BLUF: I think it’s junk, and do not recommend it.
Pros: at its’ most basic, it’s a good idea. The hardware is well built, and is pleasing to the eye. The original packaging can be used to permanently store the system when not in use. Could be used to refine trigger control.
Cons: the software is absolutely wretched (more on that later), the instructions (both quick start guide and the full manual) are only slightly better than useless, and the system is unreliable. Over and above the many shortcomings of Accurize itself, because there is no recoil, I think a product like this could cause some bad habits with position and hold. For example, there is no need to front load the bipod, square your shoulders to the rifle, or get a good cheek weld. All it can practically do for you is help your trigger pull. On the few times I was able to get the system to work, I quickly found myself getting sloppy and lazy in my position and hold. Now maybe that's just me, and won't be an issue for other shooters.
The system mounts a laser in the muzzle of your firearm. That laser device is triggered by the sound coming down the barrel of the hammer striking the firing pin. It then fires a laser at a light sensitive target which you set up 5 or 10 metres in front of you. This target communicates to your smart phone or tablet, registering where your laser-simulated shots landed on the target. Size of the target is scaled to simulate firing at different distances, 25m, 100m, 300m and so on.
Any internal working of the action will set it off, such as cocking the slide or lifting the bolt, not just the strike of the hammer. On our bolt action rifles, just quickly taking the slack out of the trigger without even touching the bolt set it off, like the rifle was a semi-automatic. A wide variety of sounds are all registered by the system as shots, so you have to set a delay in the app. You have to estimate a reasonable time between shots, say 6 seconds or so, in which you can re-#### the action before you take another shot. It’s not perfect. Sometimes the system doesn’t register a shot from the hammer strike, but did register a shot when I lifted my bolt handle right afterwards. All told, I’d say I’ve had a failure rate of about one shot out of 15, depending on the rifle I was using.
But I could live with that stuff. What really makes Accurize infuriating is the terrible app it needs to function. It is a failure on multiple levels. Before I get into the poor functioning of the app however, something needs to be said about the necessity for an app in the first place.
It would have been complete simplicity to make the system with a proprietary display monitor that is directly coupled to the target, either hard wired or via dedicated, permanent Bluetooth link. No problems with connection, installation or different operating systems. Literally, plug it in, turn it on, and voila! Instead, Accurize chose to do this through a downloadable app.
I write this as a Canadian firearms owner. My relationship to my municipal and federal governments could be described, at best, as adversarial. The agents of those levels of government have clearly demonstrated they will not act in good faith towards me, nor do they have my best interests at heart. To be fair, the feeling is probably mutual. Given that context, I am very conscious of my privacy in general, and extremely, almost paranoiacally so, when it comes to anything firearm related. In order to use Accurize, I must create an account which requires me to hand over a large amount of personal information. I must install it on my personal device which holds an even greater amount of personal info, and through installation on that device, Accurize now has access to all of it.
Therefore, when I use Accurize, the exact location of my use and the firearms I am using with it, are now known to third parties utterly unknown to me. How does that benefit me? I can certainly understand how it benefits Accurize, as they can now sell this information to whoever pays them the most for it, or a government that simply demands it through force of law. With most products needing an app to function are just annoying, but with a firearms related product, it’s disturbing.
As for the app itself, it is absolutely terrible. It is quite possibly the least user friendly, worst user interface I have ever seen in a private sector product. For comparison, figuring out how to use this app is worse than navigating a federal or provincial government website. At first, I thought the problem was me. Maybe I was just too old and set in my ways to understand this new technology. Hoping that was the issue, I sought the aid of my tech-wizard, 22 year old son. Even he needed over an hour just to get a minimum functionality out of it.
The instructions are much like what you get from an Amazon product: vague, unrelated, and completely unhelpful. The diagrams and examples given in the on-line user manual bear only a passing resemblance to the app screen. Every aspect of the app, from creating an account, to connecting with the target, to starting a session, all of it is unbelievably frustrating – if not outright impossible - to use.
I was given the Accurize system by my girlfriend as a Christmas gift, and she desperately hoped I would enjoy using it. For her sake, I tried to like this thing. I mean I really, REALLY tried. The look of disappointment on her face when she saw how angry and frustrated I became in trying to set it up and use it was heartbreaking, so I have honestly done my level best to figure out and learn this system. I have finally given up. Accurize is a piece of junk. It is not only not worth the money, it is not worth the considerable anger and frustration it will create in you. If you are ever in a generally good and optimistic mood and want to become surly and embittered instead, no problem. Just try to set up and use the Accurize system. You’ll be snapping at your family members and snarling at your dog in mere minutes.
There are plenty of these digital, laser based home training systems coming out on the market these days. Under no circumstances whatsoever would I recommend this one.
