Barrel Of A Paintball Marker example essay topic

The Sport of Paintball There you are. You " re hiding behind a hastily constructed bunker made to protect yourself from enemy fire. You can hear the enemy firing on your position, and you can feel the shots screaming above your head. The firing ceases for a moment. You pop out, fire off a few rounds, and duck back in; but as you are going back in the shots start up again, and you feel the rounds whizzing past your head and ear.

One catches your sleeve. You glance down. No damage. Suddenly you have a fellow fighter there in your bunker with you. He tells you he's going to try to take the enemy bunker out.

Before you can stop him, he charges out of the bunker, gun blazing. A burst of fire, and a cry. You glance out, and see that your teammate has been hit. Anger sweeps over you. You check your ammunition; close to full. You make a conscious decision to take them out.

Taking a breath, you burst from your haven at speeds you did not know you could achieve. The enemy is surprised by this boldness. They doubted you, and are now caught off guard. You fire upon the exposed enemy. You see one of your shots find it's mark, and he goes down. There is one more.

Maintaining fire to keep him pinned down, you sweep past his bunker, and place three shots in his chest as you pass. You are victorious. Now, where are you? Are you in Iraq? No. Are you in Vietnam in the past?

No. You are in the average American town, and you are out with your buddies live a game of paintball. You are still pumped up on adrenaline, and eager for the next game. One may wonder, what is paintball?

Paintball is a sport similar to laser tag but with live ammunition. Players are given a paintball gun, a protective mask, a gas source, and usually some spare paintball's. A paintball gun, also called a marker, uses a pressurized gas source to propel a marble-sized ball out of the marker at anywhere from 250 to 300 feet per second (fps). This ball is fired at another player who is (or at least should be) similarly equipped. If the ball strikes the player, the ball breaks, and the gelatinous, colored filling leaves a bright mark on the player. This is called being "marked".

The player who was hit is usually out of the game at this point. Some people play multiple hit rules, such as three-hits-and-you " re-out, or scenarios like that. This is a basic overview of the sport of paintball. Now we shall look at the aforementioned items in more detail. First of all, the paintball gun. Most paintball guns, or markers, look vaguely similar to real firearms.

The basic design is similar to a firearm, much like a large pistol. There are a few paintball markers that are held in the style of a rifle, like the Tippmann A-5, Pro / Carbine, or the Armotech SIM-4. But for the most part, markers are built like a large pistol. There are also paintball markers that look like a true pistol, and the differences will be explained shortly. The barrel of a paintball marker is approximately.

68 calibers, although it can vary a slight amount depending on the manufacturer. The barrel is connected to the chamber, which holds the paintball inside the marker as it is about to be fired. When the trigger is pulled, high-pressure gas is released into the chamber, pushing the ball forward at very high speeds. The ball travels down and out of the barrel, in whatever direction the marker is pointing.

Most paintball markers have the air connected in what is called a "bottom line" setup, where the gas hose comes out of the marker a short distance in front of the trigger assembly, and down to the bottom of the grip. This makes the marker easier to hold because it allows the use of the C 02 tank as a stock to brace against one's shoulder. Most of the paintball markers styled as true pistols use a much smaller, disposable C 02 cartridge, no bottom line and hold a limited number of rounds. Secondly, the paintball mask. A paintball mask is a mask specially designed for the sport of paintball. It has a clear lens, similar to safety goggles.

Below that, and connected to the lens, is a mouth and lower face guard. It goes down approximately to the chin, down around the cheeks, and continues back to protect the ears. These masks are not recommended they are required. Due to the high velocities of paintball's, this protection is the only mandatory protection that a player needs. Anything other than that is up to the player. If a paintball were to strike another player with no mask in the eye, it would almost certainly cause the eye to rupture, causing blindness in that eye.

A hit to the ear, could rupture the eardrum, causing temporary or permanent deafness in that ear. A hit to the mouth could cause a person's teeth to tear through their lip to the outside. All of these things have happened before. All could have been prevented had a mask been worn. There are several kinds of lenses that can be used. The most common kind is a single, clear lens, made of high-strength clear plastic.

