Paintball Laser Sight

The evolution of the game has been swift from its origins in the 70s to the modern game we know today. It all started with the paintball gun; the term “marker” is a much newer term introduced to make the sport more marketable to the masses. So, what is the history of this relatively new sport and how has it evolved over three decades?

The first paintball guns were used on cattle ranches in the 1970s to single out animals from the herd. James Hale, of Daisy manufacturing , invented a gun for this purpose.

This practice soon evolved into a game and the first ever recreational paintball game took place in June 1981 in New Hampshire, USA. A group of friends used Nel-Spot 007s to play a very basic form of the game over a massive area to capture the flag.

One of the earliest guns available was the Splat Master; it was made entirely of plastic. It could hold ten paintballs, was powered by small co2 cylinders and had a slow fire rate. The gun had to be tilted back to drop each paintball into the firing chamber and cocked by pushing a button on the handle.

The paintball game was first marketed by Charles Gaines, a writer, as National Survival Game- NSG. It started in a very primitive form with players working individually rather than in teams. As the game evolved over time, the rules became more sophisticated and teams became a matter of course. Different types of games sprung up, but the “capture the flag” principle was the most popular.

As the paintball game developed, so did the need for a more sophisticated gun. The pump action marker was introduced with its increased rate of fire.

Caleb Strong opened the first outdoor commercial paintball field in Rochester in 1982. Two years later he opened an indoor version in Buffalo. The development of the commercial industry allowed for more organised, tournament style games and interest in the sport accelerated. The games became more exciting as smaller fields made the action quicker.

The gun continued to evolve in line with the paintball game. As the need for speed increased, the introduction of the 12 ounce co2 tank with its constant air was a major breakthrough.This in turn led to the advent of the semi-automatic gun with its incredible fire rate. Then followed the electric hopper to cope with the fire power of the semi-automatics.

Private and commercial fields are everywhere today as the sport has attracted a huge following. Whilst most players will only ever compete at a recreational level, professional teams compete at a national and international level with prizes worth hundreds of thousands of  dollars. The National Professional Paintball League was founded in 1992 and is the major force in the professional tournament circuit.

Professional players today are using fully automatic computerized markers. The Angel was the first of its kind. It was equipped with a motherboard in the gun’s handle offering a selection of different modes of fire.

There is no reason to believe that the paintball game has completed its evolution. It has come a long way from the cattle ranches of thirty years ago, but it is fair to assume that the sport has not finished its journey just yet.

Hawksbill PaintballHawksbill Sports was established by players, for players. Our goal is to give you the products you need to enjoy the sport of paintball. We have low prices and fast shipping and promise the best customer service you can find anywhere. For more information about paintball guns and other accessories, go to:http://www.hawksbillpaintball.com

Paintballs can be found at many prices all the way from the more expensive, tournament grade paintballs, to the cheaper ones suitable for recreational paintball games and practice.
The more you pay for the paintball, the better it will be. Expensive paintballs will be more accurate and don’t break as easily as the cheaper brands do. The expensive ones have uniform size and shape. They travel farther and don’t curve and the paint shows up better. More expensive paint balls don’t sting as much when they hit you. Cheaper balls are often misshapen and not entirely round. They may have dimples that cause them to drift to the right or left making accuracy an issue. They will sometimes break in the barrel instead of resisting the pressure and breaking on your opponent.
Some of the manufacturers that make tournament grade paintballs are Diablo, Evil, Nelson, and Core. The content of these balls are different than those used for recreational paintball. The shell is made from a very thin shelled gelatin that won’t break inside the barrel of the gun. The paint inside the paintball in these brands is newer and brighter so it can be seen easily even with goggles or a mask on.
There are cheaper paintballs that can be bought but the materials used to make them are not as good as the more expensive ones. The paint is often older and doesn’t show up as well or may crack. The paint is often harder to clean. If you are using paintballs for practice or for recreational games don’t hesitate to purchase the cheaper ones but if you are serious about your game, go for the better balls.
Some manufacturers make specialty paintballs. There ones that glow in the dark for use in night games. These are pretty expensive but worth it if you are going to play in the dark. You can also get winterized and non winterized paintballs. You are starting to find unusual colors in paintballs such as pink. Some paintballs combine 2 different colors.
Core Action Paintballs are a little more expensive than most but boast that the shell breaks on the target instead of inside the barrel. They are sold in a 2000 round box with 4 bags of 500 paintballs each. You can get them for about $45 to $55 per box. Evil Paint balls are a little more expensive at $65. Most tournament grade paint balls will cost you anywhere from $50 to $100 per 2000 round box. Some sell in lots of 500 per box as well.
Monster sells boxes of practice paintballs and you can get a box of 500 for about $15 to $20. Watch eBay for cheaper paint balls as well. There is usually a deal on them there. You will some times see a box of 2000 for $30 or $40.
No one ever said paint ball was cheap. Supplies cost a bit of money but if you are a real enthusiast you can find what you need at a price you can usually afford.

