Rob Epifania: Transforming Firearms Training with Virtual Reality
Rob Epifania’s story isn’t one you hear every day. Once a high-level athlete excelling in basketball and volleyball, Rob’s life took an unexpected turn in September 2010 when a severe motorcycle accident left him with debilitating injuries, including a broken pelvis, knee damage, and drop foot. With his athletic dreams dashed, Rob channeled his competitive spirit into a new passion: recreational shooting.
What began in 2011 as an effort to regain a sense of control through a defensive rifle course quickly transformed into an intense commitment to mastering and instructing shooting skills. Over seven years, Rob accumulated over 200 hours of rigorous training in tactical rifle, pistol, and shotgun disciplines, and got involved with Chris Fry’s Modern Defensive Training Systems (MDTS).
In 2018, Rob founded Systematic Performance Concepts (SPC), dedicating himself fully to both competitive shooting and coaching. His competitive drive, reminiscent of his athletic past, propelled him rapidly up the ranks, achieving USPSA Grand Master status in 2021 and placing consistently in top 20 and as high as 12th in national shooting competitions.
Now based in Long Island, New York, Rob offers both in-person instruction classes and an expansive online accelerator program, currently supporting over 220 members from nine countries. The program provides pre-recorded content, drill instruction, personalized feedback, regular group calls, and a dynamic community, all focused on helping shooters at every level improve and succeed.
Advice for New Shooters - Master the Basics
When we asked about common challenges among new shooters, Rob emphasizes fundamentals: grip, trigger control, and stance. His philosophical and encouraging teaching style helps shooters rapidly build confidence and proficiency, and he even reviews their progress with live Zoom calls. With a background in mechanical engineering, Rob approaches training analytically, but without making students feel bad about where they’re starting from. His ultimate goal with SPC is to help other people succeed.
The Power of Virtual Training with Ace
A central component of Rob’s methodology is the Ace Virtual Shooting platform, a groundbreaking virtual reality system designed to simulate live-fire scenarios realistically. Rob speaks highly of Ace, noting significant enhancements in his and his students' performance without the limitations and logistical challenges associated with live-fire training.
For Rob, Ace provides unmatched flexibility and effectiveness. "Ace is a hot topic in this community. I think Ace is an exceptional training aid if it’s used properly. For me personally, it’s enhanced my live fire performance, and its accessible when I can’t get out to the range.”
“Ace offers a huge variety of different types of stages," he says, "especially beneficial for shooters training in limited spaces. You can set up right in the middle of a room and train small to medium movements authentically." This flexibility is invaluable for consistent practice, something Rob utilizes daily, especially during winter months when it’s exceptionally cold in New York.
Why Ace Excels Over Traditional Dry Fire - You Know What You Hit
A key benefit Rob identifies is Ace’s accountability and precise data capture. Traditional dry fire practice relies heavily on educated guesses about performance, often leaving shooters uncertain about their accuracy. Ace removes this ambiguity, providing real-time visual feedback on shot placement, split times, and overall hit factor. Rob finds this feature critical: "Ace shows exactly where shots land, even distinguishing subtle inaccuracies that might go unnoticed during live fire."
Rob is a fan of Ace’s realistic "visual recoil,” the simulated sight movement after each shot. In some instances, he finds Ace’s visual recoil even more demanding than actual firearms recoil. "Ace’s sensors are more sensitive than my real guns," he laughs. This means when shooters practice with Ace, they're training under slightly tougher conditions than they’d typically encounter, significantly enhancing their real-world performance.
Skill Transferability from Virtual to Real World
One of Rob’s most compelling observations - how seamlessly virtual training translates into tangible real-world improvement. By regularly using Ace, Rob maintains and even improves critical skills such as dot acquisition, target transitions, and rapid visual processing. The lack of physical recoil isn't a limitation. "Felt recoil isn't the hardest part to master at higher levels,” he says, “Visual discipline, seeing and reacting to recoil visually, is crucial, and Ace excels at helping you train that."
He underscores this point by noting that his performance metrics, particularly speed and accuracy, have remained consistent or improved while integrating more virtual training. This demonstrates a direct correlation between Ace practice and performance on live-fire ranges, something Rob confidently communicates to his students.
Effective Training Strategies with Ace - Track, Compare, Shoot Under Pressure
Rob recommends specific strategies for maximizing the benefits of Ace. Rather than merely chasing leaderboard rankings, he advocates structured training sessions focused on deliberate, mindful practice. Rob suggests recording initial and best scores to measure genuine progress objectively. This methodical approach allows shooters to clearly identify strengths, isolate areas for improvement, and maintain motivation over extended training periods.
Rob particularly likes Ace’s "Series" feature, allowing shooters to run multiple drills sequentially, simulating a real match. “You can’t just hammer away at one or two stages, you have to do well on all of them. This is highly relevant to what we do, and you can prepare for the series the same way you would a match,” he says. This functionality helps build consistency under pressure—an essential skill in competitive shooting.
Overcoming Mental Blocks - Celebrate Success and Push Your Comfort Zone
According to Rob, overcoming mental barriers and negative habits is integral to meaningful progress. He tells us “Have awareness of what’s going on, and when the training session is no longer effective. If you’re losing focus and treating it as a game, it’s time to step away until you pull yourself back. Also, don’t beat yourself up for bad reps. Celebrate the things that are going well. Become an expert on your best performance and how to get it.”
Rob also advises shooters to embrace temporary accuracy trade-offs when pushing speed limits, using Ace to safely stretch capabilities beyond comfort zones. Over time, accuracy naturally realigns, resulting in robust overall improvement.
“For practical shooting practice with Ace, pay attention to what your first runs look like. Record your first score and your best score… no matter how many reps are in between. Ideally, your first score and second score are between 5-10% of each other. The better shooter you become, the smaller the difference gets. Consistency on an upward trend through time is the goal.”
Training Philosophy - Randomize Your Practice and Keep it Fun
Rob’s favorite Ace drills, such as "Running on Empty" and "Fast then Slow," epitomize his training philosophy of "deliberate play." He believes training should be immersive, engaging, and enjoyable. Rob encourages randomizing practice drills, thereby fostering adaptability and preventing stagnation. “Run the ‘Fast then Slow’ drills with different routes through the targets. There’s probably 100 different ways to run that drill. Don’t take the easy way and shoot the same route every time. Start right to left, then run it left to right.”
Ultimately, Rob sees Ace’s gaming aspect as a significant advantage, because it makes practice enjoyable and engaging. "The fact that it's competitive and fun is a massive strength," Rob states. "Ace is something you genuinely look forward to, making it easy to maintain consistent, focused practice. I can’t wait to get on each time. It’s not a chore like old school dry fire kinda is."
Rob’s journey, from overcoming physical adversity to becoming a leading firearms instructor, highlights the power of determination, innovation, and technology. Through Ace Virtual Shooting, Rob continues to redefine effective firearms training, delivering measurable results and profound skill transferability from virtual reality to real-world proficiency.
