Paintball Playing Tips
Full Range Paintball Near Destin

A burst paintball in the barrel will result in really poor accuracy and can even prevent your gun from firing.

Your gun hopper contains the paintballs and feeds them into the gun. The hopper must be clean and dry inside. Your jumping, diving, and other movements trying to dodge others’ paintballs may have cracked a paintball within your hopper. The remaining paintballs will be covered with paint making them stick together and lead to misfeeds and gun blockages.  After each game, have a quick look inside your hopper. If there is paint inside, take the hopper off your gun and clean up all the paintballs inside the hopper and the inside of the hopper itself.

If your gun becomes muddy, it can be difficult to grip onto and may also stop the gun from working properly. So, make sure to wipe down your gun after a game.

DO NOT pick paintballs up from the floor or the ground.  It’s always tempting to re-use paintballs that have been fired but not broken or those that have been dropped by accident.  They may look like they are “free”, but they usually result in a jammed gun.  If you drop a few when you were loading your gun but the paintballs are still DRY & CLEAN, then they might be okay.  If they have picked up any moisture, the paintballs will start to swell.  If this happens, it can plug up the hopper or block the gun barrel.

DO NOT run out of air.  As the air in your tank starts to run out, the paintballs start to fall short and lose velocity and you won’t be able to hit your target.  If this happens, you can always ask a Ref for help to check your equipment. But this won’t help becoming frustrated because your shots aren’t hitting anything and now you have become a target unable to defend yourself.

Rapid Fire – isn’t always the answer. Rapid fire is NOT even essential.  It might intimidate your opponent and “look cool,” but shots only count if they actually hit your opponent. 

A semi-automatic gun means that after every shot, the trigger must be allowed to go forward before the gun will fire again.  You just cannot hold the trigger down like a machine gun.

Unless you are used to rapidly squeezing the trigger, it is hard to get the timing right.  Your middle finger is typically stronger than your index finger, so you might try using it.  Some players alternate between the index and middle finger.

Remember, one shot that hits the target is better than ten shots that miss.  

Be aware of your position and the position of your gun.  Gravity is required to allow the paintballs to flow downward from the hopper into the gun.  If you are leaning around a bunker or other obstacle with the gun on its side, the paintballs aren’t going to flow into the gun.  The gun will make a noise (dry firing) but no paintball will come out of the barrel.  Remember to always hold the gun upright to let gravity work. 

Aiming is important. Unless you aim the gun, you are unlikely to hit anything.  

The high pressure air tank on the gun can be used like a gun stock that fits into your shoulder and helps stabilize the gun. 

Look along the top of the barrel and this will give you a good idea where the paintballs will go.  Fire a shot and watch where it goes.  If it drops short of your target, aim a bit higher.  If it’s to the left, aim a little to the right.

Use Cover.  If you stand in the open, you’re a sitting duck begging to get shot!  Hide behind something.  Clue: a tree that is narrower than you are wide, isn’t going to help much. 

Tunnel Vision.  It is easy to keep focused on what is going on straight ahead of you, especially if you’re focusing on only one player while ignoring others.  Perhaps focusing on only one area is your “job” because other teammates have your back and other areas already covered.  You still need to consider having a quick look around to see what else is going on.

Camouflage is particularly useful when you are still and quiet.  Just because you’re wearing camo doesn’t mean you’re invisible. Movement itself attracts attention of your opponent.

Moving targets – they are much more difficult to hit. If there isn’t anything to hide behind, RUN!!  If you run away in a zig-zag pattern, you’ll even be harder to hit. If you are behind an obstacle but can’t move because paintballs are keeping you from being able to move, it could be because your opponent can see part of you or your equipment. Check to see if your foot or pod packs are sticking out. Communicate with fellow team members to see if they can provide cover fire while you move to a new position.

Spread out. Attacking the opposite team is always fun if they weren’t smart enough to spread out.  If they are all hiding in one ‘hut,’ you and your team members have a good chance of surrounding them and taking them out – especially if you have a paint grenade that can take them all out by throwing it in the hut! So, try not to bunch up together making multiple players essentially one target. Spread out so your opposition will have to worry about shooting at several targets and not just one. 

Check yourself.  If you feel like you may have been hit, check for paint.  Some players feel something, throw up their hand and walk off the game field thinking they are out when in fact a paintball may have bounced off of them.  Once you have said you are out, you cannot change your mind and return to the game.

Go around the side.  If all the action is going on in the middle of the field, it may be worth it to send one or two players headed out the edge of the playing area. Try sneaking down the sides and catch the opposition unaware. Hopefully, you will catch the enemy unaware and take out some of their key players. Just remember that fire from your team members can take you out just like the enemy’s.  Crossfire can be very distracting and will make it difficult to move or fire back.

Dead Man Walking. This is risky and rarely works, but it is worth mentioning. During the game a player simply stands up and casually walks off towards the side, to another bunker, or directly towards the opposition. If you haven’t said you are out nor held up your gun in the air to signal that you are out, you are technically still in the game.  Your enemy may think you are out and may be completely ignoring you! This is guaranteed to at least annoy your opponents and you will probably receive accusations of cheating or foul play.  

Covering fire.  If your team can provide continued fire on an opponent such that they must remain behind a bunker – that opponent is not able to fire back.  This is a perfect time to allow a team member to move to a better position.

Run Away!!  If you are outnumbered – consider running away to find better cover.

Out of Paint? If you run out of paintballs during a game, you will not be able to shoot anyone – BUT your enemy will not necessarily know that. Your gun will still make noise and they might not notice that there aren’t any paintballs being ejected from your gun. You might be able to draw fire so a team mate can move.  If you’re fast enough and able to get behind an opponent, they might even surrender.

Communication is key!  Your team members are the key to reaching your goal. You need to know who is where and what they are doing or able to do to help you. Clear and simple voice commands are all you need.  Some teams that compete together regularly work out a complex system of coded commands. These sound impressive and aren’t readily recognized by their opponents, but rarely work for pick up/walk-on games or first time players. If you are outnumbered and need help – shout to let your team know. If you hear a team-mate calling for help, then do what you can to help them.

Know the rules. Each game has different rules which will be explained before each game. Many teams lose the game because they weren’t paying attention and forgot to check if any of the opposition were still alive, or another significant ‘rule’ or nuance for the game being played.    

Watch the Refs. The Refs have a job to do – look after the safety of every player and referee the game.  They tend to move where the firefights are taking place so they can make fair decisions. If you notice a Ref heading towards you, it may be time to have a really good look around. There could be an opponent creeping up on you.

Smoke Screen. A smoke grenade can be a great aid if you get in a tight spot. Make sure to check which way the wind is blowing, ignite the grenade and throw it upwind of where you want the smoke to go. After 15 seconds or so, a good plume of dense smoke should drift across your path, allowing you to escape unseen or to advance on the enemy and take them by surprise.

Don’t forget to Reload! If you’ve been in a busy game, you’re probably running low on paintballs.  Carrying one or two extra pods of paint in a battle will allow you to reload during a game. If you do reload during a game, make sure to do so before the opposition makes a move on you.