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With the release of the Meta Quest 3s, I’ve noticed a number of VR shooting apps recommending it. After all, it’s cheaper, right! It’s never easy to sell an expensive piece of hardware on top of an expensive piece of software on top of the need to pick up a grip for the VR controller. This brings the whole cost of getting into VR firearms training down. But, there are some important things that the Quest 3 leaves out that you probably won’t want to miss out on.
Before I get into why the regular Quest 3 is better than the 3s, let’s talk briefly about why getting an VR headset makes sense in the first place. While games are the biggest use of VR technology now, there’s vast potential for productive uses. Remotely controlling robots going into dangerous environments, training to perform dangerous tasks without the danger, and moving expertise into rural areas without needing to pay them a premium are all great examples that are being worked on.
For firearms, VR technology gives you the opportunity to take dry fire practice to the next level. Squeezing the trigger and dropping the striker on an empty chamber while aiming at something requires both already knowing what you’re doing and a lot of honesty with yourself. It’s easy to ignore a little jerk in the sight picture and pretend that it doesn’t matter, for example. In VR, using an app like Ace VR, that little jerk ends up being a missed shot, and you can’t rationalize that away or fail to see it.
But, to really get the most out of a program like Ace VR, you need to see what you’re doing. The main accuracy exercise, where you take aim at a target that goes further away the more you hit it properly, becomes almost impossible to do at further distances when there’s not a clear picture. This makes it difficult at best to get the most out of this virtual training.
When I switched from the Quest 2 to the Quest 3, things massively improved. I could see the target clearly all the way out to the end. Shooting at drones became a lot easier, as I could see the drones clearly at greater distances. Other things like red dot sights, got a lot easier to use. This happened because the Quest 3 had a much better graphics processor, but more importantly, it had better pancake lenses and a higher resolution display for each eye. I then added some prescription lenses to it to avoid needing to wear glasses, and things got extra clear.
The problem with the Quest 3s is that it has the computer power of the Quest 3, but with the inferior fresnel lenses and lower resolutions screens of the Quest 2. This is a good cost-saving measure, of course, but the loss of clarity means that you can’t get as much good out of shooting games and training apps.
The difference between the headset prices sounds big when you compare the $300 3s to the $500 3, but when you add a membership in Ace VR, other games that involve tactical shooting and accessories, the $200 difference becomes a much smaller fraction of the overall purchase. In the end, when you’re spending $800-$1,000, saving $200 and losing out on some of the training benefits makes a lot less sense.
Where To Buy
Mantis. Cheaper by far. I can use my own firearm for real feel of trigger. Use my actual holster. Practice draw, sight alignment. Instant feedback.
Mantis is a good system, but for handgun training Ace VR beats it hands down.
Cannot be very good if I cannot put the controller in my holster and practice from the draw.
AceXr is amazing
code FAST give 10% off everything
Yup, Quest 3 is worth the extra dough. And if you wear glasses, get the Rx inserts (about $50, several sources).
I think I am aged out. I cannot imagine taking money out of my Korth account to buy this stuff.
/s, sort of…
meh. I don’t drive a Subaru Forester.
Nikita,
I do. But Virtual Reality (brain re-programming) is out of the question.
BTW, my Forrester has been to many Trump parades and rallys. The lefty- mobile rumor is just a rumor.
Not in Colorado it isn’t. 90% of them have Colorado Native stickers along with coexist stickers. And they drive just like you think they would.
I don’t have a problem with the “coexist” sticker. To me, it’s just the first half of the sentence.
The second half? “…or we’ll MAKE you.”
Okay, that was a joke. Maybe.
I was coming out of a doctor’s parking lot the other day and stopped behind the car in front of me. Then I noted it was a Subaru Outback, just like mine. Then I noticed the bumper sticker… “SUBARUs – not just for lesbians anymore…” I was laughing so hard I almost crashed into the back end!
And the video game promoting “I support the 2A, but” democrat writes yet another useless article.
Thank you for this article, Jennifer and TTAG.
I may consider the Q3 because of this.
code fast will get you 10% off everything on acexr
Requires a Facebook account?
It requires a Meta account (the company that makes both the Quest series VR headsets as well as Facebook). It does not require you to have or use Facebook.
The Quest 3 is a very good headset, especially for the money. The Quest 3s is actually not bad either, but it’s probably worth a little extra for the Quest 3 as the article states.
It is a shame tech companies do so much shady, borderline criminal stuff that enjoying the genuinely good products they sometimes make feels like a betrayal of one’s values. Sigh. Welcome to 2024 I guess.
Yeah. How else is Meta going to track and report your activity/use to anti-gun organizations and insure your name makes it on the various government watch list?
