History of Paintballs

michaelrussell asked:


Paintballing is a relatively new sport that has come into popularity since its creation almost 20 years ago. The core of the idea behind paintball was to recreate the thrill of hunting wild game in Africa without the expenses included in making such a trip. Inspired by Richard Connell’s The Most Dangerous Game and eager to recreate the adrenaline rush of the hunt, three friends–Hayes Noel, Bob Gurnsey, and Charles Gaines–eventually worked out the most important qualities that a hunter could possess, but what they lacked was the necessary tool to make such a game possible.

It wasn’t until a friend of theirs showed them a paintball gun manufactured by the Nelson Paint Company that they found that tool. The paintballs and guns produced by Nelson Paint Company were originally designed for agricultural purposes–tree marking, etc. However, this did not stop these men from developing a game designed along the lines of capture the flag based around them. The very first paintball game took place June 2, 1981, with a dozen players competing against one another. An article was published that same month in Sports Illustrated on that game. The first games were crude compared to today’s standards, with extremely limited ammunition per gun. Players would even resort to throwing paintballs at one another. 

Interest in paintball climbed steadily, and Bob Gurnsey eventually founded National Survival Game and contracted with Nelson Paint Company to be the sole distributor of their guns and paintballs. This initial monopoly allowed Gurnsey to turn a profit in six months. Competitor manufacturers of paintballs quickly appeared in the early 1980s, spurring development in paintball technology. Nelson Paint Company would later split into two companies: Nelson Paint Company, which focused on traditional paint products, and Nelson Technologies, Inc. (better known as Nelson Paintballs), which still produces paintballs today.

Competitive tournaments have been going on nearly since the sport’s inception. The first major paintball tournament was held in 1983, with the Canadian-based team The Unknown Rebels from London, Ontario, winning. Originally played in the woods, tournaments shifted over to the speedball format in the late 1990s. Speedball is similar to the idea of indoor soccer, with an even, enclosed field with a set terrain that afforded neither team an unfair advantage over the other. Tournaments since then have largely been in this format. The world’s largest, the World Cup, takes place each October at Disney’s Wide World of Sports in Kissimmee, Florida.

Paintballs themselves have evolved over time as well. When the game first began in the early 1980s, paintballs were oil-based. Turpentine parties were not common after a game to get the paint off. Today’s paintballs are a gelatin shell filled with vegetable oil and food coloring. A number of variations have been developed for paintballs, including glow in the dark, scented, and cold weather ones. Some teams in tournament play will put their paintballs in a freezer to cool them and make the paint more brittle to shatter easier on impact and reduce the odds of a ricochet.



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Paintball Markers Vs. Paintball Guns

michaelrussell asked:


Paintballing is a relatively new sport that has come into popularity since its creation almost 20 years ago. The core of the idea behind paintball was to recreate the thrill of hunting wild game in Africa without the expenses included in making such a trip. Inspired by Richard Connell’s The Most Dangerous Game and eager to recreate the adrenaline rush of the hunt, three friends–Hayes Noel, Bob Gurnsey, and Charles Gaines–eventually worked out the most important qualities that a hunter could possess, but what they lacked was the necessary tool to make such a game possible. 

It wasn’t until a friend of theirs showed them a paintball gun manufactured by the Nelson Paint Company that they found that tool. The paintballs and guns produced by Nelson Paint Company were originally designed for agricultural purposes–tree marking, etc. However, this did not stop these men from developing a game designed along the lines of capture the flag based around them. The very first paintball game took place June 2, 1981, with a dozen players competing against one another. An article was published that same month in Sports Illustrated on that game. The first games were crude compared to today’s standards, with extremely limited ammunition per gun. Players would even resort to throwing paintballs at one another.

Interest in paintball climbed steadily, and Bob Gurnsey eventually founded National Survival Game and contracted with Nelson Paint Company to be the sole distributor of their guns and paintballs. This initial monopoly allowed Gurnsey to turn a profit in six months. Competitor manufacturers of paintballs quickly appeared in the early 1980s, spurring development in paintball technology. Nelson Paint Company would later split into two companies: Nelson Paint Company, which focused on traditional paint products, and Nelson Technologies, Inc. (better known as Nelson Paintballs), which still produces paintballs today. 

Competitive tournaments have been going on nearly since the sport’s inception. The first major paintball tournament was held in 1983, with the Canadian-based team The Unknown Rebels from London, Ontario, winning. Originally played in the woods, tournaments shifted over to the speedball format in the late 1990s. Speedball is similar to the idea of indoor soccer, with an even, enclosed field with a set terrain that afforded neither team an unfair advantage over the other. Tournaments since then have largely been in this format. The world’s largest, the World Cup, takes place each October at Disney’s Wide World of Sports in Kissimmee, Florida. 

Paintballs themselves have evolved over time as well. When the game first began in the early 1980s, paintballs were oil-based. Turpentine parties were not common after a game to get the paint off. Today’s paintballs are a gelatin shell filled with vegetable oil and food coloring. A number of variations have been developed for paintballs, including glow in the dark, scented, and cold weather ones. Some teams in tournament play will put their paintballs in a freezer to cool them and make the paint more brittle to shatter easier on impact and reduce the odds of a ricochet.



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Aiming For The Kill: Finding The Perfect Paintball Gun

Riley Hendersen asked:


So you’ve joined a few paintball games and now the adrenaline rush is in your blood. You want to be more than just a casual gamer, and so that brings up the question of what you should buy for equipment. The first obvious piece is the paintball gun. But how can you know which gun is right for you?

Purchasing the right paintball gun is a big step, and can be a pretty steep financial price depending on how expensive or advanced a weapon you want to buy. One of the things you should do is play with as many rented guns or borrowed guns as possible. There is a very wide variety of paintball guns from expensive to cheap, and some very good cheap ones, and you want to find the ones that you are comfortable with. This is also the right time to figure out your budget. There is no point in finding the perfect $700 gun if you aren’t willing to spend more than $200.

Don’t forget to ask the experts around you about what they think as far as paintball guns. Find out what fellow paintball enthusiasts at paintball fields, stores, and clubs think. Don’t only find out which guns they like and dislike, but find out the reasons for each individual’s opinions. Some may like their gun overall, but not like certain features. Decide the size and type of paintball loader you want. A bigger loader holds more balls, but is heavier. Are you a sniper, or a “spray and pray” type? This makes a difference as to which guns, models, and accessories are best for you.

A major decision to make involving paintball guns is how long a barrel you want on your paintball gun. A longer barrel is generally slightly more accurate, but this is only true to a certain extent. A barrel is more accurate to about 14 inches. There are several ones around 21, but these are showy, and are not a good idea. Most experts agree that after 14 inches the extra length doesn’t help at all, and it leaves a much larger target for other players to hit.

Once your order a paintball gun, be sure to learn everything about it. You should learn how to completely take apart the gun, and then put it back together. You should know how to clean it, load it, fire it, and repeat. It is always good to know this before extensive use. There are some great cheap paintball guns, but there are many more that are junk, so be sure to do your homework before making a purchase.

Buying a paintball gun can be a great experience, but you don’t want to spend a lot of money on a cheap piece of crap, and likewise you don’t want to spend a lot of money on a gun that just doesn’t fit your style. Do your research, take your time to figure out what type of paintball gun best fits your personality, then buy it. The perfect model paintball gun will make you a far happier player than a mismatch.



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