Paintball Safety And Maintenance For Parents And New Players

Paintball Safety And Maintenance For Parents And New Players

by Byron "B" Bowen

Publication Date: January 2000

Christmas has come, and Johnny finally got that cool paintball gun he had been seeing at the department store ever since he started playing paintball a few months ago. His parents bought him a CO2 tank to go with it. They even had the tank filled and bought him some paintballs so he could try it out. How many times has this been done in homes around the nation? A lot, especially since places like Wal-Mart, K-Mart, and other large department stores have started carrying the equipment for paintball. The only problem is that these places don't specialize in paintball and can't give you, as a player or parent, the low-down on what is needed for the game and how to play it safely. This article tells you the important facts you need to know as a player and parent of players.

Safety First!!

This seems pretty self-explanatory, but many new players and parents overlook one of the most basic elements of playing paintball - a set of goggles with a mask. To play paintball, or even target shoot with your paintball gun, you should always wear a set of approved (made specifically for paintball) set of goggles and mask. Ski goggles, shooting glasses, shop goggles, sunglasses, etc. cannot withstand the rigors of a paintball hitting them and will likely add to the injury from shattered plastic.

The Brass Eagle Extreme Vision 280 (that can be found at most department stores), or any JT or Scott paintball goggles (that can be found at paintball stores) should be purchased before playing or letting your child play. Playing with improper eye protection, or without eye protection, is one of the few ways you can get really hurt in paintball. Don't let this happen. Also, don't skimp on the cost of a mask. Get a mask that is comfortable that you can wear for extended periods of time. You are going to be spending a lot of time in them when playing. You want something that is comfortable so you don't have the desire to raise your goggles on the field while playing. Get a set of goggles with thermal lenses to prevent fogging. If you wear glasses, be sure to add some anti-fog treatment to them as well. You need to be able to see with your goggles on. If you are fogging up, you may be tempted to raise your goggles to clear up your glasses - this is a bad idea when you are on the field.

When you play paintball at a good field, usually you will chronograph your gun before playing. Chronographing your gun means you are checking the speed of your gun to make sure it is firing at speeds approved for paintball playing. Approved speed is any speed at 300 feet per second or less. You have to have a chronograph made to measure feet per second to do this. Inexpensive ones cost about $70 and are a great investment for your safety and the safety of your players if you want to play on your own property. Be sure to check with your local ordinances about firing paintball guns in your town or county before playing.

If you live out someplace where you can play paintball on your own property, you may start looking for a way to refill your own CO2 tanks that you have. Don't! CO2 can be dangerous if you are not used to working with this compressed gas. Let the paintball fields and stores fill your tanks for you. CO2 expands rapidly at room temperature and can act as a rocket if the tank is left open or damaged and forced open while being filled. Also, CO2 can cause first to third degree frost burns from the liquid CO2 that gets put into tanks. It is not pleasant to have a bottle full of liquid CO2 dumped on youtrust me. (Ouch!!)

When you go to a field, whether it is a commercial playing field or a "renegade" field, only play as long as the place is safe. Check out a place before playing. Go and talk with some of the players at the field when it is open. Ask them if they feel the place is safe and if they enjoy playing there. Good fields will enforce mask wearing, safe shooting speeds, and will watch out for the general well-being of their players. Take that twenty or thirty minutes of asking questions. It could make all the difference to you as a player or to you as a parent. Paintball really is safe if played properly - you just need to know the rules.

The Care And Feeding Of Paintball Equipmentwell, you get the idea.

Being a new player, you have all your gear and are finally been able to play. Now comes the part that you need to know about - your equipment and how to properly maintain your gear. Before attempting to clean your paintball gun, be sure to remove the power source from the gun! If you do not remove the power source from the gun, you could damage your gun or hurt yourself. For paintball guns, cleaning and oiling is a must! If you get broken paintballs in your gun (trust me, you will), you need to be able to field-strip your gun to clean it properly. Don't throw away that owner's manual you got with your gun. It will show you how to properly disassemble and reassemble your gun without having spare parts.

