Mechanics Revealed: How Paintball Guns Work?

Paintball is a thrilling game that players enjoy. Perhaps you also want this, but have you ever wondered how paintball guns work? If you have come to this website to learn how paintball guns work, you will be informed in detail. Knowing this lets you easily hit your target by adjusting your angle. 

A paintball gun is a weapon that is used for fun. You hit your target with the help of this gun in games and sports. Through a paintball gun, you shoot paintballs at your opponents. Those players who are beginners should have an idea of how this gun works. So, let’s move on to know more. 

How do Paintball Guns work? 

It contains a compressed gas that helps propel the paintballs out of the gun. Usually, carbon dioxide gas is used, but nitrogen gas can also be used to perform better. So when you fire a paintball gun, the paintballs shoot due to the pressure of the gas. These paintballs are made of organic plastics, which are filled with paint. These balls are small, and the paint inside these balls is non-toxic.

Main Components of a Paintball Gun:

A paintball gun has five components that together make up a paintball gun. That is how a paintball gun does its job better. Without any of these components, paintball guns cannot perform.

Gas tank: I discussed that paintball guns were filled with compressed gas. Usually, carbon dioxide gas is used in these guns. But you can also use Nitrogen gas. The gas helps the paintballs to shoot with pressure.

Trigger: The trigger plays a vital role in the paintball gun, which controls the compression of the compressed gas inside the paintball gun. To hit the paintball, you have to pull the trigger.

Hopper: That is the place where you put the paintballs in the gun. Without the hopper, you cannot place your paintballs. So this is the most important part of carrying paintballs. Hopper has the capacity to hold almost 200 paintballs.

Aviation: Aviation is where the compressed air helps to push the paintballs.

Barrel: When you operate a paintball gun, paintballs travel through this barrel, which is a part of the gun.

Now, let’s move to the types of paintball guns. As there are many paintball guns the mechanism inside the paintball guns may vary slightly. But the purpose is the same in all paintball guns, i.e., to hit opponents.

Types of Paintball Guns:

When you are curious about how paintball guns work, you should also know their types. In the beginning, when you are learning how to operate a paintball gun and practice playing a good game, you should choose a beginner-friendly gun and then gradually work your way up to a complex paintball gun.

Paintball guns are both cheap and expensive. Now, if you are a beginner, I recommend buying a low-cost paintball gun and practising playing with it. You can buy a costly paintball gun when you practice it well. 

Semi-automatic paintball gun:

This semi-automatic paintball gun shoots paintball when you pull the trigger. These guns shoot the paintballs as fast as the player pulls the gun’s trigger. There is no circuit board present to control the firing speed of paintballs.

Electronic paintball guns/Automatic paintball guns:

It is also a gun similar to a semi-automatic paintball gun. This electronic paintball gun is also called an automatic paintball gun. You can shoot multiple balls in quick succession, and you do not have to cock the gun each time, which means it can automatically fire the paintballs when you set its firing mode. One reason for this is that electronic markers contain a circuit board. 

Most people prefer an electronic gun because it has a circuit board, so you don’t have to load it whenever you shoot paintballs. These guns are accurate and consistent. These can fire paintballs fast.

But these guns are expensive. Professional service is required if there is any problem with the gun.

Pump Markers:

These pump markers are the basic type of paintball gun. Players have to pump the paintball gun continuously after each shot. These guns work accurately, but the rate of firing is low. However, beginner players find these pump markers difficult, which means they get frustrated by pumping every time for each shot.

Mechanical Paintball Gun:

As the name itself suggests, this gun is mechanically manufactured. In this, before each shot, you have to cock the gun.

 While this mechanical paintball gun has advantages, it also has disadvantages.

 A disadvantage of this gun is that it only shoots a single ball when loaded, so you will have to load it repeatedly to hit it every time. Another disadvantage of a mechanical paintball gun is that it shoots a ball with slow velocity, a maximum of 275 feet per second.

So the question arises as to whether the mechanical marker isn’t ideal for playing paintball.

The answer is no because of its slower velocity. These are not fast and accurate.      These guns need higher pressure in a gas tank to fire a paintball. To fire paintballs, this mechanical paintball gun requires 600 to 800 PSI (Pounds per square inch).

Besides its disadvantages, this gun carries some advantages: they are cheap, and their parts are also easily available in the market. Another advantage is that they are easy to use. So if you are a beginner, you should use a mechanical marker.

How does a Paintball Marker Different from a Regular Gun?

Paintball guns are not like regular guns. So, what differences exist between a paintball gun and a regular gun? To know these differences, we have discussed some points.

The first difference is that you don’t shoot bullets with a paintball gun; you shoot paintballs. These paintballs are lightweight and contain non-toxic chemicals. However, it can cause a little pain to the players when hitting with pressure, but it is less harmful than bullets.

The question that arises often is, do paintball guns harm players? The answer is yes. That is one of the reasons players must wear protective gear such as masks, gloves, boots, and vests to stay safe. It is important to remember that although paintball guns do not shoot bullets, they shoot paintballs. Since paintballs are fired at very high velocity, they can cause bruises.

Secondly, there is no doubt that real guns are not used for sports. These guns are used for damage or self-defence and can only be used by licensed people such as the military and police. In comparison, anyone can use paintball guns when the player reaches the right age to use these guns according to the state’s laws.

The last thing is that the loaded paintball gun feels slightly lighter compared to a real gun, and a real gun’s recoil is stronger than a paintball gun.

Best aim to a paintball:

First, you need to know that paintballs are not bullets used in real guns but are lighter and can easily change direction due to wind. So when the wind is blowing, the chances are high that the paintballs will not hit your target. Compressed gas does not shoot paintball with such high pressure that the paintball hits your target directly, but it does not mean that paintball does not hit with high velocity.

The paintball gun is only allowed to shoot paintballs at 300 feet per second, which is less than the speed of a regular gun. To keep the paintball speed low and light, the best way to aim paintball is to tilt the gun slightly upwards, 30-45 degrees, because if you want to hit the opponent who is far from you, then this angle is best, and if the opponent is close to you then you should not hit from this angle. This angle is best when your opponent is away from you.

Safety Measures while Playing Paintball:

According to the National Paintball Fields Association, there are an average of 24 injuries out of 100,000 players per year. These injuries are minor. But big injuries happen when players do not play carefully.

So when you have to play a paintball game, remember some points to avoid injuries.

1. Remember to wear protective gear such as a mask, boots, vests, and gloves. Cover your body as entirely as possible.
2. When you are in a paintball field, don’t remove the mask.
3. Do not shoot at people who are not wearing protective gear. This causes severe injuries to them. So, present your mind at the moment of playing a paintball game.
4. Keep your fingers off the trigger until you’re ready to shoot.
5. Avoid shooting at close range.

Final Thoughts

Paintball is a sport that people of all ages can enjoy. This is a fun game. A license is not required to shoot a paintball gun as needed for a real gun. If your country sets an age limit for buying paintball guns, you can purchase paintball guns once you reach the legal age in your country.

If you know how paintball guns work, you will find it easier to decide which paintballs you should use to play with. In this article, I have informed you about the types of paintball guns, such as how electronic paintball guns work and other paintball guns, but there is little difference in their mechanism. Also, don’t forget to wear protective gear while playing the paintball game. Before playing the paintball game, you must keep the precautions in mind and then start playing the paintball game.

I hope you enjoy the information after reading this article.

Frequently Asked Questions

People often ask some questions regarding paintball guns. Here, I answered some questions to clear up your confusion.