Question: What skills from paintball transfer to personal protection with a firearm?

[Miscue]

I'll throw in a few things to start with...

Things that transfer:
* You get used to point-shooting and shooting instinctively
* You get better at using cover/concealment and understanding where your body is in relationship to it
* You get used to shooting while moving
* You get some exposure to operating under stress and with adrenaline
* You get some simulation of someone using tactics/strategies against you with some type of gun

Things that don't transfer:
* Knowing when you can or should shoot
* For the most part, it does not teach you how to use a handgun
* Trigger control (especially with electronic triggers)
* A typical paintball game does not recreate a "real-life" scenario - it's not like force-on-force training

[sjrtk]

I'll throw in a few things to start with...

Things that transfer:
* You get used to point-shooting and shooting instinctively

Disagree Point shooting is only remotely effective with a shot gun. Window for error is to big with a pistol or rifle.

* You get better at using cover/concealment and understanding where your body is in relationship to it

Agree It does make you realized you knee or shoulder ect. is exposed.

* You get used to shooting while moving

Agree You get used to the idea, but the margin for error is much smaller in the game.

* You get some exposure to operating under stress and with adrenaline

Agree No comment it is true

* You get some simulation of someone using tactics/strategies against you with some type of gun

Agree But depending on the players opposing your game type it would be in effective.

Things that don't transfer:
* Knowing when you can or should shoot
* For the most part, it does not teach you how to use a handgun
* Trigger control (especially with electronic triggers)
* A typical paintball game does not recreate a "real-life" scenario - it's not like force-on-force training

Agree all ^^^

Agree and Disagree

My 2 cents

[BigEvil]

Holy Crap Look Who's Back!!

[Shirow]

Here are the skills that transfer IMO.

Being able to crawl the snake
Talking smack to the ref
Overshooting little kids
Wiping
Being super agg
Wearing a bandana

[Pneumagger]

Agree and Disagree

My 2 cents

I think point shooting can be very effective with a pistol. I do USPSA competitions and a huge part of knocking down target rapidly is point shooting. For 70%+ of the targets (all but the far ones) if you're "aiming" you'll be too slow. At distances under 15-20 yards, point shooting works well with pistols and rifles/SMG.

[going_home]

Holy Crap Look Who's Back!!

I was gonna say... who the heck is that ?

Must have been called back up for another tour on the battlefield since
Beemer has abandoned us.

On topic, well sort of.
Putting holes in things is as expensive as paintball but its fun.

[behemoth]

Agree and Disagree

My 2 cents

Like Pneumagger, I disagree with your disagree.

When shooting up close, and quickly, point shooting is perfectly fine, if you're good enough at it.



Also, welcome back Q.

[rx2]

I'm not a big fan of point-shooting. Learn to use your sights properly, and they will work for you. As they say in shooting games, you can't miss fast enough to make up time. In other words, while you may shave a fraction of a second by not bringing the gun up to eye-level, and bringing the front sight into focus, you will miss more often in the long run, and no matter how fast you may be shooting, the misses still don't count. People like Sevigny, Miculek, and Butler aren't winning matches with point-shooting.

ETA - Point shooting is OK in some instances, such as shooting from the hip at someone five feet from you.

I also disagree, partially, with the cover/concealment point. In real life, being too tight into cover can get you injured. When at all possible, you should stand back from cover. Bullets fragment and ricochet, and cover will explode in your face. Of course, using cover improperly is still better than not using it at all. Paintball at least sets you in the right direction.

I agree that one major point to consider is that the mechanics of firing a gun are different from working a marker. Recoil, mag exchanges, 4 lb. + and DA triggers, and conservation of ammunition aren't things you usually don't deal with in paintball. You also can't "walk" a rope of rounds onto target (unless you are using tracers, I suppose).

Because of the said mechanical differences, I really don't think that the "shooting on the move" aspect really translates that well. Doing so with a 13 bps marker with an electronic trigger is vastly different from doing so with a real firearm.

Paintball does get you some exposure to manipulating gear and maneuvering under pressure. Obviously, though, it doesn't even begin to approach the feeling of having someone actually pointing a gun at you and/or firing at you.

The tactics argument is something I am undecided on. I have never really seen anyone try to translate paintball tactics to a real firefight. However, I have seen people try to translate military and police tactics to paintball, and get destroyed. I have a feeling that it would work the same should roles be reversed.

I base all of this on my experience in law enforcement in a high-crime area, with military training, and as a competitive shooter in IPSC, GSSF, PPC, 3-gun, and tactical shoots (haven't gotten around to USPSA).

Just for the hell of it, here is a shot of just some of my toys (from an old thread on another site).

[DevilMan]

Point or Reflex shooting is what I call it... As it's a reflex... I think all of the points can be learned as well as reloading, clearing jams, and overall safe handling techniques.