Seriously, if Jennifer Sensiba endorses it….you can bet you last dollar it it has an anti-gun agenda behind it,
I doubt that.
Osprey, then you are very naive.
I had the chance to use the VirTra training system our local police departments use and it was amazing. The system is hideously expensive and requires an operator to run it, but it gives you so many scenarios and options within each scenario and almost 360 degrees of action. If you fixate on one screen you might get shot in the back.
These VR things are made in China. They are designed to make your eyes go bad, just like the cell phones and computer screens.
Cheap shoes to make us crippled and digi to make us blind, it’s a plan.
Arsenic of lead in the canned peaches, lead in the crayons, PC’s in the baby pacifiers, lead paint on toy cars, and America just keeps on buying.
And then there’s the underwear.
OMG, yes the underwear.
Argentine President Lowers Gun Purchase Age to 18, Why The U.S. Should Do The Same.
(Colion) : “Let me get this straight—**Argentina**, a country without a Second Amendment, just lowered the age to buy a gun to **18**, while here in America, the supposed “land of freedom,” we’re still debating whether an 18-year-old should even own a firearm. It’s wild.
In this video, I break down the absurdity of America’s “weird age purgatory” when it comes to gun rights.
If you’re old enough to vote, pay taxes, start a family, or fight wars overseas, you should be old enough to defend yourself and those you care about. Period.
*The U.S. Contradictions:* Why can 18-year-olds own rifles but not handguns? Why send someone to war but deny them a firearm for self-defense at home?
*Argentina’s Example:* Despite having no Second Amendment and rampant crime, Argentina’s new president Javier Milei is lowering the age for firearm ownership to address the realities of self-defense.
*The Anti-Gun Hypocrisy:* Anti-gunners argue that 18-year-olds are “too immature” to own guns—but still let them take on massive student debt, sign contracts, and serve in combat. Make it make sense.
*The Bigger Picture:* America should be leading the world on gun rights, not watching other countries pass laws that highlight our own failures.
It’s time to stop overcomplicating this. If you’re an adult at 18, you should have the right to defend yourself and your family. Plain and simple. ”
h ttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yTKpUrUnqX4
REPORT: Is this why the government is lying about the drone ‘crisis’?
h ttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GLuZOpxVFcQ
.40,
Yup…
psyop to push the increased domestic surveillance included in the FAA Reautorization Act.
(In the gun-control desperation department) HAPPENING NOW: Gun Controllers DEMAND An “Consumer Safety Board” SPECIFICALLY FOR GUN Co’s.
h ttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VhXSU2Gm2xA
Ohio Lawmakers Reject Insurance Mandates for Gun Owners.
h ttps://bearingarms.com/camedwards/2024/12/14/ohio-lawmakers-reject-insurance-mandates-for-gun-owners-n1227153
” It’s easy to ignore a little jerk [while dryfiring] in the sight picture”
Getting riid of that little jerk is the whole point of dryfiring…
Yeesh.
Meta??? Double-yeesh…
“Kids, go outside and play now.”
“But Mom, our goggles aren’t working.”
My children wanted beer goggles I told them the hell with that when you can get the real thing, now run to the fridge and grab me another six pack.
How about instead I don’t use a device that funnels everything I see and hear to Meta in real time, while also allowing them direct control over all my incoming visual and auditory sensation?
After all, there’s no way Meta would ever use that data for their own benefit while not caring what happens to me. Surely, they’re a trustworthy company.
Sarcastro… 👍 Awesome Monicker.
Love the screen name!
But let’s face it; the .gov already knows everything about you. You ain’t hiding your tracks THAT well. None of us are.
I think I might try the Quest 3; it sounds like fun!
I have a 20 acre back yard. I use real guns with real bullets. I don’t play stupid video games, even if they claim to be ‘VR simulations’. There is a difference.
Amen Brother, Never met a gamer type that had anything on the ball.
Leftists Mad Red Flags Can Be Used Against Them.
h ttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AELcHn-MPMI
How defe -nse contractors may be the win -ners in the ‘drone mystery’
h tt -ps:/-/w- ww.yo- utu -be.com/watch?v=DFgPRVaIZKw
I quit playing video games in high school when I discovered girls.
Even shooting a quality air rifle or pistol is better and more accurate training then VR. And Meta is not watching me.
i had the now discontinued meta quest system.
The virtual reality was incredible.
You could feel airsickness in the flying games.
I most enjoyed shooting the virtual CZ Scorpion in the shooting gallery in full auto.
Reloads and working the charging handle were very realistic
Floating thru the international space station and walking tours of foreign cities was quite interesting.
Eventually one hand controller stopped working and the company no longer supported the system.
I would be glad to get another one as a present
thank you
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