have serious consequences.

Obviously, a lot more study is needed before drawing conclusions, something I see a whole generation of shooters starting to do very soon.

Practisim VR:

An accurate simulation of the competitive practical shooting sport. This VR experience allows you to participate in IPSC, USPSA, Pro-am and Steel Challenge matches within the comfort of your own home. It features accurate gun handling, common stage props such as swingers, movers, texas stars, polish plate rack, Irish plate rack, movers and innovative stage designs.