Paintball is swiftly becoming a popular sport all over the world. There are now international competitions with prizes in excess of $100,000. It’s televised on ESPN and you would be hard pressed to not find a paintball field where ever you are. Along with the popularity come books that teach you how to play paintball and give pointers on playing the game as well as reviews on supplies and information on how to create strategies for the game. The following are a few books available on the market today to the paintball enthusiast that will help them develop and improve their game.
The Weekend Warriors is a paperback book by Scott Malensek. This book won’t give you a step by step description of how to play the game. Instead it reads more like a fiction book giving an account of the author’s paintball stories. The author has been a paintball player for many years and the stories span the time from you could only load one paint ball at a time into a paintball gun to today. You might learn something from the escapades of the author and you will learn strategies and what to do if something similar happens to you. The stories relayed in the book puts the reader into the player’s brain giving them insight and enabling them to solve problems on the field.
The Complete Guide to Paintball by Steve Davidson is another paperback that is a must read for paintball enthusiasts. The book gives you pointers and actual drills in order to improve paintball skills. This book gives you newest information on guns and new technology applicable to the game. It also provides information on tournament paintball and there are field listings in the US, Canada and other countries. Learn what to look for in a paintball gun and then read the section on care and maintenance of your equipment. There are over 500 color photos in the book. There is a great deal of detail in the book and it is exceptionally good for a beginner but a seasoned pro will also take away tips of the game. This book will give you an advantage when you play your next game.
50+ Ways to Play with Your Paintballs by Scott Malensek is a paperback that you must read. It gives you variations on games that you have been playing for years and also provides new game ideas. Most of the suggestions are very creative and will create a world in which you can envision yourself while playing a game. Some reviews of the book are less than complimentary stating that the book rambles and says the same thing over and over. Yet, other reviews call the book a valuable asset to anyone that plays paintball.
Gun-fu: the Martial Art of Paintball by Terry Adams depicts paintball as a martial art and explains techniques and strategy and encourages training to improve the game. Chapters detail body positions and psychological preparation for competition. There is even a spiritual flavor given to the game. It is good for the beginner all the way to players that have played the game for decades.

Is it me or all these paintball guns you see on the fields lately all looking the same nowadays?  Have you laid eyes on these military style paintball guns yet?  Hold on, lemme back up about 15 years or so.  I remember back in the early ’90s as a high schooler, me and my nerdy buddies would get together on weekends and head on down to the local indoor paintball field with our Tracer pump-action guns and play all day long, both days of the weekend.  The sport has changed dramatically since those days, both in price and the caliber (no pun intended) of the playing equipment.  Heck, they even have their own “lingo” these days.

But the markers (guns), oh my god.  These things are crazy.  RAP4.com has the most unbelievable evolution of paintball guns I have ever seen.  I’ve seen some of these crazy “home grown” guns, but the military style paintball markers on this site are as close to the real thing as you can get.  They’ve got everything you could want for the look and feel of real weapons systems.  I can’t name them all, but they’ve got AK-47’s, MP-5s, M-4s, a huge selection of replica handguns.  All are available in .68 caliber, and alot of them are available in the smaller .43 caliber.  The really cool thing about the “assault rifles” is that the air tanks can be incorporated into the butt-stock for a completely authentic look, and are available in magazine-fed set up.  Talk about a rig!  They are constructed of metal to simulate the look and functionality of the military duty weapon.  All are customizable with accessory rails where you can add sights, scopes, flashlights, and red-dot laser sights.  Interested yet?  Read on.

So far I’ve only mentioned the military style paintball guns.  Oh, I forgot, they also make the Browning .30 cal machine gun, and the SAW 249.  I was floored when I saw those things.  Shoot someone with paint?  You could paint a barn with those!  But anyway, not only do they have guns, they also have hand grenades.  Land-mines your thing?  Claymores?  They got ‘em.  All 1:1 scale and 100% aesthetically real looking.  Projectiles are a blast (again, no pun intended) and they’ve got those too.  Imagine a paintball RPG.   I laugh every time  I even say it.  It’s just so cool.

