So you know a little about paintball, and the idea of throwing
yourself behind a bunker, taking aim at your enemy, then seeing a
satisfying blob of pink, green or blue spread across their clothes
is appealing to you.
So you know a little about paintball, and the idea of throwing yourself behind a bunker, taking aim at your enemy, then seeing a satisfying blob of pink, green or blue spread across their clothes is appealing to you.
Sounds like you should get yourself equipped for battle, then indulge your affection for flying paint right here in the South Valley.
Get Equipped
Locally: JJ’s Paintball Supplies at 7350 Monterey St., Gilroy; (408) 842-7733
Other places: www.americanpaintballsupply.com; www.nationalpaintball.com
Paint ball guns, also commonly called “markers” are available in electric and non-electric models. Prices can range from $99-$1,300. You can shoot more balls at a faster rate with electric gun. Ask about safety features available on many guns if younger children will be using them.
Different brands of paint balls have different shells on them. Some are more durable and will take heavier impact to hit, but others will break at the slightest impact. Ask which kind would work best with your marker. Paintball paint is water-soluble, making it easy to wash off skin, clothes and equipment.
Aside from the marker and paintballs, this is the most important piece of equipment. The helmet protects the face, head and eyes from injury during a game where small objects fly at players at 200 miles per hour or faster.
The hopper, which holds the supply of paintballs on top of a gun, come in automatic and standard versions. Automatic hoppers feed a steady supply of paintballs to the gun and standard ones rely on gravity to feed the gun.
Barrel covers, also called barrel sleeves, are put on the tip of a marker as a safety precaution.
These pods are like extra ammunition clips. You fill them up with extra paintballs and when your hopper is on empty, you dump a pod full of balls into the hopper and keep playing.
Packs worn around the waist hold multiple pods of reserve ammunition so a player won’t run out in the middle of a game.
Air tanks make the guns fire. There are different kinds of tanks and air for different guns, which can affect the speed of paintballs fired and vary in efficiency. Some tanks require covers to protect them during play.
Source: Jim Sr., Jim Jr., and Joseph Lemos, owners of JJ’s Paintball in Gilroy
Dress the Part
Paintball jerseys often have padding on them to help soften the impact when a paintball hits or when the player dives behind a bunker or slides to hide behind some other barrier. The material is also more durable and less likely to tear during play than regular shirt.
Vests provide an extra layer of padding and further defense against painful hits. They’re worn under the jersey as extra protection.
Like paintball jerseys, these special pants have extra padding to help make the game more comfortable to play.
People will often also wear gloves to protect their hands and padded bandanas on their heads.
Talk the Talk
Air bunkers are large inflatable objects, often in various shapes, players use to hide behind as protection from paintballs being aimed their way.
These brushes used to clean inside a marker’s barrel are called “battle swabs.”
There are three kinds of games:
– Regular games, where people try to tag each other with paintballs while avoiding being tagged themselves.
– Scenario games, where people try to accomplish a goal, such as capturing a flag, while trying not to get hit by paintballs.
-Tournaments, which are any paintball game played in competition.
Bounces: A bounce is when someone is hit by a paintball, but it doesn’t explode. It bounces off the player harmlessly and the person continues playing.
Shake and Bake: When your hopper isn’t electric, you often have to shake it during play in order to get the balls to shift and fall down into the gun so you have ammunition to fire. You have to shake and bake.
Finding a Battlefield
Sure, you can drive to San Jose and deal with the crowds at the various paintball facilities. Or, you can access top notch paintball grounds right here in the South Valley.
– U.S. Paintball Nation, Inc.
1533 Shore Road, Hollister
(831) 636-8877
www.uspn.biz
10 fields
Open on weekends, 8am – 4:30pm
Open Monday through Friday by appointment only
Sample prices: $10 for registration, $10 for marker rentals, $10 for air
-T.A.G. (The Adventure Game)
Next door to 1066 San Benito St., Hollister
(800) TAG-5150
www.800tag5150.com
13 fields
Open on weekends only, 10am-3pm
Sample prices: Admission, unlimited air, 500 paintballs: $49
