Paintball FAQ
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NEWBIES
MOST ASKED QUESTIONS
#1 WHAT GUN SHOULD I BUY??
Forget the gun. The most important piece of paintball equipment
you will ever buy is your GOGGLES. Repeat that 10 times. GOGGLES,
GOGGLES, GOGGLES...
Simply put. If you cannot see, you are no help to your team and you are endangering yourself. I would take being able to see and a pump 'gun over the best 'gun and fogged lenses (any day!!). So, when you buy your goggles, don't skimp. Get the thermal ones with a good field of view (if you already own goggles, go back and buy the thermal lenses for them). If you can, get a fan. You will never regret the purchase.
* Safety tip * NEVER TAKE OFF YOUR GOGGLES!! Paintball is a very safe sport. The only way to get seriously injured from a paintball is to get hit in the eye. So, only remove your goggles when you are in a designated safe area. Only wear goggles and face protection made for paintball. If you are having a problem on the field (fogging, paint or other stuff obstructing your vision) CALL FOR A REF! They will help you! NEVER TAKE OFF YOUR GOGGLES while you could get shot!! There is NO reason to break this rule.
* Safety tip * WEAR PROPER FACE/EAR PROTECTION!! All new paintball masks come with adequate face and ear protection (most lack on neck protection though). Don't modify your mask. Add to it if you want (cammo or neck protection), but never cut away at it. This weakens the mask and leaves you exposed. DON'T DO IT!!
One last piece of goggle advise. Don't ever wipe paint off your goggles!! Paint is sticky. More times than not as you walk off the field, stuff will get in the paint. If you wipe it off, you could scratch the lens with the stuff that got stuck in the paint. Remember, you have thermal lenses, you paid good money so you could see, don't blow it now. TIP Get a spray bottle, fill it with water (just water) and throw it in your paintball gear bag. When you need to clean your goggles, spray all the yuck off and then dry them. You will have clean lenses and they will last a lot longer.
Ok, now back to "what gun should I buy?". I would highly suggest purchasing a semi-auto. They are just a lot easier to play with to start. You pull the trigger and a ball comes out the end. Very nice.
DO NOT purchase a tournament level gun right out of the blocks. Most newbies that do end up spending more time working on it than playing (because they don't know how to care for it and they break it or get it so gooped up that it doesn't work right). Get a decent semi and learn how to clean it. Practice cleaning it. Be able to clean it in your sleep! Then and only then, are you ready to head to the field to shoot it.
Practice, practice, practice. Practice shooting, practice loading and practice cleaning. When you get on the field, you don't want to have to think about these things. Besides, it is fun to practice loading and cleaning your first gun! You get into the paintball mindset and let other worries go.
WHAT SHOULD I WEAR??
This is really a two part question. The most important thing you
will wear is your shoes. Bring something that has traction,
ankle support, can get really dirty and won't
hurt your feet! Don't get a new pair of boots on the way to
the field unless you bring an ample supply of Band-Aids! If you
do get new footwear, wear it at home for several days before you
bring it to the field. Also, invest in a pair of socks designed
(yes, socks are technological wonders, just like paintball gear!)
for sports use.
I have seen people wear lots of different things while playing. The happy people tend to wear light hiking boots or football cleats. There are some very nice shoes made for paintball (I don't own any, but if you know the folks that make them, I'm a size 10 1/2 or 11). Check with your local store for more info about paintball specific footwear. Alternatives are high top sneakers, but remember, they will get dirty (often very dirty).
Wear gloves if you have them. If you don't, buy a cheap pair of brown cotton gardening gloves. You can cut the gloves to allow you to "handle" things better. I would suggest that you cut the top half off of the glove finger that you use to pull the trigger.
A lot of people wear hats when they play. I do, it keeps the paint splatter out of my hair and keeps me out of the sun when it is out. Bring one.
Remember, you can always take something off, but if you don't bring something, it could lessen your enjoyment.
Now here is a very controversial area, what clothes to wear. Wear cammies if you have them.
PaintBall players do not wear cammies because we want to pretend to play war or pretend to be in the army!! We wear them because we play in the woods. The green and brown of the cammies makes it harder for our opponents to see us (you know, they match the color of the trees and stuff). As a matter of fact, the army only has cammo's because they match the environment that army men and women work in, not because cammo's inherently make someone want to kill people and break things (which is the job of the army).
The important thing is to cover everything! Long pants and long sleeves. Go for a couple light layers vs one heavy one. This minimizes the impact of a paintball.
If you don't have cammies, wear something that is dark, comfortable to move in and appropriate for the weather you will be playing in. I can eliminate you just as well wearing a dark pair of sweats as I can in my nifty paintball outfit. The nifty outfit just tends to intimidate new players like yourself (don't let it! *grin*).
