Paintball, No Just a Bunch of Hot Air!
Nathan Young asked:
My how the times change, in my day we were lucky enough to get our hands on some paintballs, let alone have something to shoot them out of or have a propellant of some sort to shoot them with. As a kid I was more than happy to be able to shoot paintballs out of my wrist rocket, sure it was painstakingly slow to load rounds and about half of the balls shot broke but it was fun nonetheless. Well now a days there are three main propellants out there that allow you to shoot much much faster and with much fewer ball breaks. The two most used paintball propellants that are used in the sport today are CO2, Propane and Compressed Air Also Reffered to as Nitro or High Pressure Air. My goal is to help you understand what the difference is between CO2, Propane and Nitro and then also tell you about some pros and cons of each.
Nitro vs. CO2 vs. Propane For the past 20 years CO2 has been the propellant of choice when it comes to getting balls out of barrels. The main reasons that CO2 has been more popular are these, CO2 is readily available and cheap. There you have it, cheap and easy pretty much wraps up CO2 in a nut shell. Compressed air or nitro on the other hand has these things going for it, potentially higher psi, no need to evaporate, and a much more consistent velocity. With those things said, lets delve a little further into the pros and cons of CO2 and Compressed Air. As far as propane goes it is still in it’s early ages but is looking like it is going to be the perfect mix of accuracy and affordability, we will keep you posted.
CO2- Here is the long and the short of using CO2 as a propellant for your paintball gun. If you are looking just to play a little paintball here and there and just want something that is easy and cheap to get then CO2 is the propellant for you. Any paintball shop should be able to fill your CO2 as well as a number of other places and its inexpensive to have them do it. Now if you are looking to get into paintball fairly seriously and you are going to be playing a lot and shooting a lot of round as quickly as possible we would recommend not going with CO2 and here is why. CO2 is considered by most to be less effective than compressed air and is much harder on your equipment.
Keep in mind propane is still in its beginning stages but as of now the reports are that it shoots just as consistently as compressed air, you can shoot about 60 times more balls per tank that compressed air and CO2 and you dont have to worry about Hydro or Quality Tests.
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My how the times change, in my day we were lucky enough to get our hands on some paintballs, let alone have something to shoot them out of or have a propellant of some sort to shoot them with. As a kid I was more than happy to be able to shoot paintballs out of my wrist rocket, sure it was painstakingly slow to load rounds and about half of the balls shot broke but it was fun nonetheless. Well now a days there are three main propellants out there that allow you to shoot much much faster and with much fewer ball breaks. The two most used paintball propellants that are used in the sport today are CO2, Propane and Compressed Air Also Reffered to as Nitro or High Pressure Air. My goal is to help you understand what the difference is between CO2, Propane and Nitro and then also tell you about some pros and cons of each.
Nitro vs. CO2 vs. Propane For the past 20 years CO2 has been the propellant of choice when it comes to getting balls out of barrels. The main reasons that CO2 has been more popular are these, CO2 is readily available and cheap. There you have it, cheap and easy pretty much wraps up CO2 in a nut shell. Compressed air or nitro on the other hand has these things going for it, potentially higher psi, no need to evaporate, and a much more consistent velocity. With those things said, lets delve a little further into the pros and cons of CO2 and Compressed Air. As far as propane goes it is still in it’s early ages but is looking like it is going to be the perfect mix of accuracy and affordability, we will keep you posted.
CO2- Here is the long and the short of using CO2 as a propellant for your paintball gun. If you are looking just to play a little paintball here and there and just want something that is easy and cheap to get then CO2 is the propellant for you. Any paintball shop should be able to fill your CO2 as well as a number of other places and its inexpensive to have them do it. Now if you are looking to get into paintball fairly seriously and you are going to be playing a lot and shooting a lot of round as quickly as possible we would recommend not going with CO2 and here is why. CO2 is considered by most to be less effective than compressed air and is much harder on your equipment.
Keep in mind propane is still in its beginning stages but as of now the reports are that it shoots just as consistently as compressed air, you can shoot about 60 times more balls per tank that compressed air and CO2 and you dont have to worry about Hydro or Quality Tests.
