1 December 2009
Quite some time ago when I attended a force-on-force instructor development program (so long ago it wasn't even called "force-on-force" yet) I learned about something called a "pain penalty". That pain penalty was what you got when you did something that was tactically incorrect and you got shot with a training projectile. Getting shot - even with a wax pellet full of a colored liquid - wasn't something I found pleasant and I tried diligently to avoid it. Low and behold, shortly thereafter, the sport of paintballing grew and thrived and still does so today. It has to be fun or it wouldn't be doing so well, and this week we're going to explore some of why it might be so fun and some of the minimum equipment you need to enjoy it.
One of the things we learn in life (hopefully, at some point) is that there are things we can do which our body will perceive as dangerous. When we volutnarily undertake dangerous activities we tend to experience an adrenaline dump (along with a rush of other physiological chemicals and changes). For some folks that rush is addictive, hence the term "adrenaline junky". That adrenaline dump was what I experienced the first few times I went into force-on-force training scenarios and was forced to deal with incoming projectiles, albeit non-lethal ones. That same adrenaline dump is what my sons have experienced as they play paintball and airsoft competitions / games.
As a child we often played games like:
- Cops and Robbers
- Cowboys and Indians
- Americans vs (pick a bad guy of the month)
Back then we had some cool toy guns but our imaginations worked and we had an assortment of tree limbs that served suitably as guns while we ran around, hid behind trees and yelled Bang! Bang! at each other. That competitive game was always fun but there was never a way to determine a winner. Of course, that was some of the fun, but things have evolved now and you can clearly have a winner because the game can have rules, equipment and clear hits.
To play you obviously need a paintball gun, a supply of paintballs and some protective gear. The guns are powered by compressed CO2 and fire those .68 caliber "paint" filled balls at about 350 feet per second (give or take - it's sometimes adjustable). A typical and simple sample of a paintball gun is shown here. There are far more complex (and costly) paintball guns on the market, but this is a pretty basic example. The paintballs are loaded into the hopper on top. The "canned air" screws into the fitting in the back. The first round is prepared by cocking the weapon and you shoot happily using the Double-Finger trigger.
In most paintball matches I've witnessed the name of the game is "spray and pray". Rather than firing one or two precisely aimed shots (because the guns and ammo simply aren't capable of that), many shots are fired as your opponent moves and you hope that one or two of them tag him before he gets to his next position of cover.
Speaking of accuracy: I've seen my youngest son engage a fixed target with his paintball gun at about a fifteen yard distance. He can keep several dozen shots inside about a ten inch circle as he shoots slowly and with careful aim. I've tried and can't do much better. In my experience that's about typical for most "entry level" (not super expensive) paintball guns. Given that lack of potential accuracy and the need to fire lots of shots as fast as you can without getting a tired trigger finger, I understand the double-finger trigger.
For safety equipment, unless you just enjoy pain, you'll need:
- gloves
- mask
- throat protector
- chest guard
- groin protection / cup
Of that list, the mask is absolutely the most important. They need to have a clear field of view but extend to below your chin and around your ears. Some of the coolest looking masks available are shown here, manufactured by Revision Eyewear, a company that makes eye protection systems for the U.S. military.
When my sons play they use the mask, throat protector, gloves and cup. Neither of them wears the chest guard and I know many other players who don't as well. The paintballs, when they hit you, both thumb and sting and they will leave some bruises. Usually those are representative of bragging rights for the next few days.
So I've come to believe that the paintball competitive craze has grown so popular for two reasons:
- It allows kids and grown-ups alike to continue to play those cops and robbers games we all enjoyed so much, and
- it inspires that adrenaline rush at and during each engagement.
Playing can be a lot of fun. If it's not something you've tried, I'd encourage you to add it to your bucket list.
Happy Trails!
