.50 caliber vs .68 caliber

Hey everyone! 

Hope you guys had a great week and been staying warm as well! Last week I went over some practical tips for beginners that they should consider when they first start out playing. This week I’ll be over a very controversial topic that has been in the paintball community for some time now.

            Paintballs originally have a caliber of .68, it has been like that since the sport first began. The size of this round is generally considering the ‘perfect’ size. Mainly because the round isn’t too big to where it hurts extremely bad when it makes impact on a player, and nor is it too small to were the hit is barely noticeable. Around early 2010, manufactures began testing different size paintballs to find a way to make paintball more affordable and a little less abusive on the body when playing. This created the birth of .50 caliber rounds which is numerically doesn’t seem like a big difference consider its only .18 deviation. In person however, the size is dramatically smaller. A few companies have pushed to make .50 caliber rounds the new ‘standard’ size for paintballs. These smaller rounds have several different benefits over the traditional rounds. First, they make paintball more affordable because more rounds can be produced at a cheaper price. Second, it will attract more people to play the sport due to the light impact the paintball will have on the body because the round is so small. Now these benefits seem to be almost near to the ‘perfect’ idealism of what paintball should be, but there is several down falls. The traditional .68 caliber has been used for years. Markers were designed to fire these size rounds, imagine the demand to convert the entire paintball community over to .50 caliber rounds! Heck, I remember how stressed I was when this topic first came up because I had just recently bought a new marker, and conversion kits were not free either, they were almost the price of whole new marker! Also, players were no longer able to tell when they were hit! Referees had to be on their A game to make sure players got out when they were hit. This typically wasn’t the players fault because the hit felt almost identical to someone poking you!

            Now as far as the future for this issue, it has been well over 3 years since this ‘caliber evolution’ took place. Yet you still see .68 caliber rounds being used today, mainly because it was going to be a hectic change for many people. If this change were to be enforced by tournaments and companies this would probably wipe out half the population of paintball enthusiast. I know for myself it would of set me back as well, I just don’t have funds to afford a conversion or a compete new marker that would accept .50 caliber rounds. Now this doesn’t mean that .50 rounds are no longer being used. Many fields have started using these rounds with beginners because it offers a more pleasure experience for people who aren’t use to being shot by the traditional rounds. Also it makes it more affordable for people who aren’t enthusiast and are just first time beginners, or recreational players. Now, I don’t think this means we won’t see another change or a suggestion for another change in the near future. Companies, tournaments, and even players strive to make paintball a more pleasure experience for newcomers. Because all enthusiasts remember how scared or intimated they were whenever they first played. This intimidation factor is usually the number one set back that keeps paintball from becoming an extreme sport. So who knows, maybe someday they can develop paintballs that are made of a different material so it doesn’t coast as much to produce but still yields to the same caliber size?

            Well that wraps weeks post everyone! I hope you guys have learned more about paintball and see this sport in a different light! If you have any questions feel free email me or just post a comment! I’m always trying to get more and more people to at least give this sport a shot! Because without a doubt there is no other sport like it!

Tips for Beginners!

Welcome back everyone! Hope everyone has been having a great week so far! Last week I attempted to squash the most horrifying rumor that has haunted new comers to the sport for years, freezing paintballs. That post is pretty important especially to those who want to actually try the sport out for the first time. So be sure to go check that out!

This week’s post I’ll be covering some simple tips for people who are interested in getting a taste of the sport. When I give advice to beginners I always recommend that they should start slow! Usually after their first time playing, they typically want to start spending tons of money into gear that they either have no idea on how to operate or how to even maintain. Remember, you can’t buy skills! Just because you have the most expensive equipment out on the field doesn’t mean that you are the most skilled player either. So start off by renting the equipment being offered by your local field and just wear an old pair of jeans and a white t-shirt. Next, find out what style of play you like! There are so many different variations of paintball I recommend trying them all out! If you are the kind of person who likes a fast past game, then try speedball! Or if you’re more of a person who likes a slow pace game that involves bigger teams and more tactical aspects then I’d recommend woodsball! Last but not least, get some friends to play with you! Paintball is a team sport, and many people have a big misconception about that! Honestly if it wasn’t for my friends who I first began playing with, I probably would have never gotten so involved with this sport! Playing with people you know if far greater of an experience than playing with people you have just met at the field.

                So that about wraps up my tips for beginners, I know many of you have been asking me for tips geared for beginners since most of you have never played the sport before, so there you go! Stay tuned for next week’s post because I’ll be going over an exciting issue/topic that has been in the air in the paintball community for some time now, this topic is changing the caliber size of paintballs to a smaller round. 

Freezing paintballs....stupidest thing in world..

Welcome back everyone!

Hope you guys had a great week! I spent majority of this week in ice bath because I’ve been extremely sore from cup!

This week I’m going to go over something that has haunted my beloved sport for years. It’s a rumor that has kept probably hundreds of people from at least trying the sport out…That rumor is experienced players freezing paintballs and shooting it out of their markers. Now I know, the idea of having a frozen paintball shot at you would suck…heck honestly if it were possible to even do that it would definitely hurt a lot! Now, most of you probably don’t know how paintballs are  made so here’s a video on how these litter suckers are made.

