Sid’s Paintball

Well, it has been a very long time since I have done any writing here. I feel like I let a lot of readers down and I hope to make up for it.

I have been in the process of a divorce for almost 8 months and my mind has been preoccupied with that. But now I am ready to do more writing and more paintballing. So for those of you who still check my blog, I thank you, for those of you who are new to it…welcome!

Paintball started a couple of weeks ago for me and we do have some pretty good pics of that game. I am playing a big game later today and will have plenty more new pics of that as well. So check back soon and see what us clowns like to do to have fun…lol

• Never ever take your mask off, unless you’re off the field and in a designated safe area.

• Know your marker and how it works before you play.  Make sure to ask any questions you may have before you make it onto the field.  During a game is the wrong time to discover a problem.

• Don’t worry, being shot by a paintball doesnt really hurt that bad.  You’ll be to busy plotting to get that guy that just got you in the next game.

Although most players would rather go in and shoot for the kill, defense is equally as essential to any game. A player must have defensive skills to survive. Of course some defensive strategies may see like second nature to you, but you must still remember the keys when you are getting shot at on the field.

Instead of taking a long glance around the field to spot an opponent or search for a flag, take very quick peeks. You can always take more than one. But, remember not to peek from the same exact spot twice. If your opponent spotted you during your first peek, you can bet that they will be ready for you the next time. Also, when you are peeking it is always safer to peek around something rather than over. You can duck back quicker and you are not so much of an easy target to spot.

Always keep your profile as small as possible. Keep your elbows and legs tucked close. The larger your profile, the easier target you are to hit. Also, if you stay low to the ground, you will be harder to spot.

Now this may seem like a no-brainer, but if you are being shot at and cannot get a good shot, drop back. Once you have dropped back a bit, you may be able to get a better angle on your opponent. Do not be afraid to move. Movement gives you different, possibly better angles. It will also benefit your team members if you are playing in a squad. If you hear one of your teammates being surrounded by fire, move and give them cover.

Cover is another important defense tactic. Whether it is cover for you or cover for your team member, it is always important. If you or your team member needs to move, cover for each other. And, if you are being peppered with enemy fire, your fellow team member may be able to take out the shooter, maybe even more than one.

The most important defense tactic is concealment. Why? Concealment gives you the opportunity to surprise your opponent. Nothing in this game is better than having the element of surprise on your side. Be hidden well and be patient. If you are hidden near your flag, you will be in the perfect position to defend your flag. Just sit and wait for the perfect opportunity to strike and defend your flag.

Finally, a critical key in defense is to spread out your team. Do not all huddle together in one area. Spread out in several directions. But, keep at least one of your team members in your sights. You may need him or her for cover and he or she may need you for the same.

Again, the idea of defense may not seem like the most glamorous and glory filled element of the game, but it is critical to your team or personal victory. So, follow the above tactics and stay clean.

Thinking about defense is one of the last things casual players think about. Although most players would rather go in and shoot for the kill, defense is equally as essential to any game. A player must have defensive skills to survive. Of course some defensive strategies may see like second nature to you, but you must still remember the keys when you are getting shot at on the field.

Here are some tips on paintball defense…

Instead of taking a long glance around the field to spot an opponent or search for a flag, take very quick peeks. You can always take more than one. But, remember not to peek from the same exact spot twice. If your opponent spotted you during your first peek, you can bet that they will be ready for you the next time. Also, when you are peeking it is always safer to peek around something rather than over. You can duck back quicker and you are not so much of an easy target to spot.

Always keep your profile as small as possible. Keep your elbows and legs tucked close. The larger your profile, the easier target you are to hit. Also, if you stay low to the ground, you will be harder to spot.

Now this may seem like a no brainer, but if you are being shot at and cannot get a good shot, drop back .Once you have dropped back a bit, you may be able to get a better angle on your opponent. Do not be afraid to move. Movement gives you different, possibly better angles. It will also benefit your team members if you are playing in a squad. If you hear one of your teammates being surrounded by fire, move and give them cover.

Cover is another important paintball defensive strategy. Whether it is cover for you or cover for your team member, it is always important. If you or your team member needs to move, cover for each other. And, if you are being peppered with enemy fire, your fellow team member may be able to take out the shooter, maybe even more than one.

Concealment gives you the opportunity to surprise your opponent. Nothing in this game is better than having the element of surprise on your side. Be hidden well and be patient. If you are hidden near your flag, you will be in the perfect position to defend your flag. Just sit and wait for the perfect opportunity to strike and defend your flag.

