Lessons from Paintball

[stroo]

I know that paintball is nothing like the real thing and is not great training. However my paintballing with my son today reinforced some lessons for me. First, use cover. Second, force yourself to scan. It is real easy to get tunnel vision. Third, move. I don't think I got hit once while moving. Fourth, distance is your friend. I think I only got shot once at any distance. Got shot several times within 30 feet.

Finally, you can do everything right and still get shot. I had one time when I was behind cover that I had just moved into, was scanning and had no one close to me. I got hit right on the top of the head by someone I never saw. Probably the only hit all day that if it had been with a real gun would have killed me. Lesson- avoid gunfights if at all possible.

[LittleGun]

Good lessons, especially the one that says avoid the gunfight.

[DONT TREAD ON ME]

its amazing what a game can make you realize, isnt it?

[atxgun]

Corollary - If it cannot be avoided, don't show up to a gun fight with a knife.

[BTin]

Corollary - If it cannot be avoided, don't show up to a gun fight with a knife.

Or a paintball gun!

[KRM45]

I know that paintball is nothing like the real thing and is not great training. However my paintballing with my son today reinforced some lessons for me. First, use cover. Second, force yourself to scan. It is real easy to get tunnel vision. Third, move. I don't think I got hit once while moving. Fourth, distance is your friend. I think I only got shot once at any distance. Got shot several times within 30 feet.

Finally, you can do everything right and still get shot. I had one time when I was behind cover that I had just moved into, was scanning and had no one close to me. I got hit right on the top of the head by someone I never saw. Probably the only hit all day that if it had been with a real gun would have killed me. Lesson- avoid gunfights if at all possible.

These are good lessons to learn. Just remember that what counts as cover for paintball may only be concealment in a real gun fight.

[HankB]

These are good lessons to learn. Just remember that what counts as cover for paintball may only be concealment in a real gun fight.

. . . an excellent point, and one to remember, as it works both ways; using concealment as cover can be very bad for you, but likewise if you're in a gunfight, the bad guy may not know the difference, either, and you may be able to take advantage of that.

[jimlongley]

Ahh, yes, paintball and its lessons in life.

A bunch of years ago I worked in a small office that was remote from company HQ. HQ declared that ALL of the company should have some sort of team building exercise.

Our boss was a maddening little twerp who got where he got through a combination of luck, guile, and a couple of ten year old rule violations. He had actually worked for me the year before, and I had given him a poor yearly evaluation, and he wound up getting promoted over me when I turned the promotion down.

Anyway, this worthy, with his intimate familiarity with the principles of good management, decided to ORDER everyone in our office to attend the team building exercise that he arranged - an evening of paintball at a local indoor arena.

One of the staff was an avid paintballer and "The Boss" thought it seemed a great sort of thing for team building.

Those of us who could not find a valid reason to not go, went.

We all got geared up and set out to battle other ad hoc teams. Lots of fun.

Poor "The Boss" took three battles to figure out why he was always the first one on our side to be eliminated. He had never heard of fragging.

Actually his team building exercise had accomplished its goal before the first whistle blew. When that first whistle blew, without any conspiracy or preplanning, everybody on our team just shot "The Boss" first, before going on with the battle.

After he figured out that he was being fragged, he still couldn't figure out why, he seemed to think it was all just good natured fun.

I really enjoyed that experience with paintball, but have never played again in the 20 years since.

[Greybeard]

My barber tells a "lessons learned" story about playing once as a pick-up player with a bunch of kids he did not know. It seems that he was leading the way, slowly anticipating being ambushed. When a member of the opposing team did suddenly light 'em up from some distance away, his newly found teenage "partner" - with booger hook on the bang switch - tagged him right behind the ear. He said THAT was the last time he ever played the game.

[DoubleJ]

I remember playing one time out at DFW AP, where I usually was the oldest schmuck there. We had this one occasion where I was hunkered down behind some cover, laying down suppressive fire (read: spray and pray) just over a piece of cover in front of me and to the right just a skoach. well, along comes this other player on my time who lands right behind the cover I had been shooting over the top of. They realised what I was doing, and turned and looked at me, thinking I hadn't seen them.
was quite humorous, their big eyes peeking through the googles as I continued to "dump buckets" keeping the right side of the field "open for business...."

ah, memories....

still have that ol' Tippmann 92 Custom, flatline barrel, M4 ButtStock, Responsive Trigger, 20oz tank, remote system.....

[Stupid]

Always, always watch your flank and always flank your enemies.