microlag? might I have it?

[cyclone70]

OK, I know a bad workman blames his tools, but...
last night I was having trouble getting hits on the target more than usual. There was no visible lag to speak of, as in 'planes jumping across the sky' stuff, but I was wondering if there could be a continual mini lag throughout the whole game just enough to miss the target? I've only got a 512 connection. The guy hosting most of the night was in Eastern USA.

So to clarify, do you guys know if there can be a kind of invisible lag present if the game is running perfectly smoothly?
One time in particular, I was right on someones six, his plane filling my screen but it was like the bullets were polystyrene!