The shooting simulator at PDK Firearms has evoked a lot of curiosity since its recent inception into the Michigan concealed pistol license certification classes. About 12 students so far have used the simulator to complete the class.

And while simulator technology is starting to find a place in classrooms and the entertainment world, few might imagine that a simulator could actually help teach someone how to safely handle a firearm in a way that real life just cannot.

For Kelly Adams, a National Rifle Association certified instructor for PDK, the simulator is an invaluable tool.

“This thing right here is one of the best training tools in southwest Michigan,” said Adams. “I think this is better training than actually shooting.”

A trip to the simulator world also helps Paul Dodson, PDK’s other National Rifle Association certified instructor learn an inexperienced shooter’s flaws in technique, before they are holding a real gun on the shooting range.

The simulator experience puts an individual in front of a giant movie screen. A camera tracks movements and there are a variety of realistic scenarios that play out that might illicit deadly force.

It might go without saying, but it takes some practice toting a gun. Using the simulator, Dodson said they can see whether or not a person is holding the gun in a way that might injure their hands or impact aim. With proper technique in mind from the beginning, the concepts seem to stick better with the simulator as aid.

Another method in which the simulator helps is learning how to move and shoot to take aim. With a camera following the users’ every movement this reminds students to keep moving as they take aim.

To obtain a concealed pistol license certification, a person must shoot an actual gun and while there is no way to completely dispel the nerves of firing a real gun, the simulator at least helps people get comfortable before they are on the actual shooting range. The student also gets used to toting a realistically sized and weighted gun and as Dodson quipped, simulator bullets are a lot less expensive than the real deal.

On a Tuesday, Dodson demonstrated the simulator, stalking down a virtual street with his Glock 22 raised. He is searching for an armed and dangerous subject hiding amongst the shadows of an alley.

“Show your hands!” Paul Dodson yelled before sending a simulator bullet through an assailant.

Make no mistake, NRA instructors, Dodson and Adams do not teach a “gun class.” The core of the 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. class which qualifies students to apply for their concealed pistol license is to learn how to be a safe, responsible gun owners and how to asses a situation and whether or not it requires weapon force.

“We tell people that if you didn’t come here with the ability to fight with a gun you are not going to leave here with that ability,” Adams said. “Basically we help you focus on your safety.”

Adams and Dodson teach those applying for CPL certification to have an emergency plan for situations like a break-in at home where there is a deadly threat, a plan that should only be used after calling the police and retreating to a safe room.

The scenarios exemplified in the simulator are clearly based on actual gun tragedies: a movie theater, a school campus, so there is no misconception that the simulator was designed as a game, because the weight of the gun is both physical and mental and the split-second decision on whether or not to use deadly force is no game at all.

“If you’re going to carry a gun,” Adams said, “you need to be a very responsible person and you need to act responsible, and the first thing on your mind should be avoiding a confrontation.”