Finally, a critical key in paintball defense is to spread out your team. Do not all huddle together in one area. Spread out in several directions. But, keep at least one of your team members in your sights. You may need him or her for cover and he or she may need you for the same.

Again, the idea of defense in paintball may not seem like the most glamorous and glory filled element of the game, but it is critical to your team or personal victory.

Tip# 1. A big mistake that I always see players make is when they stick their head out from behind their cover and they don’t bring their gun with them. Players remember you should always come out with your gun ready to shoot. hence the term” snap shooting”. Watch the top players, they wont let an opportunity to eliminate there opponent slip buy. Think about it. If you look out to see what is going on what will happen is that the other guy is either going to duck back in or, he’s going to post on you and wait for you to come back out. Now, if you had been ready to shoot you at least had a chance to get him.
Tip# 2. If your buddy or team made gets blasted from four, five or even 6 different directions, its probably not a real good idea for you to jump into his bunker after he’s gone. If they got him what do you think your chances are.
Tip# 3. Communicate. let your team mates know what is going on. Tell them if you are being fired on. keep track of how many you shot out and keep track of how many players you have left. The best Paintball Teams are the best communicating paintball teams.
Tip# 4. Make sure someone is looking in a different direction on the field than everyone else. That is how to prevent a guy from getting into the snake and you not knowing it ( besides blasting him before he gets there). Watch the Paintball DVD’s, and watch live paintball tournament ganes. embarassing things happen to paintball teams that only look left.
Tip# 5. Practice with the same brand of paint that you are going to use at a tournament. Reason: consistancy in your shots. Different paint shoots different you should already know that.
Tip# 6. When you are in a sutuation hen you are going head to head with another player. Snapping back and forth with one anther from bunker to bunker. Remember don’t always come out from the same spot. Good players will wait and post on a less experienced player and time the shot because they know when tyou are going to come out and shoot. Keep them guessing. Don’t always come out of the same side of the bunker. Switch hands, switch positions don’t be predictable. Remember when you come over the top of your cover to shoot or look around you are exposing your self from many angles. You can see this happen to pro’s, just watch ESPN2 it happens all the time.
Tip# 7. Keep your equipment clean!!!!! Take care of your stuff. Remember first of all your gun probably cost more than your first car right? Oil it. Change the battery, at least wipe of the paint from last weeks practice. The same goes for your hopper and goggles.

Well, I know it has been a while since I wrote anything, I greatly apologize for that. But, now that things seem to have calmed down a little, I should be back on track. Thank you all for still being there and checking in.

I want to tell you about the game we played last night. We had eight people show up, which is a definite good thing. My son and I were the first people to show up to the game and then the girls showed up. We were a little nervous at first because the people who own the land we play on were not even there. So, we grabbed the cell phones and started making calls. Eventually we found out that a couple of hours before the game was to begin, one of our players cut his leg with a chainsaw. CHEES WHIZ!!!!! A frigg’n chainsaw. So, after waiting about 1/2 hour. He shows up with his leg bandaged and eight stitches.

To his credit, the son of a gun goes inside and gets his gear on. I was very impressed that he was still wanting to play after having that happen to him. I was also amazed that he was the one taking everyone out during the games without firing many paintballs.

We played a total of four games and they were exciting. We have video of the game we played last week and I am hoping to get it on here soon. Well, we will see you around fellow paintballer’s.

Thought you guys might like to see some pics of our recent game. Now I know they are not action pics, but you still get an idea of what we look like when we play (Pretty horrible huh?…lol). This game was a blast even though I was the first one hit in the first game..ha..ha!! We had some pretty intense moments. I could not ask for a better group of people to play this game with. We are minus one though, but he will return.

This Thursday we are playing again and there will be plenty of cameras there to record the fun. We will have action pics this time. I hope you guys enjoyed the pics.

Accuracy in a paintball gun is a blend of many factors. The most important thing to remember is: No single thing makes a paintball gun achieve its best accuracy. It takes many things in concert to give you the best accuracy possible. This is part of the reason that accuracy in paintball is so hard to achieve. The other part is the fact that paintballs themselves are an inconsistent projectile and are subject to an inherent degree of inaccuracy. The following are the main areas to work on to get the best accuracy from your gun.

Paint Quality

The primary factor affecting accuracy is the quality of paint. Consistency in bore size, seam size and roundness are critical to accurate flight. Unfortunately this is usually the least controllable factor in most games and the most malleable in varying weather conditions. Remember that paint quality is often not within your control. You shoot what you have on hand.

