Chris Schneck

Electronic triggers for paintball markers, either sear tripping or solenoid actuating, give anyone with the cash an instant advantage in rate of fire capabilities. With rates of fire nearing 20 balls per second or more your uber paintball marker should be used with caution and in a tactically correct way to yield any real benefit. ( oh and to make sure no one gets hurt )

Suppressive fire isn’t a new or revolutionary concept, but its surprising to see many new or relatively inexperienced woodsballers using it haphazardly without control or team coordination. I cant deny that there isn’t a slight satisfaction to raining paint down on someone, but you need to learn when to stop shooting as not to bonus ball anyone and how to time your barrages to help in team movement.

It’s quite simple really, while one person in the squad is laying it down on the opfor everyone else should be moving into a different position to try and build an angle on the target. After a lot of practice this isn’t even something that needs to be discussed before hand, if you hear a teammate shooting at someone that’s your signal to move and to try and flank them. The whole practice of shooting and moving is what makes paintball .  .  . paintball! Speedball or woodsball, it doesn’t matter, this is how the game universally works.

Unless you’re a full fledged noobinator, then the correct thing to do is to stay in one spot with your finger on the trigger and after 2 minutes when your rain of paint terror is over and you’ve accomplished nothing, quickly call yourself out and walk off the field.

Just as a paintball marker is only as good as the person using it, having full auto capabilities in your squad is only as useful as the squad itself. Practice and team coordination make full auto useful, not the individual or their marker.

If you look online for them, you can find them. Those damn statistics that say paintball is THE safest thing you can do, even safer then bowling? I personally find that hard to believe.

Google it, and read safety bulletins.

What I can believe is that regardless of the sport there are risk factors inherit to each sport that will ultimately lead to someone becoming a statistic. Here are a few reasons why paintball is safer then other sports.

•  Wearing protection, like a mask,  is mandatory.
• There is no physical contact in paintball, unless accidental.
• We aren’t sitting on anything motorized, with or without a seat belt.
• We don’t carry a stick, bat or racket.

So whats my point? Well I think paintball is too safe, so safe that its not playing to our natural morbid interests. Take NASCAR for example, have you ever watched a race for the race or are you watching for the 200mph flaming pile up!

I think we as paintballers need to man up and pad our stats some more to be more in line with the popular mainstream sports of today. I propose we all ride quad ATV’s, in two man teams, and everyone has a cricket bat for melee combat as a backup in case their marker goes down. Bunkers will be abolished as the entire field will be a motocross track, the objective of the match will be to be the last two man team still on their ATV.

Now who wouldn’t watch that on FOX sports.

Because paintball itself may be misunderstood by someone who knows nothing about the sport or because the only press paintball receives in mass media seems to be bad press. Getting your parents to let you play paintball may not be that easy and getting them to actually buy you paintball gear may be even actually harder. You shouldn’t hold it against your parents if they’re apprehensive about your interest in paintball, as an outsider to paintball there is a lot they probably aren’t aware of. Informing your parents and answering all their potential questions should be the first part in your initial negotiations. Yes, I called it negotiations, since they can provide something you want you also will most likely have to give something back of equal value to them.

1. Your safety, the safety of those around you and the potential risk of injury to all persons involved will undoubtedly be the primary concern of every parent. Although all paintball gear seems to come with the same set of standard warnings there is no system of legal punishment for disobeying common sense, unlike seatbelt laws where you can be fined for not buckling up.

Parents should know : If you are playing on a legitimate field where you are required to pay field fees, you will be policed and require to follow quite a few safety rules. The only injuries you will come home with are the welts left from the paintballs themselves as paintball is statistically one of the safest sports around.

2. General hooliganism. Are you going to go around making youtube videos of yourself shooting your dumb friend who volunteered to be the guinea pig? Are you going to run rampant around the neighbourhood shooting road signs, cars and other peoples houses at random? I think here you will have the greatest time convincing them, as you might very well be a little jerk who shouldn’t be playing paintball. But this is where compromise in your negotiations can be played up.

Parents should know : There is something you  may or may not have heard of, its called the fire triangle. Imagine a triangle; on one side you have oxygen, on another side you have fuel and on the last side you have the source of ignition. Creating fire is impossible if you take away one of these three elements. Now imagine the paintball triangle; on one side you have the paintball marker, on another side you have paintballs and on the last side you have the markers propellant source. Playing paintball and causing damage through hooliganism isn’t possible if you take away one of the three elements needed to play paintball. If you lock up the marker in a safe place, as you would a real firearm when its not in use, you eliminate any chance of wrong doing on your child’s part.

3. Paintball is expensive. There is no argument on that one, paintball can be expensive. If you don’t already, putting in extra chore time around the house will be required. Pushing a lawn mower around for a couple hours a week or doing more dishes is really a fair trade off to be able to play paintball regularly though. If your parents are going to buy your gear for you initially don’t make a rushed decision. Buy something practical that will require the least amount of upgrading and maintenance. Tippmann 98’s, BT4’s and a few of the lower end Smart Parts markers may suit you well and be more gentle on your parents pockets.

Parents should know :  There are always deals to be had, and when shopping in a retail paintball store don’t be afraid to haggle or ask for a deal when making a large purchase. If you are going to buy an entire setup for your child ( marker, mask, c02 tank, pod pack, pods ) simply suggesting “Hey, since I’m buying all this you can cut me a deal right” there’s a very high chance you can get something, anything, taken off the bottom line. Shop around, look online, there’s no rush. When taking your child to a local field often you’ll find they have membership packages with an array of benefits, again lowering your overall costs. An average day at an expensive field can run up to $90, which is really a high estimate, anything you can do to lower the initial and overall costs will bring harmony to the balance of you wanting your child to have fun and your child getting what they want.

Kids, paintball is fun, you know this. If concessions are required in order for you to be allowed to play or if your parents are going to buy your gear for you, you have to be willing to make sacrifices.

Parents, your child’s interest in paintball shouldn’t frighten or alarm you, they aren’t recruited militants. You should really give this a try yourself, you might surprised and also get hooked. If you have any other questions or concerns, or you’d like guidance in making a purchase for your child, feel free to email me chris@chrisschneck.com I’m not selling anything nor am I a commissioned sales person.