Paintball

[Raion]

didnt theother accident with the baby happen in CT too ?

[Hatchet]

One day at work, a year or two back, I was cutting with a hatchet, missed, and took off the end of my finger. I didn't go on comp, I didn't sue, I didn't call for a state-wide ban of hatchets. I went to the doctor, got it sewed back on, and came in bright and early the next morning.

Buncha damn ups... It's stupefying what people do nowadays with the blame game. Used to be, you got hurt, "well do it better next time." I'm fairly young, and those days weren't around for me very long at all. It's sad, really. Hopefully the kid recovers and the "parents" look up the meaning of the word. I'll cross my fingers for him.

[MadCat]

Someone should invent a device that would prevent paintballs from accidentally shooting

I've done some exhaustive research and found the following design to be adequate



Now, what to call this invention

[oldschool]

Originally Posted by d4rksabre

I'll sign. The state should never allow people to possess anything made of glass. There is too much of a risk that the glass could be sharp if broken by the user. And since it is the fault of the glass, we must ban it.

Originally Posted by Yellow5

What are you thinking?! Clearly not the fault of the glass, it's the bottler who made it too brittle! Why ban it when you can sue?

Your both wrong - its the sands fault. If the sand would have just stayed sand then it would have been fine. But no, it had to obey the laws of physics and when heated turn into glass. So it's really the sands fault.

[Horizon]

Originally Posted by HP_Lovecraft

This reminds me of the "Henrys verses Brass Eagle" mess of the late 1990s.
The "Henrys" were 2 guys named Henry that owned a famous paintball magazine. They hated Brass Eagle, and constantly slandered them in the magazine. Brass Eagle eventually countersued, and won. So, the Henrys tried to claim Brass Eagle itself is negligent because it was selling guns without masks. Brass Eagle countersued that, but then the Henrys tried to slander them by saying the masks were unsafe, forcing a messy recall.

Is that the kind of policing you are looking for?

No.

Originally Posted by HP_Lovecraft

Are you saying we do not?

Most states/fields/etc utilize age restrictions on buying and using paintball equipment.
Fields usually go well above DOT rules regarding tanks.
Most fields regulate firing modes.
The industry is very strict about goggles, and specific rules regulate that.

All good things if every field/store/player would be on the same page and would comply. If someone breaks the rules/doesn’t comply, there is really no organization that has any teeth to do anything about it, with the exception of DOT (TC in Canada), but how many fields/stores have actually had visits from them.

And who knows all the rules anyway? Almost everyone filling tanks is taught by someone else that hasn’t had any formal training. Did you know for instance that it’s not illegal to fill out of hydro tanks or play with out of hydro tanks? It’s only illegal to transport pressurized out of hydro tanks and to fill out of hydro tanks if you suspect they will be transported pressurized. Getting a bit off topic though.

Originally Posted by HP_Lovecraft

I do not see how we are -NOT- policing ourselves? What would you do different? Ban renegade paintball?

I have no problems with renegade paintball if rules are followed.

What would I do different? My views probably aren’t too popular. I would have a certification program, somewhat like PADI in the diving industry. There would be various levels of certification from the lowest (ownership of a paintball marker/tank) all the way to “Instructor” or something along the lines that is accredited to hand out lower certifications. Along the way there would be certification for filling tanks and selling gear (storeowners).

The lowest certification (marker ownership) would require a written test. It wouldn’t be that difficult of a test, but would require a little forethought by the purchaser and knowledge of basic safety rules; something that could easily be learned in half an hour of reading by someone starting at point zero. Those of us already involved in paintball would probably be able to pass the test with little or no further studying, although a little brush-up reminder for everyone doesn’t hurt.

Just like the diving industry, tanks wouldn’t be filled unless the person wanting the tank filled was certified.

This program would do a couple of things. It would keep idiots with ill-conceived intentions from impulse buying markers. Most wouldn’t go to the trouble of having to read a pamphlet and then writing a multiple choice test, even if it’s not particularly difficult. It would also make sure the people selling gear and filling tanks know what they are doing, talking about. This would make places like WalMart (Canadian Tire here in Canada) think twice about carrying markers as part of their inventory. They probably wouldn’t go to the trouble of having their employees certified just so they could sell a few paintball guns every month. This way, most paintball guns would be bought from certified paintball stores. Our industry is well past the point of needing impulse buying at WalMart for our sport to grow.

Anyway, like I said, probably not a popular viewpoint.

[oldschool]

Originally Posted by MadCat

Someone should invent a device that would prevent paintballs from accidentally shooting

I've done some exhaustive research and found the following design to be adequate

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/...500_AA280_.jpg

Now, what to call this invention

Kind of close but I think what is really needed is one of these -

condom.jpg

If only used in time we would be spared so many stupid people.

[Horizon]

Originally Posted by oldschool

Kind of close but I think what is really needed is one of these -

Attachment 4706

If only used in time we would be spared so many stupid people.

Haha. The only problem with that is that everytime I have chosen to use one of those or not to use one of those, I never knew at the time if I was creating a smart or a stupid human being. For the most part I got lucky.

[drg]

Yes, do consider the situation. They had masks and used them during games. It's the lack of the use of a barrel plug/sleeve that led to this injury. So that raises a few more questions ... did the players even have barrel blocking devices? Did they or the parents know about them and how/when to use them?

[russc]

Originally Posted by drg

Yes, do consider the situation. They had masks and used them during games. It's the lack of the use of a barrel plug/sleeve that led to this injury. So that raises a few more questions ... did the players even have barrel blocking devices? Did they or the parents know about them and how/when to use them?

When I first started playing paintball, there was nobody there to tell me and my friends what was safe and what was unsafe as we bought $50 Talon packages from Wal-mart. We knew that eye safety would be an issue, and so we wore ski goggles that probably wouldn't have protected the eyes at all against a direct impact. Hell, when I "upgraded" to shop goggles (because I hate tint) I probably stepped things up as far as protection went. Barrel plugs came with the guns, and we didn't use them - I didn't know what they were for.

What I'm getting at is, it's too easy to get your hands on paintball equipment when you don't know what the hell you're doing.

[raehl]

I do like that they at least got the counterpoint in the article about the numerous paintball facilities, lack of injuries and the college paintball teams.

Originally Posted by CrazyBoy78

Sad thing is, you shouldn't HAVE to. I'd bet all my gear that no one there had a chrony

You know, we always say this. "Did they have a chronograph?"

But here's the thing...

WHERE WOULD THEY GET ONE?

Hell, I'm the President of the college paintball league, and if I wanted to go play with by buddy in the woods in his back yard sometime, *I* don't know where I'd get a chronograph. It's not like you walk into Wal-Mart or a paintball store and there are chronographs on the shelf next to the paintball guns. Only place I know to get them is online, and the cheapest ones are $70.

But, chronographs are not the real problem. Most modern guns have built-in mechanical velocity limits, and masks are over-safe, so even if you're over velocity, worst thing you're going to get is especially nasty welts.

There one key thing we need the consumer to understand about paintball: Always keep a physical barrier between the paintball and your eyes.

Mask on, then blocker off.
Blocker on, then mask off.

That message needs to be in a big graphic on the package of every gun sold, posted on a poster in every retail location, put on a bright piece of paper in every paint box sold. It is the most important message for the consumer, and as it stands, we bury it in the gun user manual.


Yes, we need parents to supervise their kids. But we should be doing a better job of making the parents aware of the hazards. And making players aware that if there's an unblocked barrel around you, you can get shot in the eye. It's not that people are not smart enough to know that, it's just that your average person just is not going to think about it.

- Chris