paintball

[slader martin]

Would, playing woodland paintball help me improve my combat skills, and help me prepare in case I got in a real gun battel.

[LuniticFringeInc]

It will teach you tactics. It can teach a smal group how to move while minimizing its vulnerability. It will teach you how to preform under stress and achieve an objective. Its not perfect but it can be very helpful.

The military uses simunitions and to a lesser extend paint guns in many training exercises for more specialized units. I had the oppertunity to attend several training schools in the military that use them and it was a huge difference from previous training I had received. It does have some limitations in that you dont get the sense of recoil, your not operating your standard weapon unless using simunitions which are about twice the cost of real ammunition.

[keltic]

I'd also do some reading on basic strategy too, and work on applying that to the paintball field. A lot of combat tactics are not intuitive, and if you simply leap in, you could be teaching yourself bad habits.

Another point I'd add: take Kendo for example. Proponents of Kendo say it's a great way to actually train sword fighting...you're in full gear and able to properly strike, which obviously you can't do with real swords...however, opponents of this have stated, and rightly so, in my opinion, that Kendo has evolved to the point where it makes the person too aggressive in sword fighting, since the consequences aren't as bad. Essentially, it is training the person to take risks in the sport that would be foolish in real world sword fighting.

I would caution you that this same thing could apply to paintballing...the consequences are less, the people playing will potentially be less skilled at shooting, and the paintball guns are far less accurate than real bullets. All this could lead you to believe you can be more liberal with your attacks, positioning, etc.

I think there is merit in practicing through paintball, but keep these things in mind...

Just my two cents

[mangyhyena]

It could only help.

[scottj123]

I would also agree that paintball is a good way to practice basic small team tactics, such as fire and movement. The major weakness in my mind is that it may create some bad habits such as an artificial confidence in cover that will stop paintballs, but be worthless against real rounds.

[scottj123]

It may be good for practicing basic small unit tactics such as fire and movement, but may also create bad habits such as an overconfidence is cover against actual rounds.

[rew]

use paint ball in army--but until you hear the snap & crack--hopefully never--not bad long as you remember what will stop a p- ball will not stop a bullet

[lilc]

Originally Posted by LuniticFringeInc

It will teach you tactics. It can teach a smal group how to move while minimizing its vulnerability. It will teach you how to preform under stress and achieve an objective. Its not perfect but it can be very helpful...

Exactly so. Paintball ballistics and the guns themselves (even mil-sim ones) are so different from firearms that other than ambidextrous gunhandling, snapshooting, and shooting on the move, there is little crossover. However, your fieldcraft, observational skills, team tactics, and communication skills all get great practice when you play woodsball.

[MIL-DOT]

(QUOTE) "It will teach you tactics. It can teach a smal group how to move while minimizing its vulnerability. It will teach you how to preform under stress and achieve an objective. Its not perfect but it can be very helpful."

Yep, luniticfringe said it well. I've argued the same point on another popular gun forum,many people just not getting it, falsely believing that if it's not EXACTLY the same as armed combat, then it's totally useless.
I feel that the couple years we spent playing woodsball was better small-unit,combat training than I ever recieved in the Marine Corps.

[Duckman]

Originally Posted by lilc

Exactly so. Paintball ballistics and the guns themselves (even mil-sim ones) are so different from firearms that other than ambidextrous gunhandling, snapshooting, and shooting on the move, there is little crossover. However, your fieldcraft, observational skills, team tactics, and communication skills all get great practice when you play woodsball.

+1 on both.