Communication Tips For Paintball

Posted on May 13, 2012 by Paintball Master

Communication during a match.
Communication is one of the most valuable things when it comes to speedball.  One of the objectives in paintball is to not be shot and if you don’t know where your opponents are then this will much more difficult.  If you don’t shoot your paintball gun, it will be hard for anyone to find you and thus shoot at you; however the other most important aspect of the game is to shoot your opponents!  If you lay low too much, you will be safe, however won’t see where anyone else is at.  Communication with your teammates will help you figure out where people are so you can get the best shot on someone without giving away your position.

Communication during practice or free time.
Often, communication is different during practice than when playing a real tournament.  When you are practicing or playing for fun you can use more obvious callings such as back right, back left, or home.  The reason you don’t want to use more obvious terms in a tournament is because the person will know that you are calling them out and they will be more protective.  It’s smart however to practice the same communication you use in a tournament during practice times; this way you will be most familiar with the right calls.

Communication during tournaments.
During a tournament, don’t use familiar terms so your opponents can figure out what you’re saying and doing.  Most teams will go on the field before a game and plan what they are going to call each bunker.  We like to make up names that involve days of the week or months or even time; however it’s smart to change the callings after a few games to make sure no teams get use to your code names.  Communication is a big part of a speedball match so if you don’t know how to communicate then you will find your team in the loser’s bracket more often than not.

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Save Phace Mask Review

Posted on April 29, 2012 by Paintball Master

There’s no doubt about it, Save Phace Masks are great looking. They are the only air brushed, custom artwork paintball masks you will find from a commercial company. Many players are attracted to them for this reason. With several different lines to choose from, there are many cool looking designs with gnarly skulls, awesome camouflage patterns and interesting artwork.  Save Phace also makes masks for welding and other sports besides just paintball, however their basic molding seems to be the same.

Save Phace paintball masks come in a plastic protective clam shell for shipping. Inside the packaging, you will find the mask, a manual, a visor (and clips for attachment), and a soft bag for carrying/storing your paintball mask. The manual explains how to keep your mask clean and last the longest. You can also use the soft bag as a great cloth for cleaning and polishing the graphics of your mask.

As far as performance, Save Phace masks are not very low profile, however offer plenty of coverage. They’re great for covering the face, side of the head and all of the forehead. As a downfall, most Save Phace masks have a shiny sheen to them which may reflect light off your mask that might give away your position. Save Phace masks are also made out of hard plastic and will break paint rather than reflect, however the protection is still second to none. Save Phace masks also offer great coverage for the ears, however there are no holes over the ears. Despite this, you can still hear without any issues. Holes over the mouth allow non-muffled communication; better than what you’d think with a hard shell material mask. Overall, Save Phace masks are great to look at and perform well; their prices are also very affordable. Check out a complete selection at ChoicePaintballGuns.com.

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Scavenger Hunt – Game Variation

Posted on March 31, 2012 by Paintball Master

An awesome paintball game variation is Scavenger Hunt.  The point of the game is to recover all the hidden items around the field and bring them back to your home base like in a normal scavenger hunt, except in this one you are getting shot at.  Each team must recover all items, once a team captures an item and brings it to their home base, no other team is allowed to claim it.  Opposing teams with try to eliminate you while they’re trying to retrieve the same items.  The team with the most items wins.  This game is best if played with more than two teams with each team made up of at least three players.  The best way to play this game is to split up.  While some players like to stick together on the field, it’s much easier to get away clean with an object if you are one rather than three.  Another useful strategy is to cover each other cross field as you are going to retrieve objects.  Take turns with your team mates for capturing items; protect the retriever with cover fire and then switch positions for the next item.  This game can also be great practice to help your team’s communication skills, firing and movement skills.  The Scavenger Hunt game is also a great game for beginners; it’s fun to play and the objective is easy.  You can also use any type of paintball gear to play; this game is fun with either tactical scenario paintball supplies or tournament style guns and equipment.

