If you live near a facility that has a paintball field, you don't have to have a team or even a partner to play your first game of paintball.

Check with the facility before you make the trip out there, but most paintball fields will let you do something called a "walk-on". Paintball fields will vary in the general make up. Some look like fields with tall grasses and trees, other look like military bunkers and still other paintball fields are a mixture of the former two.

Be honest and tell whomever you talk to at the paintball field this will be your first game and find out what equipment you need and what equipment you can rent. Many paintball fields will have rentals but you want to get your own equipment as soon as possible. There will be different pricing at different paintball fields.

Some facilities will require you to use their paint and this is for safety reasons as older paintballs get tough and do not break as easily and tend to sting a little upon impact. Also, it is a way to raise revenue for the upkeep of the fields. Definitely purchase your own paintballs to have on hand. There is a huge selection here are Total Paintball Gear and you won't always play paintball exclusively on a field. After you get your safety gear and your first gun, you'll be chomping at the bit to gather your friends for a game of woodsball at any time!

If the field near you allows walk-ons, be polite and still ask the other players if you can join a game, most paintball teams are always glad to have one more person and you will most likely make some new friends to go play on a field or woodsball with.

If you're new to playing paintball, there are some terms and slang terms you'll hear thrown around. Here is a short-listing of the most common terms you'll hear around the paintball field.

12g or TwelveG - these are smallish cylinders that are just under 3-inches long and filled with CO2.

Air - This is a general term that means either CO2 or HPA/Nitro used to power the guns to propel the paintballs.

ASA - This is the Air Source Adapter and this is what the air tank attaches to on your gun.

Barrel Plug - A very necessary safety device. This blocks the front of the barrel of your gun and prevents the accidental discharge of paintballs.

Bunker- A man made obstacle to hide behind during a paintball game.

Chronograph - Device used to measure the velocity of a paintball shot out of a gun.

Dead Man Walking - A player who pretends he has been eliminated but is merely walking to get a better shot at his opponent -this is considered cheating.

Dead Air - Your CO2 cartridge ran out.

Those are just a few of the lively terms you'll hear tossed around the paintball field. Each area of the country has its own special descriptions for common paintball issues such as a hit, running out of paintballs or even the names of the games. If you don't know what particular phrase means, ask. Listen and learn and soon you'll be talking like a pro-paintballer too!

Since there are guns involved in paintball, many people assume it is a sport that is fraught with injuries. Nothing could be further from the truth. Actually, the reality may surprise you, statistically speaking; there are more injuries in bowling and golf than occur in paintball.

This is in a large part due to the cooperative effort by paintball players, the manufacturers and sellers of equipment promoting safety when playing. Safety is strictly enforced on paintball fields and the vast majority of woodsball and other self regulated team players follow safety rules such as always wearing a helmet and goggles, always having a barrel plug in place when not in play greatly reduces injuries that can occur from paintball gun accidentally discharging. Paintballs are now made to break on impact and they also don't travel at the high velocities they once did.

The speed at which paintballs are allowed to travel in play is strictly monitored at the paintball fields and violation of safety standards isn't tolerated and players who repeatedly ignore the safety regulations are prohibited from playing paintball.

Because of the continued efforts by everything that enjoys the sport of paintball, this game stays safe and fun for all players!

Paintball guns are powered in two ways: by CO2 (Carbon Dioxide) and by N2/HPA (Nitro/Compressed Air).

Both gases work great but depending on your own personal preference, one will be a better choice for your game. CO2 is stored as a liquid in small cylinders and expands into a gas. Sometimes there are jumps in paintball velocity that are caused by sudden and unexpected liquid expansion due to warmer temperatures in use than the cylinder was stored at. When shooting your paintball gun with CO2, you will notice your tank gets cold. The colder your tank gets, the less air pressure you have.

Only CO2 can fill CO2 tanks, you cannot put N2 or any other gas in them. The capacity of the tanks is measured in ounces and most of the cylinders are made from steel or aluminum. CO2 is convenient and can be obtained in disposable 12G cartridges or up to a refillable 20oz tank and refills are widely available.

Nitro/Compressed Air (N2/HPA) is a little more flexible as both types of cylinders can be used interchangeably. Most of the units are all steel construction with some being made of an aluminum cylinder wrapped in a composite or fiberglass material. No matter what the make up of the cylinder, it needs to be tested every 3 years with a maximum life of 15 years.

N2 tanks are not greatly affected by temperature and these type of cylinders are not a widely available at all playing fields. Finding a good online source, such as Total Paintball Gear to get your cylinders is your best bet for maintaining a good stock of these cartridges.

Now that you know the basics for each type of paintball propellant, make the best choice for your next game!

Much like your other equipment for playing paintball, choosing a gun barrel is an intensely personal choice. There are many good name brands and all of them will more than give you your money's worth.

One good rule of thumb for most people is to get a barrel between 10-inches and 14-inches in length. A paintball needs at least 8-10 inches to get up to maximum velocity. And an additional inch or so will bring better aim and guide your paintball where you want it. A longer barrel will use a lot more gas to propel your paintballs, however a barrel that is too short will cost you in paintballs because it's very hard to be accurate when shooting a short-barreled gun.

There is no barrel that will make you an accurate shot. There are types and brands of barrels that are good for certain people and you just have to experiment and see what the best barrel fit is for your paintball playing style. You may play better with a 12-inch barrel and then again a 14-inch barrel may be the one you need.

Also be aware of the size your barrel is in comparison to your paintballs. In warm weather paintballs expand a little, in cold weather they tend to shrink a bit. Make sure the barrel of your paintball gun can accommodate the changes. A gun barrel that fits too closely around your paintballs will affect your accuracy.

It is easy to do a little self-test and see. Simply pick a few paintballs and place them in your barrel that has been removed from your gun, tip your barrel and if they roll out your barrel is too large, if you blow into your barrel and it is still stuck, your paintball is too large. If your paintball came out with a tiny bit of resistance, you have the perfect barrel for your paintballs.

Now that you know the basics for getting the best barrel for your game of paintball, look into upgrading the barrel of your paintball gun to one that will improve your game.