Sniper Tips

Here is an on-going list of the "Tips o' the Week" on the OSOK sniper discussion group.
This list is ever evolving, so please check back often.

A little trick I came up with year or so back was to duct tape my radio to my HP tank. It keeps it close to your head, so it requires minimal movement to activate the call button.. -squeegie

I found out this weekend that you can't crawl through palmetto bushes without giving away your spot. Always be aware of what is above you when you are moving on your belly. Shaking bushes are a dead give away of your position. Look for paths through the bush that allow you to move without disturbing as much of the vegetation as possible. -squeegie

I didnt do this. I witnessed it: tip of the week, if you place the barrel on your foot to rest......ensure the safety is on, and your finger is not on the trigger. Self critiquing! - 2GF

With a very well trained spotter you can lay down side to side. 180 degrees out. You watch from your 3 - 9 o'clock to the front and he watched 3 - 9 o'clock behind you. rely on "squeezes" for communication. ie 1 squeeze, enemy approaching. 2 squeezes 'about to fire" 3 squeezes "all clear" - 2GF

You can gain insight and formulate strategies easily when you are an impartial observer and not concerned with getting eliminated. You can see where people make mistakes at various skill levels and get new ideas by watching people play. So how do you observe players in the field?

Be a Ref at your local field. Everyone should try this once in a while. Besides being a ref has other benefits. Some fields will let you play a game once in a while for free, or will sell you paint at cost. That's the standard arangement for us at Outback Paintball in Trenton.

As a ref, you can watch players, and observe them in their natural environment and formulate strategies. Try it. I have learned alot about how players work and how to stalk them by watching them and paying attention to how they work. Know your prey.

Ghost

One thing I do, is I write down lessons learned after every paintball game. What we did right, what we did wrong and how to do it better the next time...........then I study it before the next weekend of play. - 2GF

PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE, thats part of it. Saturday I went out and was crawling around in my BDU's getting ready for today. Once I get a ghillie made I will crawl around in that and in the woods trying to get better at moving silently. The other is, if you are going to make something at home, make sure you research it first so you have an idea of what you got to do. And the other thing is to have fun when you are doing all this. And playing. I too think its a good idea to muffle the sound of paint and I even painted my mask and hopper to help blend in the background better. I say electrical tape in your pocket is useful anywhere. If your elbow or ball stop breaks or if it falls out, tape it on. - King

Policing of Noisy Items

Those of you in the military probably already know about this one, but I will reiterate for the sake of others.

A roll of black electrical tape can be your best friend in the bush. Before you go out, jump up and down a few times. If you hear any jingles, clangs or other foreign sounds, you are gonna have a problem when you are stalking. Locate the noisy items and wrap a few straps of tape over them. This will prevent them for giving you away when on the move. Another noise problem is your hopper and pods. Most hoppers have screws that allow you to pull the halves apart for easy cleaning. Open your hopper and hot-glue moleskin to the inside of the halves. When your balls roll about in the hopper, they won't give off that signature sound that we all have learned to listen for. You can do the same to your pods as well. Moleskin can be found at most hunting stores. You can use any other short synthetic fur or cloth as long as it is not lint producing ( it may stick to the balls and cause problems later) Hope this helps!! -squeegie

Upon engaging the enemy without any signs of detection, chose your shot placement carefully. Your first hit should be made onto a hard area of the player, such as the gun or mask ( for shock value. These spots are sure to increase the chances of a break, as well as prevent you from having to fire more that one round. "Gogging" a player will also help prevent them from looking in the direction of the shot, or in extreme cases, keep them from wiping the hit. The impact of a goggle hit also disorients a player to some degree, further helping you remain hidden. try not to hit players in the ear sections, as hits in that region can be rather uncomfortable. -squeegie

From: "Wyatte" To: <wizmx@hotmail.com> Subject: OSOK Brother

Dear Dennis Dozier (aka WIZM)

I just became a member of OSOK and am still getting used to a few of the new terms. I was looking over your bio and your teams bio's -you guys rock!! I did have a question though...what is a GF Heat Sensor and is the SE hearing device just a sound amplifier?

Also, I know you have said you have "other few seceret weapons devices" but, as a osok brother - is there any thing else device or weapon wise that helps out a lot or give the upper hand to sniping?

