PaintballingBy: Tyler Heuer and Treg Desaintis

Introduction• Paintballing is a fast-paced adventurous sport, full of action and

excitement. It is played between two teams exactly like a mini-war of colored capsules called paintballs which are fired from marker guns to eliminate the other team.

• The correct paintball gear must be worn to protect you while participating in this activity

• This sport is specifically an outdoor sport played out in the open though it can be played within a few indoor arenas as well

• Both males and females can play against or on the same teams each other

History of Paintballing• Paintball is still a very

young sport with a very short history compared to other sports. In 1974, James Hale of Daisy Manufacturing designed and patented the original paintball marker, which wasn’t invented for a recreational or sport use.

• It was invented to mark trees and cattle for forestry and farming industries.

• In New Hampshire the very first paintball game was played, there were twelve participants using a pump pistol marker.

• The 1980s was practically the beginning of this wonderful sport.• Many recognized events occurred at this time. • The first exclusively designed paintball gun for playing the sport was

the Splatmaster, which was invented by Robert G Shepherd on July 30, 1985.

• In 1993, another event had huge influence on the growth of paintball,

The National Professional Paintball League

(NPPL) “DC Cup” was aired live on ESPN. In 1996 paintball was raised to the 3rd most popular extreme sport with tournaments played in over 60 countries.

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In the future...

• In the future, the technology on paintball markers will have greater accuracy, speed, and air efficiency.

• They will also become lighter and smaller.

Because of changes in how the games are played, participants need to be able to

maneuver easier and shoot faster.

• The paintball gun will continue to evolve as

up coming technologies are introduced to the

sport. This extreme sport has already

advanced greatly and will advance even more in the upcoming years.

Places to Paintball

• Paintballing can be done just about anywhere a group of friends can meet.

• Try to find a paintball range near your area and pay to reserve your spot, also you can set up pallets in an open

field, rampage through the woods, or you can even find an abandoned house and set up

your own rules.

When Should You Paintball??

• You can paintball whenever you want as long as you are comfortable with the climate.

• The best seasons are spring and summer because you can paintball outside without getting too cold.

• During the winter, most people go to indoor paintball arenas because the freezing outside air limits the pressure in your CO2 tank, which will limit the velocity of your paintballs and the duration of use.

• But watch out for the climbing prices of indoor arenas during the winter, look for the best deal.

Equipment Needed• There’s a lot more to paintballing

than just a gun.• Hopper, a container which holds the

paintballs above your action to feed the balls in as you shoot.

• CO2 tank, a tank that holds compressed air, nitrogen, or CO2, and releases a burst of air shooting out a ball when you pull the trigger.

• Mask, A safety device which shields your face and eyes from the paintballs and paint spatter.

• Spare “O” rings, a ring that seals air valves to keep air compressed, without it you have no pressure, without pressure you cannot shoot paintballs.

• Gloves, wear them in order to keep grip on your marker, and it protects your knuckles from breaking when they are shot by a paintball.

More Equipment

You will also need• Paintballs, this is probably one of the most

important ones, without these you might as well stay home.

• Food, you WILL get hungry, it takes a lot of stamina and energy , you need to replenish it.

• Water, you don’t want to get dehydrated mid-tourney so drink plenty of water. (Don’t over-drink! You will feel full and your performance will decrease drastically.

• “Colors”, aka your team jersey, buy one or make one, its your choice, but it helps identify you and your teammates so “friendly fire” won’t happen.

Parts of a Paintball marker

• The Barrel• Trigger

• Action• Safety• Air Coil• Gauges• Feed Tube• Battery/Computer Chip• Hopper

Types of Barrels

• Sizes vary based on use• Shorter barrel = less accurate, but easy to control,

cheaper.• Longer barrel = more accurate, harder to move,

faster paintballs, expensive.• Flat-line barrels = slower paintballs, more accurate,

louder, expensive, easy to control.• Flashy barrels = okay accuracy, expensive, meant for

looks.

Types of Triggers• Mechanical – uses a spring to hold the trigger in the

firing position.• Electro-mechanical - uses a much

lighter trigger pull allowing a mechanical gun to achieve a much higher firing rate.

• Pneumatic electro - use a circuit board to control the full action of cocking and firing the marker.

• Pneumatic - use a valve and the air from your tank to control the action of the marker.

• $25- $100

Gauges• Used to view the PSI left in your tank and what is used for each shot.• $25

Micro-Chips

• Small computers that sit inside the handle.• They send messages to and from the action to

increase shooting and ramping speed.• Also reduces ball breakage.

Hoppers• Electronic Hoppers: they have a cycle wheel that

spins to constantly feed paintballs into the marker.

• Gravity Feed Hoppers: Work on gravity to let balls drop into the marker. They max out at 8 balls per second.