How Does a Paintball Gun Operate?

Paintball is both an exciting and demanding game and the paintball marker makes one of the most important pieces of equipment.

Though how to operate a paintball marker effectively is the foremost thing you should look for. Would you agree that paintball markers and real firearms look quite similar since they both have a trigger, barrel, and fire a projectile at high rates of speed?

They might be similar but it doesn’t mean they operate in the same manner.

If you have not shot a firearm before, you may have seen this in movies and know how to fire a round from a firearm.

Well, there are several types of firearms and all of them operate using the same fundamental principles.

Firstly, the process of firing a round begins when the trigger is pulled. As soon as you pull the trigger, it causes a firing pin to strike the primer which ignites the gunpowder and creates a significant amount of pressure.

This pressure fires the projectile down and right out of the barrel. This is all about the whole process of firing a round from a firearm.

What’s more? Paintball markers follow the same process. Though instead of firing pin striking gunpowder and working as the facilitator, compressed air is used to take-off the paintball down and straight out the barrel.

Below we have a 5-step process on how a paintball round is fired out of a gun.

1- Pull the trigger.

2- Compressed air is discharged into the air regulator or expansion chamber.

3- A burst of the dense air is directed into the upper body of the paintball gun.

4- The burst of airspeeds the firing pin forward.

5- The firing pin executes the ball through the barrel.

6- Air is used to re-cock the firing pin which makes the marker all set for the subsequent round.

It’s surprising when you realize this process can happen with just a blink of an eye. The process can happen several times within a second primarily depending on the paintball marker. Most standard gravity-fed markers can fire approximately 10 paintballs per second whereas other markers with built-in circuit boards are capable of firing up to 30 times per second.

Don’t Forget the Safety!

Paintball is a challenging sport as long as everyone makes safety a foremost priority and knows how to play it safely. We cannot deny the fact that accidents do happen. Though most injuries we frequently encounter on the field are not typically caused by the gun. One common injury during paintball sport is sprained ankles.

Further, we would talk about barrels referred to as barrel condoms or sleeves are a cover that enfolds the end of your gun’s barrel to avoid an errant round from being fired when the gun is not intended to be used. Make sure to cover the barrel always when you don’t want to use it.

Barrel plugs are commonly available and we recommend you to stay away from them. At times, they may fall out of the barrel and thus are not as effective as a simple barrel cover. Many commercial fields will not allow you if your paintball gun does not have a barrel cover so remember it’s an important piece of equipment. It’s essential not only on the field but more importantly to keep everyone safe.