Learn How to Use a Paintball Gun in Nine Steps

You’re interested in using a paintball gun but must figure out how to get started. Don’t worry; I will show you how to use a paintball gun easily in the following text. As long as you stick to all of these instructions, you won’t have to wait until you can call yourself a seasoned paintball player. Okay, maybe not. But on the bright side, you’ll be able to practice your aim with a paintball gun, which has to be fantastic.

The operation of different types of paintball guns varies slightly from that of another. Still, in the end, they are all designed to achieve the same thing: fire paintballs. It also doesn’t matter what kind of paintball gun you acquire; you won’t necessarily have to adhere to all of the following steps. The first step in the process can be skipped using mechanical markers, and the fifth step can be cut with electro-pneumatic markers. If there are no issues with the marker, you can proceed to step 9 without further consideration. Let’s begin.

Step One: Install the Battery

To operate an electronic paintball pistol, you will first need to turn the marker on by installing a battery (or batteries), which will be required before you can use the gun. Single 9-volt battery powers most electronic markers; however, some more recent types need AA batteries.

If your paintball gun can shoot a high rate of fire, then you will require an electric loader to hit the most balls per second. 

Step Two: Attach a CO2 or HPA Tank

Before you can fire a paintball gun, you’ll need to fill a CO2 or HPA (High-Pressure Air) tank and link it to the ASA (Air Source Adaptor) on the bottom of the grip frame. This must be done before you can fire the gun.

And while all paintball guns have the capability of using compressed air, not all paintball guns have the ability to use CO2. Because carbon dioxide (CO2) is so temperamental, virtually all electronic markers need pressurized air as their operating medium. On the other hand, mechanical paintball guns can often run on CO2 since no solenoid in the market may be broken by the freezing-cold liquid CO2. This makes CO2 a more suitable fuel source for mechanical paintball guns.

On the other hand, not all mechs can operate on CO2, either. For example, the automag I purchased from AGD is a mechanical marker, but it still requires HPA. However, I don’t mind because HPA is better for the internals of your marker and has a much more steady output pressure than CO2.

Step Three: Load the Hopper

The third step is an easy one. Put as many paintballs into your hopper as you possibly can. Suppose you need to figure out what a hopper or loader is. In that case, the “paintball holder” sits on top of your marker and feeds (or loads) paintballs into the breach of your gun using either gravity or batteries. If you’re unsure what a hopper or loader is, the “paintball holder” sits on top of your marker.

Step Four: Pull the Cocking Knob

After attaching an air canister and loader to your paintball rifle and ensuring that both are adequately filled, it is time to activate your marker. Pulling the cocking handle or striking the power button will accomplish this. On most mechanical markers, the cocking knob (or handle) is typically on the body frame. Still, it can also be located on top of the body frame. In contrast, the power switch is generally situated on the rear of the grasp frame or next to the trigger frame.

Step Five: Turn Off the Safety

Suppose you are using a mechanical paintball gun. In that case, there will almost always be a safety button positioned on the trigger frame of the gun. This is the case nine times out of ten. When the trigger of the marker is pushed, pressing the safety button first will prevent the marker from shooting accidentally. To fire the paintball gun, remove your finger from the trigger and hold down the safety button until you see a red line. Only then may you pull the trigger. The marker is prepared to be fired as soon as the red line on the safety button can be seen.

The fact that most electrons have a power button instead of a safety button is the sole explanation for why the latter does not appear on the former.

Step Six: Shoulder the Marker

Tuck the stock or air tank under your dominant arm when you’re ready to shoot your paintball marker. This should be done while keeping your dominant hand on the trigger. The foregrip of your marker should be held in your other hand, which should be utilized to grasp the other hand.

You’ll also need to practice shooting while using your off-hand at some point in the future. Shooting off-hand is vital because it lets you plug your marker from the opposite side of a bunker or barricade without exposing your elbow, hopper, or shoulder to the elements.

Step Seven: Aim the Marker

If you assume that shooting a paintball gun resembles aiming a real handgun, you need to rethink that assumption. Paintballs are notorious for flying in all directions, unlike bullets, which typically travel in a single line. Also, when wearing a safety mask, you won’t be able to lay your face too near to the marker, so consider this if you intend on purchasing or renting one of those fancy woodsball markers with a buttstock like the one below.

So, How exactly does one aim a paintball gun?

Raise the front of your marker using the hand that is not your dominant one until the barrel points in your target’s direction. Then you should adjust your head so that your eyes look straight behind and slightly above the tail end of your marker. If the bolt would hit you in the face if it were to fly out of the rear of the cannon, then you are in the correct position. How you aim your marker will also be determined, to some extent, by the paintball pistol you use. Suppose your paintball gun has a center feed loader. In that case, you must tilt your marker slightly to the side (non-dominant side) so you can look down the barrel without the loader being squarely in your line of sight. This is necessary so that you can aim your paintball gun more accurately. If, on the other hand, you are using a paintball gun that is made explicitly for woodball, then you should be able to hold your marker without it leaning to either side.

If you want to prevent restricting your field of view any further, keep both eyes open at all times. You are not operating a handgun. Thus, there is no need to cover one eye at a time. Again, this is different.

Step Eight: Pull the Trigger

Pull the trigger and then look to see where the paintball falls once you have firmly pressed the air tank or buttstock into your armpit and oriented your paintball gun toward your target. Once you have done this, it is time to check where the paintball lands. If the paintball doesn’t hit the target you were shooting for, just move the barrel to face the target you were attempting to hit. Continue doing this process until you have reached your objective.

Step Nine: Adjust the Velocity

Before you step foot on a paintball field, you must change the velocity of your paintball gun to somewhere between 280 and 300 feet per second. This will ensure the safety of you and the other players playing near you. If you shoot at speeds greater than 300 feet per second, you risk injuring someone or, at the very least, leaving them with an unsightly bruise.

This step is one of the most critical paintball safety rules, so please follow it.