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Cleaning a Paintball Gun is the most important part of regular maintenance. After all, if your gun does not fire, you can’t play! There are many steps to take when cleaning a paintball marker. These procedures must be done in an orderly manner to avoid any mishaps.

If you have never cleaned a paintball gun before, it is strongly suggested that you get a more experienced player to show you how. The process of cleaning a paintball marker can be complicated and dangerous if not done properly. If you have some budget-friendly paintball gun like under 200 then you should be bit more careful about cleaning. Also have a look, is paintball expensive?

In this article, we will provide you the information necessary to clean your paintball gun. The following will help you remove any dirt, grime and debris from your paintball marker. Please work safely, wear protective clothing and make sure you are not around any open flames or heat sources – which could cause injury or damage your gun(s).

Tools Required to Clean a Paintball Marker

The following are the tools you will need when cleaning your paintball marker. Make sure to use all the following tools professionally. It is necessary to take Safety Precautions before starting the cleaning process of your Paintball Marker.

• Paintball gun lubricant
• Paper towels or absorbent cloths
• Dust mask or respirator
• Paintball marker specific parts kit (new, unopened)
• Carburetor jet kit (optional)
• Small Allen Keys/Hex drivers
• Soft toothbrush or bristle brush
• Air compressor or Air tank and HPA wrench (depending on your compressed air setup) A pressure gauge

How to Clean a Paintball Gun

Remove the Hopper

Hoppers are notorious for holding on to an empty paintball shell even when there is no ball in it, allowing moisture to collect and making a crusty mess. While this step isn’t necessary, it will make cleaning much easier if you do so. If you choose not to remove your hopper, just be sure to check it thoroughly.

Unscrew the Barrel

Unscrew the barrel and drop out any paintballs that may have collected there during storage. If you do not, they will dry into a crusty mess that will ruin your gun’s performance.

Disassemble Portable Parts

Make sure that all of the pieces of your gun are disassembled properly. This is the only way to make sure all of the dried paintballs are removed.

Clean Dirt from the Marker (Body, Barrel and Bolt)

Fill up a bucket with water and some dishwashing soap. This will be used for rinsing your gun after you have washed it, so do not use anything else that could corrode or damage your gun’s external material. If you do not want to use a bucket of water, you can also use a hose or sink.

Wash and Remove Dried Paintballs

Using the barrel that came with your gun and without oiling it down at all, wash out any dried paintballs from within the barrel. Make sure to remove as much material as possible so that it doesn’t clog up your barrel during your next game.

Lubricate the O-Rings

Lubricate the o-rings of your gun using silicon oil or other lubricants that would be compatible with its construction. This will prevent air leaks and keep it performing well during use.

Dry out the Parts and Reassemble

Let dry completely. This can be accomplished by leaving it outside for a few days or by using a towel to dry it off. Reassemble and oil down your gun. Make sure you oil the parts that would normally be lubricated during use and not just the visible parts. These include all moving pieces, including springs and screws, as well as the surface of the barrel itself that will contact paintballs.

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FAQs

Wondering how fast does paintball travel on the field. Let us help you get the right answer. On average, a paintball round travels at around 280 fps (feet per second) whereas a casual paintball gun is capable of shooting about 300 fps (feet per second) which is considerably slower than a real gun.

Technically, the firing rate of paintballs depends on how quickly you are feeding the ammo into the chamber. In fact, standing within a range of between 70 – 100 feet without appropriate  Safety Equipment can be risky for you. Here are some of the great safety tips that you should apply before playing.

How Fast a Paintball Does Travel

Most players believe that paintballs can travel as fast as bullets but this concept is wrong to some extent. In reality, the speed of the paintball depends on the Muzzle of the Gun and your Distance from the target. Moreover, the least aerodynamic shape of paintballs resists their traveling speed.

• 280 Fps (feet per second)
• 190 Mph (miles per second)

How Fast a Paintball Gun Does Shoot

The actual shooting speed of a Paintball Gun depends on many factors. In general, the paintball marker can shoot 300 fps or less. Most pro-players believe that the shooting speed above 300 fps is too fast and can cause some serious injuries.

As a matter of fact, the shooting speed of a paintball gun also depends on your situation. You should know how your paintball gun does work. To have enhanced speed, you can attach a motorized hopper and a responsive Trigger.

Use Compressed Air

If you are looking to increase your shooting speed, you can use a compressed air tank. Indeed, the CO2 tanks can maximize your firing velocity by releasing good pressure of compressed gas in the chamber and pushing the paintballs faster than normal speed.

Responsive Trigger

The shooting rate of a paintball gun also depends on the trigger. If you have a responsive trigger then you can shoot as fast as you push the trigger. A manual trigger allows you to shoot 5 – 6 rounds per second whereas electronic triggers can shoot more than 30 rounds per second.

Motorized Hopper

To increase the shooting speed of your marker, you can replace Gravity Feed Hoppers with Motorized ones. The gravity-feed hoppers can feed up to 8 balls per second whereas Motorized hoppers can feed up to 20 balls per second.

Use Electro-pneumatic Gun

The traditional paintball markers or Mechanical Paintball guns are not meant to shoot faster. They can shoot around 7 – 9 bps. However, the modern electro-pneumatic markers can shoot more than 150 bps without comprising accuracy.

How far a Paintball Gun does Shoot

The shooting range of paintball guns varies according to their specs and features. Some high-end markers are capable of reaching 150 feet away targets with perfect accuracy. In fact, there are three different Traveling Ranges in a Paintball game.

Effective Range

The primary or default range of a paintball gun is considered as its Effective Range. Within this range, the paintball is fired hard enough to break the targets once coming in contact with its targets. The average effective range of a paintball gun is between 70 to 100 feet.