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Good Woodsball Strategies

Posted on March 19, 2012 by Paintball Master

Some people find themselves in a struggle when determining what to do before a woodsball game starts.  Here are a few simple strategies that might help…
First, get a good overlook of the field to locate all possible hiding places and the best vantage points with the best cover.  Once you’ve decided which areas look best, communicate this with your teammates to tell them where you’ll be going.  Communication is key to help your team cover the whole field and figure on going strategies during the game.

Find a good bunker that’s fairly close to the middle of the field and rush to get there before the opposing team.  As soon as you get there, start shooting down the opposing team that are also rushing that bunker.  After about two minutes of holding down your position, try to close in on them and focus on picking off the rest of the opposing team.   When advancing, make sure to move only one bunker at a time so you move undetected.   Also, try to make the least amount of sound possible by avoiding noisy groundcover or brush that could compromise your position.

When using a bunker to hide behind, try to use the entire structure.  Try not to pop up twice in the same place or the opposing team will figure out your exact location.  Pop up and shoot from as many different spots behind the bunker as possible; high, low, right or left side, etc.  A good strategy is to shoot several times from the same position, until the opposing team fires back at that spot; then switch to another position while they’re focusing on your original location.

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Tips For Snipers

Posted on January 20, 2012 by Paintball Master

The well-outfitted sniper should have a ghillie suit or at least camouflage clothing, a good marker with sniper scope and lots of paintballs.  Your strategy can be improved by following some simple tips.  If you want to be a good sniper, you need to cultivate patience.  The best snipers constantly observe their surroundings and analyze what’s going on around them.  They’re also extremely patient, waiting for just the right shot.  For invisibility, camouflage clothing alone may not be enough; use whatever ground cover is around to your best advantage.  Follow a specific strategy and keep open the lines of communication with your teammates so you don’t accidentally shoot each other.  Partnering with a particular teammate while playing in a larger game is very useful, especially if your partner has a semi-auto marker to provide cover for you.  You can also watch out for each other, covering each other’s backs to improve your survival in the game.  You’ll be harder to spot if you conserve your ammunition and avoid loosing a volley without aiming properly.  A couple of well-aimed shots will work better and be less likely to give away your position.  Use your eyes and ears after firing off a shot.  Don’t move unless you’ve been spotted; you’re harder to see if you keep still.

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Try A Sniper Paintball Gun… You Might Like It!

Posted on November 20, 2011 by Paintball Master

“Before I took the plunge and bought a sniper gun, my friend took one to the field with us to play.  He was on the opposing team and when we walked out onto the field, I laughed at him because his marker was nearly as tall as he was!  After the first five minutes of the game, I wasn’t laughing anymore when he was accurately sniping every one on my team out.  When I was the last one left, he confidently shot me right in the center of my paintball mask.  He played like some of kind of pool shark; acting like he didn’t know much about pool, and then proceeding to skillfully pocket every ball on the table; one right after another.  After the game and a little kidding from my friend, I was excited when he let me borrow his sniper paintball marker to try it in another game.  I was delighted by it’s sheer power and amazing straight line accuracy.  At first, I was a bit nervous about using it as it was so different from the gun I was used to.  Needless to say, I was the only offender left standing on my team as I single-handedly eliminated all the enemy players.  I was shocked at how much difference a sniper paintball gun made; it made my game 10 times better than normal.”
Brendan Smith, Westchester Rise Paintball Team

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Serious Paintball Athletes Use Active Rehabilitation Training

