Many newer players expect a new "high-tech" gun or piece of equipment will solve all of their playing problems. While you will find that this is mostly untrue, shooting your gun accurately involves a combination of player skill, gun preparation, and the right environmental conditions. Gun prep plays a major role in how accurate you are as a player. By "gun prep" I mean barrel selection, checking paint size, lubrication, and anything else that can affect your shot-to-shot velocity fluctuation. There are many factors which affect whether or not the ball will go where you want it to go, and you need to take them all into account.. In this article, I will touch on some of the simple things you can do as a player to make yourself more a more accurate shooter, especially if you are just starting out.

BARREL LENGTH
Here are some rules of thumb for choosing the length of your barrel:

• short barrels are for back players that need to shoot long-range (8"-12")
• long barrel for mid-range players (16")
• medium-length barrels are for front players (12"-14")

These recommendations are my opinion, and many people will disagree with me on barrel length. It is really personal preference. But here is why I recommend these lengths for these positions...

Short Barrels
Short barrels have better shot-to-shot velocity consistency, because there is less drag variation in the barrel which could exaggerate the change in roundness and barrel fit from ball to ball. So in other words, each paintball may not be the same shape or roundness, and the longer the barrel, the more fluctuation you may have in your velocity. Since back players need lots of range and velocity, a short barrel will allow them to turn their velocity up higher without fear of hot gun penalties. Back players should chrono at 290-295fps assuming the limit is 300fps.

Long Barrels
On my team, our mid-field players are usually playing defensively. The back guys are actually offense, because they are the eyes of the front players that cannot stand or hang their guns out. This leaves the mid players for defense, and for crossing-up diagonally across the field to prevent bunkering and pushing from the other team. When I play in those positions, I feel more comfortable with a long barrel because in many games this position requires me to "post" on a bunker for a long period of time. Sitting still and aiming down a shooting lane (posting) for long periods of time can be difficult. For me, having a longer barrel makes it easier to sight a running player as he tries to push on us from one bunker to the next. Since longer barrels do not increase accuracy, it is really a preference for me in that position. Assuming that the chrono limit is 300fps, mid players should chrono at 280.

Medium Barrels
Front players do not need to "post" or "long-ball" like players in other positions. A good medium-length barrel is best. Front players need to pop-out quickly to make snap shots, making a long barrel impractical. Short barrels are loud, and since there is less of a need for range up front, they are also impractical. A front player can get better accuracy by keeping his velocity down to about 270. Paintballs are most consistent in that velocity range because there is less spin and deformation of the ball.

BARREL PREP
Keeping your barrel clean is vital to straight shooting. Also clean the gun feed, the bolt, and the receiver. When you oil your gun, take the barrel off and take a few shots to blow out the oil to prevent getting oil spray in the barrel. Try different brands of paint and experiment with paint/barrel combinations. Make sure that your paint is always fresh and has that crisp sound when you mix it up. Look for roundness and dimples (they may affect the flight of the ball). Experiment with different colors too. Some weigh more than others and some brands have more pigment spearation in the fill, making the ball lop sided in weight. Drop balls one at a time from about 2 1/2 feet. If more than one in 5 breaks, get new paint.

PRACTICE AT TOURNAMENT VELOCITY
The ideal paintball velocity lies within the 270-285 range. Setting your gun to the limit (300fps) doesn't make your gun shoot better. In fact, you will a lot more that curve at 300. I usually play at 270-280. For me that is the best trade-off of distance and breaking on the target. Practice with your velocity set at the same velocity that you will be playing in tournaments with. That will give you more consistency and allow you to anticipate the arc of the ball better, making you much more accurate.