This is the least expensive and easiest to clean. Glass is not used for lenses due to risk of breakage and resulting eye damage. There are also colored or tinted lenses. These act like wearing a pair of sunglasses while playing. The second type is the thermal lens. This is a double lens made to prevent the lens from clouding up.

Lenses cloud up due to condensation from the heat of your body on the lens. It would be like breathing closely at a mirror and seeing it fog up. Thermal lenses do not fog thus eliminating the problem. Next, we move onto the gas source. There are two power sources for paintball markers. Carbon Dioxide, almost always referred to in the sport, as it's common chemical name, C 02.

The other form is High Pressure Air (HPA). Both are stored in specialized tanks made to hold that particular gas. The most common kind is C 02. When C 02 is in it's tank, it is in liquid state. As the liquid C 02 evaporates, tremendous pressure builds up. The pressure in a C 02 tank is usually around 800 psi (pounds per square inch).

As the marker is fired, the pressurized gas is released, allowing room for more C 02 to evaporate, and for the pressure to build back up. This evaporation and pressure build is almost instantaneous, except when the C 02 starts to run out. The problem with C 02, for serious players, is that if one fires the marker very quickly, the C 02 evaporation cannot always catch up quite as fast. This results in the marker's firing pressure dropping, and the ball not going as far or as fast. This only occurs at high rates of fire, such as 10 balls per second (bps) or more. The fast fire rate must be maintained for a time before the pressure drop will begin.

This problem was solved with the introduction of HPA. HPA is much more consistent than C 02 simply because it is not stored in liquid form, thus there is no need for evaporation time. The air inside the tank is highly pressurized, and even at high rates of fire, it will remain consistent. HPA tanks cost more than C 02 tanks, another reason why it is less common that C 02. A large size C 02 tank, a 20 oz tank, will cost approximately $25. A large size, quality HPA tank can go as high as $500 or more.

This is the staple air source of professional players, because of the performance added. Last but not lest the actual paintball. There are many different kinds of paintball's, and many different brands. Paintballs, like everything else, range in quality from very high to very low, and price corresponds. There are a least 43 different companies that the I knows of, and several hundred different varieties of paint. The perfect paintball is a perfectly round sphere, with no seam or imperfections, and a bright, thick paint filling.

Such a paintball does not exist. There will never be a perfect paintball. Many companies strive to create one, but it will not happen. What makes a good paintball is a smooth shell, free of little dents or dimples, a thick, bright paint that does now allow wiping, and not too expensive. Wiping is the practice of wiping the paint from a hit into one's clothing, thus making the paint hard to see. This is a form of cheating.

Paintballs are usually purchased in bulk, packages that usually come in the increments 100,200,500, 1000, 1500, and 2000. Paint, depending on quality, can range anywhere from $30 to $90 per 2000 rounds. There are several other essential and semi-essential accessories to a paintball setup. First is the hopper.

The hopper is connected to the marker usually on top via connection elbow and holds ammunition while one is playing. They are usually semi-elliptical, and usually hold about 200 rounds. Many hoppers are simply gravity-fed, meaning that as a paintball is fired, a new one falls down the hopper connecting tube into the chamber of the marker to be fired. There are markers, however, that can fire faster than the paintball's can drop into the chamber. If a marker fires before a ball is chambered, often times the ball will be cut apart by the bolt that moves back and forth to position the ball. This is called chopping.

Chopping is a problem because then, the marker fires anyway, and instead of the ball going down the barrel, one gets chunks of paintball shell and lots of paint instead. This causes terrible accuracy problems, and the barrel must then be cleaned. This is usually done with a squeegee. The squeegee is used to clean the barrel of paint and debris.

The problem of chopping was solved when electric hoppers were invented. These hoppers have small paddles or fins, with small motors connected. This agitates the paintball's, causing them to fall down into the marker faster than normal gravity can pull them. There are many issues currently surrounding the sport of paintball.