Posted on November 18, 2011 by Paintball Master

While most people play paintball for the fun of it, some take their game a bit more seriously.  These are players who train, practices and competes with goals of making the ‘next level’ of competition; these are the paintball athletes.  Beyond just playing and practicing paintball related skills, there are certain other activities that should also be  practiced; these are called active rehabilitation.  In weight lifting, there are exercises to help you build muscle and get stronger and there are others that help you recover/rehabilitate your body so you can train again sooner – and therefore effectively increase your training load.  Active rehabilitation type exercises and activities will be different depending on your sport.  For example, massage therapy, trigger point work, deep tissue, A.R.T, ice/heat baths and jump stretch band mini-workouts are a few commonly used in powerlifting.  It’s also super important to visit your chiropractor often to make sure you don’t have any pinched nerves that will cause pain and poor performance for sure.  If you take your paintball game seriously, treat yourself like a professional athlete and take measures to actively heal after hard training sessions.  If you have an expensive paintball marker, you clean it, oil it, upgrade it and maintain it so it lasts longer and you get the most out of it…. do the same thing for your body and it will run like a fine-tuned race car as well!  Paintball athletes who are faster, stronger and more agile definitely have an edge over players who aren’t as physically fit.

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Transforming Your Old Paintball Marker

Posted on November 4, 2011 by Paintball Master

If your old paintball marker is beginning to bore you with its looks or performance, don’t despair!  You don’t need to dig deeply into your wallet for the price of a new marker when kits are available for a fraction of the price, especially for tactical/scenario weapons.  You only need to decide if you want to change your gun’s appearance, performance or both. Upgrade kits, for example, can produce an AK47 from your old Tippmann relatively cheaply. A total upgrade kit can change not only the looks but also the performance of a Tippmann A5 into the M4 Carbine.

But if you’re really attached to your old, abused marker, you can have the best of both worlds: You can keep the old gun while morphing it into one that has the appearance of a shiny new paintball marker.  Other kits that are available include AK47’s, CQB’s and practically any combination of these.  If you’re feeling adventurous, buy the individual parts to effect the transformation you want.  For instance, you can just change the handguard or buttstock, add some rails, a carry handle, a new magazine expansion chamber, or maybe a flashlight, scope or laser.  You don’t need to dispose of a piece that has served you well, not when you can simply transform it into a fine new weapon, and no one will be the wiser.

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Strategic Tips For The Paintball Beginner

Posted on October 25, 2011 by Paintball Master

If you are a beginner paintballer, here are some basic tips to improve your paintball performance.  Remember that a moving target is harder to hit than one that stays in the same place.  If you’re using a bunker for protection and stick your head out to see where the other players are, don’t look out from the same place every time.  Choose different parts of the bunker to peek out from, otherwise you increase your chance of getting a paintball in the face.  Move around and keep your opponents guessing.  Don’t get so focused on knocking out a particular opponent that you lose track of the others.  Scan the field frequently to avoid having another player sneak up on you.  Besides watching out for other opponents, don’t forget your own teammates.  In the heat of play, it’s all too easy to get carried away and either shoot your own people or get shot by them.  Study your opponent’s colors as well as your own team’s before playing.  Stay in touch with your teammates while playing as much as possible.  It’s also helpful if all the members of a team can fill in for someone else’s position in case of last minute changes.  Remember, you’re part of a team, not a solo player trying to take on all the opponents by yourself.  Team members are there to help each other out, so don’t hesitate to ask for assistance if you need it or to give assistance to others on your team.  Don’t get too eager to shoot your opponents.  If they’re not in range, you’ll just waste your ammunition as well as giving your position away.  Be patient and wait for the right shot.

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What Does a Chronograph Do?

Posted on October 15, 2011 by Paintball Master

To measure the velocity of a paintball gun, it is fired over a chronograph.  A good chronograph offers both timekeeping and stopwatch functions.  The technology of the chronograph is similar to that of the Doppler RADAR.  Chronographs displays a paintball gun velocity reading in feet per second.  In a way, a chronograph is a required piece of paintball safety equipment.  Paintballs hurt less (and cause less damage to the body) when they are shot from a paintball marker with a controlled, adjusted velocity.  Most fields have chronographs on site and require player’s guns to be set to a posted amount.  You can purchase your own chronograph from most shops and internet stores; they are easy to find and range from $80 to more than $200.  Setting and forgetting your paintball gun’s velocity is not the best procedure.  The velocity is affected by a number of factors including temperature (of the CO2 tank and the playing environment) and even the type of paintball used.  In order to get the most consistent velocity, test your marker with the chronograph several times during a day of play and adjust your gun accordingly.

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