[Mud Dog]

I picked this up, hoping to learn a few tips and techniques. See, my numbers are, well, poopy (pre-filter choice of words). Go ahead, click on my banner, go to my homepage and check out my numbers. I'll wait.

You're back? Good. See what I mean?

It's not a bad DVD. Skip the introductory "skit." The action is poorly staged and the sniper voice-over borders on laughable. The video attempts to mystify the simple idea of being sneaky in the woods. There are solemn intonations by "Moon" and other, pretentious new age-y sounding sorts. Go into the kitchen, grab a soda and come back while these folks are prattling on; you won't miss anything.

When the star of the video, "Sensi" (he is labeled as such on the DVD box and in the credits) Jim talks, though, put down the soda can and listen. He's got good advice, tips and suggestions.

He also gives pep talks throughout the DVD. Many of them center on not being intimidated by high dollar electric guns. His talks are sincere and heart-felt. It's not all ghillie suits and one-shot eliminations. In fact, he advises you to keep shooting until you see the paintball break on your target.

There is also a blooper chapter at the end of the DVD. I really enjoyed it, especially when you see all the oopsies that happened while they were filming the earlier, pretentious parts of the DVD.

I would have liked for the DVD to have more solid content: suggestions for breaking up marker outlines, chamoflage techniques and the like. I was disappointed in the lack of this information. They could have used the DVD time to give this information instead of the overly long introductory skit.

All that being said, there are enough suggestions here that, so long as you include the blooper reel, I just about got my money's worth. Mine was part of a larger order so I didn't have to pay shipping. My satisfaction/cost ratio might have been worse if I had had to pay shipping.

Final analysis: This is not a bad DVD. Not a great one, but not a bad one, either. It does have some good suggestions and advice I haven't found elsewhere. Borrow it from somebody else if you can. If you can't borrow it from someone then go ahead and pick it up.

And know everyone catches their comeuppance in the blooper chapter.

[Schwimmy]

Mud Dog has it mostly right, but he apparently got more out of it than I did. When I got done, I only left with the feeling that -I- could make a better DVD (and when I found out how he got them produced, I just might). While I do agree that 'Sensei' does have some heartfelt talks, I have to add that most of what he talks about seems to be on the fly. A lot of "..and you know what..." and such. The two lines that really get me are:
"To be a paintball sniper, you've got to be . . . . . . a player. And to be a player, you've got to have . . . (the 'Sensei' clearly looks like he is struggling for the proper word) . . .a clue."
My friend above me also noted the lack of solid information of things you can actually do besides having patience. Jim doesen't even touch on camoflage, much less the different types, texture, outline and such, choosing/improving your marker, crawling, accuracy or anything. The only thing I learned that was different was the "secret sniper G-grip" (apparently secret sniper language for putting the hand on your foregrip upside down, I tried it with my bro's A-5 (the marker they are obviously using, by the way) and it did give me a little more mobility and kept my elbows out of the way when kneeling).
While I certainly grant the Gibsounds an A+ for effort, overall, I would NOT recommend spending 25 dollars on it unless you enjoy poorly made homemade instructional videos. If you are really that desprerate, buy it directly from him like I did on Ebay for only $6. I know I got my 6 dollars worth laughing my head off with my brothers (and later, my friends) at watching the "Sensei" improvise the whole movie (especially the "clue" line, which we rewound and replayed several times). If anything, I would show this to sniper initiates just to see if they had the patience to sit through watching that guy practice some kind of yoga/martial arts with his A-5 and ghillie suit (after about 5 minutes, the novelty wears off considerably).

[WardenWolf]

I saw the preview video for this DVD, and it was so unbelievably bad it was laughable. I'm sorry, but there's nothing mystical or ninja to being a sniper. It's all a frame of mind, of KNOWING how you will appear to the enemy, knowing that if you can't see him, he can't see you. Watching your shadow and positioning it so it does not betray you. It's about observing your opponent's actions and area ahead of him, so you know what he will do for the next few steps. It's not about ghillie suits, it's about fieldcraft and working the terrain. Proper fieldcraft on a true woods field is a horrifying thing to be on the opposing side of, but it's something that takes years of experience and the right frame of mind.

[Dublin]

Dont quite like the title. A sniper depends on his team just as his team depends on their sniper.

[pdxp8ntballer]

Saw it, didnt make it all the way through, unfortunately, good for a laugh though!