Paintball Essay, Research Paper

Paintball is the sport of the 90 s. In fifteen short years, the sport of paintball has become recognized as one of the most exciting outdoor participation sports. Paintball is played in over 40 countries by millions of men and women of all ages and lifestyles. Whether homemakers or high-school students, professionals or retirees, all paintball players share in common the love for adventure and a strong competitive spirit. Like all action sports (football, hockey, etc.) paintball is very dangerous unless adequate protection is worn and safety rules are understood and followed. The minimum safety equipment necessary is goggles, a facemask with ear and throat protection, and for men, a protection cup. To play safe you must follow certain rules. These are as follows. Do not shoot animals or wildlife. Do not discharge a paintgun anywhere besides the designated areas. Inspect the lens of your goggles for cracks and signs of weakness. Make sure the velocity of your marker is below 300 feet per second. Always assume the gun is loaded and safety devices do not work. Anytime you re carrying a gun in a safety zone you must have a barrel plug in the barrel. Most importantly never remove facemasks or goggles while on the field. Also, always notify the field owner or manager of any medical conditions. Paintball is a combination of the childhood games “tag” and “hide and seek”, but it is in the same aspect much more challenging and sophisticated. Although there are many different game formats, typically a group of players will divide into two teams to play “capture the flag”. The number of players on each team can vary from one, two, five, seven, ten or even over 1000 on a side, number of players is limited and determined by the size of the field. The object of the game is to go out and capture the other team s flag while protecting your own at the same time. While you are trying to capture the flag you also try to eliminate players by tagging them with a paintball. A paintball is a round, thin-skinned gelatin capsule with colored liquid inside of it. Paintballs are similar to bath oil beads and/or marbles. The fill inside paintballs is non-toxic, non-caustic, water-soluble and biodegradable. It rinses out of clothing and off skin with mild soap and water. Paintball guns are also called “markers”, they come in a variety of shapes and styles. They could be powered by carbon dioxide (CO ) , nitrogen (N ), or compressed air. Many people have power systems that use large refillable cylinders called “tanks” or “bottles” that give hundreds of shots before needing to be refilled. Although, some people also use12 gram CO powerlets as their power source, each powerlet is good for 15 to 30 shots. With pump-action paintguns, pumpguns, each time you want to shoot a paintball you first cock the paintgun by using a pump, then you squeeze the trigger to shoot the paintball, you must recock the paintgun before you can shoot again. Stockguns using 12 grams, have the most basic pumpgun configurations. The stockgun class is in a class entirely its own. With semi-automatic paintguns, the first time you want to shoot you must cock the marker, usually by pulling back a cocking knob or handle, but after you shoot the first paintball the paintguns action will recock the paintgun for you. You just squeeze the trigger when you want to shoot. With a full-auto paintgun, when you squeeze the trigger for the first time, the gun will begin to shoot paintballs and will keep on shooting paintballs as long as you keep squeezing the trigger; when you release the trigger the gun will stop shooting. Paintguns range from simple to sophisticated, but what they share in common is a limitation on their power and range. The international safety limit on the speed at which a paintgun shoots is 300 fps, feet per second. A chronograph is used to test for speed. All paintguns can be adjusted to shoot under the limit. A paintgun range is limited to 50 yards, even when it s at full speed, 300 fps. The average field in North America will cost approximately $15-$25+ for 1 day rental of goggles, paintgun, and usually around 30 paintballs. Extra paintballs are usually 10 cents or less each. Better guns and facemasks are usually available at an additional cost. A beginner should plan on using about 100-200 paintballs per game. A day of play is usually from 9:00 am to 3:30 pm. If you start playing regularly and would like to own equipment you have plenty of options open to do so. Buying a used pumpgun and a new pair of goggles is a good start. You can buy a used pumpgun for $50-$100. You can also buy an entry level semi-automatic gun for $100-$300. A new pair of goggles might cost $20-$40. Buying yourself a new pair of goggles designed specifically for paintball is a must.

These are some terms you would want to familiarize yourself with if you were going to play. 12 gram: 12 gram CO “powerlets” used for many years in pellet rifles. Powered by early paintguns.Anti-siphon: A special bulk CO tank designed to prevent the gun from sucking liquidBarrel Plug: A plug that goes in the markers muzzle to prevent projectiles from accidentally leaving the gunBottom Line: Usually refers to the local of the CO tank on the bottom rear portion of the markers pistol grip. Desired since it makes siting the gun with a mask on much easierBunker: An object or embankment on the field that a player uses for coverBunker (verb form): To change a bunker and eliminate, at close range, any players hiding behind it CA: Allows marker to use bulk CO tanks rather than 12gramChronograph: A device used to measure the velocity(speed) of a paintball coming out of a barrel. The safe maximum speed of a paintball is 300 fps, feet per secondCO : Carbon Dioxide, compressed gas used to power markersFeeder: large “hopper” which holds paintball pellets, feeding them into the gun through its bottomFeeder Agitator: An electronic device which is located at the base of the feeder. The agitator insures that balls feed through the bottom of the feeder and do not “clog” up. Often used on very smooth firing guns like the AutoMag or AutoCocker since these guns “shake” very little. Can also obsolete a Power Feeder since it insures that a pellet will always be available to the gun.FPS: feet per second. The measurement of speed at which the paintball travels. 300 fps is the maximum velocity a paintball may travel safely.Harness or Fanny Pack: belt/harnass system for carrying loaders of paint so that a player may reload their feeder/hopper on the field during playHPA or Compressed Air: High pressure compressed air (3000 to 4500 psi) is usually used instead of CO in tournament paintball. The use of HPA requires specialized high pressure tanks and regulators which lower the output pressure to what the paintguns can handle.PSI: PSI stands for Pounds Per Square Inch and is a measurement of pressure.Remote: Hoses and fittings which allow the bulk CO tank to be detached from the manufacture s intended location on the gun, then located elsewhere (e.g. on the player s hip)Siphon Bottle: A special CO talk designed to suck liquid into the gunSpeedball: Speedball is a game played on small fields with the little natural cover. Bunkers usually consist of wooden pallets, tires or other man-made barricades Speedball fields are designed to allow spectators to see the action.Squeegie: A device used to clean paint from the barrel of a markerSquid: A new player, also known as a newbie, not a positive termSquid Basher: A semi-experienced player who plays very aggressively against new players to the point of ruining their first game Paintball being one of the fastest growing sports of the 90 s has also become one of the fastest growing businesses. Paintball is a booming industry right now. I work at Revolution Paintball at Ski Roundtop. Revolution consists of 5 paintball fields and two sheds. We re open from Friday to Sunday. I have been learning all about the business of paintball firsthand. I also go to show to represent us. I was in Baltimore, MD at Inner Harbor for their Sportsmen s show. I am also going to be at the York Fairgrounds for their upcoming Sportsmen s show. My responsibilities include running a register, working on guns, refereeing, and giving safety presentations. I have also designed one of the paintball fields at Revolution. You can also make money by playing paintball. Paintball fields around the area hold tournaments. The prizes are usually a paintball gun worth up to $800. You have to be good to make money. These tournaments almost always have entrance fees, not to mention the cost of paint. A lot of people are making a living off paintball and there are also many people in it for fun as well. Paintball is definitely here to stay and soon it is going to be everywhere.