How Fast Does a Paintball Gun Shoot?

Paintball is a popular and relatively safe sport played around the globe. It requires strategy, team work, agility and the use of an air-powered paintball gun, otherwise known as a marker. While the rules and laws of paintball vary drastically across different countries, one of the core features of the sport is the speed of the projectiles fired by painball guns. There is an enormous range of paintball markers available on the market, all varying in size, shape, weight and the speed of the shots they fire, but in this article we shall provide a comprehensive overview of the question 'how fast does a paintball gun shoot?' Moreover, we shall discuss the challenges and topics related to paintball gun speed including paintball laws, types of guns and theories of speed.

1. Paintball Laws and Speed Regulations

Around the world laws apply to the sport of paintball that specify the range of legal speed of a paintball projectile when fired. Consequently, paintball guns are often regulated with an electronic board that prevents the marker from firing at speeds surpassing the max speed limits set by the law. The range of legal speeds vary greatly between country to county and players who play across different regions must take care to adhere to the respective speed limits of each region.

Speed in the United States

In the United States each state differs in their speed limits, however most adhere to the broad range of 300-330 FPS (feet per second). Iowa is the only US state that defines a maximum speed of 250 FPS. Customers in the US are recommended to double-check their local speed regulations before use and some paintball fields even set their own speed limits to ensure maximum safety for their players.

In exceptional cases, users of paintball guns in the US can request permission to exceed the maximum speed limits set by the law. This is done through a Certified Paintball Chronograph that allows players to demonstrate they are firing within safety limits.

International Laws

Players located outside the US must make sure to check their respective speed regulations carefully, due to a wide variety of restrictions in different countries. Generally, paintball laws around the world mandate a maximum speed of 300 FPS for tournament and competitive paintball, whilst many countries particularly those in Europe set the maximum speed at a much lower limit that even regulates the speed of non-competitive recreational play.

For example, in Australia the limit of 300 FPS applies for all forms of paintball and in the UK the maximum speed allowed is 275 FPS for both tournament and non-competitive play. Knowing and adhering to the exact speed limits is the responsibility of the player and violation of these rules often result in serious consequences.

2. Types of Paintball Guns

Understanding the speed of paintball guns means understanding the different types of paintball markers available. Broadly speaking, the six main types of paintball guns are Pump Paintball Guns, Magazine Fed Paintball Guns, Electronic Paintball Guns, Stock Class Paintball Guns, Mil-Sim Paintball guns, and Woodsball Paintball Guns.

Pump Paintball Guns

Pump Paintball Guns are one of the earliest forms of markers and rely on the user to manually pump the gun and cock it after each shot. These guns are often restricted to a single shot meaning they are very slow and heavy compared to more modern alternatives. Pump Paintball Guns can fire up to 300 feet which is at the upper end of what is generally allowed under paintball regulations.

Magazine Fed Paintball Guns

Second on the list are Magazine Fed Paintball Guns, which are mainly used for tournament and competitive paintball. These markers often fire at much faster speeds as high-end models have the capability of firing up to 50-60 balls per second. Consequently, it is important to take into account that these guns have the potential to fire at speeds that often exceed the legal limits put in place by paintball laws.

Electronic Paintball Guns

Electronic Paintball guns are amongst the most several paintball markers on the market. These guns utilize compressed air and electro-pneumatic systems to fire balls rapidly at speeds above the legal limit. For this reason, electronic paintball markers are mostly used for recreational and leisure activities as the electronic board can restrict the speed to lower levels.

3. Theories of Speed

Having a general understanding on the types of paintball guns available helps to grasp the theories of speed when discussing the question 'how fast does a paintball gun shoot?'. Different types of guns have different abilities to generate power and this, when coupled with the thickness and size of the paintball, determines the speed of the shot. There are two main theories responsible for power production i.e. High Pressure and Low Pressure.

High Pressure Theory

The High Pressure Theory is used mainly in mechanical and pump paintball markers. Air enters the chamber through a screw and the pressure generated by this chamber finetunes the power produced by the marker, ultimately controlling the speed of the shot. The rate of shot and the level of power can be adjusted dependent on the user preference and paintball guns that utilise the High Pressure Theory typically fire within relevant speed limits towards the upper end.

Low Pressure Theory

At its core, Low Pressure Theory seeks to reduce the pressure in the chamber to limit the speed of the paintball. This is due to the fact that the lower the pressure the slower the paintball is pushed out of the barrel. This is largely used in the realm of electronic paintball markers, particularly in areas where there is a low speed restriction imposed under the law.

Insights

Before looking at the question how fast does a paintball gun shoot?' it is important to be aware of the prevailing paintball laws in your respective area. Different countries and regions have vastly different speed limits which must be adhered to and serious consequences can follow for failure to do so. Moreover, it is beneficial to understand the different types of paintball markers as certain markers are not only designed to fire faster but also offer a much more reliable and consistent rate of fire. Finally, there are two popular theories of speed in paintball and it largely depends on the pressures created in the chamber to determine the speed of the shot.

To summarise, paintball guns can fire at a variety of speeds depending on the type, power, pressure and size of the paintball. It is crucial for all users to be vigilant about their local regulations and ensure that their paintball guns are operating within the legal speed limits.