"Sniping" In Paintball 
By Samy Rouabhia 

Everyone knows that the definition of sniping is to shoot from a concealed location. But sometimes the best method of concealment is putting a quarter of a mile between you and your target. But in paintball, that's not an option.. Lets look at why.

Paintball physics 101
A paintball is round. I watched a boring ass video on aerodynamics in my JROTC class a few months ago, and this guy put a large sphere in a wind tunnel, with smoke being trailed in the direction of the wind. In front of the sphere, we saw that it was nice and smooth, but behind it, it was all choppy. That was turbulence.

Behind every paintball, there is a bit of turbulence. This causes the trajectory to fluctuate a bit as its going through the air. That, and physical distortions (wet paint, cold paint, swollen paint) on the surface of the paintball cause it to create air resistance, aka friction. This friction along with gravity are the two forces that oppose motion and force the paintball back to earth. But our goal is to hit the target before it has time to drop.

Imagine you just pulled the trigger. On most paintball guns, the valve was opened, and in whatever way the gun works, the bolt goes forward, and the exhaust CO2, N2 or compressed air forces the paintball out of the barrel. That's where it begins accelerating. The force of the air behind the paintball the second it moves from the bolt tells us how far the paintball is going to go, considering you have a decent barrel. You can crank the velocity up so much, but there will be a point where air friction makes it reach terminal velocity, the point where without aerodynamic aid, it can't go any faster. Before that, the paintball would probably burst anyways from the force of the air and bolt behind it.

We've also head of rifled barrels, haven't we? Well, this would work on a bullet, but paintballs aren't shaped like bullets! Rifling won't change how much turbulence is behind the paintball. And that turbulence is where accuracy diminishes.

Now you know the limitations. Now you need a way to increase your distance. To do this, you can do several things.

Increase Velocity
This will make the paintball go faster, but there is a limit of 280 on most fields. Also remember that if you reach a certain point, your going to have too much force hitting the paintball and it will most likely break in the barrel.

Shape the paint
A more aerodynamic shape will work, but this is almost impossible to do because of the method of launching the projectile and the loading methods. If you could create an aerodynamic bullet shaped paintball to fit a .68 caliber barrel, and design a loader that will load these quickly, you will be a millionaire. This is the most effective way to be more accurate when shooting paint. But it just can't be done in a cheap way.

Get a better barrel
A barrel with minimal friction will help the paintball accelerate with less friction. Stuff like Teflon, a coating that has almost 0 friction will work. This is found in many barrels, most commonly the JnJ ceramic, which I use myself. A longer barrel will help it go farther , but to a certain point. I'm going to start a new bolt heading here, because the barrel is a big concern of many newer players, and people are often wrong about it.

Look at my 21 incher!
I will admit, I was a newbie once. I remember looking on ebay for a spyder threaded 21" barrel. Man was I going to own all. Wrong. A longer barrel will decrease your performance. The paint has to travel longer, so the acceleration actually stops before the paint leaves the barrel. IT all depends on the gun, paint, and barrel type, but I will give an educated guestimate that the paint stops accelerating around 15". But this depends on paint barrel type and the gun, as I've stated. LONGER BARRELS DON'T MEAN MORE ACCURACY, OR PAIN.

A longer barrel doesn't require more air to shoot. Well, yes and no. Your going to have to tune up your velocity and force more air behind the paint to get a paintball moving.

So lets say you have a 14 inch barrel that needs a starting velocity of 280 fps to make the paintball go 30 yards (just a number)

On a 21 incher, you might need a starting velocity of 305 to make it hit where you want it to. Teflon coating, any present "rifling" and all sorts of other variables can contribute to the difference.

The best barrel types are suited to the way you play. I play woods and speedball with a 14" and I usually have no problem cowering behind small bunkers. And I have no problem in pushing my barrel past air ball bunkers or through woodsball bunkers.

Paint to Barrel Match
Every paintball is a different size. I've heard of them being as small as .681 and as large as .70 caliber. They probably make them even smaller. But matching your barrel to the size of your paint means a lot.

