Play Smart...Play Safe

In a post I wrote the other week I showed a video of a kid shooting himself in the face with a paintball gun. It has been brought to my attention that this particular video was revealed to be a hoax. However, I can guarantee you that similar situations have occurred and that the people involved have actually been hurt.
Now most people do not like the idea of pain, some do, but from my experiences I have found that it is not a desired sensation. Through my paintball career I have found that fear of getting hurt is one of, if not the largest reason people do not get into paintball. I cannot even begin to recall all the times that I have been talking to someone that was on the fence about paintball and one of the first questions they ask is, does it hurt when you get shot.
The initial manly response that most players will give you is, no way, not unless you’re a wimp. But I have found that there is no real definite answer to that question. There are a lot of factors that go into what a paintball feels like when it gets to you. It depends on how close you are from the person that’s shooting you, it you are ten feet apart; it’s going to hurt a lot more than if you are one hundred feet apart. You have to take into account what the velocities of the guns are at; the higher it is the more it’s going to hurt. One other aspect is where you get hit, obviously there are body parts, you know where they are, that are more sensitive than others.
There are ways to reduce the impact your body feels from the ball. You can wear thicker clothing, but the more layers you add the less mobility you’re going to have and the easier it’s going to be to hit you. They also make pads, such as chest protectors, but what I’ve noticed when I play, if someone sees you wearing one it makes them want to shoot you even more. For the most part when you get hit you are going to feel it. It will probably sting for a couple seconds, sometimes it will leave a mark, but then after those first seconds you will forget about it. So now that we’ve covered getting shot, let’s talk about more serious injury.
You will not suffer any serious harm as long as you follow the basic safety rules of the game and the field you are playing on. You must always wear a mask when playing; this will protect your eyes and the rest of your face. When you are not on the field make sure you have a barrel plug or condom over the front of your barrel, this will prevent paintballs from shooting out if you accidently pull the trigger. Do not climb trees or other elevated objects. If you climb up something there is a chance that you can fall off of it. Plus, you will not have very much space to move around so you will be more susceptible to being shot.
Basic rule of thumb, if you are playing and you think to yourself, wow I could hurt myself if I do that, chances are you’re right. So just don’t do it, no matter how cool you think it will be.