That is it for today. Check back real soon and I'll move on to other common questions like "What is it like to play paintball??", "How old do you have to be??", "What are the rules??", "How much does it cost??" and my personal favorite, "Does it hurt??". All I can say right now to the last question is "Describe how chocolate tastes... There are so many ways to answer that question." Be assured that I have played for over 13 years and I don't like getting hurt. - Burt "Breeze" Talcott
Q:
How do I hide?
A: Motion is often what leads to getting spotted. Someone
may not actually see the player, but if the player's body
disturbs a pattern of light in an area, that can attract
attention and tell a sharp player someone is there. Noise is a
giveaway, too. Keep big trees, rocks, thick brush, etc., between
you and the other team. Don't cross large open spaces if you can
avoid it, even if that means taking a longer route.
Learn how to "square" into cover, using the cover to
keep from being seen. Crawl. Get your team to create a
distraction so you can work in closer to the opponents.
A marker and a marker's loader have a shape that players learn to
spot, so keep the gear out of sight also. Using camouflage helps
when playing in the woods.
Q:
How do you use the clock for spotting?
A: Think about a clock (not a digital clock!) Directly in
front of you is 12 o'clock (your 12). If you stretched out your
arms, your left hand would point toward your 9 o'clock and your
right hand would point toward your 3 o'clock. Remember that your
12 is not my 12 if I'm at your 9, so call out whether he is at
"your 12" or "my 12" to explain where the
opponent is located.
Q:
What is a dial rod?
A: A dial rod, or dialing rod, is a long piece of metal,
usually aluminum, used to adjust the velocity of a pumpgun that
has an adjuster in the bolt. The dialing rod goes down the barrel
(with no ball in the chamber, or else the rod could not get into
the bolt). It fits into a slot in the bolt and allows the player
to turn the adjuster, changing pressure on the mainspring. More
pressure raises the velocity. Less pressure lowers the velocity.
Q:
What is a "venturi" bolt?
A: This refers in paintball to a bolt with several air
holes in it. The idea is to shape the air flow as it leaves the
bolt so that it does not "smack" the paintball hard all
in one spot, but instead pushes on the ball over more of the
ball's surface. That is to reduce the possibility of the ball
breaking in the barrel. Venturi bolts that are properly designed
for a marker's system have been shown very effective to reduce
ball breakage.
TIPS
Equipment
'Guns
Q: What makes a good entry-level
semi-auto for paintball?
A: First, it must be inexpensive; $200 seems to be the
critical price point. Second, it has to be simple to operate,
easy to maintain and reliable enough to survive the abuse a new
player will subject it to until he learns how to take care of it
properly. And third, an entry-level paintgun must have enough
performance features to remain competitive when the owner makes
the transition from playing with friends in the backyard to
taking on regular players in at-a-field, walk-on games. In other
words, low cost, good reliability and acceptable performance.
Q: How can I make my 'gun quieter?
A: Have holes added to your barrel, but before doing that,
consider buying a replacement barrel that has holes in it. This
is called a ported barrel. How quiet the barrel will be depends
basically on the patterns of the holes, the barrel length, the
speed at which the marker is shooting.
Q:
What should a new player expect from a tournament?
A: Adrenaline. Excitement. Fun. And that people on the
team will make mistakes. Tournaments raise the level of
competition. A team of new players would do well to find a
tournament that has a division for new players or rookies that
limits the experience level of all the players.
Friendly
Fire
by Jessica Sparks
Have you been shot out of a game by
your own teammate? Have you shot your own teammate? That's what
is known as "friendly fire"-and it isn't. The person
who was tagged has to leave the game no matter who put the paint
on them.
It's annoying if you have to leave
a game because your teammate shot you. When it happens, control
your annoyance. Wait until he's off the field, and ask him why it
happened.
It could have been his mistake
completely. Or you might have moved so stealthily that he didn't
know you had gotten that far in front of your own team. If you
were in brush, he might have seen movement and shot.
The lesson is to know what you are
shooting at before you shoot.
But it is part of paintball to
shoot at an opponent who is very well concealed, so if you are a
stealth player, spend a lot of time talking with your teammates
to teach them what kind of moves you make. That might keep them
from making you their target in error.
New players do a lot of friendly
fire. The excitement of the game tends to make them shoot
anything that moves, friend or foe. Explain to new players to
"look for the armband before you shoot" and that will
help somewhat.
Teach new players to ask,
"What color are you?" to ask for the armband color.
