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Paintball Sniper
http://paintball.about.com/od/gear/tp/snipergear.htm
 Anyone
who’s interested in being a paintball sniper can be. But it
helps to have the right sniper paintball equipment. Check out this
article to make sure you are geared up right.
1) Sniper Paintball Gun
Your sniper gun needs to have great range and accuracy (considering
it’s a paintball gun, that is). Many paintball snipers prefer
pump guns for the stability and accuracy they provide. Whether you
go for a pump or semi-automatic, make sure your gun is not one of
those shiny “here I am” colors. Also remember to clean
it after every game – it will perform better for you that
way.
2) Quiet, Accurate Barrel
Some people think that a paintball sniper needs a super-long barrel.
This couldn’t be more wrong. You want a barrel no longer than
14 inches: solid for the first 8-10 inches (so the paintball can
accelerate properly), then ported for another 2-4 inches (to quiet
down the noise the paintball gun makes when it fires). Remember,
your barrel should not be a shiny, attention-grabbing color. Bring
a squeegee to the field – the cleaner your barrel, the more
accurate your shot.
3) Perfect Paintballs
Few commercial fields/games let you choose your own paintballs,
so you just have to live with what you get. But if you can choose,
as a sniper you want to make sure that the paintballs you use: a)
are the highest quality (better shaped, which makes them more aerodynamic,
and thus more accurate) and b) match the barrel bore size (which
decreases the chance that paintballs will burst in your barrel or
won’t fly as far).
4) Paintball Mask
Every paintball player should have as good a mask as possible, but
it is definitely important for paintball snipers. Your mask should
have huge lenses (so you can have as unobstructed a field of vision
as possible), be extremely comfortable (so you don’t feel
the urge to take it off every 20 minutes), provide good face protection
(so you can low-crawl without thinking about it), and never fog
up (your accuracy depends on it!).
5) Camouflage Clothing
There are some pretty elaborate camouflage setups out there for
people who are interested. But even if you are just going to play
in a tshirt and pants, make sure it is a tshirt and pants that blend
into the environment. Also think about things like watches, socks,
and the bottoms of shoes can look. Be one with the forest. Avoid
anything bright, shiny, or reflective.
6) Sight / Scope
You don’t need a sight or scope to be an excellent paintball
sniper, but it doesn’t hurt. It won’t help you achieve
a greater range or accuracy than your paintball gun setup is capable
of. The main point is to actually bother to aim, instead of shooting
from the hip like most paintball players do. A sight not only helps
with that, but also gives you a better idea of how accurate your
paintball gun is, and whether you need to adjust your aim.
7) Radio Headset
Having two-way communication on a large field can be very useful,
even when you are a lone sniper. You can get – or give –
heads up as to when enemy is coming, you can call for help, you
can better assess what’s going on on the field and adjust
your plans accordingly. Headsets are particularly useful if you
are part of a two-person sniper paintball team. The best ones have
low interference, are hands free, and have adjustable volumes.
8) Water & Snacks
If you are playing a continuous game (like scenarios or big games),
having a bit of food and water on you can be very useful. You don’t
want to have to trek back half a mile from your perfect sniper position
just because you get thirsty, right? On the other hand, if you are
just playing 15 minute games, then you can probably leave the snacks
at the fill station. The less you carry with you, the better.
9) As Little Else As Possible
You often see paintball players going into long games with a huge
harness full of paintball pods. That’s great for them, but
not for a paintball sniper. All that equipment makes you louder,
requires more space to be able to hide safely and probably isn’t
necessary if you are truly a good paintball sniper. As a sniper,
you pick off your enemy one by one, with as few shots as possible.
Leave the extra paint at base camp (or at least, use cloth or leather
instead of noisy plastic containers!).
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