Paintball is a very fun and exciting game where you and others get together either in the woods or on a paintball field and have a “battle game.” Each player has a gun that is filled with gelatin capsules that are filled with a water-soluble paint. The object is to eliminate the other team completely and either take over their fort or capture their flag. But how did the game get started.
In 1970, James Hale of Daisy Manufacturing invented and patented what would become the first paintball gun known as the NEL-spot. Evan and Charles Nelson were the founders of the Nelson Paint Company. Nelson invented a paint pellet made from an oil base paint that could be shot out of a gun. They were a forestry service and they used the pellets to mark trees from a distance. That way they didn’t have to have a person walk through the woods and mark each tree that needed to be harvested by hand. Cattlemen also used these pellets to mark their herd of cows. It made it easier for them also, because they could just stand on the side of the fence and mark the herd. It saved a lot of time and made it fun to mark the cows.
Then in the late 70s two friends Bob Gurnsey and Charles Gaines started to brainstorm ideas about creating a war game. Bob was a stock trader and Gaines was a writer. Gaines took a trip to Africa to hunt buffalo. When he came back Gaines talked to Gurnsey about his trip. They then came up with the idea to create a game where they could bring that thrill of the hunt into a safe game with humans. The months to follow the friends brainstormed more ideas. It was a few years later when they saw a paintball marker in an agricultural magazine. This was the gun that marked the cows.
Then in 1981 the friends finally got together with 10 other people in New Hampshire to play the first paintball game. It was capture the flag and they played on 80 acres of wooded land. They used NEL-spot 007s pistols that were manufactured by the Daisy Company. The pistols held 12 gram co2 cartridges and held only 10 rounds at a time. The ball rolled into the chamber and then when you pulled the trigger you had to re-cock the gun to get another ball in the chamber.
Besides Gaines and Gurnsey the other players were stockbroker Joe Drinon, venture capitalist Ken Barret, Trauma Surgeon Bob Carlson, farmer Ronnie Simkins, film producer Jerome Gary, stock trader Hayes Noel, contracting estimator Carl Sandquist, writer Lionell Atwill, novelist Bob Jones and forester Ritchie White. It is said that Ritchie White, a forester, was the winner of the game when he captured the flag. The crazy part is that he didn’t even fire a shot! How can you not shoot anyone in the game? My how the game has changed these days where some people go through about a half of case of paint in some games!
With these guns players in the early days took it easy on shooting at each other. They didn’t carry extra paint with them. They didn’t even have masks at that time yet. They wore plastic safety glasses to protect their face. Games could last hours and shooting was rare because of their limited paint. Ten shots and you were out of the game.
From there they wrote an article for Sports Illustrated about the rules of their game that they called “Survival.” It is known today as capture the flag. From that point on the game took off like they never expected.
Gurnsey also formed a company called the National Survival Game and signed a contract with Nelson Paint Company to be the sole distributor of their paintball equipment. The interest in the game grew greatly and it only took the company 6 months and they were starting to make an awesome profit already. They sold paintballs, guns, and goggles and franchised out to other states.
Then in the early 80’s other rival companies started to produce their own guns. PMI started manufacturing their own versions of the paintball pistol. The game was a hit and paintball equipment was selling fast. PMI also opened the first outdoor paintball field in 1982. Caleb Strong, one of the current owners of PMI, opened the field in Rochester, New York. Then in 1984 Strong also opened the first indoor paintball field in Buffalo, New York.
As time passed, the technology of the equipment developed more and more. The co2 tanks were being made larger so that players could shoot more. They started manufacturing hoppers with the 45 degree angle elbow so that the players could shoot and carry more rounds. Guns kept on getting better, faster and more accurate. They now developed into semi automatics, auto cockers, fully automatics or electro pneumatic paintball guns.
Paintball today is a multi-million dollar sport with players from all over the world joining in the fun. Tournaments are held in every state for the game with cash prizes or equipment given to the top teams. A lot of people these days play paintball. It is a great sport or recreation activity for anyone over the age of 10 years old. The Sporting Goods Manufacturer’s Association estimates over 10 million people play annually. Also insurance statistics show that paintball is one of the safest sports. If you haven’t played the game yet you have to try it at least once. It is a great way to relieve stress!
