by Austin Hale

Created on: July 07, 2009   Last Updated: July 08, 2009

Paintball is the number one real-life action shooting game played in the world. In the game players use guns that shoot balls filled with paint. These guns are commonly called markers. Players use these markers to "light up" their opponents or shoot them with paint. For the beginning paintball player or even the seasoned professional there are a few easy tips to improve performance dramatically.

Take a Knee

Taking a knee is one of the quickest and easiest methods to instantly improve accuracy. If your knee is on the ground your center of gravity is lower giving you more stability and balance. This added stability helps to keep the marker tight to the body, which helps you squeeze off those important kill shots.

Another benefit from taking a knee is reducing your profile. In paintball reducing the amount of your body you expose to enemy gunfire is imperative. If you are eating a lot of paint and generally not getting a lot of kills try dropping onto one knee and see the improvement.

Snapping

Snapping is a common term in paintball that refers to the practice of quickly popping out from behind cover and "snapping" a couple of shots off at your opponent. The trick to snapping is in the return to cover after shooting at your target.

One of the most common novice mistakes for a player is to try and follow where their shots lands. If you're able to see you paintballs hit their target then you're not snapping correctly. Practice popping from cover, shooting two to three times, and then returning to cover in one fluid motion.

Use the Sights

Paintball markers usually have a hopper or a container for paintballs on top of the gun, however this doesn't mean you should shoot from your hip the entire game. Shooting while holding the gun up to your face gives you the ability to sight down your barrel. This will improve the first shots that come out of your gun considerably.

The danger with shooting while looking down your sights is tunnel vision. Tunnel vision happens when you focus completely on what is happening directly in front of you. The danger is that you lose focus of your surroundings, which will severely reduce your survivability.

If you're able to master taking a knee, snapping, and using your sights more effectively then your paintball game should improve. Often times the smallest changes will bring the greatest improvements.

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