safety first!
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Safety. I know, you hear all the time in APG how you must wear your mask at all times but there is more to paintball safety than just a mask. So sit back, grab something to drink, and take a moment to read this because nothing should take a back seat to being safe on and off the field.
We all should know by now that your mask is your best friend. Of all your body parts, perhaps your eyes, ears, and brain are about the only things that can't be fixed or transplanted. Wearing a standard paintball mask protects two of these important body parts.
But won't any mask or goggle work? Absolutely not! First and foremost, the lens of your paintball mask is specifically designed to withstand the force of a paintball smashing against it at 300 fps (just a tick under 200 mph if memory serves). Many demonstrations have been done with shop goggles showing the paintball not just shattering the goggles, but driving jagged pieces of goggle lens into whatever it was setting against. This means, believe it or not, it would actually be safer to wear no goggles at all than to wear shop goggles to play paintball!!!!! Realize that the lens of a paintball mask is made from very pliable Lexan Plastic. Lexan is the same kind of plastic they use in Jet Fighter Canopies and can take a direct hit from a bird at a few hundred mph and not break! Shop goggles are not made to such stringent demands.
Besides, we are talking a $20 investment at most and, many times, you can buy your paintball mask as part of a package deal when you buy your first marker.
On top of protecting your eyes, the paintball mask also protects your face and ears. While being hit in the face with a paintball won't kill you...or even do any serious permanent injury...it certainly doesn't feel good and can cause lacerations that would require stitches to properly heal.
There are other benefits to paintball masks as well. For one, many offer terrific fields of vision compared to regular goggles. Secondly, if you get a thermal lens the chance of having them fog up is very remote. Third, if you can get a mask that has a chinstrap. The chinstrap will keep your mask on your head if you happen to fall. Believe it or not, they work. I've fallen with both types of masks and without the chin straps those masks can go flying off your head when you need it the most.
Masks should be worn whenever you may be in an area where guns are hot and barrel plugs are out. You should never take them off when a game is in progress...yours or any other games that MAY be going on around you. If you're hot and need some air, look down and the ground and PUMP your mask on your face allowing only a minimal gap between the mask and your face just so that you can circulate the air. If you have an itch, scratch it under the mask if you can and it you can't, leave it be and suffer. Better to suffer from an itch than to suffer from an eye hit.
I hated wearing knee and elbow pads. Hated them. Hated the way they felt. Hated the way they limited movement. Just hated them. Until the day I feel into a big pile of broken concrete. I had to learn the hard way to love them.
Now, I always wear kneepads and very thick gloves with leather pads in the palm. The kneepads are under my BDU's so they don't get tore up when I go down but still offer the right amount of protection. If you don't already have a set of gloves and kneepads, get them. You won't regret it.
No matter how careful you are, falls happen. Knee injuries can follow you for the rest of your life and require countless surgeries to just get them close to being normal. I have a number of friends with knee issues to know that I don't want them. And what can you do if you can't use your hands? Gloves not only protect against falls but against paintball hits too, which for some reason hurt even more when they nail your hand...yeoch! Full fingered gloves offer the best protection but even fingerless gloves give very good protection where you need it the most against falls, your palms.
Another important thing to mention is protecting certain...uh...sensitive parts of your anatomy with a cup or other protection device (for the ladies when they get shot in the chest). Getting hit in either of these areas is no fun if you dont' wear the proper protection. It may not be all that comfortable at first, but you get used to it over time and is far more comfortable than getting hit there...just...trust me on this one. (Thanks to Master.Kirby for this one.)
You may not think about it, but the clothes you wear can hurt you too. For me, I like to cover myself from head to toe so as to minimize the number of marks on my body. I hurt myself enough on an everyday basis that I don't need to wear short sleeves and shorts so I can show proof of manhood by the number of bloody welts I get.
However, there are some dos and don'ts you want to pursue when it comes to clothing. One, make sure you have good, comfortable, closed toe shoes. No saddles, please. It is even better to have high-topped shoes or boots that support your ankles. It is very easy to take a wrong step that twists and seriously injures your ankle. The extra support these high-topped shoes bring will be worth it.
Also, make sure they have some good tread on them. Shoes with smooth soles will slip and slide when you don't want them too and can also lead to serious injury. I've seen some people go so far as to wear cleats but personally I think that's a little too much.
Make sure your clothes aren't too baggy either. Baggy clothes can catch on bunkers and branches causing you to trip and fall at strange angles. Anything baggier than cargo pants I would consider not appropriate for paintball.
I put gun in quotes for a reason. See, I know a lot of you out there are saying "They're not guns, they're markers!" Well, two things. One, they are only markers to people who know they are markers...to the average un-informed non-paintball playing pubic, they are guns. Secondly, because they act so much like guns, following some modified basic gun safety never hurts.
