The history of paintball can be traced back to June 4, 1981, when Charles Gaines was struck by a paintball fired from 600 feet away during a game of capture-the-flag/paintball at his friends' house in rural Perry County, Pennsylvania.

Paintball is a tactical game of military-style combat played mostly in outdoor fields with many obstacles. Players are divided into two opposing teams and armed with air-powered guns that fire spherical projectiles known as paintballs.

Players attempt to tag opposing players while defending themselves with paintballs as their self defense weapons from being tagged by the other team, similar to capturing the flag. Paintball can also be played on indoor fields using less-lethal paintball markers that shoot non-toxic plastic balls called dots instead of paintballs, and some players use laser tag equipment such as rifles or pistols for an extra challenge. Paintball today has three major forms: professional, amateur, and milsim.

  • Professional play is organized through national and international bodies including the Professional Paintball Association (PPA), the National Milsim League (NML), the Professional Airsoft Players Association (PAPA), and Paintball USA. These associations compete for a worldwide paintball championship every two years, which is called the World Cup.
  • Amateur play is organized through associations such as USA Paintball, or by local clubs that have formed as a social group or as a business. The largest professional-level event in North America is probably the annual World Cup, while in Europe the world championship is held each year at different venues. The Amateur World Championships are held every two years.
  • Milsim games are military simulation events that are played using many different types of equipment. These vary from very realistic-looking (up to real-life appearance in some cases) to the more comical, such as the use of wooden and plastic replica firearms. In addition to air-powered guns, paintball markers may also be electric or even chemical.

An Overview of Paintball Pistol

A Paintball pistol is a paintball gun that is small and compact to carry. Since they are so small, they can keep your profile low on the field or help you maneuver around obstacles and corners. These pistols are only supposed to be used in competitive scenarios, as a rifle would do more damage than a pistol would.

Pistols come with either a 0-1 gram tank or with CO2, both of which work differently: paintballs never dry out when using CO2 and they can get hard to pump if using the 0-1 gram tanks because of lack of air pressure. The CO2 tanks can be used to power a pump, eliminating the need for constant pumping and making the pistol more efficient.

On the field, these pistols are often only used in a game situation as a last resort when you're out of ammo. These pistols do not pack much of a punch and can only shoot about forty-five paintballs per second at most. The best way to use them is by shooting at the ground behind your target in order to make your opponent think that there is someone else shooting at him or her. If you run out of ammo you can use it like a club or melee weapon.


Paintball Pistol Vs Paintball Gun

If you are new to paintball, or just looking for an upgrade from your old gun, then you may be wondering what the difference is between a paintball pistol and a paintball gun. Although the names can often lead newcomers astray, the confusing name is the only similarity these two have in common. The main differences between the two guns are their accuracy, power, and range.

  • Range

Pistols are intended for close-range combat that typically occurs during CQB (close-quarter battles). The low power of these guns allows them to shoot rounds at lower speeds and with less accuracy than marker guns which gives players at close range a competitive advantage.

Paintball markers or guns are designed to be used at longer ranges and act more like rifles than pistols. Because of the longer range shotgun rounds are not as effective and do not allow players to play on the same field as a marker gun would.

  • Accuracy

Both types of guns use compressed air to fire paintballs but pistols are meant for close combat while marker guns shoot further and more accurately than pistols. These two guns have different purposes that dictate how they should be used in a paintball game. 


  • Power

Generally, if you are in a game where the amount of paintballs fired is not an issue then you should use a pistol because it has longer range and better accuracy and power than a marker. If you want to play on the same field as marker guns there is no way that you would be able to compete with them with a pistol.

As mentioned above, pistol and marker guns use compressed air to shoot paintballs. Compressed air is a pressurized gas. A tank system is used in the gun to hold the air. The main difference between these two types of guns is that marker guns carry much more compressed air than pistols do. This makes them capable of firing more rounds with each fill, but this also means that they require larger tanks to be able to hold all the pressure they need to fire those rounds.

Types of Paintball Pistol

If you’re considering getting into paintball, there are some crucial things you need to know before buying a paintball pistol. These pistols come in a wide range of styles and types, which is why the best option for you depends on what type of player you are. Below are the different types of these pistols that exist:

  • Single-Shot Pistols

The simplest, cheapest style is a single-shot pistol. They're usually disposable — after firing one shot they break down and can't be used again. Single-shot pistols generally come with an aluminum or plastic frame and a plastic, or metal, barrel.

  • Multi-Shot Pistols 

Single-shot pistols are the simplest and cheapest pistol to buy. However, a lot of people like them because they're easy to use and fun to shoot. If you want to shoot better than your friends though, consider buying a multi-shot pistol.

  • Single-Barrel Pistol

The first type of paintball pistol that was ever made was the single-barrel gun. They were mainly used for hunting purposes for most of the 20th century until the Dutchman introduced the EPR model in 1993. Single-barrel pistols have a single, long barrel and are usually lightweight. The downside to starting out with this style of paintball pistol is that there's a lot of kickback when firing.


  • Multi-Barrel Pistol 

A lot of people prefer multi-barrel pistols because they're so much easier to handle than single-barrel models. Because the barrels are separate, the recoil is much less than in other single-barrel designs. Even though there's less kickback due to the barrels being separate, they can still get uncomfortable after firing for an extended period of time.

  • Break-Action Pistol 

Break-action paintball guns are similar in design to traditional firearms like shotguns and rifles. They have a break-action barrel, which means when the gun is fired, the barrel is ejected and has to be reloaded. Break-action paintball pistols are more common in Europe than in the US.

  • Pump-Action Pistol 

Pump action pistols are similar to break-action models, but instead of a break-action barrel, they feature a pump handle that's used to load balls into the chamber manually.

Safety Tips to Follow!

Have you ever gone paintballing with someone who doesn't know what they're doing? One moment they are shooting at each other and the next moment, they have just shot your foot! Wouldn't it be nice if someone had come before you and offered some tips on how to use a paintball pistol safely? Here are these tips:

  • Hold your paintball pistol properly.
  • Keep your pistol at a safe distance from you and from anyone else running around the field. A safe range is about ten feet away from you or fifty feet depending on the barrel length of the paintball pistol you are using.
  • Avoid shooting yourself with a pistol by keeping your finger off the trigger when aiming your weapon at another player. If you must shoot yourself, pull the trigger all the way into the paint instead of halfway into the barrel to avoid damaging your arm and hand or even breaking a bone in your hand.
  • Avoid getting too close to your opponent by no more than five feet. If you are too close, the paintball will travel farther than it should, and you may take a shot at someone other than your target.