Anyone who says Reflex shooting is no good hasn't had to do it enough. I can't target shoot to save my life, but you give me a target to hit and I'm much quicker to get it dead on the run than if it were stationary. I've shot deer in a full tilt run through the woods and took her down. It wasn't a one shot one kill, but the shot went through the spine just behind her shoulders and she ended up in the freezer.





Just a couple of them... And I know that these targets aren't moving... my point is that I never saw the sites on the pistol... I pick up, rack the slide and drop the hammer... trying to find sites takes wayyyyyy too long sometimes...

DM

[kcombs9]

I'm like others agree/disagree. I don't shoot many fire arms myself.

BUT one thing I can't stand is kids who think that because they are good in Paintball, they think they would make great military/special ops/swat/seal what have you in real life.

apples and oranges in my mind.

[Outlaw5]

What transfers????

Nothing really and that is because the mindset of gunfighting and paintballing are completely different. The tasks that need to be trained and the understanding that a person who will be in a real gunfight needs to have are very diffferent from paintballing. A couple of examples: 1) you can be pinned down by real gunfire where as you are never "really" pinned down in paintball. 2) the cover and concealment that is used in paintball will get you killed in a real gunfight...both in urban and rural combat.......real rifle bullet go through trees of surprising size as well as walls eithin houses etc.

I say all of this for one profound reason......if you are interested in the art and science of self-defense then please go find training and go practice at ranges along with different everyday scenarios you thik you would be in. The more you train and understand the various required tasks that need to be mastered the better you will be as a self-protected citizen and understand the laws of your state and locality as an informed citizen should be.

just my .02 cents......good luck! Outlaw5

[behemoth]

I'm not a big fan of point-shooting. Learn to use your sights properly, and they will work for you. As they say in shooting games, you can't miss fast enough to make up time. In other words, while you may shave a fraction of a second by not bringing the gun up to eye-level, and bringing the front sight into focus, you will miss more often in the long run, and no matter how fast you may be shooting, the misses still don't count. People like Sevigny, Miculek, and Butler aren't winning matches with point-shooting.

ETA - Point shooting is OK in some instances, such as shooting from the hip at someone five feet from you.

I also disagree, partially, with the cover/concealment point. In real life, being too tight into cover can get you injured. When at all possible, you should stand back from cover. Bullets fragment and ricochet, and cover will explode in your face. Of course, using cover improperly is still better than not using it at all. Paintball at least sets you in the right direction.

I agree that one major point to consider is that the mechanics of firing a gun are different from working a marker. Recoil, mag exchanges, 4 lb. + and DA triggers, and conservation of ammunition aren't things you usually don't deal with in paintball. You also can't "walk" a rope of rounds onto target (unless you are using tracers, I suppose).

Because of the said mechanical differences, I really don't think that the "shooting on the move" aspect really translates that well. Doing so with a 13 bps marker with an electronic trigger is vastly different from doing so with a real firearm.

Paintball does get you some exposure to manipulating gear and maneuvering under pressure. Obviously, though, it doesn't even begin to approach the feeling of having someone actually pointing a gun at you and/or firing at you.

The tactics argument is something I am undecided on. I have never really seen anyone try to translate paintball tactics to a real firefight. However, I have seen people try to translate military and police tactics to paintball, and get destroyed. I have a feeling that it would work the same should roles be reversed.

I base all of this on my experience in law enforcement in a high-crime area, with military training, and as a competitive shooter in IPSC, GSSF, PPC, 3-gun, and tactical shoots (haven't gotten around to USPSA).

Just for the hell of it, here is a shot of just some of my toys (from an old thread on another site).
[IMG]http://i1125.photobucket.com/albums/l599/richard_fitzwell1/glockar.jpg[IMG]

An oldschool AOer from Cleveland... I wonder if we've played together at some point.

Also, where do you shoot competitively around here? I've had hard enough time finding ranges that arent way out of the way, let alone one that holds competitions...


Also, nice hardware.

[spece108]

You do take a site picture though. This includes slide, front site, etc in your sight plane. Same as shooting paint. Hours of practice equals results.

As far as translating, one of my teammates was the only person to win the academies 1 against 5 entry scenario with a single 15rd mag of simunitions

[Newt]

Another aspect that will transfer well is the ability to qgressively react to opportunity, and to make good opportunity out of bad ones. Most uf us have been frustrated at team mates who can't do this (if not, you're probably that guy ).

This also works with babes and business.

[b-cuzz]

I don't shoot a lot of firearms anymore (not for lack of interest), but I've fired just about every handgun round out there. I won't say anything about military training, because for pistol shooters in the air wing, it's almost nonexistent.

The only commonality I see between pistol shooting and paintball is the fact that playing paintball teaches the brain how to willingly squeeze the trigger whilst pointing the business end at an actual living, breathing human being.
Also, as in paintball, your level of familiarity with your weapon of choice will save your life as much as any other factor in any given situation. Repeated drills at the range with the same gun will improve your accuracy and consistency. Pick a gun. Know it. Get accurate with it. Then get fast with it. Then get fast and accurate. Don't shoot your toe off.