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How to Play Paintball Safely
kevin asked:
Apart from having fun, an important consideration when you play paintball is everyone’s safety. Although paintball is one of the safest sports you can play, the safety aspect should not be taken for granted. In paintball there is an important emphasis on putting safety first; being mindful of yourself and other players. Here are some useful tips for keeping safe when you play paintball.
You should wear goggles or a mask at all times during a game. Ideally, the mask should cover the whole head, fit securely and be comfortable. Regular glasses or sunglasses are not sufficient to protect you from fast flying projectiles when you play paintball.
You should always wear thick, long sleeved shirts and full-length pants to fully protect your arms and legs. Better still, cover your vulnerable areas with hard plastic body armour or a padded paintball suit. Collars, boxes and gloves all give added protection.
You should have no physical contact with another player; paintball is a non-contact sport. Keep your distance when you play paintball.
You should not shoot at an opponent within a range of five meters. A paintball can cause serious injury when fired at close range. When you play paintball it is wise to keep a distance of five meters between players at all times.
You should not shoot at a player when he is holding his gun aloft with both hands. A player in this position has either just been marked and is leaving the field or he has surrendered. Either way he is defenceless and is not a target.
You should not consume alcohol before, during or after the game as it will impair your judgement and reactions drastically. You will endanger yourself and other players when you play paintball.
You should have a plug inserted in the marker’s barrel at all times when you are off the field to avoid accidental firing. You should avoid contact with co2 if your gun has leakage as it can cause freeze burns on your skin. Never carry your marker by its co2 supply hose as this could lead to leaking gas.
You should maintain your gun and equipment thoroughly to maximise safe and effective performance. Ideally, you should strip down your gear straight after every game, then clean and lubricate it before you put it away so its ready to go the next time you play paintball.
You should never fire your marker outside of the playing boundaries or at anyone not involved in the game; including the referee!
You should never leave your gear, especially the marker, unsupervised between games. Always ensure it is locked away safely when not in use and kept out of the reach of children.
You should invest in chronographs to control the speed of your paintballs. The maximum allowed velocity required for safety when you play paintball outdoors is 300 feet per second (200 feet per second indoors).
You should avoid blind-firing; this is a dangerous practice as you can’t see what you’re firing at and you could hit someone at point blank.
You should avoid overshooting; it is unnecessary and potentially dangerous to repeatedly shoot at an opponent once you’ve marked them.
Paintball is safe if you follow all the safety precautions and are mindful of yourself and others. Don’t be complacent when you play paintball. Any sport is dangerous if you play it irresponsibly. Safety needs to be worked at to ensure you get the maximum enjoyment out of the sport.
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Apart from having fun, an important consideration when you play paintball is everyone’s safety. Although paintball is one of the safest sports you can play, the safety aspect should not be taken for granted. In paintball there is an important emphasis on putting safety first; being mindful of yourself and other players. Here are some useful tips for keeping safe when you play paintball.
You should wear goggles or a mask at all times during a game. Ideally, the mask should cover the whole head, fit securely and be comfortable. Regular glasses or sunglasses are not sufficient to protect you from fast flying projectiles when you play paintball.
You should always wear thick, long sleeved shirts and full-length pants to fully protect your arms and legs. Better still, cover your vulnerable areas with hard plastic body armour or a padded paintball suit. Collars, boxes and gloves all give added protection.
You should have no physical contact with another player; paintball is a non-contact sport. Keep your distance when you play paintball.
You should not shoot at an opponent within a range of five meters. A paintball can cause serious injury when fired at close range. When you play paintball it is wise to keep a distance of five meters between players at all times.
You should not shoot at a player when he is holding his gun aloft with both hands. A player in this position has either just been marked and is leaving the field or he has surrendered. Either way he is defenceless and is not a target.
You should not consume alcohol before, during or after the game as it will impair your judgement and reactions drastically. You will endanger yourself and other players when you play paintball.
You should have a plug inserted in the marker’s barrel at all times when you are off the field to avoid accidental firing. You should avoid contact with co2 if your gun has leakage as it can cause freeze burns on your skin. Never carry your marker by its co2 supply hose as this could lead to leaking gas.
You should maintain your gun and equipment thoroughly to maximise safe and effective performance. Ideally, you should strip down your gear straight after every game, then clean and lubricate it before you put it away so its ready to go the next time you play paintball.
You should never fire your marker outside of the playing boundaries or at anyone not involved in the game; including the referee!
