Memories of Paintball

When I was a teen I used to play paintball every few weekends. Paintball is a lot of fun, a group of us would all cram our paintball gear into my car, don our battle dress uniforms and drive out to some forest land where a guy, we called sarge ran a paintball site. I'd grab my paintball gun, buy a box of paintballs, load up my rifle and sidearm, and two pouches of extra paintball ammunition. I'd pull my mask down over my face and I'd run out and shoot people, and get shot myself.

I no longer remember if I used a spyder paintball gun, or a tippman, or some other brand. The paintball weapon to me, is unimportant, what mattered was getting out with friend, enjoying the woods, and of course, shooting people. It was a blast and I highly recommend trying it.

If you are going to do paintball, I recommend getting a few basics to protect yourself. You have to have a mask. They make masks specific for paintball. Anyone who does paintball without eye protection is asking to be blinded, but I recommend more than eye protection. There are a few other sensitive places on your head. Getting a paintball in the ear, nose, temple or mouth is not pleasant. I used a mask that covered all of these and I still got hit in the face once (a shot came from underneath me, hit me in the chin.) It stung a little.

If you bruise easily, you might want to wear two layers of clothes, and this is a good idea until you know what it feels like to get hit by a paintball. You don't want to be always on guard, expecting to get hurt by a paintball shot. The extra layer gives you some padding, then you can learn what it feels like and as you play, you may find you don't need the extra layer.

The paintball gun you choose is less important. A paintball gun can range from junk to really good. If you are playing just once or twice, the paintball gun you choose will depend on what is available for rent. If you buy your own paintball gun, but the best you can afford and you will have a better paintball experience.

Where you play paintball determines what you wear. If you paintball in the woods, like I did, then you want camouflage. If you don't have camouflage clothing, either head to your local Army surplus, ear wear comfortable black pants and a dark shirt. If you paintball in an indoor park, then dark clothes are best as indoor paintball parks are often dim. Check out the venue before deciding on the proper attire.