My ‘what airsoft costs’ topic, and my Paintball slant has triggered a conversation on their comparisons .....
https://airsoft-forums.uk/topic/41216-what-does-airsoft-cost/?page=4
This has gone to a comparison of airsoft having better (realistic) guns, tending to be more military orientated and the energy of a Paintball compared to a B.B. - thus pain levels
I’ll deal with the easy one first:
Paintballs do hurt more than BBs, but I did let out a little help when I was first shot in the back of my next from a few feet away.
But I’m not a good measure of pain. If I’m shot in the finger with anything then I’m a big baby, if I’m cold wet and miserable then everything hurts, but if my adrenaline is on then I can take pretty much any hit (as evidenced from a swollen forehead and probable concussion when getting caught sneaking into enemy hq in pitch black tunnels)
Freezing Paintballs is a fallacy, either nothing happens because of the freezing temperature of the gelatine or they are degraded and tend to break down the barrel
Quality of paintballs is more of a factor. Most people’s experience is with punter rental sites who use low grade paintballs with fairly tough shells. They have to sit around on site, probably in inadequate storage, can be sat around for a couple of months waiting to be shot or going through quickly depending on how many people really turn up and how they spend their money.
These also have to survive rough handling by players, basic guns, go through bushes etc
They are tough shelled and may not break on impact. If they don’t break then you get the full force on the larger 0.68” area, if they do break they still need a firm impact to break
Higher grade paintballs become more fragile, right up to tournament grades which are well stored (Idealy temperature controlled) on site, are ideally timed correctly from manufacture to be ‘cured’ ready to be used in optimum condition
They only need to survive being shot by a gentle low pressure gun, and break on the slightest impact
A ball that breaks on impact becomes liquid and the force is spread across the entire contents as opposed to the impact area
Under firearms legislation both Paintball and airsoft would have had to comply with the same air weapon muzzle velocity power thresholds, 6ft lbs for pistols and 12ft lbs for rifles, to comply as a low power air weapon. (12 ft lbs would equate to 330fps for an ‘average’ paintball)
Paintball was subject to legal problems in the 80s particularly in Scotland as legislation allowed for air weapons but not co2. In England this was accepted, but in Scotland firearms raids took place treating co2 paintball guns as firearms. This was resolved under case law which established that co2 was acceptable and approx 300fps was defined as the maximum muzzle velocity. This also resolved specific definitions which could classify most paintball guns as a pistol due to non rifling
(I cannot recall case details, it was late 80s to early 90s)
Paintball is excluded in Home Office interpretation from some elements of firearms legislation due to paintball frangibility
(additional testing was required and conducted for first strike. See below)
BBs being lighter than paintballs permitted higher velocities for different types of airsoft gun, such as bolt action rifles and remaining within 12ft lbs etc
However the Policing and crime bill introduced further definitions and controls, airlift is provided with an amendment which excludes airsoft from being a ‘lethal barrelled weapon’, however that amendment limits airsoft to 1.3 joules and 2.5 joules which reduces the maximum permitted energy
This therefore means that 6ft lbs allowed 8 joules, 12 ft lbs = 16 joules, and 1.3joules<1 ft lb, 2.5joules and reduces the scope for air soft velocities
Recreational play is typically set at 280fps or 250fps for indoors
I don’t know the different performance between a Paintball and a B.B. with regard to how they lose their power and velocity in flight.
There is a fairly recent Paintball projectile, which was subject to approved home office testing. This is the first strike shaped round which is effectively half a Paintball with fins. It is lighter, flies faster (for the same power) but also maintains its velocity and flat trajectory for a longer distance
A Paintball gun set to fire standard round Paintballs at 300fps will shoot hot with first strikes. As they maintain their velocity then they hit harder
Airsoft vs paintball guns
Obviously RIFs look like real guns, and IFs tend to do the same other than two tone designs
The interest is in the image
Paintball guns began based on function, they were a method of launching a ball of paint to mark an object or animal (forestry and farming)
This gave us pistols with a ‘magazine’ tube parralel with the barrel
Then they developed with a trend to a real gun look, with a lot of M16/M4 styles adjusted slightly for practicality of air systems and hoppers
They also developed in ergonomics discarding features required for real firearms. This gives the classic Paintball look with a cylinder coming out of the grip (used as a stock that rolls smoothly in the shoulder) and a hopper on top.