After watching the video, I can now proceed on describing how stupid freezing paintball can be. When a paintball is frozen (and I’ve tested this myself) the gelatin loses its shape and its hardness. Actually, once a paintball is removed from the source freezing the paintballs it only takes a matter of seconds for the paintball to start becoming more brittle. In fact, when you freeze a paintball it becomes so brittle that the ball itself is damn near useless and I say for two reason. First, the shooter will be lucky enough if his paintballs even end up inside the camber of his marker. That is because after a paintball is frozen it will warp, in most cases warp so bad it will look more like a football rather than an actual ball. Second, if the paintball somehow actually makes it down into the camber of the gun, the paintball will probably explode internally once the marker is fired. That is because the paintball has lost its hardness and once all the high pressure air makes contact with ball, it ends up exploding. Here's a video that squashes this myth by another creditable enthuisest

Hopefully after reading this post and watching these videos I can bring some sort of security to people who might want to try this sport out. I've heard from several people how they are scared to play because they heard stories about people being shot by other players that have 'frozen' their paintballs. 

Anywho, that wraps up this weeks post, I know this weeks post was suppose to be humerous according to the blog format but I really felt like I had to get this issue across rather fast. So here's a video with few epic fails with people while they were playing, hope enjoy it! 

PSP World Cup 2012!

Welcome back everyone!

Last week I went over the issue on paintball enthusiast being profiled as cold-blooded murders due to media’s connection between the infamous James Holmes and his liking for paintball. So be sure to check that post out because it’s probably the most emotional post I’ve written. Moving on to this week’s post I wanted to see how everyone’s knowledge about the sport has grown. Have you learned anything new? Or do you feel like I've just been doing a slack job? Make sure you leave a comments, it’s much appreciated!

Now in other news in the paintball world, this weekend was the PSP (Paintball Sports Promotions) World Cup! It was hosted in Polk City, and luckily my team and I were able to compete in this year’s event! Although we didn't place first we did place 18^th out of 200 teams in our division! I’ll be posting a video in hopes to show you how big these events are! Teams from all over the world come to compete! The team that placed first in our division was actually from Russia! The competition level is unbelievable; I remember thinking to myself how crazy it was hearing the team on the opposite side communicating in a complete different language! I really wish there was a way to get these events broadcasted on television because this sport without a doubt could easily be as intense as watching football! 

That about wraps up this weeks post, next week I'll be going the issue that haunted the sport for years, idiots freezing paintballs. So make sure you stay tuned for that next week! Have a great week everyone! 

Paintball Players = Psychopathic Killers ?

Hey everyone! I hope everyone had a good weekend! Well to kick off this week’s post I wanted to start off by thanking all the readers who have been asking questions and giving me feedback. It’s really helping me steer the course of this blog. Now recapping over last week’s post, I spoke about some personal dilemmas whenever I first began playing. I spoke about how much of a wuss I was to get shot and how the expenses of paintball kept me from playing for a few months as well! So if you want to get some more insight on that be sure to go check it out! Now in this week’s post I'll be going over an issue that has recently impacted the paintball community.

                Now we all know (unless you're just very clueless) about the recent shooting at the midnight premier of Batman in Colorado.  It was a very tragic event and my heart goes out to the families of the victims. One thing that infuriates me though is the media’s connection between paintball and the psychopathic freak that killed all these people. Apparently, James Holmes (the shooter), was also a paintball enthusiast like myself. I have attached a video that has the actual airing of the news broadcast that shows the connection between paintball and this freak. My question to you guys is do you think this could be a reason why he did this? From all the previous post that I've posted can you see paintball influencing and individual to cause such chaos?

                After watching the video I'd like to get a response from you stating your standpoint on this topic. Could he really of done this because he plays paintball? I know for a fact shooting REAL guns and paintball markers are two completely different things. To me it is stupid that the media would even air this! I don't see any logical connection between paintball and killing innocent people. But enough of what I think, let’s see what you guys think. Post your replies in the comments below!  

My personal issues with paintball

Welcome back everyone! Briefly reviewing what was covered last week we went over the main rules of almost any kind of tournament or recreational play of paintball. Then we covered some of the issues that has grown with the sport, and then discussed the current states of these issues today. In this week’s post we're going to take things to a little more of a personal level. I'll be explaining a few personal issues (or complications) that I've overcome since I first started playing.

                When I first began playing paintball I played mainly because my friends played. If my friends never played then typically you wouldn't see me out there. Why? It was simple, I was afraid to get shot! I was so scared that I would literally shoot myself in the foot to get out. This didn't last long though, after a while my friends began to notice that I was always getting out with the same hit.  This caused them to modify the rules slightly; the change was that only head and torso shots were considered elimination shots. After being shot over 30 plus times I naturally became use to the feeling.

