Does it hurt to get shot with a paintball?
After getting shot with a paintball , no one has ever said "Wow, that felt great!" :) There are actually a lot of variables that affect whether it hurts or not to get shot; sometimes you feel it and sometimes you don't even know you were hit. A major factor that determines if it hurts to get shot is the quality of the paintball. Lower quality, inexpensive paintballs tend not to break as easily. If the paintball doesn't easily break on contact, it will likely sting when you get hit. At Tiger Paintball, we use high quality paintballs that break very easily on contact which greatly reduces painful hits. As a comparison, a "painfull" hit feels about like getting snapped with a dish towel. You yelp, rub it, glare at the person that did the towel snapping, and then move on. To be honest, 50% of the time when a player gets hit they don't even feel it, they only hear it.
What do you wear?
The biggest mistake you can make is to wear a ton of clothes in an effort to armor yourself from incoming paintballs. Don't show up to the paintball field looking like a hockey goalie. Getting hit with a paintball is not a big deal and most players find it very underwhelming when they get shot for the first time. There is a lot of movement when playing paintball so you really want to be wearing the minimal amount of clothing as necessary or you will get very hot and uncomfortable. Layers is the best approach. If it is chilly outside, you will probably want something warm to put on between games.
Do I need to wear camouflage
If you have camouflage clothing, then definitely wear it. It will certainly make you harder to spot at first glance but by no means does it make you invisible. If you don't have camo, no big deal. If available, try to wear something in the tan or brown category. Old khakis are actually great pants. But honestly, anything will be fine. That being said, we don't recommend you wear your red Chiefs hoodie.
Boots vs sneakers
Boots are going to help with ankle support on the uneven ground you will experience in the woods but you will run faster in sneakers. If you have both, boots are usually the safer way to go.
What if i've never played before?
Great. Then we don't have to unteach any bad habits:) Pretty much everyone coming to Tiger Paintball is a new player. That is who we are looking for. And even those that have played before have likely never had any official training and have just been winging it. New players have nothing to worry about.
What are "pump" paintball Guns?
A pump paintball gun requires you to "cock" the gun every time before you shoot in order to load a paintball. A semi automatic paintball gun only requires you to pull the trigger in order to shoot, their is always a paintball loaded and ready.
Why does Tiger paintball only allow pump paintball Guns?
The short answer is "because it is more fun". Though shooting lots of paintballs is definitely fun, no player wants to get hit several times in row. Because pump paintball guns have a much slower rate of fire than a semi automatic paintball gun, there is little chance of a player getting shot multiple times before they have a chance to call themselves out. A semi automatic can easily shoot 5-10 paintballs in one second. It makes for a very unpleasant experience to get hit with half a dozen paintballs before you can even yell "I'm Out". With a pump gun, a new player will likely only be able to shoot one ball per second and that might even be generous. Pump paintball guns take the focus off of the shooting and redirects a player's effort into using teamwork and making calculated decisions.
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