Some people believe paintball is a violent sport. People say that any activity where people are deliberately shooting at each other is bad and it is causing a nation of murderers. If that were true, paintball would not be the fastest growing sport in the nation. It is. There are many positive aspects of the sport.

It keeps people in shape. Paintball is a very active sport, and good health is usually required. Paintball teaches teamwork. Teamwork is necessary in almost every single game of paintball played. Communication, trust of one's teammates, and general working together are all essentials.

Paintball is an anti-drug. Most of the people playing paintball, at least those known to the author (and that's quite a few) do not do drugs of any kind. Paintball gives one something to focus on, and is a great hobby. It is also a family sport, I have been playing paintball going on three years now.

When I first started my son was under the minimum age of most fields to participate. Most fields require players be ten years old. However since he as reached the required age. I have taken him to the fields with me on several occasions. He loves the sport. Not only do I know were my son and quite a few of his friends are for the day, unless they are on the opposite team.

I know now have the opportunity to teach them about gun safety. There is no better feeling in the world then to see your son smile because he got his dad. Yea, warm fuzzy. My wife too has partaken in the game, although paintball is for the most part a male dominated sport, there are quite a few girls and women who play. There are several professional all-women teams that hold their own quite well in worldwide standings.

Paintball appeals to all ages as well. Paintball is beginning to spread worldwide, and is played in over 40 countries. Some of the countries in which it is currently popular are England, France, Germany, and Russia. Unfortunately, there have been deaths in the sport unrelated to actual game play.

Several instances of C 02 tanks being improperly maintained, modified or unscrewed then turning into projectiles have been reported, three in the past six months. These instances, although tragic, were caused by misuse of equipment. The persons in question most likely tampered with the tanks, trying to do self-done improvements, and caused malfunction. Paintball on a whole has fewer injuries per year than swimming, bowling, and golf.

Sport Yearly injuries per 1000 Participants Water Skiing 260.84, Lacrosse 223.79, Wrestling 36.46, Rugby 31.21, Football 30.17, Baseball 28.42, Hockey 21.92, Basketball 19.76, Soccer 12.59, Boxing 11.34, Bicycle Riding 11.71, Gymnastics 10.49, Volleyball 4.03, Ice Skating 3.83, Snowmobile 3.52, Snow Skiing 2.99, Racquetball 2.77, Tennis 2.77, Handball 1.92, Fishing 1.43, Swimming 1.34, Golf 1.22, Archery 0.85, Boating 0.75, Bowling 0.47, Paintball 0.24. The concept of the paintball game was originally conceived by three men; Bob Gurnsey, Hayes Noel, and Charles Gaines. Their intent was to settle a longtime debate about who was more cunning; city slickers, or the real world smarts of countrymen. The first known paintball game was played in the woods of New Hampshire in 1981, with twelve competitors playing capture the flag, using shop goggles and CO 2 powered 'paintball' pistols, and Nelson brand oil-based permanent paintball's, which were originally used for marking cattle and trees.

The goal of this original match was to capture all twelve participants' flags, without being 'eliminated' by being shot. On this fateful June afternoon, the eventual winner, country-boy Ritchie White, captured all twelve flags without firing a single shot! Paintball pioneer Bob Gurnsey saw the potential of what went on that day in the woods of New Hampshire, so he went on to secure direct sources of the necessary products from the companies that supplied paintball's and markers to forestry and agricultural markets. He then marketed the first paintball game field franchises under the banner of the 'National Survival Game'. In 1983, the first official N.S.G. Paintball tournament was held, and the die was cast. Some of the biggest manufacturers include companies like Tippmann Pneumatics, Smart Parts, Work Games Products (WP), WDP, Dye, V-Force, JT, and Brass Eagle.

Most companies make a full range of products for the industry, as to be competitive. Paintball is the fastest growing sport in the nation. It is easy to see why. It is competitive, team-building, family oriented, athletic, fun, and first and for most safe. Paintball appeals to men and women, young and old. It began with a few friends in the woods, and now is a multi-billion dollar family worldwide industry.

The sport of paintball is one that will be around for a very long time.