Also explain to them that opponents who have snuck up on them are
likely not to answer, or may lie. Teach the new players how these
rules work. New players, get an experienced player to explain to
you how all this works.
The more you play, the better you
will get at knowing who is on your team. You will learn to
recognize a teammate by his uniform, his marker, his loader, or
even by the sound that his marker makes. This will help reduce
the chance that you will friendly fire him.
Try codes. Experienced players use
codes to give information about the progress of the game. New
players use codes to identify teammates. The new players can set
up a team code, like "John" to which the answer must be
"Wayne" or else you are free to send paint at the
person who didn't give the right code answer.
Friendly fire is a part of
paintball. It happens. It's ok to get annoyed, but not angry,
when you get friendly fired. Talk it out after the game is over
and figure out why it happened. Learn how to keep it from
happening as much as you possibly can.
See you in the woods!
SPORTSMANSHIP
Q: Why do players cheat by
wiping off hits?
A: Three reasons: False
pride (they want to look better than they are, like they don't
get hit much, or they feel frustrated, or less of a person, for
"losing" to an opponent). Desire to play (they don't
want to have to stop playing). Wanting to win at all costs (as if
the future of the free world rests on the outcome of the game?)
Sometimes a newer player goes
through a "stage" when he or she cheats out of
frustration. Tired of being "out" too soon too often,
instead of working to be a better player they take a shortcut and
cheat. Most players work through that time in their lives, and
stop cheating.
Q: What happens to a
cheater?
A: Many fields warn a player
once, and for a second offense send the player home for the day.
Some fields send a player home for wiping. A few fields ban the
player for a year or more for just one wipe.
A cheater will get a bad
reputation. Refs discuss wipers. Players discuss wipers. These
discussions have long legs, too. The bad rep can follow a cheater
for years. A player said, "See him? He wiped one off his arm
once." When did it happen? The player said, "Oh, four
or five years ago."
Q: What are some of the ways
players cheat?
A: Wiping off a hit
anywhere. Dragging a foot in the dirt to cover up a hit to the
cleats. Covering up a hit to the paintball gun with a gloved
hand, so the paint soaks into the glove and the glove wipes off
what's left.
CHECK YOURSELF
Q: What are you supposed to
do if a ball hits you and you don't know if you are out?
A: Check yourself. Feel for
paint where the ball hit you. Ask a buddy to check you. Call a
ref to check you. However you check, CHECK before you continue
aggressive play. Take cover or retreat, and get checked before
playing on.
Q: What happens at a
scenario game?
A: A paintball scenario game
has a theme or a plot. This can be a "space" theme, or
the plot from a movie, or a scenario based on a real battle from
any conflict such as World War II or Viet Nam. The theme can be
from any time or place, past, present, future, or "never
will be." Scenario games are as different as their
designers.
If you're used to paintball games
with two flag stations and two flags with the opponents usually
straight ahead of you, a scenario game will be a real change of
pace. These games operate on a field where action happens all
around the field, at different times. Players usually are
assigned roles. For example, if you are an engineer, you may have
to get to a certain place on the field in order for your
teammates to "build a bridge" over a strip of
"water." Usually, a player who gets tagged goes out of
the game only for a short time before coming back in. The game
does not stop for many hours. Players can take a break when they
need to. Night playing is often part of scenarios.
Visually, a scenario game field can
offer some very interesting variations. The paintguns and
costumes can become very different and exotic. Around the field
may be envelopes with "cash" or "special
documents," or a specially-wrapped box full of "magic
lanterns" to be carried to a castle. Sound effects, special
lighting, and special "mini-scenarios" can be part of
the game.
Points may be scored for completing
a "mission" rather than for eliminating opponents. A
classic mission
is "find the downed pilot and
get him home." There may be several teams, along with spies
and double agents, along with radio communication with codes.
Trucks, helicopters, and other vehicles may be used as well.
Overall, scenario games can be a
great change of pace. They draw out different skills than the
ones needed to play well in a tournament or a walk on game.
WHO IS THAT NEWBIE?
Robbie Newbie. He's the fellow who
shows up at the field wearing green and black face paint. (No,
paintball players don't wear green and black makeup.)
Robbie is the fellow who carries
his extra paint out to the field in a baggie and leaves it in the
sun. That's one sure way to ruin good paint. The sun will soften
the gelatin shells. The paintballs will then do bad things like
"melt" or get sticky and out of round.
He's the player who forgets that
when you wear glasses, you may need to put no-fog on the glasses
themselves. That's different from putting no-fog on a goggle lens
or from having a thermal (double-layer) lens.