The air is trying to get its ass out of that barrel, and because the paint is in the way, it gets pushed out. If air can escape before the paint is out, it can cause more air friction in front of the paintball, causing the trajectory to be blah, which translates to bad accuracy.

Suggested Barrels
If your low on cash as I always am, get a JnJ Ceramic barrel. They come in 12 and 14" sizes. I'd recommend 14 if you plan on both woods and speedball, but if your only speedballing, get a 12". You can play all the more tighter, and you should worry about other upgrades more. As a rule of thumb, don't go any more then 16". I think 16 is too much myself.

Flatlines
Flatlines wont make you shoot farther. All they really do is prevent you from having to lob paintballs. Instead it lobs for you. Basically what happens here is there is backspin on the paintball. This create what is called the Magnus effect. This creates lift. It has more to do with it being almost like a gyroscope then anything. Anyways, the paint will shoot and continue to lift until the spin isn't fast enough and the gravity and friction of the air pulls it back to earth. You might be able to shoot a bit farther, but don't be surprised if even goggle hits don't break. I would suggest a JnJ Ceramic over anything.

Consistency
With CO2, your going to be shooting everywhere. CO2 is a liquid when its in the tank, and sometimes it doesn't have enough time to expand to a gas before it reaches your marker. To do this, I'd suggest a few things.

An expansion chamber is a sort of grip that has 4 or more diamond shaped chambers that the air has to go through to make it turn into a gas. No more Snowflakes. If your shooting snowflakes it means you have liquid CO2 in your gun, which is bad for most kind of guns, but if your a new player, I wouldn't suggest anything that would cost that much. Higher end guns shoot N2 or Compressed air only.

I'm not exactly sure how the expansion chamber works, but I can make a good guess. (Please post here if you know how one works) I'm thinking the pressure increases when the air is forced into the smaller portion of the diamond. Then, it opens up to a wide space and it is distributed more evenly. This rapid compression and decompression alters the property of the liquid somehow and forces it to be a gas. I know that as pressure increases, so does temperature. But temperature fluctuations is bad for CO2. CO2 reacts to temperature by expanding and condensing, which can cause your burst discs to go.

Compressed air solves all of these issues. Compressed air is the same as nitrogen to the player. It acts basically the same. Compressed air is just taking the air we breathe, and compressing it. Remember that air is about 78% Nitrogen, 21% Oxygen and small traces of argon and CO2 mostly. So 78% and 100% Nitrogen won't make much of a difference. You rarely fill tanks with Nitrogen. Its almost ALWAYS Compressed air. A compressed air tank can hold Nitrogen, but it can't handle CO2. It wasn't designed for it. And CO2 tanks shouldn't be filled with N2 or Compressed air.

Compressed air comes in a few sized tanks, which are all wider then CO2 tanks and generally bigger. They have two measurements, cubic inches and PSI. You'll often see something like 48/3000 or 88/5000. The first number is how many cubic inches of air the tank can hold. The second is PSI. A 68/3000 will give you the same amount of shots as a 48/4500 (approximately). 

Compressed air is a gas and will always be a gas. Therefore its not affected by temperature. If you shot 3 shots with CO2, you might see a shot at 280 fps, at 276 fps and 258 fps in a row. With Compressed air, your pretty much shooting 280,280,280. Its all that more better. They come in steel and in wrapped fiber.  Wrapped fiber is lighter , stronger ,and more expensive. Steel is bulky and not as strong, but cheaper. COMPRESSED AIR DOES NOT HURT ANY MORE THEN CO2. That's a big misconception by people.

Also, call Compressed air by tis name. NOS, Nitrous, and Nitrous Oxide are all things that you can put into a car cylinder to make them burn harder and faster. They are not what you put in a paintball tank. Nitro, N2, Nitrogen, or Compressed air is. Know your names so you don't sound like a fool.

Another Part of consistency is your refresh rate. A regulator will help this. So when your shooting a few balls a second, they can hit right on top of each other instead of making a spread. Of course, velocity and acceleration has a lot to do with that too. Even air speed and how many dust particles the paint has to hit before it reaches its target, but those variables are small and almost unnoticeable.