Thanks again, aka: Wyatte

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> To: "Wyatte" From: Wizm

Greetings Wyatte,

First I would like to welcome you to the OSOK my sniper brother. Thanks for the complement about my team. To answer your question, yes the many devices that I have and use, do in fact give me an advantage during a paintball game. I'm a real big fan of technology and gadgets. I spent the last several years searching the web for different and new things. So of course I have found some great things I could use/apply to my paintball arsenal. One of the many items that I have found VERY useful is the "Game Finder" heat sensor(GFHS). This device is something hunters use find and locate dear. Well, it also works for humans also. The GFHS is my "bread & butter" for tracking down snipers and other players on the field. This is a device I'm surprised that many players don't use or know about. My Sonic Ear (SE) hearing device, indeed is just a sound amplifier. The one I have kind of looks like a hearing aide, but it is 4x as powerful. I have found that most goggles/mask dampens a person hearing. So I use the SE to increase my hearing above and beyond the norm. The SE is a must have for night play, as well as my Gen.III NV scope. Regarding night play, there are many devices I use to assist me. One of them is a GPS. This is the second most important (NV being 1st) device I use for night play. I can't imagine trying to navigate around the field in the dark with out it. Another little tactic that I use with my GPS is; hours before the start of a game, I walk the field and mark on my GPS all the important landmarks (both team's CP and other structures), but most importantly, I mark on my GPS all the spots I think a sniper would hide. So, once the game starts, my mission to hunt down all the snipers begins with me using the spots I marked as a basis, and then I just go from there. Also for night play, I use a Tracer unit (TU) and balls. Using my TU in conjunction with my NV scope, I locate snipers and/or enemy players. So for example, when I am guarding my CP from an attack, I tell everyone on my team that when I see an enemy player, I will fire at his location, with my TU(they will see where the tracer ball hits), and once I do, then to follow by everyone firing at that location. It's funny though, because many snipers and players never catch on to this tactic, because if they did, I would think they would do their best to take out the person shooting the tracer balls. But of course, there are some very savvy snipers that I ran into that stayed on top of me every time I fired a darn tracer ball. But by the time I get my shot off, my team is lighting up that sniper/location. Another neat thing that I use, well rather wear is Color Illuminator eye contacts. These special contacts are rather new, and are worn by several tennis players. It is used/developed for players to see and follow the tennis ball a lot quicker during a match. The contacts make specific colors brighter/standout. There many versions of these contacts, for example, there is a type for drowning out all greens of the color spectrum, which makes any other color brighter or really standout on a golf course. This type is used by some Golfers help them track the golf ball and also focus on a hole that still has the flag in it. This is the type I use, and I assume there is no need for me to explain why that is. :-) Another item I keep handy is a Ultra Violet(UV) liquid that I made from a mixture of UV powder, baby oil, and water. I have only had a chance to do this at one scenario game (I just developed this a few months ago), but what I did was, put the above mixture into a very small spray bottle. I then went around during the last break before the night play started and introduced myself to all the players wearing Ghillies, and then any other opposing team player I had the time to talk to. While talking to the player, one of my brothers would covertly spray a few squirts onto the players. If you aren't familler with UV powder, sticks, or lights, when using a NV device, the UV mark would light/glow. So when I look threw my NV scope instead of just seeing all green, I would see green with bright spots moving around the field. This tactic worked very much, and I was a bit hesitant to reveal this here, but I enjoy a challenge. Hopefully I can pull off this tactic a few times this year before players start catching on. Well, I still have a few devices and tricks up my sleeve, but I can't give them all away, not even to my OSOK brothers. If so, I would be out of the Sniper Hunting business. I do though, hope that some of the info. that I gave will help you in some way. But the most important weapon I posses when dealing with snipers is Patience. I have lots of it, so when playing video games (Halo, DFLW, and AvsP2) with my brothers, they frequently like to call me Mr. Camper.

If there is anything else I can be of assistants with, feel free to drop me an e-mail.

Until our cross hairs meet!

-Wizm OSOK# 205 (Team CONTRA) http://www.personal.psu.edu/staff/d/q/dqd1/

Most players are extremely predictable! By watching them on the field, it is very easy to figure out exactly what they are going to do. Some of the more aggressive supergunners are even easier to predict. Most of the time when shot at, they will pop out from cover for 2-3 seconds and let loose a fury of paint. That should give you the sniper just enough time to put one between his eyes, or move to a closer position. Use teammates to draw fire in this way while you move.

Side note: this can also be used to mask your shot because they are often too busy worrying about how fast they are shooting to hear a single, silent shot!

See ya in my crosshairs!!

Steve

In a rocky environment, do not slide down them to get to your position. they tear your ghille and get your position compromised. - AC