Paint-to-Barrel Matching

The next important accuracy factor is the bore-to-paint match. Once you have good paint, you need to gently guide it on target with a smooth barrel that fits the paint. The usual solution is to use a barrel that matches the paint you happen to be shooting. A barrel system with multiple sizes or inserts will ensure a good match through a variety of conditions.

Having multiple inserts or sizes of barrel helps ensure that the paint is neither too loose nor to tight in the barrel. Too loose, and the paint bobbles in the bore and either rolls out the end, breaks in the barrel or is unstable in flight. Too tight and the ball is compressed and either tears in the barrel or is deformed and unstable in flight.

A simple way to test bore-to-paint match is to take the barrel off of your gun and fetch out a few rounds at random from your case. You should be able to place a ball in the breech and gently puff the paintball out of the barrel. It should not roll out, nor should you have to break a blood vessel trying to blow it out of the barrel.

Velocity

Another huge factor in accuracy is velocity. Consistency is the watch word. The more consistent the pressure, and therefore velocity, the better grouping of shots. Most things that help even out your shot-to-shot velocity will also help your accuracy. This means controlling the pressure and stability of the gas used to operate the gun. High Pressure Air is far superior to CO2 in this arena. If you run HPA, make sure you have a good, consistent regulator on both the output from the tank, and the input into the gun.

If you run CO2, make sure you are doing your best to keep it gaseous, keep it expanding well and not condensing under rapid fire. Expansion chambers are cheap and a decent solution, but a good regulator (like a Palmer Stabilizer) will guarantee you only feed gas to your gun.

Do everything you can to get your shot-to-shot velocity variation as close to zero as possible. Keep your gun clean, well lubed and running smoothly to get the most accurate results.

“Low pressure” operation is is one of the industry’s greatest hype campaigns. Again, according to scientific tests by AGD, the acutal pressure of gas hitting the paintball is between 50-125 psi, regardless of the operating pressure of the gun. “Peak pressures above 150 psi tends to break balls down the barrel due to really high acceleration and G forces. If you don’t have any way to control the peak pressure behind the ball, the only way you can change it is to go with lower pressure in the air chamber, hence low pressure guns.” So unless you are changing the pressure input to the air chamber you are not doing anything to lower the pressure of the gun. Cheap “volumizers” are designed to give greater volume to the chamber once you have that low pressure. They do not lower the pressure in any way by themselves. For that, you need gas pressure regulation, either at the tank level or via an add-on regulator.

Barrel Quality

Your barrel should be smooth and scratch free. This promotes consistent contact between ball and barrel. Another factor is the barrel’s trueness from thread to bore, or how straight the barrel screws into the gun. Even a tiny bit of variation will express itself as a consistent strike point that is “off” the aim point. This is largely a manufacturing issue, so buying reliable brand names (J&J, Smart Parts, Dye) is the best solution to this issue.

Materials for barrels vary from brass, to aluminum, to stainless steel to carbon fiber. You may also hear of ceramic barrels. These are actually aluminum barrels with a ceramic coating, and are very effective at remaining “slick” and low-friction. Each material has its advantages and disadvantages. Brass can be very smooth, but scratches easily and is heavy. Aluminum is light, inexpensive and durable, but not especially smooth unless treated. Stainless is smooth and very tough, but heavy and expensive. Carbon Fiber is very smooth, very light, very quiet, and very expensive.

Barrel Porting

Porting is anther often-touted factor in barrel design. Ports are supposed to gradually release that high-pressure gas, allowing the ball to fly smoothly downrange. According to scientific tests by Airgun Designs, about 8-10″ of the barrel should be port-free to get the best efficiency out of the gas used to propel the ball. This length gives the best time for the expanding gas from the gun to accelerate the ball without inducing too much friction to slow it back down. Anything more or less, and you will use more gas to get the same acceleration, equating to less shots per tank. Most barrels today have an effective length of about 5-6″, so you can deduce the efficiency effects.

Barrel Length

Overall length is largely personal preference. Some like longer barrels with lots of ports, some shorter ones. Be wary of 18″+ monstrosities and their claims of improving accuracy. A longer barrel has nothing to do with accuracy! Remember that these are paintballs, not bullets, and the same rules do not apply.

