Paintball marksmen and paintball snipers are arguably the two of the largest, most commonly seen, and most controversial specialist groups. And many consider them to be their own groups, separate from paintball specialists. Even still, some consider them to both belong to a single group.

Woodsball “marksmen” are often incorrectly known for their ability to sit back from the front line and longball the enemy positions from afar. This is incorrect because paintball velocities are regulated, and this makes building a long range marker difficult. Assuming that a marksman, with a 12″ barrel, shooting 280ft/sec is put against another marksman, with an 18″ barrel, shooting at the same speed, then, arguably, the second marksman’s ball will on average travel 6″ further from the gun breach than the first marksman’s because the ball velocity is measured from the tip of the barrel. However, some argue that a longer barrel does in fact stabilize the ball and therefore increase its range, but there is no confirming evidence as to this. Apex and Flatline barrel systems allow for longer distances, but they produce a backspin on the paintball, which means that velocity at a longer ranges is often insufficient to produce a break, as the ball is not going any faster than from normal barrel. In any case, marksmen are generally more useful for longballing only because of their increased accuracy, which usually translates into more hits at any range.

The term ‘paintball sniper’ is also a cause of much controversy. Critics of paintball snipers argue that the very nature of military snipers contradicts that of paintball snipers. However, self-described paintball snipers point out that the a sniper is defined as “someone who shoots from a hidden position”. Using camouflage and stealthy movement, players have been able to shoot at each other without being easily detected, seemingly fulfilling these requirements. Also, some stress the difference between a paintball “marksman” and a paintball “sniper”. A marksman, by definition, takes long range shots at enemy players, and as all paintball markers are required to shoot at around the same velocity (about 280 feet per second), one marker won’t have a large range advantage over another while still being accurate or maintaining a velocity high enough to break a paintball at the further range (see above). As a result, many paintball marksmen tend to take long, arcing shots at the enemy, and typically use more paintballs than the average paintball player. A paintball “sniper”, however, uses camouflage and deliberate movement to gain a perfect shot at an enemy while being well within the average range of a paintball, and tends to use less paintballs than the average paintballer.

However many paintballs are expended by these two specialists, it is not uncommon that they both spend more money on their equipment then other paintball players. It is not uncommon to spend $300 to over a thousand dollars on equipment, and this is most likely spent on their marker and scopes/red dot sights, if they prefer to use them. It should be noted, however, that paintball snipers can end up spending less money than other players in the long run because of their relative frugality with paintballs, which often cost more money over time than the equipment used to shoot it.

Check out this video of a paintball sniper in a ghilie suit:

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