Pepper ball is accountable as an alternative to the regular color balls in a paintball game. It consists of a powdered chemical that irritates the nose and eyes like your pepper spray. These are the projectiles that are often fired from specially designed weapons. But can you shoot pepper balls with a paintball marker? Let us find out!
Can A Paintball Gun Shoot Pepper Balls?
The simple answer to this question is yes! The paintball markers are liable for shooting the pepper balls. They are 0.68 caliber balls, the same as the regular ones used for the paintball markers. To be precise, they are the same! The only difference is that the paintball colors are replaced with powdered chemicals. If you’re wondering how exactly pepper balls are used to shoot with a paintball gun, then worry not! You are at the right place.
This article intends to wipe out all sorts of confusion regarding shooting pepper balls with a paintball gun. Following that, you will also know different factors to consider while using the pepper balls with a paintball gun.
The Difference Between Pepper Balls And Paintballs
The regular paintball ammunitions are of edible biodegradable substances. Therefore, they are accountable for non-lethal equipment. It can only result in bruises at worst, and that too only if the safety gears are missing.
The pepper balls are pure chemical powdered solutions that are most complained to irritate the nose, mouth, and eyes. Paintball Players usually don’t use pepper balls to play, but they complain of severe headaches and allergic reactions when they do. You can barely see or breathe if you are hit with the pepper balls. Thus, these balls are rarely or never used in fun games.
Legality Status of Using Pepper Balls
Pepper spray and pepper balls are the same in terms of legality! There are certain restrictions on using pepper spray, depending upon the state or country you belong to. Therefore, if you want to avoid any severe complications on legal terms, you should check if your regional government permits them or not. If not, then avoid planning to buy them.
Some countries have illegal claims for the people who use pepper sprays or pepper balls like the UK! But some countries permit it for the use case of self-defense, such as India. The point is you need to check for the regulations in your country and state before you can go ahead and use pepper balls instead of paintballs.
The prime legal law for all countries and states worldwide states is that you should be 18 years and above, without any criminal records, to buy the pepper balls. If you match the criteria of buying the pepper balls, then the next step is from the gun shops, sports stores, and other specific business outlets in your town or city.
Using the Paintball Gun with Pepper Balls for Self-Defense
It is one of the everyday use cases of pepper balls with paintball guns! If the law permits, you can use your paintball gun for self-defense. But upon practical consideration, it is not an ideal option for self-defense. It is because you need too many items to operate a paintball marker. You need to assemble compressed air, hopper, load balls, etc.
It is impossible to assemble all of it immediately and fire for self-defense unless you carry a set marker. Let us count on you to have everything ready and set for using the markers for self-defense. It can ideally damage and have a decent effect on the abusers or criminals when using regular paintballs. With pepper balls, the impact will be more critical!
You should fire the pepper balls from your paintball markers from a distance to spread the effect when more people counter. Shooting closely to repel every criminal might not work well with the markers. So, make sure you keep this in mind.
Not just criminals, but at times the wild animals also cause trouble and might attack you around your property or while you are on an outing. In such scenarios, having a paintball marker ready with pepper balls will keep you safe from a distance. However, remember not to shoot any animal with pepper balls unless they are staging an attack. Pepper solutions cause the same irritation to animals, just like humans.
The Right Process Of Shooting Pepper Balls With Paintball Gun
Not all paintball guns are ideal for shooting pepper balls! The reason is that the paintball guns come with different caliber ranges. Hence, the caliber of pepper balls should match that of the paintball markers. If it does, you can use it for all the obvious reasons!
The obvious question that arises in people’s minds is why use paintballs for pepper balls when there are many pepper guns available in the market. Most people go with the paintball gun because the pepper guns have enhanced shot capacity and are very expensive.
Therefore, the people who have paintball markers with them can prefer using it as a self-defense gun without spending more bucks. You just need to buy the pack of pepper balls!
The steps that you need to follow to shoot the pepper balls with that paintball gun include:
- Set up the paintball marker by connecting the HPA or CO2 tank with the paintball marker.