Pros: at its’ most basic, it’s a good idea. The hardware is well built, and is pleasing to the eye. The original packaging can be used to permanently store the system when not in use. Could be used to refine trigger control.
Cons: the software is absolutely wretched (more on that later), the instructions (both quick start guide and the full manual) are only slightly better than useless, and the system is unreliable. Over and above the many shortcomings of Accurize itself, because there is no recoil, I think a product like this could cause some bad habits with position and hold. For example, there is no need to front load the bipod, square your shoulders to the rifle, or get a good cheek weld. All it can practically do for you is help your trigger pull. On the few times I was able to get the system to work, I quickly found myself getting sloppy and lazy in my position and hold. Now maybe that's just me, and won't be an issue for other shooters.
The system mounts a laser in the muzzle of your firearm. That laser device is triggered by the sound coming down the barrel of the hammer striking the firing pin. It then fires a laser at a light sensitive target which you set up 5 or 10 metres in front of you. This target communicates to your smart phone or tablet, registering where your laser-simulated shots landed on the target. Size of the target is scaled to simulate firing at different distances, 25m, 100m, 300m and so on.
Any internal working of the action will set it off, such as cocking the slide or lifting the bolt, not just the strike of the hammer. On our bolt action rifles, just quickly taking the slack out of the trigger without even touching the bolt set it off, like the rifle was a semi-automatic. A wide variety of sounds are all registered by the system as shots, so you have to set a delay in the app. You have to estimate a reasonable time between shots, say 6 seconds or so, in which you can re-#### the action before you take another shot. It’s not perfect. Sometimes the system doesn’t register a shot from the hammer strike, but did register a shot when I lifted my bolt handle right afterwards. All told, I’d say I’ve had a failure rate of about one shot out of 15, depending on the rifle I was using.
But I could live with that stuff. What really makes Accurize infuriating is the terrible app it needs to function. It is a failure on multiple levels. Before I get into the poor functioning of the app however, something needs to be said about the necessity for an app in the first place.
It would have been complete simplicity to make the system with a proprietary display monitor that is directly coupled to the target, either hard wired or via dedicated, permanent Bluetooth link. No problems with connection, installation or different operating systems. Literally, plug it in, turn it on, and voila! Instead, Accurize chose to do this through a downloadable app.
I write this as a Canadian firearms owner. My relationship to my municipal and federal governments could be described, at best, as adversarial. The agents of those levels of government have clearly demonstrated they will not act in good faith towards me, nor do they have my best interests at heart. To be fair, the feeling is probably mutual. Given that context, I am very conscious of my privacy in general, and extremely, almost paranoiacally so, when it comes to anything firearm related. In order to use Accurize, I must create an account which requires me to hand over a large amount of personal information. I must install it on my personal device which holds an even greater amount of personal info, and through installation on that device, Accurize now has access to all of it.
Therefore, when I use Accurize, the exact location of my use and the firearms I am using with it, are now known to third parties utterly unknown to me. How does that benefit me? I can certainly understand how it benefits Accurize, as they can now sell this information to whoever pays them the most for it, or a government that simply demands it through force of law. With most products needing an app to function are just annoying, but with a firearms related product, it’s disturbing.
As for the app itself, it is absolutely terrible. It is quite possibly the least user friendly, worst user interface I have ever seen in a private sector product. For comparison, figuring out how to use this app is worse than navigating a federal or provincial government website. At first, I thought the problem was me. Maybe I was just too old and set in my ways to understand this new technology. Hoping that was the issue, I sought the aid of my tech-wizard, 22 year old son. Even he needed over an hour just to get a minimum functionality out of it.
The instructions are much like what you get from an Amazon product: vague, unrelated, and completely unhelpful. The diagrams and examples given in the on-line user manual bear only a passing resemblance to the app screen. Every aspect of the app, from creating an account, to connecting with the target, to starting a session, all of it is unbelievably frustrating – if not outright impossible - to use.
I was given the Accurize system by my girlfriend as a Christmas gift, and she desperately hoped I would enjoy using it. For her sake, I tried to like this thing. I mean I really, REALLY tried. The look of disappointment on her face when she saw how angry and frustrated I became in trying to set it up and use it was heartbreaking, so I have honestly done my level best to figure out and learn this system. I have finally given up. Accurize is a piece of junk. It is not only not worth the money, it is not worth the considerable anger and frustration it will create in you. If you are ever in a generally good and optimistic mood and want to become surly and embittered instead, no problem. Just try to set up and use the Accurize system. You’ll be snapping at your family members and snarling at your dog in mere minutes.
There are plenty of these digital, laser based home training systems coming out on the market these days. Under no circumstances whatsoever would I recommend this one.