| The following file contains frequently asked questions (with answers) commonly asked by beginners to the world of paintball. |
1.What is paintball?
It's a sport in which a bunch of adults (loosely defined) go out in the woods and relive our childhood by playing capture
the flag. Only, in this game each player has a gun that fires gelatin capsules filled with a water-soluble marking dye. If
you're shot and marked, you're out of the game and have to wait until the next one starts. The most common variation is
two teams at opposite ends of a 5+ acre section of terrain, each with a flag hung at 'home base.' The object is to go get
the other team's flag and bring it back to your base. When you encounter people on the other team, you try to tag them
out before they get you. Pretty simple and lots of fun.
Midcoast Paintball uses a recycle type of format, which means that if you are hit you go to a designated area and then return to the game.
2.Is it safe?
Like all action sports (football, basket ball, etc.) paintball is very dangerous unless adequate protection is worn and
safety rules understood and followed.
Most paintball guns shoot a 68 caliber paint pellet. The pellet is a thin plastic shell filled with a water soluble paint. Guns
shoot the pellets at a speed of 200 to 300 feet per second. Since the paint pellets are fairly light (only weighing a few
grams each), they have little momentum while in flight, and thus are not lethal like the heavy lead projectiles fired from
conventional firearms.
In addition to using a non-lethal projectile, paintball players *always* wear protective goggles to protect their eyes and
usually wear masks covering the rest of their face as well.
Safety is highly stressed at most fields. Many fields require goggles be worn at all times unless in designated areas. Many
fields also require that barrel plugs (plastic inserts that prevent projectiles from leaving your gun's barrel) be used while
players are in certain areas. Ignoring safety is a good way to get yourself ejected from a field.
3.Doesn't it hurt when you get shot?
The paint pellets break open upon impact, and generally cause very little pain. What pain is experienced is more of a
stinging sensation from the pellet's impact against the skin or through clothing. In my experience, the stinging pain goes
away after a few seconds. Of course, the closer you are to the muzzle of the gun, the higher the velocity of the pellet
when it hits you. Thus, more pain may be experienced when shot at close range rather than farther away.
In general, one can count on coming off the field with a few welts from paintball impacts, but your most annoying injuries
are more likely to be scrapes and bruises from the local terrain.
4.Do I have to be on a team?
You don't have to have an organized team or go to an organized field in order to play. If you have some paintball guns,
paintball goggles, and a few friends, you can simply get together and shoot at each other.
Most commercial fields allow walk-on games, where anybody can show up and play.(please call to see if we have a game on that day.)
5.How can I play?
Almost all paintball 'fields' rent guns and welcome new players. Fields can be found using yellow pages (look under
'Firearms' or 'Sports Equipment'), local newspapers, or ads in a number of the paintball magazines.Also check the white pages.
You can find Midcoast Paintball at 127 US Rt 1 in Nobleboro Maine (see map at bottom of page)
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