Virtual Shooting

C

Clock

New member
I live about 2 hours to the nearest range, so I don't get to shoot as often as I'd like and having an air gun is illegal in my city. Something I've been doing as an exercise is using free online shooting games to hone my skills. I was inspired to try this after hearing that the Columbine shooters had never fired guns, but gained all their skills by video games.
I found this site which seems to endorse the idea

http://researchnews.osu.edu/archive/shootaim.htm

Anyone else trying this or have any thoughts on the matter?:)
 
I have seen studies that show similar results with games improving car racing ability on real tracks and I do believe that the brain/nervous system can get trained in simulations such as that.

I have also seen studies where athletes do better by mentally practicing a successful shot days before physically doing it, and that even weight lifters have proven to lift more weight by mentally picturing themselves doing it (ie. training their mind) weeks and days before the lift. There is a lot going on in the brain that science still has little understanding of

That said, this particular study proves the point by having the test subjects make head shots on static mannequins with airsoft guns. They should have taken the subjects to a real range and shot real guns at moving targets. The other studies I read (on car racing and athletic abilities) had much more convincing results in real world situations.
 
I think the one big thing games like Modern Warfare, Black Ops, etc do, is condition you to shoot "people", something shooting at little black circles really doesnt do.

They also condition you to "shoot", and basically on demand without thought (not meaning not thinking about what youre shooting here), and not hesitate in doing so. Which is a very valuable skill in the real world, and again, something shooting in a manner most people practice, doesnt offer or instill.

Youre also shooting at people targets that are both static and moving, shooting at you (I know, but it is still basically the same induced stress) and at somewhat realistic range proportions and available targets/situations.

Ive played most of them, and I understand they are just a game, and they are a lot of fun, but when played with/against others, who arent "playing", but working together as a team, they can become a simulator of sorts, and you can learn a lot.

They also quickly teach you, that playing Rambo, by yourself, quickly gets you killed, game or not.
 
I think it depends on your skill level and what you are trying to accomplish. I do a ton of testing and in most cases I test things out on myself or friends.

Several times I have taken off large amounts of time from live fire at the range. During one of those times I played first person shooter games a lot. When I got back to the range, I was very rusty and very slow. During a break in which I did a lot of airsoft and paintball, it took me just a little time to get back up to speed where I was.

As to the car racing, yes, there is a proven benefit to a simulator or video game, so long as the track is the same, and that is mostly mental. When I was racing, we often took video of heat races and then went and watched those as part of the preparation for the main, and it helped.

There are multiple types of training that come into shooting skillfully. There is of course the mental and emotional control part as well as eye-hand co-ordination, grip strength, weapon manipulation, shot calling, etc. I do think some cross-training is beneficial, but in order to maintain the entire skillset, all elements need constant work.

I have seen some experiments where 3 video game experts went head to head with 3 SF trained experts. Watching it, I was convinced that with a little coaching and some live fire practice, the video game guys could beat the SF guys. But you also have to realize no-one was shooting back.
 
It's a pity that the old light gun shooting games don't work on modern monitors and tvs.
And crt tvs and monitors aren't available at the thrift stores anymore, due to disposal hassles.
 
Computer shooting games are written by programmers who in 99.99% of cases have never seen a real firearm much less fired one. They have nothing whatever to do with reality.
First person shooter games are indeed great fun. They let you do things you'd get arrested for doing. But they are not in any way, shape or form a substitute for real practice. Simulators they ain't either.
"...video game guys could beat the SF guys..." Only playing a game. Mind you, there was a TV show long ago that had some game programmers doing a basic U.S. Army marksman's course so they had an inkling of reality so they could program a better simulator.
The Columbine shooters had no skills. Standing in a classroom shooting at people huddled together takes no skill.
 
The Marine Corps first "virtual" combat game was based on the video game "Doom", and was used with a downloaded "shell". That was back in the 90's.

Ive played with people who were "in the business", and if you play them as a "simulator", they can be and are an effective tool.

Some of the games are better than others of course, but Id be willing t bet, if you took a group of untrained individuals, and used one of those better games as a training tool, with competent "advisers", of course, you'd have a group of people, who were a lot better off, than those who shoot bulls eye at the local club once in awhile.
 
I'm certainly not an expert, but it seems to me that it would depend on the gaming platform. A regular in home game console, for example, with a standard controller doesn't seem to me like it would offer any benefits for real world shooting. An arcade style game with gun shaped controllers that must be physically aimed and fired, on the other hand, could aid in things like sight picture and following moving targets.
 
The first person games give you basically the right perspective, but you dont normally have the gun.

What they do do, is get your head into the game (no pun), and condition you to act/react to certain triggers, and to act with speed, and without thought. Its simple conditioning.

If youre dry firing, doing presentations, ect, and shooting at the range on a regular basis, youre covering the other aspects.

I think the big difference is, those who play the games, will be less likely to hesitate, and are already accustomed/conditioned to dealing with "human" adversaries (the online versions of the games, which is what Im referring to, are people fighting people, not you fighting the computer). Many of these games are very realistic, especially if you play them that way. You can learn a lot, and not get hurt doing so.

Now, doesnt mean you wont get your feelings hurt when the 8 year old British kid calls you a wanker and tea bags you after he kills you though. If youve got thin skin. :D
 
The old Namco and Point Blank games that used very accurate guns were great practice.
They really sped up reflexes and target acquisition.
Lots of fast moving targets and adversaries with excellent special effects.
Much more realistic than the current crop of games.
Somehow fast thumbs just don't translate to fast trigger fingers and sight acquisition.
 
Getting "inspired" by mass murderers is not exactly how I'd want to explain things. What they did was pure evil.

If you want to improve your marksmanship and pistol handling skills, without a range, I would recommend laser cartridges and targets for your actual firearm.
 
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