GUN SIGHTS
Newer players seem to be the only players that use sights anymore. sights are only good if you plan on taking one shot and you want it to count. That style of play is long gone from today's competitive paintball. Back in the day a player might carry 10 10-round tubes (100 balls) on him. Today's player can carry 1000 easy. So the "one-shot-one-kill" attitude that you see in the movies isn't how it is played on the paintball field anymore. It's more like "100 shots = one kill". When you fire a paintball gun without a sight, keep both eyes open which helps your peripheral vision. Paintballs only travel at about 200 miles per hour, so tracking their trajectory by eye is somewhat easy. It's even easier if you use light-colored paint (highly recommended, my favorite is white). A sight is very likely to be hit and they are hard to clean. You can tuck in better by not having to look through a sight. If you really want to be accurate, you should learn to hit a target with the first couple of shots by FEEL. It should just come naturally. If you have ever watched a really good player then you know what I am talking about. They just bring the gun up and fire the ball straight to the target. This is not a natural ability that is inbred. It takes practice and is a learned skill. So you don't want to be dependent on a sight!

REMOTES ARE FOR NEWBIES
If you want to be a great paintball player, get rid of your remote. Putting your tank on-gun A stock is the best investment you can make in your gun, especially if you run a remote. The advantage of having your tank on-gun becomes obvious when you quick-draw your gun to your shoulder and it FEELS right (the same) every time. There is also another hidden advantage to having your tank on-gun: TRIGGER SPEED. Your tank serves as a stock, and will allow you to pull the gun against your shoulder and hold it up without using your trigger hand to hold it up. This lets your trigger hand grip the gun loosely, letting you use more wrist action to bounce the trigger, giving you greater trigger speed. That is why the fastest shooting player all have on-gun setups.

GRIPS
Contoured grips are great because they keep your hand steady and let you grab the grip quickly without messing up your "feel". If your gun has a lot of recoil this is especially true. Flat straight grips might slip and really aren't that confidence-inspiring. You want to pick up your gun quickly and have it feel the same each time. Grips help a little with that.

KEEP YOUR GUN UP
Huge tip here. Watch your teammates the next time you referee and look for people that drop their gun between shots. If you can't shoot at someone quickly, then how can you be accurate? Keeping your gun up at all times means that you are always ready to take the shot. Some pro players are guilty of this fundamental playing flaw. With today's inflatable bunkers, you have the advantage of being able to lean into the bunker as you come around it. So there is really no excuse for letting your gun fall to your waist between shots. I have seen many players miss shot opportunities because they could not get their guns back up to their shoulders quickly enought to take a snap shot. Being an "accurate" shot is not always the result of having good eyesight or the right barrel. "Accuracy" can also mean being ready when the opportunity comes to get a quick elimination.

SHOOTING AT PLAYERS FAR AWAY.
This is a great tip. When you are moving up on a tape or trying to hit players that are far away, the last thing you want to do is "open-up" on the player, hoping that one of your balls is going to hit him. Put yourself in the other players position for a minute. He might not even know that you are there, but when balls come in on him like rain, he is going to dig in and take away your chance for a kill. Here is what you do: set yourself up on one knee or place your gun on your bunker to keep it steady. Any slight variation in gun handling makes a big difference when you are shooting at plauers that are far away. Now, take ONE shot at the player, make any adjustments that you need to, and take ONE more shot. After about two or three shots you should be set up to have you balls fall right on his head. Now is when you open up on him. By the time he senses the rain coming in, he will be hit.

ADVANCED TECHNIQUES
Shooting while running. The only way to get good at shooting and running is to practice. Run down a trail in the woods shooting at targets in front of you and off to the side of you. Keep your gun down until you have to take the shot. Practice bringing your gun up quickly and taking the shot. If you are a front player, you should probably focus more on getting farther up the field than shooting.

SHOOTING AT PLAYERS ON THE RUN
When a player is running at you or away from you, you only need to guess is the arc to shoot at. But when a player runs from right to left or left to right, he is 10 times harder to hit. Most players try to hit the player as he is running or shoot right in front of him as he is running. This almost never works. Don't ask me why, it just doesn't. Here is what WILL work. If the player is running laterally, set up to shoot about 20 feet in front of him. Steady your gun to get the range figured out. Fire a stream of balls at this position and let him run into them. This gives you more time to get the distance figured out and increases the likelihood that you will hit him multiple times. You will also be less likey to break balls in your loader. Here is a good place to give you a HUGE hint. NEVER run away. When you stand up and run away from another player, it is as bad as running directly at your opponent.