After any day of play, you need to take apart your gun and clean it. Even if you didn't have balls break in it, you might have had a ball hit your gun, or it might have gotten some dirt or trash from the field in it while playing. Getting into a routine of cleaning and oiling your paintball gun after every time you use it to become familiar with it is a good idea. A tip to remember is before playing place one to three drops of gun oil into the air receiver before screwing in your air source. This helps lubricate the entire system. You might want to take off the barrel of your gun and fire about a dozen or so shots to get any excess oil out of your gun. An oily barrel does nothing for your accuracy. You will also learn more tricks as you play more and talk with more players.

For goggles, cleaning is a must. The fill in paintballs will weaken your lenses if left on your mask for extended periods of time. To clean the outer lens of your goggles, use a damp, soft washcloth with just a little dishsoap. Do not use Windex or any other cleaner with ammonia in it on your lens! This will weaken your lens and can cause them to break when hit by a paintball. If you have a thermal lens, do not get water or moisture on the inside lens. This will cause your anti-fog coating to not work. For a thorough cleaning, especially after being hit directly in the goggles, take your lens out of your mask to clean it. Inspect it for cracking or pitting at this time as well. If you see any, you should replace it before playing again. You can soak the rest of your goggles in warm, soapy water to clean them without hurting them. Make sure they are dry before reinstalling your lens in them.

For your CO2 tanks, keep that yellow or orange cap that came on the threads of the tank. That is called a thread saver and can keep your tank threads from being damaged if the tank is hit there or dropped accidently. Get into the habit of replacing that thread saver on the tank after removing it from your gun. The nut looking thing on the side of your CO2 tank valve is called a burst disk. Every so often, you will have the tank's burst disk blow due to wear or overfilling. Do not loosen or remove this. If you do, you will need to replace it with a new one! If the burst disk blows, take it to your local field or store and have them replace it with a new unified burst disk.

Helpful Hints And Tips For New Players

There are some tricks and tips that all players can use, but new players may not know these until some lessons are learned on the field. I am going to help you skip the school of hard knocks, and tell you about some hints and tips about playing that you may find useful.

When you go to play, wear something that is comfortable and that you do not mind getting dirty. Normal paintballs do not stain, but they are messy when on your clothing. Also, out at the fields, you will get dirty, especially in wet conditions. Camoflauge works best. Try to get a set of camos that work well in your area.

Try to keep your paintballs from getting too hot or cold during the day. Paintballs that get too cold get brittle and break in your gun easily. Paintballs that get too hot are spongy and tend not to break on targets. If you are playing in cold conditions, try to keep your tank warm. A cold CO2 tank will not give you the same amount of shooting power as a warm tank.

If you are worried about paintballs hurting...don't be. While paintballs can sting, especially if you are hit in certain areas, as long as you play with a set of goggles made for paintball and do not shoot at extremely close ranges, you will survive any paintball hit with a little bruising at most. Try to wear a ball cap and even a set of gardening gloves for protection. Your hands and head tend to sting a little more if you happen to get tagged there. For overall extra padding, try wearing two or three light, baggy layers of clothing instead of one heavy layer. It will help keep you warmer in cooler weather and the air between the layers of clothing helps pad against tags from paintballs. Guys should wear a cup just like in any other sport. Gals might want to think of some extra protection for your chest.

When you play at a field, ask about any rules that are not clear. Some fields may not count tags that hit you in the head or below the knees and elbows, or on paintball guns. You may even get in trouble for shooting at the head. Each field has a different set of rules, so go ahead and ask.

If you are not comfortable playing at a field, tell the owner or manager. If you think certain areas of the field are dangerous, let them know. They will usually listen to your concerns and may try to make changes for safer play. Also, if the referee staff is not doing their job and being friendly, helpful, or not enforcing the rules, tell the manager or owner. It is your prerogative as a player to enjoy the field. If you find bad service or dangerous conditions, tell the field owner or manager first. At the very most, you don't have to play there again and you can let your friends know about the place. Of course, if the place is great, tell your friends too. A good field is worth its weight in gold...or paintballs in this case.

Well, you should be better equipped to handle your day of playing now. As you get experience, you will learn more tips. Until then, see you at the field!

Byron "B" Bowen is one of the owners of Wild West Paintball & Supply Inc. in Oklahoma and aspiring magazine article writer. He has been playing for over ten years, and owns a large collection of paintball guns. His favorite continues to be his original Sterling STP Turbo, recently affectionately dubbed "Rapier."