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Paintball Marker

A Paintball Marker is the primary piece of equipment used in paintball to tag an opposing player. An expanding gas forces a paintball through the barrel at a muzzle velocity of approximately 300ft/s (90m/s). This velocity is sufficient for most paintballs to break upon impact at a distance, but not so fast as to cause tissue damage beyond mild bruising. Nearly every commercial field has, and strictly enforces, a rule limiting the muzzle velocity of a paintball at or below 300ft/s.

The most technologically advanced Paintball Marker is the electro pneumatic. Here, the trigger activates an electronic micro switch and information is passed to a computer-controlled solenoid valve which releases the propellant to drive the bolt forward and fire the paintball. This microcontroller operation makes the marker operate very quickly, and allows for extremely high rates of fire. These markers are the most expensive and are generally used for tournament play where rates of fire can reach and exceed 30 balls per second.

There is also a strong following of stock-class and "pump" players who use Paintball Markers with a purposefully low rate of fire and ammo capacity. Pump markers require the player to re-cock or "pump" the marker before each shot, and stock-class markers have even more limitations on rate of fire and paintball capacity. Some markers are designed to look like real guns. These markers are called mil-sim, short for military simulation. They are used almost exclusively in woodsball and military scenario games, though with a few modifications the markers can be competitive in the speedball arena.

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