You should never leave your gear, especially the marker, unsupervised between games. Always ensure it is locked away safely when not in use and kept out of the reach of children.
You should invest in chronographs to control the speed of your paintballs. The maximum allowed velocity required for safety when you play paintball outdoors is 300 feet per second (200 feet per second indoors).
You should avoid blind-firing; this is a dangerous practice as you can’t see what you’re firing at and you could hit someone at point blank.
You should avoid overshooting; it is unnecessary and potentially dangerous to repeatedly shoot at an opponent once you’ve marked them.
Paintball is safe if you follow all the safety precautions and are mindful of yourself and others. Don’t be complacent when you play paintball. Any sport is dangerous if you play it irresponsibly. Safety needs to be worked at to ensure you get the maximum enjoyment out of the sport.
Caffeinated Content
Understanding Your Paintball Gun
Dennis Cole asked:
If you are just getting started with paintball guns, it is a bit interesting to learn how they work as well as what they are. You may be planning on spending some of your time on the field playing the game that you love, but this information can help you to make the right decision when you decide to purchase your own gun. A paintball gun is, as you may know, the tool that you will use to mark your fellow player in a game of paintball. A paintball will come flying out of the chamber when you trigger it to. Most paintball guns work similar to a standard gun, but the details are much different.
Here are some bits of important information you should know about the paintball gun. – Paintball guns use rapidly expanding gas. Usually it is CO2 or air. This gas will push the paintball out of the barrel. – Most paintball guns range in velocity but the most common are those that have a muzzle velocity of about 300 feet per second. – This amount of force is enough to break open the paintball when it hits its target. Yet, it is not hard enough to break the skin, rather only sufficient at doing some mild bruising at most. – If you plan to play on a standard, commercial field, you will probably be restricted to a paintball gun that is at most the 300 feet per second type. – One of the most significant and painful injuries that a paintball gun can cause is eye injury. Therefore, when playing you should always have on protective gear. The fact is that there are plenty of players that did not and now have blindness in that eye. Most paintball fields require it.
Many details needed to be looked at and understood when using and purchasing a paintball gun. You do not want to spend several hundred dollars on a gun that will not shoot straight.
There are several different variations of paintball gun hoppers. Most of the time, you will have a gun that is feed based on agitating, force feed or those that work with gravity. These methods are all unique. If you have an agitating or a force feed hopper you may find that your gun does not give you the security you need. These often fail in the worst of times. Most of the time this is caused by your paintball guns battery getting wet, which stops everything in its tracks. Yet, the good thing about these types of hoppers is that they offer the highest rate of fire possible, perhaps making up for their failings here.
Another thing that you need to take into consideration is your guns tank. The tank is the area of the gun that holds the compressed air that will eventually propel your paintball to your target. Therefore it is an essential element in the decision of which paintball gun to purchase.
Most tanks are filled with liquid CO2. They can also have compressed air in them. HPA is a term you may here. It stands for High Pressure Air or you may know it as nitro, as nitrogen is one of the main gases in air. The most standardized paintball guns will come with HPA or nitro tanks. Unless you are an occasional player with limited resources, you are probably going to want to use these choices.
You will also need to consider what kind of barrel to use. You can select from sizes ranging from 12 inches, 14 inches, 16 inches, 18 inches or 20 inches. You can have them custom made, if you are really looking for something specific. When you do this, you can have them as long as 48 inches. Most paintball enthusiasts will tell you that beyond 11 inches, you do not get a better efficiency from the barrel to warrant the larger size. Some feel the additional size adds to the sighting on the barrel. In addition, longer barrels are less noisy but longer than 16 inches offers no additional benefit here either. If you have a longer barrel, you will need more propellant.
You are likely to see manufacturers claiming about porting. Some claim that you will have less turbulence as well as increased accuracy with porting. Unfortunately, there does not seem to be much truth to these claims. In addition, the more porting that you have, the less efficient your paintball guns gas will be as your propellant is easily escaping.
Another aspect to take into consideration is the bore. This is the interior diameter of the barrel of your paintball gun. If you have a barrel that has two to three pieces, you will find that the barrel bore is more matched to the paintball diameter. When this is the case, the paintball will not roll out of the barrel if you have a larger barrel. This is important if you have an auto-cocker as well.
