Selecting Paintball Fields

One important factor in playing paintball is well, having a place to play.

 Generally your choices of paintball 

fields include indoor parks, outdoor parks, and

 general outdoor venues like public or 

private land where paintball is allowed. 

Most public land is not a good place for any paintball fields as it is generally illegal, but there are exceptions. 

When selecting paintball fields there are three main factors that you want to take into consideration are: What type of game do you want to play, how many people you have, and what other services do you need? The terrain is an important factor in selecting your paintball fields depending on what type of paintball games you play. Generally speedball is played in more open level areas with more maneuverability and for woods ball the paintball fields of choice are generally wooded areas with plenty of cover and hiding places.  

Commercial paintball fields can really vary in size and generally limit the number of players on the paintball field.  

Indoor parks can vary from your standard room to an entire steel building size wise where as outdoor fields are pretty limitless in most cases and you size the field to the number of players. When you are determining the size of your outdoor paintball fields take into account the number of players and the cover within the playing area. The amount of space and cover needs to be taken into consideration as paintball fields with less cover need to be larger to accommodate for all players.  

Other than size and the games you like to play you need to take into account your players and their needs when selecting your paintball fields. Commercial fields can often stimulate your day with air and CO2 refills and additional paint, not to mention food, equipment, repairs, and restroom facilities. Generally finding your own paintball fields gives you more control of the rules you play by, the choice of your terrain, and your company & atmosphere. 

Paintball Barrels

When selecting your paintball barrel there are two areas that you want to focus on: the threading and the barrel shaft (length, diameter, and porting).

When selecting your barrel you are going to want to start with your threads. Every brand and gun may have its own thread pattern so the first thing you want to ensure is that the barrel that you are looking at matches your paintball gun.

Another Factor to consider is going to be your barrel length. The longer your barrel is the more accurate you gun is. The longer the ball has to travel down the barrel the longer it has to straighten out your shot improving your accuracy, however the further the ball has to travel further down the barrel requiring more air to shoot the ball, in turn making your gun less efficient. In addition to the loss of efficiency to your gun in barrels over 14" the barrel is actually long enough that it starts to slow the ball down before it leaves the barrel, decreasing your range and accuracy! It is also good to factor in the maneuverability of having a shorter barrel over a longer barrel depending on your style of play.

Porting consists of the holes and openings in the sides of a barrel near the tip. Porting is used to dampen the sound of the gun when firing. The openings allow air to gradually leave the barrel instead of all at once through the business end of the barrel. As a rule of thumb, the more porting the quieter the gun, however like with the barrel length to a point. The more porting also requires more air to shoot the ball, so it will also eventually reduce gun effeciency and accuracy.

Paintballs for the average paintball gun are designed to be .68" diameter, however the shape or size can change with temperature and humidity. If a paintball is larger than the barrel, it might break inside the barrel and clog up the barrel and if the paintball is too small for the barrel, air will escape around the paintball when firing causing a drop in speed, accuracy, and efficiency. Different barrels also come in different sizes and having a good paint to barrel match is critical. To check for paint to barrel match put a paintball in the barrel holding it vertically, if it falls right through the paint is too small. If you try and blow the paint out the barrel it should come out with a good blow, if not the paintball is too big.

One of the best options

for solving this problem is to purchase a barrel kit. A barrel kit turns your barrel into a two piece system. The first smaller section creates the barrel diameter and having it interchangable will allow you to have a perfect paint to barrel match most all of the time. The second piece will determine the length and porting of your barrel. There are also barrel kits that have inserts to help you adjust your bore diameter.

When purchasing a barrel or even if you already have one it is important to have the proper barrel accesories as well. Squeegees are used to clean the paintball barrel when paint has broken inside. A squeegee does what it sounds like, it has rubber disc that slides down the inside walls of the barrel wiping it clean.

A battle swab is another way that you can clean your barrel and are generally known for being extremely quick in cleaning. The paintball battle swab usually consists of a rod, jointed in the middle that has a soft wool like material on both ends for cleaning out debris and absorbing the paint in the barrel.

Whichever tool that you prefer it is essential to keep a clean barrel or else you will find your accuracy severely reduced.

Tucker Stoffers