New Player Tips

Wear only Paintball approved goggles: No brainer right?  You might think so, but you’d be surprised to know how many players try to get away with wearing ski goggles, motocross goggles, or shop goggles.  These goggles don’t have the impact resistance necessary to withstand a close-range paintball hit, nor do they cover your entire face, ears, etc. I don’t know about you but I like my face and ears to be pain free. Now if you want to wear paintball goggles skiing, I don’t think that will be a problem.

What should I wear playing paintball for the first time? If you don't own a pair of BDU's, wear something dark. There aren't too many white trees in the forest anymore. Make sure you wear a pair of shoes that protects your ankles and are comfortable. Elbow and knee pads are not a bad idea either.  

Chronograph your paintgun several times during the day: Whether you use C02 or nitrogen, you must chronograph your gun several times during a day’s play if you’re at all concerned with safety. If you’re not concerned with safety go ahead and blast away at 350 feet per second. Just make sure the house isn’t in your name ‘cause the lawsuit’s coming.

Don’t ever alter your gun’s C02 or nitrogen system: We don’t mean you can’t change from vertical-bottle to bottom-line C02.  What we’re talking about here is using improper burst disks, mixing gasses, building your own expansion chamber, etc., or other Murphy’s law type stuff.  Most players don’t know as much as they think they do when it comes to the dangers of C02 expansion and high pressure gasses so don’t mess with it.

Never work on your paintgun without wearing goggles and disconnecting your air source: You really do need to do both to be safe.  Some paintguns will fire a paintball even after you’ve disconnected your air source. It’s a lot of fun shooting a paintball across your basement with your gun half assembled and no air attached. I’ve done it.

Don’t carry your paintgun around in public unless it’s in some sort of gear bag: To many people (or maybe most) think a paintgun looks like a real gun.  You’ll probably scare the heck out of someone, and who knows how your local police officer will react when he sees you wielding a paintgun around. Speaking of police officers and paintguns--have you read the story about the guy that got shot dead because he pointed his paintgun at a cop? This is a true story that happened December 22nd, 1999 in Colorado as published in the Colorado Times.

Don’t take your game too seriously: I just can’t stress this one enough.  One guy with a bad attitude can ruin a whole day of walk-on ball.  Remember, there are a lot of players that may not understand the game the way you do.  Give them a chance to learn before you jump on them for doing something that you may see as dumb.  It’s just a game--chill dude.

Be kind to your local field’s neighbors: Many Paintball fields are located close to residential homes. Be as quiet as possible on those weekend mornings when neighbors may be trying to sleep a little later than work days.  Try not to do the Dukes of Hazzard thing as you drive down the dirt road to the field. Your field owner will appreciate it.