Does Paintball Hurt?

Steve Maguire • May 18, 2021

Let's Discuss...

Wow… so when I was asked to write a blog for Wasaga Beach Paintball, I said sure! It will be fun! And then I get the topic… You would think that after all my years on this planet, I would have learned to ask more questions before agreeing to do something. Well, let’s roll up our sleeves and attack this one head on as it is not an easy answer.

“Does paintball hurt?” … One would think that this is a simple yes or no question, but really is not that simple. The answer is both a resounding “NO!” and an equally emphatic “YES!”. How is that for confusion? First of all, there are different ways to play paintball and different types of paintballs to use that can affect pain. In truth though, what paintball hurts the most is your ego because it is going to remind you very quickly that saying yes to all those extra cookies and donuts over the years did not do you any favours. Playing paintball motivates you to move… very quickly! So remember to stretch.

I have been playing paintball since 1989. Yes, over three decades. And in that time, I have been hit by paintballs literally thousands of times. I only remember a handful of them really hurting. The ones that I remember as really hurting were during tournament play, where I was playing against extremely aggressive players at remarkably close range with a lot of money or prizes on the line. So, we will skip talking about tournaments and just talk about playing paintball for the fun of it. After all, that is what most of you reading this are really going to be doing.

Now, the single most common question I get on this topic is “Does it hurt if you get hit in the…. You know… down “there”?” The answer to that question is obviously yes BUT and it is a very BIG BUT… (I like big buts and I can not… sorry… SQUIRREL!) That BUT is… it is extremely unlikely that you will get hit in the privates. When you play, you are going to be hiding behind obstacles like trees and bunkers. In my 32 years and the thousands of hits I have taken, I have only been hit in the privates maybe 3 times. It is incredibly rare. In truth, you will mostly get hit on your shoulder, on the gun and in your face. I hear you all out there screaming in terror “WAIT! WHAT? THE FACE?!?!?!?!” Yes, the face… think about it: you are hiding behind a bunker, what are you exposing? Remember though that you are wearing a full face mask with incredible protection! That is where you want to get hit! You literally feel nothing. As for the body parts that are not exposed, if you get hit in the shoulder, you have so much adrenaline going through you, it will basically feel more like a tug or rough push. I have felt way more pain accidently walking into the doorframe going into my bedroom. I will say this though, if you are concerned with getting hit, wearing some old work gloves to protect your hands might be a good idea. Most regular paintball players wear gloves, often with the fingers cut off, because those hits can sting a bit. There really is not any muscle tissue on the backs of your hands to absorb the impact but if you chose not to wear gloves, it really is not that big of a deal.

Circling back to the beginning, do you remember when I said that there are different kinds of paintballs? Everything I have said above is talking about the industry standard .68 caliber paintballs. There is a new trend growing in paintball called “LOW IMPACT” paintballs. These are a .50 caliber paintball. They are significantly smaller and as such have extraordinarily little impact force. You see, since they are smaller, they weigh less and do not hit as hard. They are the ideal way for younger kids to get into the sport. Last summer (despite Covid) I was in Denver Colorado playing paintball at a fundraiser to help raise awareness to prevent domestic violence. There were several children too young and small to play paintball with the adults so myself and a few of my friends grabbed some low impact markers and took these young lads and lasses out on the field to play paintball. We did not worry about hits much, or rules, we just played. To me it was like a squirt gun fight at a family picnic. The kids were too young to really understand rules at that age and stage. We just played and played. It will go down as one of my favourite paintball memories: pure and fun. To be clear, these are still paintball markers, and not toys. All the adults on the field were watching to keep things safe, especially keeping goggles on. No, I am only talking about the paintball hits and their impact. You could feel the hits, but they definitely did not hurt.

In closing, “Does paintball hurt?” I will not lie, it “can” occasionally but I would much rather get hit by a paintball than *shudder* stub my toe. YEOUCH! If taking a hit concerns you though, especially if there are younger children involved, ask about the Low Impact option as it is so much fun.

Thanks for reading everyone! Play with Passion!

Steve Maguire

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