Sergeant Mac

I've said it before, and I'll say it again:

The most important benefit of ANY sort of simulation training that includes pain as a stimulus is stress inoculation.

It almost certainly won't ELIMINATE the negative effects of stress in a real-world situation, but it will REDUCE them, which is a desireable thing.

Cthulhu

You can get a similar feeling with competitive shooting, particularly if you're a relative newbie, like me. You'll have your gameplan all laid out, spent hours with dryfire practice, but when that buzzer goes off and you're racing the clock all that can go out the window.

Use what you have available to the best of your ability, but realize the limitations.

-JT

austin

Given that most civilian encounters are over within a few seconds, paintball/airsoft is a valid way to train for these short-duration encounters in order to develop your reaction and gun handling skills.

Anything over a 4 seconds and the usefullness ends. You will then develop bad habits that will get you injured or killed in a real running fight.

If you want to know what its like, join the Army/Marines with a combat arms MOS and get a slot in a unit slated to deploy.

Redneck Repairs

You wont , with that being said well you wont , no matter how it may appear to others . Now i wont go out and say that any FOF training is bad , be it paintballs , arisoft , rollplay yelling bang bang or whatever . However dont think that it makes you an any way ready to be in a gunfight . From my experience i will say this .. you will default to training , you will not magically overcome the lack of training . Any training that you do where folks are shooting at you is better than no training . You wont have a problem remembering that it is not a paint ball incoming if you are in a fight lol . Once you get over the " OMG this ******* is actually trying to kill me " stage you will likely do well , assuming said ******* has not succeeded in the mean time . Dont kid yourself most LE like most military never see a gunfight and them that do for the most part dont want to talk about it much . I know i dont . I will say train anyway you can .. be it paint balls with a group , or fof with a school . train anyway , because when someone is shooting at you its funny what goes thro your mind , and funnier where you actually * are * physically are when you remember to notice someone is shooting at you .

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Brian@ITC

I don't know that anything makes you "ready" to be in a "gunfight". Again, this is where confidence is going to be a critical issue in maintaining your composure. What you cannot do is lose control because you are afraid. In actuality, we are not talking about a "gunfight", we are talking about a life threatening situation involving a gun, knife, baseball bat, or an unarmed assailiant(s). A life threatening situation is just that regardless of the "tool(s)" being used. DO NOT FORGET THAT!!! Again, this is where realistic training and confidence are critical. Both of which will maximize your chances of survival in a confrontation.

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Brian K. LaMaster
President, Innovative Tactical Concepts, LLC
Instructor, Counter Force International
http://www.right2defend.com
http://www.modernwarriortalk.com

ccw9mm

Chance favors the prepared mind.

- Louis Pasteur

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Your best weapon is your brain. Don't leave home without it.
Reports: CZ P01 pt1, pt2.
Thoughts: Justifiable self defense.

MR D

Practice, practice, practice - you will fight how you train!!

(The foregoing has been my opinion - it has not been approved by anyone but me)

practice reloading, shooting from cover, from barricades, weak handed, laying flat on your back and sitting down - but whatever you do practice

paint ball is fun, it carries a certain adrenaline rush, but it is nothing like the rush you get when that first bullet blows past your ear...

thepittman

You just have accept death is there and tell that ***** hes not going to take me away. Its something that really can't be explained until you have been put into that situation multiple times like I have. Your training takes over and after awhile it isn't even the training anymore its an instinct you acquire. You yell at your soldiers what you want them to do then go through with it.

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3/320th Field Artillery
3rd brigade RAKKASANS
101st AIRBORNE

Fmr18z

In my experience, no one ever knows how they're going to react under fire until that moment comes, and most of the time the best of plans go to hell in a handbasket the moment the first round is fired. But on the other hand, your jitters seem to go away after the action starts also. Nothing seems to unnerve most combatants more than having incoming rounds zipping by you so close that you can feel the air and hear that too familiar crack. Under these conditions, you need to keep your head in the game and stay focused ALWAYS BEING AWARE OF WHAT IS GOING ON ALL AROUND YOU ALL OF THE TIME. I've found that in order to do this you need to practice, practice, practice. If you have the opportunity, you may be able to go to an outdoor range where you can work the butts, that way you can become somewhat familiar with what rounds coming your way sound like---BUT SAFETY IS A PRIORITY!!! At least the sound won't unnerve you as much when it is the real thing. I feel paint balling is a good training tool to some extent, just remember in the real deal you can't just wipe off the paint and go home, and in an actual fire fight you won't be alive very long if you try some of the stupid things you do while paint balling; cover, conceal, move, shoot all have a new meaning in a real gunfight. Last but not least, live fire exercises are the best training of all, get involved with a good tactical shooting club and absorb all they can give. Obviously, this is all my personal opinion from past experience, and your mileage may vary.

dukalmighty

Paintball ain't fun,i got shot on my nipple wearing only a t-shirt at about 3 feet,i was charging a position with an old pump style pistol first shot grazed BG's face mask and before i could reload "whack"I thought i had a high pain threshold,In the military you train to attak and you train to defend,but when you know you can actually be shot or killed,It comes down to how you are able to control your emotions,some people do better than others

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