Paintball Gun Shooting Drills

Want to improve your paintball game? Focus on a few key paintball gun skills: shooting on the move, shooting with your off hand, snap shooting, shooting while crawling, and sliding for cover. Even the most experienced player can struggle with these moves, so practicing them outside the arena will give you a significant advantage. Below, you'll find five simple drills for these essential skills. Once you've mastered the basics, throw together combinations by practicing more than one skill at once--snap-shooting with your off-hand, for instance.

1. Shooting on the Move
To practice shooting while on the move, choose a stationary target and practice shooting at it while running in different directions. Think creatively--practice running toward, perpendicular to, and away from the target. Once you feel your shooting-on-the-move skills have improved, try adding a variation such as snap shooting.

2. Shooting with Your Off Hand
This exercise is pretty self-explanatory. Right-handers should practice shooting with the left hand, and vice versa. Being able to accurately shoot with your off hand is one of the most important skills a paintball enthusiast can possess. It won't be easy at first, but sustained practice will increase your ambidexterity.

3. Snap Shooting
Snap shooting is akin to "shooting from the hip." It involves quickly drawing your paintball gun and accurately firing off a number of quick shots. Begin practicing snap shooting by setting up a number of small targets, such as empty bottles, about 100 feet from your practice area. Step back 25 feet or so, run to the shooting area, and stop. Swiftly draw your paint ball gun, fire five to ten paintballs at each target, and sprint back to your starting position. This exercise will help improve your reflex time as well as your accuracy.

4. Shooting While Crawling
Paintball is a whole-body game, and you'll likely find yourself shooting while prone. Luckily, the drill for shooting while crawling is fairly simple. Once you have a target about 50 to 100 feet from where you will be shooting, step back 10 to 15 feet, get on the ground, and crawl to the shooting area, firing off paintballs as you go. For variety, incorporate rolling, too.

5. Sliding For Cover
Sliding is harder than it looks. Many players get injured while trying to take cover, so it's important to learn how to slide correctly. To practice, start without your paintball gun. Simply pick a spot as the "cover," get a running start and practice sliding exactly to the chosen spot. (It's challenging to stop right on the spot.) Train for sliding both feet-first and head-first. To prevent injury, wear appropriate clothing, such as padded pants or something equally protective. When you're confident with sliding, add the paintball gun and practice taking shots once you've taken cover.

The only way to get really good at paintball (or anything else!) is to practice. Using these simple paintball drills, you can improve your fundamental skills and greatly increase your chance of dominating your next paintball game.