History of Paintball

Steffen Leinsvang asked:


The History Of Paintball

In this article i’m mainly going to show you some markers that have left their trace in the history of paintball. But first: A small introduction.

The first actual game of paintball took place in 1981, between 12 players using the Nelspot 007. The first game was a capture the flag scenario game. Trough the 80’s the sport of paintball started spreading . First it spread to England, Australia and South Africa. Some years later it reached Europe. In 1992 the NPPL was founded and the year after there was played 4 tournaments around the country. In 1996 the World Championships Of Paintball was produced and aired by ESPN.

The first company that made a marker was Nelson Paint Company, the marker was called the Nelspot 007 and was originally used to mark trees in the forestry business.The Nelspot 007 was a bolt action or pump action pistol powered by 12 gram Co2 cartridges. The gun could also be set up with a ASA to accept HPA or Co2.

The Splatmaster was a very economic choice because it only costed around 80$. It’s internals was pretty similar to the 007 but the body was made out of solid plastic (The 007 was all steel). It held 10 round tubes of 0.68 cal. ammunition.

The Tippmann 68 Special hit the market around 1990 and it was a big hit!

This is what Tippmann wrote about it: “We took our finest gun and put it on steriods. The result is the 68 special. A new hybrid weapon with proven Tippmann quality and reliability. It combines the ruggedness of the SL-68, the most durable gun we’ve ever built, and the speed of the SMG-60, the only full automatic CO2 paintball gun.

The 68 Special is a true semi-automatic, not a double action with a new gravity feed system that eliminates ball breakage and double feeding. A 1/8″ light trigger movment lets you shoot as fast as you can squeeze off rounds. And a new liquid CO2 system that will shoot up to 200 rapid shots without loss of velocity. “

 

Now, things have changed and there are electric markers that shoot 20 balls per second. In USA alone, the number of paintball players is almost 10 millions. And the sport is still growing!

If you want to know more about older guns and the history of paintball check out this site:

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The Essential Paintball Gear For A Great Game

Riley Hendersen asked:


Paintball is an exciting sport that has a large legion of fans and devoted players. One thing that every paintball player needs to know, from the beginner to the semi-pro, is the essential paintball gear that every player needs to have before any game.

When talking about paintball gear, the first thing that should come to mind is eye protection. Eye protection is the most important piece of equipment you could possibly invest in. Safety is always the primary concern, and eye protection takes care of the one major worry involved with paintball. It doesn’t matter whether you are playing at a field or in your backyard be sure to have your face protection on.

The second most important piece of paintball gear is your paintball gun. Obviously without this, there is no game to play. The paintball gun is also commonly referred to as the “marker” because it “marks” other players. While it is very important to be familiar with your paintball gun, don’t be intimidated. These are made simply and are easy to figure out and maintain. Along with the paintball gun is the hopper. This is a plastic bottle that holds your paintballs and allows them to feed into the chamber. Basically, this is your ammo supply. Some are actually motorized to insure that another paintball will fall into place after one is shot. If you like to spray and pray, these are the ones for you. Some can hold up to 300 balls, others hold as few as 40. All depends on style and preference.

The air tank is also a critical part of paintball gear and can be attached to most models of paintball guns several different locations. On most guns it hangs horizontally off the back, and they are just screwed in. Some players prefer a vertical mount to keep the liquid (bad) CO2 on the bottom and out of the gun. Most rental places can provide the right equipment to keep the games going.

There is an array of other pieces of paintball gear you will want. One is called a remote. A remote is a long tube that allows you to carry your air tank on a back pack or belt. A light tube is attached to the gun. This is useful because it takes weight off the actual gun and makes it lighter, which makes it easier to lift, aim, and use. It is a cheap, but effective addition that usually runs only around $30-$40.

Another piece of paintball gear is the belt pack. A belt pack is usually worn around the belt and can hold extra supplies like extra air and paint. Experienced players know how useful this can be. Also, you will always want a protective mask. As a side note: if you have prescription glasses you need to wear underneath the helmet, find a “Scott mask.” These fit much better and will allow you to be much more comfortable and more effective during the game. As for clothing, anything dark is acceptable.

Paintball is a great game, but you need the appropriate paintball gear to make the most of any afternoon or weekend excursion.



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The Types of Paintball Tanks and Their Differences

Korbin Newlyn asked:


Paintball which originated back in 1976, has had a steady increase in popularity. The primary strategy behind paintball is to shoot your opponent with a ball of paint that is traveling at excessively high speeds, hence “killing” him and bringing your team one step closer to another victory.

The rate of acceleration that a person’s paintball travels is a very critical factor for this type of sport, as the slower moving paintballs can be dodged more easily by your opponents. There are basically two types of propellant tanks that are used; High Pressure Air / Carbon Dioxide or Nitrogen.

Type 1 – Carbon Dioxide Paintball Tanks

Carbon dioxide tanks utilize what is known as a liquid CO2 which then expands itself into a gas which then takes the paintball and propels it out the barrel. One of the side effects of using a carbon dioxide tank for extended periods of time is that crystals of ice can form on the tank itself. The primary cause of this is because the liquid CO2 expansion turning from a liquid to a gas requires heat energy, eventually this can result in the counter effect of the propellant tank becoming very cold. Combine this with long periods of use and you get the creation of ice.

When these carbon dioxide paintball tanks are used in a rapid fashion they can become unreliable for both distance and accuracy. This is mainly because the carbon dioxide requires time to expand out to a form that is gaseous and when your trigger pulls are too rapid the inner pressure might not form fully.

Tanks such as these can also have the tendency to leak because of erosion of the seals and o-rings, yet with some maintenance and care this typically can be prevented. Carbon dioxide paintball tanks should not be directly left in the rays of the sun for too long as there is some risk of the internal gas expanding to a level that would be unsafe.

Type 2 – High Pressure Air and Nitrogen Paintball Tanks

Nitrogen tanks and high pressure air function in a different manner compared to carbon dioxide tanks since they don’t have to expand a liquid into a gas to result in the propellant effect; this is because the  material is already formed in a gaseous state. Because of this process it augments both of the distance and accuracy over carbon dioxide paintball tank. These type of tanks will have a tendency to grow colder when used, nevertheless the overall effect is much less compared to carbon dioxide tanks.

Even though they are generally preferred over carbon dioxide paintball tanks, the nitrogen and high pressure types of air tanks do have some disadvantages. The weight of nitrogen and high pressure tanks are higher and they are also larger compared to CO2 tanks, since the propellant is already in a form that is gaseous. There are smaller tanks that are produced but will typically not have enough gas to last out a long game. Nitrogen and high pressure paintball tank also are more expensive to buy, yet refilling them is much less costly then having to refill tanks



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