Safe Range

The Safety Range is set according to the paintball fields. To measure the safe range, you can conduct a Chronograph test of your paintball gun. To ensure safety on the field, most paintball guns are set on 280 fps with a maximum range of 100 yards.

Absolute Range

To achieve Absolute range, you have to find some hard paintballs and modify your marker’s shooting velocity on high. The absolute range is between 150 yards and considered pretty risky for a player’s safety.

How Fast is Too Fast for an Ideal Paintball Gun

In general, the term “Fps” is not common and people prefer to calculate speed in mph or km/h. Averagely, a long rifle can shoot at the speed of 1,260 fps or 856.8 mph or 1382 km/h whereas paintball guns on average can shoot at 280 fps speed.

To measure the Average shooting speed of a paintball gun, an essential Chronograph Test has to be held before a match. This test ensures that a player isn’t crossing the safety range on the field.

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FAQs

If you’ve been playing paintball for long time then you ‘re quite familiar with CO2 Tanks as mostly Paintball Guns are operated with Compressed Air or CO2. In fact, Carbon Dioxide or CO2 is fairly responsible for the velocity required for the shooting.

The force behind the paintballs comes from the Paintball Tank. Your gun starts losing pressure whenever the air-tank runs out of CO2 and you need to re-fill your Air Tank to maintain the shooting power of your marker.

Basically, CO2 used in the paintball tank is in compressed liquid form and you always need Safety Equipment and tools to your Paintball Tanks. For sure, the key of filling the paintball tank is through larger tanks.

Where to Fill CO2 Tanks for Paintball Guns

So the question is how to re-fill the paintball tanks at home or what are the best places to fill a paintball tanks. As a matter of fact, you best place to do so is a store that keeps stock of larger tanks or a paintball shop. Moreover, you can also use a Scuba Tank to re-fill your marker at home.

Paintball Stores

Paintball Guns are basically operated on smaller tanks ranges between 9 to 24 ounces. Indeed, one of the best places to re-fill this type of tank is at a Functional Paintball Store. These stores are equipped with essential equipment and avoids over-filling of the tank.

Outdoor Sporting Goods Stores

The other best place to fill your CO2 Tanks for paintball guns is through Local Sporting Goods Store. As a matter of fact, these stores are quite good at their job and easy to find within your neighborhood. You can also buy New CO2 Tanks from these stores.

Re-fill Paintball Tanks at home

With proper safety precautions and equipment, you can also re-fill paintball tanks at home. For this purpose, you can buy a large tank and by using proper supplies, you can re-fill the smaller tanks of your paintball gun.

 Re-fill a Smaller Paintball Tank at a Gas Station

The answer is “Yes”. You can make you way for the Local Gas Station and use their air-tank for the re-filling of your smaller tank for paintball gun. However, you have to avoid over-filling of your tank by keeping sharp eye on Air Pressure Gauge.

Types of Paintball Air Tanks

High Pressure Compressed Air Paintball Tanks or HPA Tanks

High Pressure Compressed Air or HPA Paintball Tanks hold highly-pressurized Oxygen or Filtered Air. These tanks are available in different size capacities starting from 1000 PSI whereas the biggest volume is 5000 PSI.

Compressed Carbon Dioxide Paintball Tanks or CO2 Tanks

A major portion of paintball guns operate with CO2 gas. This gas is filled in liquid state and considered as more powerful than HPA. The size range of CO2 Tank starts from 3.5 ounces and ends around 40 fluid ounces.

Compressed Pure Nitrogen Paintball Tanks or N2 Tanks

This gas is normally preferred by Pro-paintball players. It is a bit rare gas and works on high velocity. In fact, if you are planning to participate in Tournament-grade matches then you should try out this gas once.

Difference Between CO2 and HPA Tanks

Mostly player prefer HPA tanks over CO2 Tanks due to main reasons. In fact, you can switch either of them depends on your intentions. The HPA Tanks are filled with Gas whereas CO2 contain liquid state CO2.

Advantages of Using CO2 Tanks

• Easy to get CO2 Gas
• Cheap in Price

Disadvantage of CO2 Tanks

• Effected by Temperature
• Variation in Shot Velocity

Advantages of HPA Tanks

• Offers Consistent shot velocity
• Performs Equally in all Temperatures

Disadvantage of HPA Tanks

• Little bit Expensive
• Rare to Found

Filling a HPA Tank

To re-fill HPA Paintball Tanks, you have to buy a 4500 PSI Air Compressor pump. Though, it’s a little expensive but it helps you in easy re-filling your smaller HPA tanks. You can also re-fill Scuba Tanks through Air Compressor Pump

• Tie-up Compressor Pump to your Scuba Tank
• Hook your Paintball Tank with Fill Station
• Close the Release Valve on Fill Station
• Turn on the primary valve slowly and keep eye on Paintball Tank Gauge

Filling a CO2 Paintball Tank

• Compare the Temperature of your CO2 Tank to Fill Station to avoid temperature differences
• Attach the CO2 tank with Fill station
• Now connect the paintball tank to the fill station
• Turn the Primary Valve
• Finally, open the station valve to fill the tank

Tips for Filling HPA or CO2 Tanks

Before filling a HPA or CO2 Tanks yourself, there are a few instructions you should keep in mind. The normal age of a Gas Tank is 5 years. You should inspect the age of your Gas or HPA Tank before going for the Filling.

• Inspect your Tanks before each Re-fill
• Never grease or oil your Tank’s nipple before filling
• Keep your tanks in cool places and avoid leaving them in direct sunlight
• Use Tank covers to protect your Tanks

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