World Champion Eric Grauffel: Ace is An Extra Layer of Training, Dry Fire is Boring

May 16

Today we’re sitting down with World Champion shooter Eric Grauffel to hear about his background, his time as a professional shooter, and to learn about how he’s implemented Ace as another layer in his training routine.

Don’t need much introduction to the competitive shooting community, but for everyone else, fill us in on your background.

I’ve been around shooting since age 6 because I would go to the shooting range with my dad. He got me started shooting at age 8 with air pistols. By age 10, I was shooting IPSC. There was only one major division then and the main category was .45 ACP. I was shooting with a Colt Officer .45 with a 6 round magazine, so I was always reloading!

At age 15, I got my first sponsor and could afford to shoot more often. I was traveling to the U.S. more, as it was the only country then where you could go for proper competition in IPSC or USPSA. I was working towards becoming a fully sponsored shooter full-time.

I managed to be in the Top 8 IPSC shooters in 1997, 1998, and 1999. My first title in IPSC was in 1999, where I won World Shoot, followed by a U.S. Nationals win in 2000.

What drives someone like you, at the highest levels of the sport?

I like shooting in general, but in USPSA and IPSC - every competition is different. You’re being challenged all the time. There’s really no limitation to what they can propose for stages for shooters to shoot, and I think that’s the beauty of the sport.

What came next? How do you top that?

Getting a title is good, but the adrenaline of pushing the limits is what drives me to continue. Everyone's on the same starting line at the start of the match and you need to earn your way to the top. Are you defending or attacking? What do I need to do to win? The adrenaline, the stress, the need to improve - it all drives me. I am an adrenaline junky!

How many competitions do you shoot in a year?

I shoot roughly 20 majors a year now. This year, from mid-April to the beginning of July, I only have one weekend off. Every weekend is a competition. So over 20 years, that’d be 400-500 titles total. Honestly I stopped counting after 200 wins. I only really shoot major matches these days.

When you finish a session with Ace, what do you want to come away with? What do you want to get out of it?

My issue is getting it away from my son, who is using it a lot, hah!

I try to mostly shoot complex stages, not just drills. This saves me time because the stages are already built in Ace, which helps me to assess it, make my strategy, and then shoot it maybe 2-3 times before moving on to another one. I don’t like to shoot a stage repetitively until I memorize it. If you start shooting by memory, you’re not using your skills. Forget what you did a moment before; move on to the next one. I believe it’s a skill to be able to reprogram yourself fast enough for another stage.

So if I’m shooting a series, I make a plan, run the first stage, move on to the next one, make a plan, and so on. Ace is something I value more because it’s closer to what you have to achieve in competition to be successful. The system will also change the order in which it presents, so you don’t get too comfortable.

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What’s your average session time on Ace? How long do you stay on it?

About 10 minutes. I shoot so quick and so fast, and I’m really into it, I’m tired by then! In live fire, I shoot 500 live rounds an hour. In Ace, I’m shooting maybe 300 rounds in 10 minutes, which is like 1,800 rounds an hour! I get a lot more reps in this way.

What are your favorite stages / drills in Ace?

I like my own stage, the one you guys built (EGCZ), anything with activators, and I like steel targets. The Shot Show stage with the Texas Star and other Steel Challenge stuff is what I value the most. I love getting match pressure training that is impossible.

What’s your advice for aspiring competitive shooters?

Shooting is fun, especially practical shooting. People come there to learn new things that are different - accuracy, speed – it’s fast. We have a faster pace in competitive shooting than other disciplines.

What advice do you have for new Ace members?

It feels surreal that you can so easily get into it, discover the whole system, and get to shooting. It’s one extra layer to your training. It’s not dry fire, it’s not live fire, it’s something in between. You can easily have fun getting in 10-15 minutes a day, and you want to do it. Dry fire is boring, let’s be honest.

When I travel, we take it with us and everyone is always getting training in. It’s not a huge time commitment - but it can be a great social activity or family game night. Play one stage of Ace, then talk about it - how good we were, how bad we were, etc. We have fun smack talking, and it’s an extra layer of training.

How is firearms training evolving and what does that look like with Ace in the future?

Most of my teaching is based on sport. The sport has evolved dramatically. The level in the competition is extremely high these days with professionals at the top, where it’s their job.

If people want to reach the top, in their country, region, continent, they need to practice more. Any extra practice is worthwhile. Ammo costs a fortune, you have to be super efficient with what you want to do. Definitely Ace could be one layer of training to help reduce the amount of ammo you spend on specific drills. On the other hand, you’ll have to work some others at the live fire range. You can pre-practice with Ace and then fine-tune these skills at the range. Get out and shoot some matches. Matches are experiences, and the most experience you get, the better shooter you become.