When it comes to camouflage, there is no better tool than the ghillie suit. Because it resembles foliage, the suit allows you to blend into your natural surroundings and provides you a greater chance of hiding from and stalking your targets. Wearing one, however, does not make you totally invisible. Whether for paintball, airsoft or hunting, it’s vital that you know how to use a ghillie suit strategically so as to maximize its effectiveness.

First, let’s go through some basic guidelines common to all scenarios.

Movement is the enemy of camouflage. Even if you blend into the background, a slight movement of your hand as you adjust your rifle or scratch at an insect bite can give away your position immediately. While in hiding, stay as still and as quiet as you can. Choose a suit that’s best suited for your strategy. Will you be standing, sitting or crouching most of the time, as in hunting? A full-body poncho suit is best for you. Will you need to move around quickly, as in the case of paintball and airsoft? Consider getting a fitted suit or one for the upper body only. And if you prefer to lie prone, choose one that’s open or padded in front, allowing you to crawl with relative ease and comfort. Customize your ghillie suit to mimic the terrain you will be on. Wearing camouflage that makes you stick out of your surroundings is self-defeating. Take some time to visit the place, note the colors and surrounding vegetation there, and apply these details to your suit. Make sure your equipment is also concealed. Your prey can’t mistake the straight line of a gun barrel for a branch. Blacken shiny objects with mud or matte black model paint,and consider investing in a ghillie rifle kit for your weapon.
Paintball and Airsoft

Using a ghillie suit in combat games like paintball or airsoft not just adds to the fun factor by providing a bit of realism-it also gives you an incredible advantage of being difficult to spot and shoot at. As mentioned, ghillie suits work best when the wearer is immobile, and thus are far more useful for defensive positions rather than attacking ones. Still, there are a number of tactics you can use to maximize your advantage.

One strategy is to lie in wait beside a path, wait for the enemy to pass by, then shoot them in the back. With the right timing, you can take down one or more opponents without blowing your cover. A variation of this strategy is to simultaneously have your companions ambush the opposing team once they’ve passed your area. The subsequent noise will mask your own shots, letting you hit your targets without giving yourself away.

In scenarios such as Capture the Flag, staying hidden is not as much a priority as tagging as many enemy players as you can. This is because your opponents will be most likely making a run for your flag. You’ll want to ambush and take them down as they come into view. Because surprise is on your side, you should be able to tag one or two before the rest can return fire.

One drawback of the ghillie suit is if the opposing team has already seen you in it before the game starts, they’ll know what to look for. Lessen the risk by taking deep cover amongst grass, shadows, and dense leaves. Whatever location you choose, just be sure you’re able to see around you and sight your targets.

Hunting

It’s the predator’s nature to use stealth, and what better way to achieve it than with a ghillie suit? These suits were a proven tool when they were first used by Scottish gamekeepers for hunting, and the years have not lessened their usefulness.

Hunting is an entirely different sport than paintball or airsoft. Here you’ll want to stay hidden as long as possible before taking the critical shot. Animals may not be able to think like paintball opponents, but they have superior senses and can spot a hunter long before he can bag his prey. Ghillie Suit [http://www.tacticalsource.com/stealthsuit.html] solve this problem by letting the hunter remain out of sight, lulling the animal into sense of security. Even if the hunter does make some noise when stalking, the disguise can buy him enough time take his shot while the confused animal assesses the threat.

As usual, preparation for the hunt is the key. Study the lay of the land before you begin your hunt. Be on the look out for good places to lie in wait for your prey. If you’re going to use other tools like hunting blinds, have them ready at the scene before you start your hunting expedition. Also, try to incorporate as much of the local color and flora into your disguise.

Remember that animals have a better sense of smell than humans, and they can detect your presence even if they cannot see you clearly. Solve this problem by hiding your scent with mud or even manure.

By: Chales Walker

About the Author:
Charles is the marketing director at TacticalSource.com, which specializes in selling Ghillie Suits [http://www.tacticalsource.com/ghillie-suits.html] and tactical gear for hunting and paintball use. They carry both synthetic and non synthetic ghillie suits as well as Tactical Gear tactical gear for Police and Military use.

Their site does carry a wide variety of survival gear and self defense systems that meet the requirements of Law Enforcement as well as Military Personnel and all of this can be found at TacticalSource.com Some of the brands They offer include Bushrag, Blackhawk, 5.11, Specter, BDS Tactical, Stealth Suit, Trijicon, and more. Go to tacticalsource.com/blog for the free videos and reviews on how to use the gear.

Paintball snipers often try to copy their military counterparts when it comes tactics and general sniping. The problem is the two have some major differences. Without recognizing these differences, you will just embarrass yourself and your team.

Without a doubt the biggest difference between the two are their guns. The biggest mistake a paintball sniper can make is believing his gun is comparable to a military sniper rifle. For this argument I will compare a standard paintball setup with a Barrett M82 military rifle.

The Barret M82 or Barret.50 cal can shoot over 3,000 feet while still retaining accuracy. Many report it can even hit accurately from almost a mile away.

A paintball gun would be lucky to make it 500 feet, even when arching your barrel. To that end, a sniper scope on a paintball gun is completely unnecessary because you can easily see a couple hundred feet.

The only thing that has been shown to increase a paintball gun’s range is a tippmann flatline barrel, because it puts a backspin on paintball.

As far as tactics are concerned there is one big difference between military and paintball. Paintball snipers have a massive disadvantage in terms of being able to shoot from a distance. Because of this they must get extremely close to their targets before they can shoot. Whereas military can get a shot off from half a mile away without a problem.

So tactically, paintball snipers have to usually wait till their targets run by them. After, the sniper will have to slowly turn around and shoot them in the back. If they don’t use that method they will usually hang around the side and wait till they are nearly parallel so start shooting.

Don’t be fooled by any salesmen who tires you convince you that his 2 thousand dollar “sniper” paintball gun is the greatest thing since sliced bread. Almost all paintball guns can be used to “snipe”. If anything, all a paintball sniper really is, is a player who is using a specific set of tactics to eliminate his opponent.

In conclusion, paintball snipers are not military snipers. Once you accept your limitations on the paintball field you will be a much better player. The worst thing you can do is go out and try shooting at someone a half a mile away through your 20x optic scope and call yourself a sniper. You may be able to see them, but your gun just can’t shoot that far!

Know your limitations, know your plan, and stick with it.

By: Devin Kerns

About the Author:
If you want to learn even more Paintball tactics and strategies, or even write your own, visit Paintball Tactics