                Another issue that kept me from playing for several months was the expenses to play paintball. Paintball is a rather expensive sport, at first you can easily be paying 50 dollars to practice at your local field , and then when it come to playing tournaments you can easily be paying over 100 dollars! This quickly became an issue for me because I was only 13 years-old whenever I first began playing tournaments. My parents could only support me to such a certain extent but things kept becoming more and more expensive. So what could I do to fix this dilemma? Well, I began to volunteer as a referee at my local field which gave me a discounted price to practice. After around logging over 300 hours of volunteer work I began to play for basically free.  This helped me to practice more and get my skills to a more competitive level. I was then able to try out for a local travel team that is based out of Macon, GA, and now I am able to play tournaments at a fraction of the cost due to the sponsors the team has contracted with.

                Well that about wraps up this week’s blog post! If you have any questions or comments please just leave it in the comments section below. I’ll be more than glad to answer them in next week’s post! Be easy everyone, and have a nice  day! 

Let's go over some rules & Issues

Welcome back everyone! Last post we briefly spoke about a few of the fundamentals of paintball. We spoke about how paintball is mix between speed and strategy, so if you have any catching up to do go have a look at that post.  Today I'll be going over the general rule for paintball then closing off with issues that have grown as the sport popularized, and the current state of those issues today.

                So what’s the main goal every paintball team has when they walk out onto the field? It’s simple, get as many players on the opposing team eliminated as possible, and score the flag on their starting station.  Now this does seem simple but there’s a twist, each game is given a total of 25 minutes of playing time. That being said, there is no certain amount of rounds per game. There could be as little as 3 rounds (which mean each round was fairly long). Heck I've seen some games have as many as 10 games! Like I said paintball is an extremely fast moving sport. This concept of speed is what keeps players and the audience in the stands on the edge of their game or seat. Now teams are given points for every opponent they eliminate (and yes, friendly fire is also accounted for) but this does not guarantee a win for that round. Hanging the flag on the opposing team’s base is what gives the most points and typically guarantees a win. Note I used the word “typically” this is because if your team has a penalty that deducts not only points but as well a player for a certain period of time depending on the severity of the penalty. Penalties can be from talking back to the referee, fighting, wiping paint after being hit (worse penalty by far), and any other general behavior that is not sportsmanlike  Now once all the playing time has been played, officials add all the points together and the team with the most points wins! Now I know this is a random place to put this but I have been getting many questions such as, “If you only get shot once are you out?” or  questions like, “Are there a certain amount of hits before you are called out?”.  To answer these questions, players are considered out once ONE paintball has successfully hit and broke anywhere of the player’s body, this does include the marker and hopper. This is why paintball is so intense! Think about it, two teams of 5 players each player having a marker that is capable of shooting 12 paintballs per second with each paintball travelling at 300 feet per second ( or roughly 204 miles per hour) and players are cannot even be hit once…..Crazy right?

                Now a major downfall for paintball is all the issues and misconceptions that many people have on the sport. For example many parents refuse to let their children play because many view the sport as a promotion for violence. Although the idea of having individuals shooting each other with paintball markers can easily be misunderstood for a violent standpoint  parents need to have a more open eye and view it from a different light. This dilemma really hindered the growth of the sport during the early 2000’s; heck I still remember how hard it was to get my mom to take me to the field whenever I first started playing. So exactly what did the community fight this misconception?  Well one easy way was the fix the name that many people use to call the markers back during the early 2000’s which was the term “Paintball gun”.  The word “gun” typically was what scared many people who was scared when it first came to playing. Then around 2006 some genius decided that entire industry of paintball should refer to paintball guns as paintball markers  This simple change in name caused the industry to boom, and in the end the sport keeps thriving til this very day. 

                So that about wraps it up for this week’s blog post, Next week I’ll be going over some personal experiences of mine whenever I first started playing. If you have any question please feel free to ask in the comments below, I'll  answering them next week.

               

Sport or Hobby?

Hello everyone, and welcome to the first installment of What You Didn't Know About Paintball. I, Aurelio Francis, will be discussing the sport of paintball and hopefully persuade you to view paintball more as a sport than a hobby.

         So exactly what is paintball in your eyes? Do you see it as a sport? Or do you see it as a hobby? These question are quite controversial because paintball can easily be both. Most people typically see it as a hobby, but did you know that paintball has more that just a "hobby" ? Imagine this, you are running from bunker to bunker hearing nothing but the sound of paint flying past you at over 205 miles per hour and each player shooting an average of 12 paintball per second, along with this the constant yelling from your teammates giving out position of potential threats. Sounds like a crazy sport doesn't it? But it doesn't end there either! With all this going on you're trying to make strategic moves to help your team's progress up the field. This mix of speed and strategy are the ingredients that make paintball so unique. Players are required to be not only physically fit but have the mental capacity to make smart strategic moves while under pressure. In addition, players need to be disciplined, if it comes down to a one on three. That player has to have the discipline to keep calm, and make smart choices. Rather than going crazy and running down the field on a suicide mission. Clearly there's a lot more to paintball than what most people think. If helps, think paintball as a real life scenario of chess. Players practice to think two moves ahead, rather than just shooting randomly hoping to hit someone. In the end, paintball is a game of strategy. I have attached a video that gives you just a slight taste of the intensity that paintball brings. In next week's post I will be going more in depth about the background of paintball and some basic rules on how the game is played.