First Time

Sweat pouring off your face, adrenaline pumping through your veins, diving into the mud without a single thought, hearing the sound of balls flying by your head, just like cowboys and indians as a kid, what is it that is so addictive about paintball you ask?  If the pure thrill and adrenaline rush doesn’t appeal to you then you better keep your day job.  For the rest of us, we’ll keep our day jobs to support the paintball addiction!

What’s the strategy?  For us with only a few seconds to decide, we come up with a little game plan.  The horn blows and it is war.  Running through the woods only thinking of one thing, get the other team before they get you.  Getting the flag didn’t seem like an option till some of the opposing members were eliminated.  

I don’t think I even remember hearing my heart beat, or feeling the condensation in my mask from my breathing.  I didn’t notice the mud that I was laying in until I looked at my cloths after victor was achieved.  It was such a strange feeling playing Cowboys and Indians with rounds that were actually
flying by my head.  Not strong enough to seriously hurt you, but fast enough to sting and make you duck as far down as you can behind that tree stump.  Do I
stick my head out and shoot or do I move to gain a better position?  

The bunker, 60 feet away I could barely see the 4 guys inside and I have no shot. I’ve already wasted 20 rounds from this spot.   Pinned down by one, behind a bunker 40 feet away, what do I do?  Do I move and take the chance of getting hit or do I stay.  Well I’m, no good here.  Stopping my fire and waiting, watching, the opposing members take 10-12 shots at a different
member of mine. This is my chance to move.  Gaining 10 yards on him, there’s a small hole in his cover.  Standing up with no cover and firing as fast as I
could, both at the tower and at this opponent in front of me.  I can see he is crouched down with his head almost between his knees.  I end up taking out 2 guys in the tower and the one in front of me.  “They're out, let them off the field” the ref shouts.  Ducking to cover, the two remaining opponents in the tower never saw me.  Here’s my Advantage.  

My other members are drawing their fire and they‘ll never see me coming.  Being sneaky and cunning through out the game is my personal strategy.  I usually only take 3-4 shots from one spot and then I move if I can. In the woods style games, I always try to get close first and make sure I have a clear shot before firing. If I didn’t get my target by the 3rd or 4th shot I most likely wasn’t going to get them from that position.  I also know that once I shoot, my position is unsecured and I take on heavy fire. 

Flag is to my left side and tower is straight ahead. Tough decisions… take out the tower or go for the flag and risk being shot.  Better likely hood to take out
the tower.

As I’m heading in, one of my team members sprint for the flag and I take control of the building.  Horn blows, game over.  What an experience I will never forget and I suggest that everyone try it at least once in his or her life.  If you don’t fall in love with it, there has to be something wrong with you.

“That was the biggest rush I’ve had since basic training, 20 years ago” – My Dad.
 

Copyright © 1992-2019 Corinthian Media Services.

WARPIG's webmasters can be reached through our feedback form.  All articles and images are copyrighted and may not be redistributed without the written permission of their original creators and Corinthian Media Services. The WARPIG paintball page is a collection of information and pointers to sources from around the internet and other locations. As such, Corinthian Media Services makes no claims to the trustworthiness or reliability of said information. The information contained in, and referenced by WARPIG, should not be used as a substitute for safety information from trained professionals in the paintball industry.