Safety should be your number one concern when playing paintball. If it is not, then paintball is not the game for you. Why? Because paintball markers can cause serious injury if not used with respect and maturity. MASKS
You may have noticed all our paintballers on the web site have one thing in common. They all are wearing paintball masks. You must wear a paintball mask not a pair of ski goggles, safety glasses or anything other than a paintball mask. Any other form of eyewear will not be able to protect you from a flying paintball. Our masks cover most prescription glasses. CLOTHING
Some seasoned players will wear short sleeves in summer weather. However outside of those situations you want to cover as much of your skin as possible. Even your fingers. Why? The answer should be obvious. A paintball will not only sting, but can cause a small bruise if you don't cover up properly. Paintball paint is washable and biodegradable, so wearing you favorite sweatshirt is OK. Just don't leave the paint on your clothing for for an extended period of time. Any paint will stain if left to dry long enough. Remember you will be running, sliding, perhaps falling, or diving about the terrain. It is not a fashion show, so wearing your best dress clothes is not advised. Our best advice is wear long sleeves and long pants. Any gloves will help, and if you can cover your head with even a bandana you may avoid getting paint on your hair from direct hits or splatter. HOW SAFE CAN YOU DRESS?
You can wear padded clothing, multiple shirts, a heavy coat or whatever you feel is going to allow you to run and play freely but not inhibit your ability to have fun. Want to know the lingo? We don't call them guns. They are "markers". You don't fire ammunition, you shoot "paint". A paintball marker is safe to use when used properly. It does not kick-back when you pull the trigger to shoot a paintball. When you are not on the playing field you should have your gun safety on, your fingers away from the trigger and most important; your barrel plug inserted into your marker barrel as displayed below. What purpose does the barrel plug serve? Multiple purposes: 1. It indicates to other players you are no longer a target. 2. Should you forget to place your safety in an "on" position and accidently pull the trigger, you won't injure anyone nearby. After you have registered and are assigned your marker you will receive your 200 paintballs. Fill your hopper and be sure your hopper lid snaps shut so you don't spill your paint. If your Co2 tank should leak at any time, return to the registration area and have it exchanged or repaired. Another reason to return your Co2 tank is for a refill. You should get approximately 600 shots from one fill. The marker you will use is a Tippmann 98 Custom as displayed in the photo above. The Tippmann 98 Custom is in our opinion the most reliable marker on the market today. You can bring your own marker but it must be calibrated to no more than 300 feet per second to be used at our paintball fields. You can test and calibrate your marker at our target range outside the registration area. Don't waste your paint on too many test shots! Tips
We must start with the obvious. Never take your mask off or lift it up while on the fields. There can always be someone after a game that forgets to keep their fingers off the trigger, has not put a barrel plug back into their barrel, and/or not placed the gun safty on. Referees will be vigilant about this rule. Keep your mask on! When the game starts, run! Field position is key. Get up field fast when the game horn sounds. But don't get beyond your lines. Make sure you have team mates willing to do the same otherwise you may be too far beyond your lines allowing the other team to manuver around you for a clear shot at you. Don't shoot! That's right, don't shoot until you are ready to give away your position! If you've moved up field fast, you may have a great position. Let your opponent move within range and then take a few quick shots at them looking for a break of paint. Bounces don't count, so if paint doesn't break you'll need to keep shooting. Don't call yourself out! Well, sort of. If you are hit, don't assume you are out. Paintballs do bounce sometimes and if you call yourself out, you're out. So what do you do when you are not sure? You call "Paintcheck!" This will draw a referee to you. The referee will inspect you and when the ref determines if you are hit, they will call you out or announce, "Players clean!" if you are clean ...and you go back to playing.

Still want to learn more? Read these advanced tips by field regular Lars Hindsley.