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A
paintball marker, also commonly called a paintball gun, is
the primary device used in the game of paintball to mark an
opposing player. An expanding gas (usually carbon dioxide
or high-pressure air) forces a paintball through a barrel
at a muzzle velocity of approximately 300ft/s (91m/s). This
velocity is sufficient for most paintballs to break upon impact
at a distance, but not fast enough to cause tissue damage
beyond mild bruising. Nearly every commercial field has, and
strictly enforces, a rule limiting the muzzle velocity of
a paintball at or below 300ft/s. Being hit in an eye by a
paintball can result in permanent blindness or vision impairment,
thus the universal rule that paintball participants must wear
a protective goggle system designed specifically for paintball
use.
The majority of modern paintball markers are semi-automatic,
falling under the classification of either "open"
or "closed" bolt firing positions, relying on one
of four major design structures:
The first is a gas blowback design (either
inline or stacked) whereby the trigger releases a striker
which sends the bolt forward and knocks open a valve, releasing
gas to fire the paintball and recock the marker.
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Autococking markers use a more complicated gas pneumatic
system to automatically perform the function of a pump-action
marker without using a pump arm.
The third is the blow-forward design, such as that used in Airgun
Designs' markers. There is no striker: the bolt seals the air
chamber until the sear is released, which then allows the bolt
to move forward, chamber a paintball, and vent the gas behind
it.
The fourth and most advanced type of semi-auto paintball marker
is the electropneumatic. Here, the trigger trips an electronic
microswitch (or more recently, a magnetic or optical sensor) and
information is passed to a computer-controlled solenoid which
releases the propellant to drive the bolt forward and fire the
paintball, similar to the blow-forward design. This microcontroller
operation makes the marker operate very quickly, and allows for
extreme rates of fire. These markers are the most expensive (usually)
of the four types and are generally used for tournament play where
rates of fire can reach and exceed 30 balls per second.
There is also a strong following of stock-class and "pump"
players who use markers with a purposefully low rate of fire and
ammo capacity. Pump guns use a mostly self explanatory format,
forcing the player to slide a pump back and forth to load each
shot before firing. Stock-class guns are essentially the same,
with a few extra restrictions. They are exclusively pump-action
paintball guns powered by 12-gram CO2 cartridges. Also, stock
class markers have only a 10 to 20 round ammo tube that is not
spring loaded and must be fixed to the marker, parallel to the
barrel. This leads to what is known as the "Rock and Cock"
action, because a player needs to rock the marker back for a ball
to drop into the chamber before recocking the marker.
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