Barrel Rifling

An ongoing Holy War rages over the concept of “rifling” a paintball barrel. In my experience, rifled barrels perform roughly the same as smooth ones. The rifling choice boils down to what you like best and what your budget will allow, but it won’t make you shoot any more accurately. Click here to read the AGD article on spinnig paintballs and rifled barrels. I think it makes a pretty substantial case for why spinning a ball is pretty much a farce.

The Hammerhead series of barrles has combined “straight rifling” with controlled bore size, which should work as well as any other. Variations in the seam placement when the ball reaches the bore make this no more effective than smooth bores, in my opinion. The seam may be perpendicular in one shot, but parallel to the rifling the next time.

One effect that rifling may have is that of bore-to-paint tolerance. Some claim that internally rifled barrels are more tolerant of variations in paint size or seam placement. This may be true, but may be such a minute difference that it is difficult to measure.

Maintenance

Is your gun running at peak performance every time you step onto the field? You should make sure it is if you are chasing consistency and accuracy. Make sure you aren’t leaving old lubricants on the internals, and make sure the seals are fresh and tight. You are trying to make sure that every time the gun fires, it fires the same way.

There is a fine line between cleaning too much and not enough. You don’t have to replace every seal and o-ring every time you play. In fact, that is actually counterproductive, since your gun will not get “broken in.” You should learn what parts fail and what to watch for and do a visual inspection of all the moving parts after each day of play. This is a critical “control point” for your accuracy. You are responsible for the smooth operation of your gun, and it will show up on the field if you do the proper PMCS. (Preventative Maintenance, Cleaning and Service for you non-military-acronym types.)

Summary

Good paint, good barrel, good velocity, good maintenance. These are the components of the complicated and elusive accurate paintball gun. Don’t fall victim to the hype. There is no one-shot answer to better paintball gun accuracy. Plan the upgrades to your gun accordingly, know how it functions and you’ll find that your ability to hit what you aim at increases incrementally.

Snap Shoot

Shoot your opponents in a snap.  Since you will be bunkering often,
the best way to shoot would be to quickly come out of a bunker,
shoot, and return to the bunker.  This allows you to make a good,
quick shot, while returning to a protected area. 

Finding Flank

Just like you watch your own flank to make sure it is covered,
watch your opponents for opportunity.  If you are able to work your
way into an opening in the flank of opposing players, perhaps you
just may be able to eliminate a few. 

Practice

What more can I say?  Practice makes perfect.  Play often as you
can using these tips and find your game getting better.  In
addition, challenge teams better than you to a game.  This will
help your own game grow, as well as perhaps teach some new skills. 

Paintball sponsors are the most willing to fund a team that has some kind of record of winning a tournament or even a championship. This trend often leaves smaller less successful teams in the dust because big sponsors like to attach their name to winners. This is because they know more people will turn out for the game and their product will get more exposure when they sponsor paintball teams that are successful.

Business owners and large companies are smart people. They aren’t easy targets that walk around thinking, “we must sponsor paintball team”. You have to sell them on it…

So what do you do if you have a rookie team with no track record and you love to play paintball but can’t afford to pay for your tournament? First of all you have to earn the sponsor’ s trust by explaining why they should fund your game. Some companies will sponsor a paintball team simply because they appreciate the hunger and enthusiasm that newbies have for this relatively new sport.

The best time to approach a paintball team sponsor is around October of every year when the popular “World Cup” Tournament has come and gone. This is when paintball sponsors start determining who they will sponsor the following year. If you are a rookie team it is usually the local paintball store or the paintball field owner who will make the decision about whether or not they will sponsor your game.

If you want to shoot higher than just the local folks than you can always submit a proposal to the marketing departments of a big paintball company such as National Paintball Supply Dynasty or Kingman. However keep in mind that these bigger companies usually have their marketing budgets already assigned to teams that are winning championships all over the world. However, it is still worth a shot if you are serious about getting big paintball sponsorship, as once again, some individuals in these companies do realize the potential market value of newbies to the game. This is why it is important for you to explain to whomever you are approaching why your newbies and their friends who will be in attendance are potential customers of their paintball products.

You can also approach businesses outside the realm of paintball. They may purchase your paintball supplies for you if you offer to provide attendees to the event with stickers, posters or other forms of wearable advertising to the event. You can also offer to post the business’s banner on the field.

Also before approaching a paintball sponsor make sure that you will be taken seriously by also submitting a business plan and a team biography. In your business plan explain exactly why this event would be good for their business. It also helps if you charge an admission and donate the proceeds to charity. Almost every sponsor, including paintball sponsors are more inclined to support a charitable event than one that is just for fun.