PAINTBALL TACTICS: HOW TO MOVE QUIETLY WOODSBALL

 from Durty Dan (Guest Writer)

I have little respect for paintball players who stomp around in the woods, like a moose in rutting season, or players who make more noise than a traveling mariachi band. Besides, nothing says “newbie” more to an experienced paintball player than a player who can’t keep quiet on the move. There are ways to reduce your personal noise signature.

Shoes: Soft soled foot wear, like running shoes, are ideal for paintball. “Army” boots may look cool, but they make too much noise. Soft soled footwear, with proper ankle support, have a natural sound absorption property that hard soled combat boots do not. 

Loaders and Hoppers: Half-filled loaders in your harness rattle unmercifully. There is a way around this. Your loader tube’s capacity should be half of your paintball gun’s hopper capacity. 

If you have a 100 round hopper and 100 round tubes, you’re going to have to run the hopper dry before you can reload. Why? Because if you don’t, you’re going to have extra paint left in the tube. THAT’S what is going to make all the noise. I try to stick to loaders which are half the capacity of the hopper. That way, you completely empty the tube.

Padding the tops of your bulk tubes also helps. You can buy precut foam inserts. However with some thin, closed cell foam, a pair of scissors and some double sided carpet tape, you can make your own. 

Putting a neoprene cover on your hopper will reduce the sound of paintballs rattling around. Also, the thicker the hopper walls are, the less noise rattle paintballs will make.

Pouches: Paintball harnesses, holsters and other things should be snug, but not restrictive. Try to keep any pouches (in which you intend to keep paint) away from your legs, especially the fronts of your legs. When you walk and run, any pouches near your legs are going to move (and subsequently make noise).

If you just have a belt with some pouches on it, make sure the belt loops on the pouches are closer to the center of the pouch. If the loops are near the top, the pouch will have a tendency to flap around more than if the loops were closer to the center of the pouch. You can either buy new pouches, or re-sew the loops of your existing pouches into the proper position. The belt should be as wide as the loops on the pouches will allow. Any extra space will allow the pouches to move more, which means more noise.

Soft clothing: Coarse fabrics, like brand new cammies, will make a lot of noise when you brush against branches and foliage. Use a fabric softener when you wash your cammies, or what ever you play paintball in. Try to stay away from rough feeling fabrics. 

Moving: Stick to paths and uncluttered surfaces if you have to move quickly. The faster you move, the more noise you’re going to make. You can’t have it both ways. If you have time, take it

.Conclusion: We realize that you might not be able to accomplish all of this, right off the bat. Like many things in paintball, it takes times to get things in order and get your game to where you want it. Keep working at it and soon you will be as quiet as a jungle cat. Well maybe not THAT quiet.