Finally, you need to take into consideration the threading of the paintball gun. You need to insure that the barrel threading matches the paintball gun specifically. Some of the common types of threads include autocockers, angels, shockers, sphyder, Tippmann, and Inpulse or Ion.
Which ever style or type of paintball gun you choose, please remember that safety should always come first. So always make sure you wear the proper protective clothing to deter injury. It is nothing but fun until someone looses an eye.
Create a video blog…instantly.
If you are just getting started with paintball guns, it is a bit interesting to learn how they work as well as what they are. You may be planning on spending some of your time on the field playing the game that you love, but this information can help you to make the right decision when you decide to purchase your own gun. A paintball gun is, as you may know, the tool that you will use to mark your fellow player in a game of paintball. A paintball will come flying out of the chamber when you trigger it to. Most paintball guns work similar to a standard gun, but the details are much different.
Here are some bits of important information you should know about the paintball gun. – Paintball guns use rapidly expanding gas. Usually it is CO2 or air. This gas will push the paintball out of the barrel. – Most paintball guns range in velocity but the most common are those that have a muzzle velocity of about 300 feet per second. – This amount of force is enough to break open the paintball when it hits its target. Yet, it is not hard enough to break the skin, rather only sufficient at doing some mild bruising at most. – If you plan to play on a standard, commercial field, you will probably be restricted to a paintball gun that is at most the 300 feet per second type. – One of the most significant and painful injuries that a paintball gun can cause is eye injury. Therefore, when playing you should always have on protective gear. The fact is that there are plenty of players that did not and now have blindness in that eye. Most paintball fields require it.
Many details needed to be looked at and understood when using and purchasing a paintball gun. You do not want to spend several hundred dollars on a gun that will not shoot straight.
There are several different variations of paintball gun hoppers. Most of the time, you will have a gun that is feed based on agitating, force feed or those that work with gravity. These methods are all unique. If you have an agitating or a force feed hopper you may find that your gun does not give you the security you need. These often fail in the worst of times. Most of the time this is caused by your paintball guns battery getting wet, which stops everything in its tracks. Yet, the good thing about these types of hoppers is that they offer the highest rate of fire possible, perhaps making up for their failings here.
Another thing that you need to take into consideration is your guns tank. The tank is the area of the gun that holds the compressed air that will eventually propel your paintball to your target. Therefore it is an essential element in the decision of which paintball gun to purchase.
Most tanks are filled with liquid CO2. They can also have compressed air in them. HPA is a term you may here. It stands for High Pressure Air or you may know it as nitro, as nitrogen is one of the main gases in air. The most standardized paintball guns will come with HPA or nitro tanks. Unless you are an occasional player with limited resources, you are probably going to want to use these choices.
You will also need to consider what kind of barrel to use. You can select from sizes ranging from 12 inches, 14 inches, 16 inches, 18 inches or 20 inches. You can have them custom made, if you are really looking for something specific. When you do this, you can have them as long as 48 inches. Most paintball enthusiasts will tell you that beyond 11 inches, you do not get a better efficiency from the barrel to warrant the larger size. Some feel the additional size adds to the sighting on the barrel. In addition, longer barrels are less noisy but longer than 16 inches offers no additional benefit here either. If you have a longer barrel, you will need more propellant.
You are likely to see manufacturers claiming about porting. Some claim that you will have less turbulence as well as increased accuracy with porting. Unfortunately, there does not seem to be much truth to these claims. In addition, the more porting that you have, the less efficient your paintball guns gas will be as your propellant is easily escaping.
Another aspect to take into consideration is the bore. This is the interior diameter of the barrel of your paintball gun. If you have a barrel that has two to three pieces, you will find that the barrel bore is more matched to the paintball diameter. When this is the case, the paintball will not roll out of the barrel if you have a larger barrel. This is important if you have an auto-cocker as well.
Finally, you need to take into consideration the threading of the paintball gun. You need to insure that the barrel threading matches the paintball gun specifically. Some of the common types of threads include autocockers, angels, shockers, sphyder, Tippmann, and Inpulse or Ion.
Which ever style or type of paintball gun you choose, please remember that safety should always come first. So always make sure you wear the proper protective clothing to deter injury. It is nothing but fun until someone looses an eye.
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