How to Snipe
So now you know the limitations of your marker. I've told you how to counter liquid CO2 and how you can make your gun shoot more accurately, and everything in between. Now you can apply it into the game, but just having a marker that can shoot the wings off a fly in midair isn't going to help you at all. You need camouflage, and you need to use your head before you can actually "snipe" (shudder).

Camouflage
The best camouflage depends on where you will be. If your in the desert, get desert camouflage. If your in a woodland environment, get woodland camouflage.

There are many of different kinds of camouflage out there. I did a study on 5 of the most common types used by the military, and I've found that MARPAT, the new Marine Corps camouflage is the best. In woodland and desert situations. Tiger stripe is the next best.

I won't go into detail, but MARPAT is good for concealing both movement and stationary objects, and Tiger stripe is good for concealing movement.

I see a lot of people with ghillie suits and stuff too.. Most of the time they bought them on the internet, which doesn't work. You need to make your own ghillie suit in accordance to your surroundings. Use local shrubs and vegetation to adorn your ghillie suit, not strips of burlap and fake leaves form the kit you bought.

Someone here also said something about ghillie suits being almost like cheating. A paintball isn't going to break when it hits two feet of burlap.

Go to a local military surplus store and talk to the owner and tell them you need something good for paintball and they can hook you up with a GOOD ghillie kit (remember to add your own stuff) or a good pattern of camouflage.

You can't buy real USMC MARPAT unless you join the Corps. Or you buy it from ebay. If you have a friend in the Corps, ask him or her to go to the local base's commissary and hook you up with some REAL MARPAT. The stuff is great.

I've painted a lot of my stuff. I got 4 kinds of paint form a hobby store and spray painted my mask, and my hopper. They look very cool, and work very well. When I tested it out in the game, I noticed that could stick my head sound bunkers a bit and people wouldn't shoot at me as much. Either they couldn't see me or were new players.

I forget which colors I got because I ripped the labels off the spray cans. I think its Olive Drab, Field Green, Medium Green, Tan, Earth Brown, and Black. Use a base of Olive drab on everything, or spray it first with the olive then let it dry and apply the other colors. I did it more in stripes. Experiment on some cardboard like I did before you do any damage, and take some fine grade sandpaper and sand anything plastic before you paint. I was watching a commercial about some paint that sticks to plastics at a molecular level. Its sold at wal-mart, try it out and tell me how it worked! EDIT: Its called Krylon Fusion. Not much color availability though.

How to Snipe
Don't shoot at someone just because you can see them. chances are, if you can see them, they can see you, but if your wearing your new MARPAT, you should be fine. Don't shoot and give off your 20. (10-20 = location. Its like saying 10-4 )

Take careful shots, and analyze everything that is going on, but don't get tunnel vision. Always check behind you and to your sides and look at bunkers CAREFULLY to see if there is any signs of movement.

When you need to move, you can move slowly if there is enough cover, or you can haul ass. They might see you, but if they saw you when you were moving slowly, they could hit you more easily. If your going to change bunkers because your taking fire, don't wait all day, run your ass off.

Don't let someone take advantage of your one-sided bunker. If someone comes up from your left and there's someone in front of you shooting at you, your cornered. Always be aware of your surroundings.

For more tactics, see the articles section.

The position of sniping. 

I don't snipe at all, but I like to be as accurate as possible when taking my shots. Your body position and how you hold your gun has a lot to do with this. Laying prone on the ground is very stable, but limits your maneuverability, makes you easier to see because the bunkers are usually designed for you to crouch. 

Keep the gun tight in your hands, and hold it as close to you as possible, or if you have a butt plate or stock, use the fore grip to dig it into your shoulder. Get on one knee so if you need to haul, you are already halfway there. This is comfortable for me, but a lot of people might have discomfort staying like that for a long time. But if you're a good 'sniper' you'd move around a lot. Keep your elbows pinned to your sides. Try to make the contacts between your arms and the gun as firm as possible without breaking the gun/straining yourself and keep your elbows as tight as you can. 