All of RAP4.com’s stuff doesn’t go bang, and they offer much more than military style paintball markers.  In fact, alot of the stuff is made for stealth.  Whether playing paintball or training police, military, or security personnel, communication is key.  Enter the Navy Seal throat mic system.  It’s exactly what you think of when you hear it.  And that little hunnie comes with a remote PTT switch you can run down your arm and to your weapon, so you can stay ready while communicating.  A complete line of clothing, holsters, slings, leg and arm pouches, all in camo or black for whatever environment you’re playing or training in.  Face paint, Ghillie (or however you spell it) suits.  I’m telling you, they have everything.  If it’s related to paintball and it’s tactical, RAP4.com has it.

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.

It is difficult to write a definitive set of paintball rules. There are many different branches of the sport and many different levels. Paintball can be played at a recreational level for a bit of fun with like-minded friends. Alternatively it can be on a more formal footing at commercial fields, or professional play at tournament level. There are the recreational options of woodsball, scenario and tactical paintball or the speedball option. However, underscoring all of these is the basic concept of the game and some established common features.

Paintball rules dictate that there are two teams, divided equally. A team generally has between five to ten players, one of whom may be captain. One person is chosen as a referee. The referee oversees the game, controls the time and scoring, mediates between players and ensures the agreed rules are being followed. His decision is final and unarguable.

Each team is set out onto either side of a “field”; a space with predetermined boundaries and      obstacles ,depending on the type of game being played. The overall objective is for a team to reach the other side of the field to capture the flag. Most games run for an average of 45 minutes. The referee starts, and ends the game with a whistle at a prearranged time.

Paintball rules specify that whichever team is first to capture the flag is the winner.Should time run out before the flag is captured, the team with the most players remaining wins. Alternatively, a point system game may be played, with different scores for different achievements.

A player is eliminated if he is hit by a paintball, from either team, and it breaks on him or any part of his gear. If a paintball strikes a player without breaking, or if it first strikes a foreign object, such as a tree, and subsequently splatters the player, the player remains in the game. When a player has been marked, he must call “OUT”, hold the gun over his head and leave the field immediately. The player must not return to the field for the duration of the game. The referee can pause the game at any point for a “paint check” to clear up any uncertainties.During pause of play all players must remain in their positions.

Paintball rules stipulate that only one player can guard the flag at any time. Players are not allowed to pick up barricades and move behind them, nor use mobile shields such as eliminated players leaving the field. All players must understand where the boundaries are. A player is eliminated if he moves outside the boundary and shots fired from beyond the boundaries do not count.

Many paintball rules are concerned with safety. Paintball is a non-contact sport and physical interaction is not permitted. It is forbidden to fire at an eliminated player leaving the field, or at any player holding the gun above his head. It is also against the rules to shoot from a distance of under 5 meters. A paintball can travel at up to 300 feet per second and can cause serious injury if fired at close range. Players should keep a distance of 5 meters between them throughout the game. It is advisable to wear protective goggles or a mask at all times during the game. Likewise, long pants and sleeves, at the very least, should be worn for added protection during play.

There are a wide variety of paintball rules depending on the type of game or level at which you are playing. Some rules have been established to keep the game moving and prevent conflict; others to increase the safety of the players. Whatever variation of rules you are playing to, it’s important that all the team players are in accord before the start of each game for maximum enjoyment and safety.

Hawksbill PaintballHawksbill Sports was established by players, for players. Our goal is to give you the products you need to enjoy the sport of paintball. We have low prices and fast shipping and promise the best customer service you can find anywhere. http://www.hawksbillpaintball.com

Paintball is a game that players compete, either in teams or individually, to eliminate opponents by hitting them with round paint-filled pellets from a special paintball gun. Paintball can be played indoors or outside on special playing fields that are scattered with natural or artificial terrain.  The rules of play can vary, but they can include having to capture a flag, elimination, or defending or protecting a particular point or area. Paintball was invented in 1976 by two friends who had been to Africa hunting buffalo. They were eager to create a game that included an adrenaline rush that comes with the thrill of the hunt.

Paintball guns are also referred to as paintball markers and they are the primary piece of equipment that is use to tag the opposing players. The gun must have a loader attached for keeping it fed with ammunition as well as a compressed gas bottle for propellant.  Paintball guns are available in a wide variety of styles and they can cost anywhere from $25 up to a thousand or more. Generally speaking, if you are just going to enjoy a casual game in the yard with the kids, a cheaper gun is fine, but if you are a seasoned veteran of the sport and want to take your game to the next level, then by all means consider spending more money on a high quality gun.

Paintballs are sold in bulk and come in packages that often contain 2000 paintballs. Again, prices do vary, but you can expect to pay somewhere around $40 for an average sized box. The balls are gelatin capsules that contain polyethylene glycol or some other non-toxic and water soluble substance as well as dye. There are many colors available and there are several retailers online who specialize in selling paintballs as well as paintball gear in general. It is required that participants wear goggle or masks when playing paintball. The masks cover the eyes, mouth, nose and ears and some are equipped to cover the throat as well. The lenses on the goggles protect against the high velocity that the paintballs travel.

