Stalking Techniques:
Avoid wide, open spaces at all cost, but don't corner yourself in dense, unbroken brush. Seek cover thick enough to hide you, but which supports relative ease of movement and clear avenues of fire at periodic intervals.
Move under proper cover:
Do not skyline:
Never travel across the top of a hill, this silhuoettes you against the sky or background. Go around the hill, or if it is neccesary to cross it, do so at a crawl.
It is very difficult for someone in a bright, sunny area to see into a dark, shaded area. Stay in the shadows as much as possible, keep your eyes adjusted to the slighty lower light.
Use the shadows:
Plan your movement:
Move in short sections, stop in between and carefully plan the next leg of your journey. Carefully map out the quietest path with the most available cover, but be flexible. Make provisions for emergancy cover and firing positions in your course plot.
Listen ahead:
Look ahead:
As you plan your route, always give the area your moving through a thorough visual and audio check. Stop, calm your heartbeat and breathing, be totally still, and listen. Listen for the tell tale signs of paintballers, balls rolling in hoppers, breathing and clothes rustling, and shots being fired.
Start your check by levally gazing at the terrain and scanning for the most obvious visual clue, movement. Turn your head from side to side smoothly and slowly, use your periphrial vision to its full extent. Remeber, sharp, jerky motions are easy to spot, so keep it slow and steady. Look for movement first, then odd colors or patterns that break the flow of your surroundings. You must teach yourself to do this detailed scan within the space of a few seconds
Move at the correct time:
Time your movement with exterior stimuli. Wind is excellent, it generates noise and the motions of the trees or plants can mask your own movement. A firefight is also a good distraction, as your opponet is far more likely to be concerned with where it is happening and why. If you can see your quarry, time your movements with his so he hears more of himself and less of you. And only move when his head is not turned toward you. Most paintball masks hamper periphrial vision ever so slightly, so if he is facing you only partially, you might risk some slow, halting motions.
Control your movement:
Keep your muscles relaxed. Tense muscles are harder to control, and will result in jerky movements, undue pressure on the feet, and more noise. Learn to "catfoot" through wooded terrain. Make as little noise as possible, and try to make that noise mimick naturel sounds. Watch where you walk and avoid disturbing bushes or tree limbs as you pass, also, look out for dry leaves, twigs, gravel, and other noise generating terrain.
Silence your equipment:
A major part of this is not carrying more than you need. Despite the attitude of "being prepared", try to carry just enough to get you through this one game, you can always restock before the next game. Take care not to let paint roll around in your hopper, (something to be said for ten round tubes here), and don't let metal objects clink together. Wear clothes baggy enough to be comfortable, but not so loose as to rustle too much. And avoid pants that make that unnatural "schwip" noise.
Look the part:
Avoid reflections:
I don't really feel its neccesary to deck out in a super complicated full camo setup, these techniques were never intended to hide someone in full sight, like a sniper. Plain, dark clothes work fine. Green is good, but medium brown works over a wider range of flora and seasons. Avoid black, as it tends to blob up to the human eye, and there are not many solid black things in nature.
This pretty well speaks for itself, try to dampen the major reflective parts of your equipment. If you learn to work the shadows correctly, you won't need a full blow camo/blackout, just reduce the larger reflections. Its also adviseable to use a smaller profile marker, with a small tank and hopper, or ten round tubes and 12 grams, if you have the nerve for it. Less equipment facilitates silent movement and hiding far better.
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Submitted by juxstapo