If you have something like a flatline barrel or a pro-lite or pro-carbine, you can hold the hand guard, which is a very nice thing. Its one of the best ways to steady a firearm, but if you'd notice, a lot of newer military guns (MP5k PDW, And the numerous add-ons for a Colt M16 or M4 series rifle) have fore grips. Fore grips are the best way to go. There ya go Mr. 1337 sniper.

The Sniping Marker
The sniping marker can be almost anything that will give you consistency, reliability, accuracy, and speed (if you need it) all in the same package. For this I suggest a spyder if your going low-end. They can be easily upgraded, but don't be fooled, these markers won't amount to much when up against other marks. Sure its the skill of the player and not the marker, but the marker is a tool, and how efficient that tool is can be the difference between winning and losing.

If you're going high-end, get an autococker. Fast, reliable, and they get the job done. Some can be as cheap as 400 bucks. Some can go for up to a thousand bucks. They really are great markers. You can get all sorts of great upgrades that will further improve your marker. If you get something like a Karnivore, you don't even need upgrades. It rips on its own.

If you want to go pump, look at a Sniper II. Its the autococker in a pump version. Great solid marker. I've seen some really nice phantoms out there too, but if your going pump, you better be ready for a challenge. Most people are using semis nowadays, and a semi can put our 10+ more balls at you then you could get out in half that time. If you want to feel more secure during reloads or when your focusing on something else, look for a backup marker. You can get a Zeus, Delta 68, or Pt Extreme for under 120 bucks all set to go. I've heard that earlier models of each of those guns has its flaws, so be warned.

CAMOUFLAGE! Get yourself some good camo for your gun. Camouflage tape, or even paint will do the trick. I left my marker red because I like a challenge, and because I think camo looks retarded for speedball... I don't really know why I stopped.. But I did. I have a camo hopper (200 round gravity-fed) and a camo mask. Tape up hoses and fittings, and things that go clank. Remember to pre-sand when painting stuff, or if your painting plastic, use that Krylon plastic paint I mentioned before.

Scopes
Paintballs aren't accurate. They are turbulent. You know how they work. If your aiming your 48x scope at someone's head, chances are your going to hit the tree next to them or something. Just because your scope is on it, doesn't mean your going to hit it, especially with CO2.

Red dot scopes are okay for close range, as long as they're well calibrated. I've never used a paintball scope, but I know real scopes need to be calibrated every so often. I'd assume in paintball where your running and jumping and bumping into things, the scope would get ll out of whack.

If you want to see what's going on way down the field, get a monocular. They're less bulky then binoculars, and way more compact. Perfect for paintball. Just make sure tis a wide lens so you can see through your mask.

The lowdown
You can't snipe people from a million miles away. You can, however, snipe them from a concealed location, by shooting smart, and having the equipment to do so. With one hopper, you can take out 4 or 5 people instead of wasting away pod after pod after dollar of paint. Be a smart player, and don't be cocky off the field. Remember that paintball is a game, and be safe. Always wear your mask and don't shoot or shoot anywhere near anyone who isn't wearing a mask.

Calling yourself a sniper is just going to make experienced paintballers laugh at you. Tell them you like to play back, but don't like to spray too much paint or make too much noise. To a speedball, the woods is an uninviting place. I'm a speedball myself, but I have learned to love all aspects of paintball. Don't be like everyone else. Paintball is a sport, don't let woodsball and speedball break apart. IF your a newbie, don't be cocky. Don't very say or do anything that will make paintball look bad.

ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS wear a mask.

I know its sounds dumb, but even if you don't care about getting yourself or others hurt, do it to preserve the sport of paintball. It gets a very bad rep from the media lately and if you go shooting out someone's eye, people are just going to hate paintball even more. If your friend calls you a dork for wearing a mask even when your in your backyard shooting cans, call him something back and tell him that your helping the sport, because if someone like a cop catches you and it gets out to the media, paintball is going to suffer, not just you.