Paintball is a very fun sport that can be enjoyed by people of all ages. Paintball arenas, parks and playing fields are located around the world. Although not considered an inexpensive sport to play due to the equipment used, paintball gear can also be purchased used. Paintball is a growing sport as more people realize the excitement and challenges that this sport offers. Many larger cities have paintball clubs and teams who regularly compete against one another.

The choices can be overwhelming for a paintball beginner.. So, to simplify, there are two main game types: recreational and speedball. You need to know about these to decide the sort of player you want to be and, therefore, what paintball gun features you will need.

Recreational

Recreational markers are used to play paintball games over a large area, often woods or fields. Scenario paintball is played in an area made to replicate a chosen landscape. Woodsball, as the name suggests, is played in a wooded area. Tactical paintball is a strategic game with a variety of rules.

Sniper paintball guns are for recreational players to shoot accurately over long distances. They often have long barrels that can cause the paintball to spin, thus increasing its distance.

Speedball

Speedball paintball guns are used in more confined areas, often utilising bunkers and obstacles. These games are of shorter duration as the players are within close proximity of each other. Camouflage, therefore, isn’t a consideration, so the markers are more visual and come in a wide variety of colours and designs.

X Ball is a type of speedball game for which any standard speedball paintball gun will suffice.

Recreational and speedball markers have the same internal mechanism; the differences are external only. Recreational guns are generally camouflaged or darker in colours. They often resemble real guns; some have been designed to replicate guns from historic battles. Speedball guns are lighter, smaller and more colourful.

You need a paintball gun that fits the sort of player you are e.g. front, cover or sniper. A front player needs a light, easy to handle gun. A cover player needs a big hopper and air supply. A sniper may need a longer barrel with a scope.

Markers can range in price from $50 to over $1000 depending on quality and features. You don’t need to spend too much money on your first paintball gun. You can upgrade it as and when you need to without difficulty. Try renting or borrowing a range of markers before you make a purchase to find one that is suitable for you and feels right. You should expect to pay around $200 for a gun that will give sufficient performance for a beginner’s needs.

Hawksbill PaintballHawksbill Sports was established by players, for players. Our goal is to give you the products you need to enjoy the sport of paintball. We have low prices and fast shipping and promise the best customer service you can find anywhere. For further information about different paintball gun types, features and options to get you started, go to:Paintball Gun

Paintball pistols are small pocket paintball guns loosely resembling pistols. They are either pump action or semi-automatic firing.They are usually .68 caliber and powered by a 12 gram co2 power let or cartridge. They are most successfully used as a sidearm or back-up gun to complement a main weapon of choice. There are pros and cons to carrying paintball pistols as compared to standard paintball guns.

PROS

Paintball pistols are extremely light and portable. They are very useful in woodsball because they are compact and can be kept in a pocket, harness or holster.

They are highly manoeuvrable enabling you to move around corners and across the field more easily. They are useful for those tight spots on the field that require quick responses and the ability to shoot fast and hit hard.

Pistol markers are ideal for bunker assaults and quick hit and run or intimidatory tactics. They make the perfect sidearm in a last resort situation.

Most paintball pistols are quick and easy to reload; Some take literally seconds to drop and reload a new magazine. This makes for much swifter action on the field. They are highly upgradeable and easy to disassemble and clean.

CONS

Because of their shorter barrels, paintball pistols lack the accuracy of a good rifle. Most pistols perform best within a 25-50 meter range. If you need to shoot further, a longer barreled gun is a better option. Shorter barrels give paintballs less time to stabilize before leaving the gun, which results in less accuracy over a greater distance.

Pistols have a smaller ammunition capacity than standard paintball guns. This leaves the player at a severe disadvantage against an opponent.

Paintball pistols have a smaller air capacity and are not as powerful as the longer barreled markers. They are usually powered by a 12 gram co2 cartridge. Depending on the weather conditions and how the pistol is chrono’d, you can only expect around 30 shots from one cartridge. This, again, puts you at a disadvantage against a player with a more powerful weapon.

Paintball pistols have their place in the game. They are light weight, easy to handle, highly manoeuvrable and quick loading. They are particularly handy in scenario ball or woodsball as an efficient sidearm. You must, however, be aware of their limitations and not expect the same performance from them as you would from a standard paintball marker.

Hawksbill Paintball Hawksbill Sports was established by players, for players. Our goal is to give you the products you need to enjoy the sport of paintball. We have low prices and fast shipping and promise the best customer service you can find anywhere. for more information about paintball gun, pistols and other accessories, go to Paintball pistols

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.