Robbie Newbie gets a little
confused and has trouble remembering what team he is on. In other
words, he "friendly fires" his own teammates because he
shoots before he looks for an armband. Even when the person he's
shooting at is in a sniper position, lying on the ground, feet
toward Robbie, pointed away from Robbie, and hasn't moved for
five minutes-and told his teammate Robbie that he was going to
set up in that sniper spot.
Ah, yes, and he's the one who grabs
the flag and runs off into the woods, never to find his way back
to his own flag station in time to win the game.
Robbie freezes and won't shoot when
he should. He waits until the "bad guys" get too close
and spot him, so they shoot him before he can shoot them.
And Robbie shoots way, way too
early. He gives away your ambush. He doesn't have a sense for how
far the paint will fly, you see.
When there's a tempting paintball
on the ground, Robbie is likely to pick it up and put it into his
'gun. Even if the ball is two weeks old and swollen so much it
can't possibly drop down into the chamber.
Have you met Robbie yet? He's a
great guy, and one day you may want him on your team-or get him
on your team-so it's not a bad idea to give him a few hints on
what to do, and not to do.
PAINTBALL GUNS
Q: What is a fully-automatic
paintball gun?
A: This means a marker that
will continue to cycle and shoot after only one trigger pull, as
long as the trigger is not released. They are disallowed in
tournaments and at most fields.
LOADERS
Q: Can a person shoot faster
than balls can load into the marker?
A: Yes, a player with a fast
trigger finger can do this. One way to help keep the balls
feeding at a fast rate is to use a loader that has an agitator
(motor driven), which stirs the balls and helps them move
steadily into the drop and down into the chamber.
SAFETY
Q: What is a "three
break" rule?
A: It says that if a player
breaks three or more balls on an opponent, the shooter and the
opponent are both out of the game. The reason for the rule is to
help prevent overshooting.
COMPRESSED AIR & CO2
Q: What's the way to measure
how much CO2 to put into a tank?
A: With a scale. The empty
tank weight plus the rated capacity of the tank (stated by the
tank manufacturer) is the maximum the tank should weigh when it
is full. A tank must always be weighed when filling. Rapidly
emptying a tank leaves dry ice in the tank, which needs to
vaporize and be drained out of the tank in order to get an
accurate weight for the empty tank. Fills should only be done by
properly trained persons. An overfilled tank can rupture its
safety burst disk or the tank itself could rupture.
Q: What's the right way to
measure how much compressed gas (nitrogen) or compressed air to
put into a tank?
A: A compressed air system
(nitrogen or air) is filled by pressure, which is measured on a
pressure gauge. The pressure to which a tank can be filled
depends on the tank. Some are rated to 1800 psi (pounds per
square inch). Others are rated to 3,000 psi or 4500 psi. Fills
should only be done by properly trained persons. An overfilled
tank can rupture its safety burst disk or the tank itself could
rupture.
AIRSMITH
Q: What is an airsmith?
A: A person trained to work
on paintball guns. It also refers to a person trained to work on
other kinds of airguns.
SPONSORSHIP
Q: Where can my new team try
to get sponsorship?
A: Mainly look to paintball
fields and stores when the team is new and fairly unknown. It
also is possible to get sponsorship from local non-paintball
businesses, just as players do for their softball or volleyball
or bowling teams.
BARRELS
Q: How do I know what barrel
to buy?
A: The right barrel depends
on a lot of things. It needs to match the paint that you shoot
and your style of play. Without buying a dozen barrels, one thing
a player can do is ask other players who shoot the same kind of
marker what works for them. Also ask what paint they shoot,
because the barrel-paint match is what's critical. Another place
to get advice is a local pro shop. And try to find out what the
tournament players in the area are using.
The barrel i.d. (inside diameters)
varies. Some are "tight bore" and others are "big
bore" and each will work differently with different paints.
Climate conditions can affect what barrel to choose, also. And if
somehow a player gets a case of really bad paint but has to shoot
it, a short barrel is a good choice because it gets the paint out
of the barrel quickly, leaving less opportunity for the paint to
break inside the barrel.
After gathering information, it
still is best if possible to test the barrels you want with the
paint you want. Borrow barrels, or ask the retail store if they
have a test range where you can shoot paint through the barrels
before buying them.
local fields and stores. Get your
own league going. Make it happen.
PAINTBALL TEAMS
Q: What is expected from a
member of a paintball team?
A: That varies from team to
team. Some practice every week or twice a month and expect
members to make all practices. Some run drills in practice, some
don't. Many have dues. All teams have some kind of meetings. Some
expect team members all to shoot the same kind of marker, and
wear the same uniform and harness. On the upper competitive
levels, some teams require team members to sign agreements such
as not to wear or use any gear except what the sponsors make or
provide.