The first rule my father taught me about guns is perhaps the most important one:
Always, ALWAYS assume and treat the gun as though it was loaded!!!!
Now, I know that you feel that without the hopper on it and with the tank disconnected and with the barrel condom on that it is silly to treat it as it is always loaded. However...think about this. What would happen if you thought the barrel cover was on but it had accidentally come off and the marker went off with the paintball hitting someone in the face? Don't think it can't happen, it can. Also, barrel covers and plugs CAN fail.
So then, how do you treat a loaded marker properly? Some basic rules:
- ALWAYS treat the marker as if it is loaded! This is rule number one and I cannot stress it enough.
- NEVER point the marker at ANYONE who you do not intend to shoot and/or is not wearing proper protective gear.
- NEVER carry the marker with your finger on the trigger.
- NEVER look down the barrel of a marker unless the barrel is NOT connected to the marker.
- ALWAYS aim your marker down towards the ground when carrying it.
- NEVER "dry fire" your marker in the parking lot or anywhere else where people are not wearing the proper protective paintball gear.
- ALWAYS use your safety and keep it in proper working condition.
- ALWAYS use a barrel plug OR, BETTER YET, a barrel cover/condom.
- ALWAYS unload, un-cock and un-air your marker if you will be setting it down for anything other than a very short period of time.
It may seem like a lot, it may even seem a little paranoid, but far better to be paranoid and safe, than comfortable laying in a hospital bed with your eyes bandaged up. Remember, these are not toys and they can injure people. Treat them with the same kind of respect that you would (or at least should) a normal firearm.
Also, make sure your marker is properly chronographed and shooting at the local field limit or 300 fps, whichever is less. We have all been tagged by "hot" markers and know how much it sucks. I have a scar on my leg from someone shooting me with a hot marker from 30 feet away...with my BDU's on. No matter how much you want to...no matter if you think the "other guys" are doing it, NEVER purposefully breach the 300 fps rule.
In addition, never "chrono" your marker by sound. A ball shooting 280 and a ball shooting 320 don't really sound all that different. Use an approved Chronographing device either at the field or purchase one for you to use if your field doesn't have one. MAKE SURE everyone you play with also follows this rule because it will be your hide (literally) that will pay if you don't!
Someone here at my work has a license plate frame that reads:
"Too bad stupidity isn't painful."
Well, stupidity in paintball usually comes with painful consequences, just not always for the stupid person.
Ever here of the story of the guy that shot "Frozen Paintballs"? I'm sure you've heard one variation of this or another. That is an example of paintball stupidity.
Here are some things that you SHOULD NOT do with a paintball marker:
- Shoot anything other than standard, unmodified paintballs. This means no marbles, no rocks, no candy bars, no hairball presents from the kitty, no "frozen" paintballs, or even law enforcement approved Pepperballs...unless you are a law enforcement agent that is trained in how and when to use said Pepperballs. Doing so can and will cause injury to others.
- Shoot at anything other than opposing players during a paintball game where everyone is wearing the proper protective gear. This means no shooting at road signs on the way home from the field, "marking" fluffy the cat after the deposit of his special hairball present in your favorite sneakers, no playing "tag the mailman" on your block, no personally eradicating graffiti with your paintball marker, no tagging of the security guards at your local Sears store (have actually been a witness to this one...), etc. All these things hurt people, hurt the public's image of paintball, and can possibly get your gear taken from you and your butt thrown in jail.
- Do not shoot your marker over 300 fps. This really goes without saying but no matter how much you want to see your buddy cry like a little girl it just isn't safe to crank up the dial-a-welt on your marker.
- DO NOT walk around with your marker in public. Most don't know this but you can be arrested for this. While most police officers will not think twice about you carrying a shiny anodized speedball marker around, the SIM markers are so realistic looking that you could go to jail before everything is sorted out. Now, I know what you're thinking...what kind of idiot doesn't know this? Case in point: At my local shop, we got into this discussion and the shopkeeper tells me this story. Seems he was working one day and went out front to take a smoke break. He sees this customer of theirs walking to the store across the street. Slung over the customer's back, uncovered, out in the open, is the customer's WG M-4 look a like marker!!!!!! The shop owner yelled to him to quickly get into the store and then proceeded to ask him if he was enjoying breathing and if he wanted to keep breathing that he probably shouldn't do that again.
Lastly, if you have to ask yourself if what you are about to do may be constituted as paintball stupidity, it probably is. Use a little common sense and don't help to give paintball a bad name.
Paintball is a very safe sport. Believe it or not, more people get an injury that requires they seek medical attention and/or miss work BOWLING than they do playing paintball. But that is only if we follow and use the safety devices and processes that are posted here. Remember, nothing should compromise your safety when on the field. You should expect...no, demand that those you play with also keep safety as their number one priority. If you play safe, you also have more fun.
Good luck and remember, it is all about having fun!
- Robotech
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