While playing, you might have noticed the paintballs seem to be traveling as fast as a bullet. Because of that, I just had a curiosity to know the exact speed at which a paintball travels. And you do too if you’re here.
The speed of a paintball marker is measured using FPS, which stands for foot per second. Each foot translates to 0.3 meters. So now that you know all of that, it’s time to get to the point.
How Fast Can A Paintball Gun Shoot?
Generally, to avoid players getting severely hurt while playing paintball, a standard paintball will shoot between 240 to 280 FPS. This speed translates to roughly 160 to 190 mph.
Because the speed is so high, it helps the ball actually to break upon hitting a player. At which point (when it breaks), most of the impact is dispersed, and you won’t really feel the full FPS. Regardless, it isn’t a soft touch by any means.
How Does A Paintball Gun Shoot Fast?
A paintball gun is designed so that a ball will fall out of the hopper and into the barrel.
Then, when you pull the trigger, compressed gas is released into the paintball gun’s barrel. Due to high pressure, the compressed gas will escape through wherever it can, which is at the barrel’s end.
And since a paintball fits perfectly to the barrel size, it will block the gas from escaping, which means the gas will escape with the ball—resulting in an extremely high-velocity ball coming out of that barrel.
So, How Hard Is A Paintball Hit?
The most straightforward answer for this question is—it entirely depends on where you got shot and how far you were from the shooter. If the ball breaks immediately upon hitting you, it will not hurt you much (because most of the impact will be dispersed).
However, if the ball bounces away upon hitting you, then you will absorb most of the impact. In which case, you will feel like you got a really solid and concentrated punch.
You won’t feel so much pain initially, but, like with every punch, the pain will creep in slowly. It’s nothing too bad; if you ever got punched hard enough to leave a bruise, it’s pretty much the same.
How To Protect Yourself From A Bad Paintball Hit?
Prevention is always better than a cure; thus, protecting yourself while playing a paintball game is the best way to play. You can use a protective vest to avoid any direct hit on your body (and the hard vest makes sure the balls will explode upon impact).
In addition to that, you should always cover your face with a good paintball mask (check out my post about great paintball masks) or goggles and some kind of face cover.
Similarly, never remove your protective gears in any circumstances. If you come across a situation where you need to remove your gear, always exit the field first.
Conclusion
Therefore, a standard paintball gun can shoot between 240 to 280 FPS, which is between a range of 163 to 190mph. Some will go up to 300 to 400FPS, which is 200 to 270mph – but you’ll rarely see those paintball guns in fields.
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