| First of all, in my 18 years of experience playing | | | | mindset. I love the latest patterns. I think the digital |
| paintball and training in stealth, camouflage and | | | | woodland and ACU patterns rock. I like the multicam |
| movement it's become crystal clear to me that it's not | | | | pattern even more. I also love a tan and brown plaid |
| about the gear. You can be loaded to the nuts with a | | | | lumberjack shirt and tan or grey pants. Excellent |
| tactical vest, the hottest barrel, the slickest marker and | | | | camouflage. But, if I get out there and move like one of |
| the latest in digital camouflage tactical paintball gear | | | | my resident bull moose during the rut, I don't care what |
| doo-dads but I'll take a guy with patience, cunning and | | | | I'm wearing. I'm going to be spotted and shot. |
| a banged up ol' Trracer pump any day. | | | | Camouflage isn't there to make you invisible. Donning a |
| It's about having the mindset of a tactical paintball | | | | pair of BDU's isn't like Harry Potters cloak. It's there to |
| sniper. That being said, to be effective there are a few | | | | make you look not human and trick the eye. So, yes, |
| pieces of gear that elevate your game when | | | | wear camouflage. But don't ignore the basics of |
| combined with that mindset. | | | | stealthy movement. |
| The Marker. | | | | The Mask. |
| Reliability takes precedence over looks and price any | | | | This one is huge. In nature, there are two things that |
| day. My best little sniper paintball rifle is my Tippmann | | | | stand out on a human try to hide in the woods. The |
| SLII-68. I put a quickie camouflage paint job on it and | | | | first is their outline. Deal with that. The second are the |
| outfitted it with a 50 round hopper. It's light, fast and | | | | eyes. And there's one piece of gear in paintball that |
| very durable. I know how it shoots and can put a shot | | | | we must deploy that makes the eyes and head stand |
| on the center mass of my target at 15 yards 9 times | | | | out even more and that's our mask. The black, goggled |
| out of 10. But with this marker, I have to be committed | | | | form is an instant identifier. We can't get rid of it so we |
| to the mindset of shoot once and lay low. Discipline, | | | | have to hide it. I have a V-Force Profiler that I |
| patience and a good hide. | | | | absolutely love. I popped the lenses out and gave it a |
| The Barrel. | | | | tan spray job. I criss-crossed it with a little bit of greys |
| A stock 8" barrel is not a good choice. But neither is a | | | | and browns to break it up further. This reduced it's |
| ceramic or carbon 20" ported barrel. The happy | | | | visible footprint by about 80%. A little bit of ghillie in the |
| medium is around 12" to 14". After that, your gas | | | | form of jute twine hanging over the lens, enough to |
| efficiency drops and the amount of friction over the | | | | break it up but not enough to obscure vision, finishes |
| length of the barrel actually begins to reduce the | | | | the job. |
| accuracy and distance of your paintballs. Yeah, it looks | | | | Again, mindset trumps materials. Less is more |
| cool but it really ends there. Again, what's your | | | | especially when you are dedicated to the basics skills. |
| mindset? | | | | I'd challenge you, in you next role as the tactical |
| The Camouflage. | | | | paintball sniper, to lighten your load. Try the minimalist |
| You know, one of the things I love most in life is | | | | approach. You'll love the freedom of movement and |
| camouflage. I love studying it. I love wearing it. I love | | | | the focus it takes to elevate your skills. The right gear |
| testing it out. I've been within inches all kinds of animals, | | | | will complement your skills but too much becomes a |
| two and four leggeds alike and it always comes down | | | | crutch. |
| to two things. My camouflage and, you guessed it, my | | | | |