Paintball Marker Safety

I was about 10 feet away from someone who shot himself in the face the other day. I'm sure he will have a reminder for at least a couple weeks as it heals up. Sometimes with kids and even adults, it takes a major scare or accident before they become interested in safety. They don't know how dangerous they are. The same day, someone else was shooting a marker from the parking lot. There is a range for degassing and testing your marker at nearly all fields. I can only guess at what other people saw but I'll bet those weren't the only incidents. The only good thing in this is that the accidents can be avoided and even prevented.

I grew up around real guns so I learned gun safety the right way from an early age. I tend to think of it as extreme gun safety, but you don't get a second chance with real bullets. Even with this background, I've come close to hitting teammates when it wasn't intended. Some markers have a very light trigger and it takes some extra care in handling them properly. In paintball, you get a second chance and it won't kill you, but you could still lose an eye or ruin your hearing in an ear if hit while you are not wearing a mask. Safety is really that important.

You'll see the use of "always" and "never" a lot here. Build good habbits even when the marker has been degassed and proven safe. If you do something with a "safe" marker, you will likely repeat the mistake with a "live" marker and we don't want that to happen. Treat all markers as if they are live and ready to shoot.

Never look down the barrel of a marker. Always remove the barrel for inspection and cleaning. Nearly all markers have removeable barrels. Sure it takes a tiny bit of extra time, but is your eye worth saving a few seconds? Some markers could still have a charge even after the tank has been removed.

Always keep a barrel sock on your marker in the safe areas. When you are getting ready, the barrel sock should go on the marker right after you take it out of the case or right after you attach the barrel. The barrel sock can come off on the firing range and during games. Some fields require barrel socks only. Barrel plugs often don't fit tight enough and they tend to blow off after the first shot or two. Often a barrel plug is nearly as dangerous as no plug at all. Get a good barrel sock and at least 1 spare if you don't have one. A barrel sock is the only visible means of verifying a marker is reasonably safe without physically checking the safety, degassing and verifying the chamber is clear. A barrel sock can also be blown off of a marker it it isn't used properly so it isn't always 100% safe.

Always keep the safety on outside of play. This is actually the first line of defense against accidents. The barrel sock catches any other mistakes. With electro-markers, usually the safety is simply turning the marker off. With mechanical markers, there will be a mechanical safety similar to a real gun and it will clearly indicate safe or ready to fire. Some electro-mechanical markers may have a mechanical safety as well as being able to be turned off. Read your manual on how to do this properly.

Always degass your marker before you work on it and before you put it away at the end of the day. If you are at the field, be sure to do this at the range or other designated safe fire area. The procedure varies for different markers, but generally,this is what needs to happen. Turn the CO2 or HPA tank 3/4 to 1 full turn to close the pin valve. You should never need to turn it more than 1 turn. Watch that you don't unscrew the valve/regulator assembly from the tank. Those with a remote will need to turn off the slide check or turn off the gas at the tank. Turn the marker so that it won't feed paintballs, in some cases you need to turn the hopper off. Some electro markers will need to have the eye turned off if no balls are in the chamber. Fire the marker until it stops firing.  For mechanical markers, pull the bolt back a few extra times and dry fire to be sure there is no pressure left. Markers equiped with regulators can hold enough pressure for a few shots even after the tank is removed so it is doubly important to fire them until they stop. Once you have released the pressure, the tank will easily unscrew and your O-ring will last a very long time. Sadly, some owners manuals only hint at degassing a marker and don't properly explain it.

Always watch where your marker is pointed. This is a very good habit to get into since most fields have a friendly fire rule that is anything but friendly. A lot of accidents occur when the barrel sock and safety come off just before a game. Keep your marker pointed up and away from other players or down at the ground and away from other players. Your teammates will appreciate not getting hit in the back of the head at 3 feet. Some may laugh at this, but I've seen it happen.

To avoid accidently firing a marker while the safety is off and when it isn't intended, rest your finger(s) on the trigger guard instead of the trigger. This simple precaution keeps your fingers off the trigger, and for woodsball, helps keep any brush from hitting the trigger for you. You can still quickly react and pull the trigger if needed. This is very important for electro-markers with light triggers.

Never point your marker at anyone who isn't wearing the proper protective equipment. This includes yourself. This becomes extremely important if you are just shooting at targets in the backyard. There may be people in the area that do not have the proper safety equipment and you don't want to hit them even by accident. For younger kids I'd recommend they wear a mask even for target practice.

Verify a marker is safe. This means verify that the marker is degassed and make sure there are no paintballs in the chamber. Remove the barrel and look into the feed tube to see if any balls are in the chamber. Check the barrel to see if a paintball is stuck in the barrel. Dry fire the marker in a safe direction without the barrel a few times to verify that there is no gas in the marker. With electro markers, you'll hear the click of the solenoid when you pull the trigger. The caution above about regulators applies here. If the marker won't fire and no paintballs are found, then the marker is safe. Now you can look into the chamber where the barrel screws into the marker and inspect that area. Note that you have to practicly dissassemble the marker. If you degass a marker properly, that is another way to verify that it is safe.

Paintball Markers are not the same as real guns but many of the same principles apply concerning safety. Procedures for handling and verifying them safe are different due to the way they work. Paintball is a very safe sport if everyone involved is safe. Lets try and keep it that way and watch that everyone, most importantly new people, use proper safety techniques.

CryptWolf