When playing paintball, all well managed courses require checking the speed of your gun before playing to ensure fairness and safety. While all guns generally have the same velocity as the paintball leaves the gun, some guns fire the paintball a greater distance. If the paintball is travelling at the same rate of speed when it leaves the barrel, why do some paintballs travel farther? Isn’t this in violation of some rule of inertia or velocity?
Galyean, if absolutely identical lead/copper bullets are fired from the same gun, they will travel different distances, within a range. A gun manufacterer may say that the range of fire is 2700’. It does not mean that no bullet will travel 2699’ or 2701’. Paintball guns are made to less strict standards…
I know the range will be different and that each paintball will fall several feet apart from the same gun, but I’m talking about notable differences between guns. Gun A fires 200-225 feet at a muzzle velocity of 300 ft/s, but gun B fires 300-310 feet at a muzzle velocity of 300 ft/s.
How can this be so? Does it have something to do with initial velocity? If so, explain how initial velocity affects it.
Different guns are marketed for distance and accuracy. Barrels can be changed and I understand about rifling causing rotation which affects distance and accuracy, but rifling and aftermarket barrels aside some guns fire longer distances.
Methinks you aren’t considering all the factors:
A gun powered by compressed air and/or pressure regulated will probably have more consistent shot to shot velocity. A Spyder with a plus/minus 10fps between shots will need to be set at a lower speed than an Angel with a 2 fps difference between shots. So, two guns may be shooting different velocities but both held to the same velocity limit.
Funky spin or vibration in midair would change the paintball’s velocity. This works both ways, the Tippmann Flatline gets more distance than conventional barrels by applying backspin to the ball.
Batches of paint often have varying mass and size. The coefficient of drag and the ball’s mass(directly related to inertia) will affect the distance it travels.
Galyean:
I will try again: firearms and their ammo are made to higher tolerances. Do you seriously expect a toy to do better?
Peace, on what evidence do you base your assumption that paintball markers (so called “toys”) are of less quality than their lethal bretheren? Because they aren’t really guns, does that make them capable of less precision and consistency in muzzle velocity? No, of course not. The paintball marker I used to own maintained a +/-1 fps difference in muzzle velocity. Also, I have not seen a paintball marker with the same velocity shoot any farther than any other marker. (Flatline/Z Body excluded). Granted, there are no two paintballs that are exactly alike, however that is the same of ammunition. For example, my chemistry teacher showed me this by placing two identical paper clips on a digital scale. One weighed 4.320 grams, and the other weighed 4.332 grams. Paintballs and markers can and are made to similar or even more strict manufacturing tolerances. Many markers are much more complicated than most small arms on the market today, and hence need to be manufactured of a higher quality.
Peace said:
What is your point? I guarantee that a $1500 WDP Angel LCD has higher build quality than a saturday night special pistol. Bullets weigh more and are rifled, that is what has a dramatic effect on range and accuracy.
Paintball markers can blind someone or cause other serious injuries. A quality paintball gun is a complicated, expensive device. I think they’re anything but “toys”.
Your premise is flawed that gun velocities are alike. Regardless of “speed checks” paintball guns don’t in any way have the “same velocities” as the ball leaves the gun. Better and more finely machined guns with a separately housed CO2 supplies will shoot farther and for longer than cheaper ones with gas cartridges where velocities fall rapidly after the first 10 - 15 shots or so.
OK, guys. What is your logic? First, you ask “Why are paintguns impecise?” I try to explain why, but you do not like it or do not belive me. So, I’ll try another explanation: could it be that gremlins sometimes live in them and make mess? And if you think that paintguns are made better than firearms, sell the technology to the Pentagon.
Hey peace, no one said that they were better, just equal, something that I agree with.
And I would also agree that a competition level paintball gun probably has better machining and tolerances than, say, a POS Davis Industries .380.
Paintguns may be very well built, but only within the confines of their design specs. Paintballs themselves are unrifled, vary in hardness, probably are slightly different sizes depending on temperature and manufacture, etc. So the paintgun is probably intentionally designed with some looser tolerances so that it won’t jam when the ammo is slightly off.
But I’d think the biggest factor in accuracy and distance would be the paintball itself. It’s unrifled, which ruins accuracy, and it’s not as solid as steel so it’ll deform slightly when it leaves the barrel. A paintball gun is like a high-tech musket, and those were known for being wildly inaccurate.
I think y’all are getting off track here. I thought he was asking if it was possible for two guns, firing the same kind of ammunition, at the same velocity, to have drastically different ranges. I don’t think so, the only thing that could make a difference without changing the projectile or the muzzle velocity would be rifling, and I don’t think that could have that large of an impact on paint balls.
To respond to Badtz Maru, I was wondering how two guns from different manufacturers would fire paintballs at varying distances with other factors being the same. As stated in the OP, the velocity as the ball travels through the radar is same for all guns on the course. There may be 4-10 different guns on the field all firing different distances. Guns from the same manufacturer tend to fire roughly the same distance. In short, why do differently manufactured guns shoot farther than others when muzzle velocity is the same when the gun is checked prior to entering the field?
I researched the question myself and found at least four things contribute to the distance and performance. They are as follows:
- Distance can be inconsistently affected by gas used to power the gun. CO2 is a poorer choice than Nitrogen. Its main disadvantage is its sensitivity to temperature. As a CO2 tank warms up or cools down the available pressure either rises or falls. This sensitivity to temperature is due to the fact that CO2 is stored as a liquid. Since there is a direct relationship between temperature and pressure, an increase in temperature causes a corresponding increase in pressure: The pressure increases because no more liquid can turn into a gas and a higher velocity results. Conversley, as the gun is fired, the pressure in the tank lowers and resulting shots will be shorter.
Since Nitrogen is stored in its natural gaseous state and not liquid, it’s not susceptible to the thermal problems described above. A Nitrogen equipped paintball gun will perform consistently regardless of temperature and weather conditions. Nitrogen almost completely eliminates velocity fluctuations.
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Someone also recognized that paintballs do not make good projectiles. They’re soft and the gas deforms or dents the ball in the barrel which affects performance. Better guns that control these pressures allow a less deformed paintball which improves trajectory and distance. Pressure is controlled by good construction and muzzle brakes.
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Some guns also vent the gases ahead of the ball which reduces pressure that builds up in front of the ball.
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Rifling of the barrel.
Thanks to everyone who defended the position that paintball guns are not toys. Perhaps peace will soon have the opportunity to play a game. It’s a great tool for management retreats and team building.
To toss yet another variable into the mix: Firing angle. If you aim the gun at an angle upward (45 degrees, assuming you’re firing from ground level with no air resistance, or a little less, if there is resistance and an initial height), the projectile will go further. Of course, this varies more with the marksman than with the gun, but it might account for what you saw.
Its not really so much that paintball guns are built to less strict standards (they’re actually more complex than your standard firearm), its that the paintballs themselves and the form of propulsion aren’t as standardized as a bullet. Paintballs are gelatin capsules with an oil-based paint fill; they have a seam. This in itself assures that they don’t fly perfectly straight. As well, since they don’t have the benefit of rifling (though there have been some attempts), any imperfections tend to be magnified as the ball flies down the barrel (you know, like the muskets of old). As well, the air source that powers the gun fluctuates somewhat due to temperature and pressure. If you chrono a gun, you’ll often find fluctuation of 5 or so fps between shots, depending on how well you have the gun working.