Paintball vs. Reality

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AmericanFreeBird

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I recently got the chance at a company "guys day out" event to go play paintball with the guys. Now, I'd never played and some of you may consider it silly but the experience was a bit enlightening. Everyone was decked out in hunting cammos and the teams (12 on 12) got their gear, suited up, and took the field.

Now aside from the projectiles being a plastic paintball and traveling a a modest 180 ft/sec (or so) the combat simulation value I thought was unique. Your squad must seek out and destroy the enemy or capture a strategic objective (flag). When you're hit, baby it hurts and leaves a bit of a welt to remind you. If that'd been a bullet, you'd've been dead!

After 4 hours I was exhausted. It also taught me a few good combat lessons. Manuver, shoot, manuver, shoot again, cover.... and make sure you've got your friends covering you when you move.

In the end if the paintballs would have been bullets I'd have lost my right leg twice, my right foot shot once, Dead once by a hit right in the eye and dead three more times or critically wounded with "center mass" hits to the chest. Hmmmmm. Guess I need some practice!

Anyone else ever have the chance to play, if not give it a try, it really was fun!
 
I love to play. It is great exercise and fantasy play. Just don't forget it is nothing like real combat. I've never been in real combat and really don't want to be. From your post, I can see that you know the difference. Just making sure anyone else who doesn't know better can see that it's just a game.

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"Those who would trade liberty for security will soon find they have neither."-B. Franklin
"Lord make me fast and accurate."
 
Paintball velocity is usually much higher than 180... closer to 280 actually.
The gentilman's agreement is that max is 300.

Realisticly there are vast differences in terms of cover and concealment... and effective ranges.
But in some "fields" where the range is close and you have less to worry about concealemt wise... It can be very realistic.
Just remember... Bushes are not COVER in a real firefight.
 
I usually forget that paintballs can't shoot through trees like a 7.65x51 NATO does.
Paintball teaches you that trees are cover... Remember, trees are concealment!

Beyond that, paintball does teach SOME of the basics. Locate, suppress, maneuver, close, destroy. AND… Sometimes, it's better to be lucky than good. ;-)
 
Yeah - it teaches a lot of good things...
Shoot and Move. Duck and cover. etc.

Paintballs dont cut down trees like an M60...
 
Anyone ever try airsoft? It's similar to paintball, the volecities are similar but the projectiles are 6mm plastic bb's weighing .2g or so. I personally like Airsoft as it is cheaper and the guns are much more realistic in apperance and function (however it still doesn't resemble real combat.) The biggest disadvantage of airsoft is that you don't have paint or anything to show hits, so the people playing have to be honest and call themselves out when hit.

Airsoft guns come in all varieties, from the cheap (<$30) spring handguns that must be cocked every shot and shoot at fairly low velocities, up through AEG's, which are battery powered and capable of full autos, which cost anywhere from 200 for an MP5 up through 500 for a PSG1.
There are also gas powered guns (usually handguns) that use the equivalent of PC Duster gas with some lubricants in it. These use some of the gas to fire the bb, and some of it to cycle the slide in an attempt to create recoil. (OK, so this isn't even .22 level recoil. Can't win them all) Gas guns retail from 125 to 300 depending on the quality.

For more information check out:

www.redwolfairsoft.com or www.dentrinity.com for some good overseas dealers

www.airsoftextreme.com is the only US based retailer with reasonable prices. Be sure to check out their gallery section for short video clips of airsoft guns in action.
 
In my pre-gun owning days, I participated in a paint ball session. I had a blast, and I got blasted. Got a nice golf ball sized welt on my head, and got shot in the knuckle (ouch!!). Strange that I haven't done it again since becoming a gun owner.
 
Paintball can teach some important things. Communication, training, movement, and concealment are all critical in paintball.

That's about where it ends, though. 50yds is LONG range. Highend paintball guns basically have the accuracy of a smoothbore military musket, but the ammunition capacity and rate of fire of a crew-served weapon. Makes for some memorable times, but hardly realistic.
 
FreeBird, you got off light your first time around. My first time, after I got home and undressed, I stood in front of a full length mirror and counted the bruises from each hit...all 27 of 'em! Then, there were all the various scratches, scrapes, and gouges received while dahsing through briars, diving behind cover, etc. I felt like I had been through a meat grinder.

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Shoot straight & make big holes, regards, Richard at The Shottist's Center
 
In close quarters, like a building, it can be incredibly exciting. Maybe a bit more realistic in this setting, because you don't have much of a penetration or range factor.

Maybe it's better for showing you what doesn't work than showing what does. The first time I played we were trying idiot Hollywood techniques and getting hosed.

If it does anything, it shows you why you should avoid concentrating too much on a single target, while ignoring all others (tunnel vision).
 
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Rakekniven:
Anyone ever try airsoft?[/quote]

I'd have to second that motion! Besides being realistic looking, airsoft weapons can be fully automatic and are easier to clean up after... what does that translate into? Very fun CQB in REAL locations (just be sure to vaccuum up later)... I mean, would your office let you paintball inside? At my office we've got regular airsoft matches every week! ^_^
 
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