Often they will be angled across the face to minimise player profile and remove the error of an off centre gun
This does not mean there are not realistic guns in Paintball. Punters still want a ‘machine gun’ or ‘sniper’ and will pay the extra to have a lesser gun when site ‘upgrades’ are available
Scenario Paintball and airsoft are very similar, but we also have MagFed and milsim
(Milsim Paintball existed in the UK in a small community long before magfed came onto the market)
https://airsoft-forums.uk/topic/41216-what-does-airsoft-cost/?page=4
This has gone to a comparison of airsoft having better (realistic) guns, tending to be more military orientated and the energy of a Paintball compared to a B.B. - thus pain levels
I’ll deal with the easy one first:
Paintballs do hurt more than BBs, but I did let out a little help when I was first shot in the back of my next from a few feet away.
But I’m not a good measure of pain. If I’m shot in the finger with anything then I’m a big baby, if I’m cold wet and miserable then everything hurts, but if my adrenaline is on then I can take pretty much any hit (as evidenced from a swollen forehead and probable concussion when getting caught sneaking into enemy hq in pitch black tunnels)
Freezing Paintballs is a fallacy, either nothing happens because of the freezing temperature of the gelatine or they are degraded and tend to break down the barrel
Quality of paintballs is more of a factor. Most people’s experience is with punter rental sites who use low grade paintballs with fairly tough shells. They have to sit around on site, probably in inadequate storage, can be sat around for a couple of months waiting to be shot or going through quickly depending on how many people really turn up and how they spend their money.
These also have to survive rough handling by players, basic guns, go through bushes etc
They are tough shelled and may not break on impact. If they don’t break then you get the full force on the larger 0.68” area, if they do break they still need a firm impact to break
Higher grade paintballs become more fragile, right up to tournament grades which are well stored (Idealy temperature controlled) on site, are ideally timed correctly from manufacture to be ‘cured’ ready to be used in optimum condition
They only need to survive being shot by a gentle low pressure gun, and break on the slightest impact
A ball that breaks on impact becomes liquid and the force is spread across the entire contents as opposed to the impact area
Under firearms legislation both Paintball and airsoft would have had to comply with the same air weapon muzzle velocity power thresholds, 6ft lbs for pistols and 12ft lbs for rifles, to comply as a low power air weapon. (12 ft lbs would equate to 330fps for an ‘average’ paintball)
Paintball was subject to legal problems in the 80s particularly in Scotland as legislation allowed for air weapons but not co2. In England this was accepted, but in Scotland firearms raids took place treating co2 paintball guns as firearms. This was resolved under case law which established that co2 was acceptable and approx 300fps was defined as the maximum muzzle velocity. This also resolved specific definitions which could classify most paintball guns as a pistol due to non rifling
(I cannot recall case details, it was late 80s to early 90s)
Paintball is excluded in Home Office interpretation from some elements of firearms legislation due to paintball frangibility
(additional testing was required and conducted for first strike. See below)
BBs being lighter than paintballs permitted higher velocities for different types of airsoft gun, such as bolt action rifles and remaining within 12ft lbs etc
However the Policing and crime bill introduced further definitions and controls, airlift is provided with an amendment which excludes airsoft from being a ‘lethal barrelled weapon’, however that amendment limits airsoft to 1.3 joules and 2.5 joules which reduces the maximum permitted energy
This therefore means that 6ft lbs allowed 8 joules, 12 ft lbs = 16 joules, and 1.3joules<1 ft lb, 2.5joules and reduces the scope for air soft velocities
Recreational play is typically set at 280fps or 250fps for indoors
I don’t know the different performance between a Paintball and a B.B. with regard to how they lose their power and velocity in flight.
There is a fairly recent Paintball projectile, which was subject to approved home office testing. This is the first strike shaped round which is effectively half a Paintball with fins. It is lighter, flies faster (for the same power) but also maintains its velocity and flat trajectory for a longer distance
A Paintball gun set to fire standard round Paintballs at 300fps will shoot hot with first strikes. As they maintain their velocity then they hit harder
Airsoft vs paintball guns
Obviously RIFs look like real guns, and IFs tend to do the same other than two tone designs
The interest is in the image
Paintball guns began based on function, they were a method of launching a ball of paint to mark an object or animal (forestry and farming)
This gave us pistols with a ‘magazine’ tube parralel with the barrel
Then they developed with a trend to a real gun look, with a lot of M16/M4 styles adjusted slightly for practicality of air systems and hoppers
They also developed in ergonomics discarding features required for real firearms. This gives the classic Paintball look with a cylinder coming out of the grip (used as a stock that rolls smoothly in the shoulder) and a hopper on top.
Often they will be angled across the face to minimise player profile and remove the error of an off centre gun
This does not mean there are not realistic guns in Paintball. Punters still want a ‘machine gun’ or ‘sniper’ and will pay the extra to have a lesser gun when site ‘upgrades’ are available
Scenario Paintball and airsoft are very similar, but we also have MagFed and milsim
(Milsim Paintball existed in the UK in a small community long before magfed came onto the market)
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