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

Paintball is like many sports out there today. It is hard to compete at the same level as others unless you have the right equipment in your gear bag. Here we’ll focus on a few of the ‘must have’ items in paintball and explain why it’s important to spend the extra buck on them.

Paintball Goggle System – Many times paintball goggles are your only line of defense against an oncoming paintball. Paintball masks are specially designed for use in paintball. They are tested and must comply with certain safety standards required for use in paintball. They use special lenses and certain grades of plastic to ensure that the face and ears are properly protected. Using anything other than a ‘paintball’ designed mask is just asking for trouble. There are different pricing levels of goggles on the market. Buying a paintball mask with a thermal lens is money well spent. Thermal lenses will reduce the chances of fogging when things get hot inside the mask or when temperatures are very cold outside. They perform much better than standard ‘anti-fog’ coated single lenses. Although buying a thermal goggle system is a little more money, ask anyone who’s experienced a day when his or her goggles would not stop fogging. It’s one of the most frustrating and dangerous things in paintball.

Paintball Gun – It goes without saying that you get what you pay for. The more a paintball gun costs, the more features it will likely have. Buy a gun on the top end of your budget. Electronic guns are more affordable than every before. Purchasing an electronic gun will allow you to achieve different firing modes as well as higher rates of fire due to the electronic trigger frame. Most electronic guns will prevent ball breaks as well. Some paintball guns contain a device called an ‘eye’. It will disable the trigger if a ball is not in the receiver, this is especially important with balls that are partially loaded. Disabling the trigger prevents the gun from firing thereby preventing a ball to be broken inside the gun.

Air System – Most paintball players use CO2 as their primary air source. CO2 tanks are reusable, very affordable and can be filled just about anywhere. There is a better alternative to CO2. Compressed air paintball tanks (otherwise known as Nitro Tanks) use compressed air as the propellant. Using compressed air eliminates some of the annoying characteristics of CO2 such as gun freeze-up and extreme changes in ball velocity. Compressed Air does not have to convert into a gas to power the marker. This allows the compressed air tank to deliver a constant pressure to the marker producing more consistent, accurate shooting. A compressed air paintball tank is the tank of choice for competition level players. Most guns on the market are designed to accept either CO2 or Compressed Air with no modification at all.

Loader – Your paintball gun will only shoot as fast as your hopper will load regardless of the gun’s firing capacity. Standard hoppers are nothing more than storage bins that hold paintballs and allow them to fall into the receiver via gravity. An electronic loader or a force-feed mechanic loader will shuttle balls into the gun quicker, allowing for faster loading and more consistent high-rate firing. Finding the perfect gun-to-loader match is easy. Choose a loader with a loading capacity that will meet or exceed the high-end bps (balls per second) rating of your marker.

Paintballs – We can’t stress this enough: don’t buy cheap paintballs. Lousy paintballs can turn even a thousand dollar marker into a paint sprayer. Better paintballs have a better shell, a more consistent size and higher quality fill. To a varying degree, high-end paintballs are made to resist some of the factors that affect quality like moisture and temperature. The difference between good paint and cheap paint will weigh heavily on your level of enjoyment during a day in the field.

By: Daniel Klaas

About the Author:
Daniel Klaas – Owner of http://www.rockstartactical.com.

Looking for more expect advice and information? Checkout our website’s Paintball Buyers’ Guide for more information on how to select the best paintball items to maximize your game.