- Fix the hopper onto the marker and fill it with the purchased pepper balls.
- Hold the paintball marker vertically down to check if the balls are falling out of the barrel.
- If they are falling out, you can conclude that the caliber of your marker is different from that of the caliber of pepper balls.
- Cock the paintball gun and fire the pepper balls at a vacant area to try the gun.
- You are ready with your self-defense gun!
How Does Paintball Guns With Pepper Balls Work?
The paintball markers are accountable as the launchers that get their power from the CO2 or Nitrogen cartridges. These launchers will be firing the pepper balls prominently, even at a distance of 150 feet from the target. The ideal paintball markers or pepper guns do not have any kickback or loud sound upon the launch of pepper balls.
The pepper ball projectile is a small plastic projectile welded with ultrasonic measures. The combination of the solution within it is equivalent to 6 capsaicinoids found within the pepper plants. When fired, the pepper ball strikes with high kinetic force and will burst into a cloud of pepper powder and remain active for 15 minutes.
Injury Potential Of Pepper Balls
Pepper balls do not have the chemical composition that causes players severe infections or health issues. Hence it is safer. It is not a lethal weapon, as it will just irritate the eyes, nose, and mouth for a person to escape the threatening situation at ease. The effect starts immediately when a person is exposed to the powdered chemical solution of the pepper balls.
It might not be life-threatening, but as per studies, it is said that if it is fired repeatedly at someone, the person will find it difficult to breathe. Therefore, when you are using it for self-defense, you should have the intention to fire, make an impact, and escape. Do not have that lethal thought of dominating the scenario, as it might go critical!
The Benefits Of Using Pepper Balls For Self-Defense
When used rightly, you will eventually serve the self-defense purpose with pepper balls and attain many other benefits. Some of them include:
- Protecting Life without Taking One– Holding and using a weapon of any kind comes with a lot of responsibility. The weightage of any lethal mistake is heavy! Therefore, the use of pepper balls will help you protect yourself without the fear of causing any fatal outcome to the scene.
- Trust and Reliability– The law enforcement departments and military officials emphasize using pepper balls with paintballs or pepper guns. They are ensuring to maintain peace and harmony without imposing lethal violence. Therefore, this is the trust and reliability you get when you plan to use it for self-defense.
- Different Sizes Available– Paintball guns are available in many sizes, and so are the pepper balls! When it comes to self-defense and personal protection, no one size can meet the needs of all. For your safety, you might prefer to use a smaller paintball marker to fit in your office or vanity bag. Therefore, the size of pepper balls should also meet the specifications of those varying paintball markers for efficient usability. Hence, you have that option of consideration!
The Ideology of Army Forces to Use Pepper Balls as Prime Ammunition
The armies of many countries such as the UK, the US, Afghanistan, and others use pepper balls with pepper guns and paintball guns as ammunition. The paintball markers can fire heavy projectiles with pepper balls, as with the usual paintballs.
Many dedicated companies are also trying to put up a complete set of solutions for armed officials to use pepper balls on enemies and criminals. It is the idea to use non-lethal protection for the respective countries. The army mostly does not use low-standard markers or guns, as they need high specs on their pepper guns or paintball-alike markers.
The science behind using non-lethal weapons was to reduce blood violence on borders. Therefore, they picked the markers that can fire the pepper balls with a 50-yard projectile and leave a cloud of pepper solution in the air to impact the eyes, nose, and respiratory system. The irritants within the balls are Pelargonic Acid Vanillylamide. It is used in an inadequate amount in some of the pepper sprays, along with the synthetic pepper spray solution.
When the ball makes contact, this solution emits and creates an immediate effect. The army chooses the number of rounds they need with their paintball markers or pepper guns based on the hopper.
FAQs
Final Thoughts
The use of pepper balls with the paintball markers is legal in most countries except in Europe and in UK! Depending upon the crime rates in various countries, the government has decided upon imposing rules on self-defense. Pepper balls are therefore accountable as non-lethal and powerful ammunition to counteract the situation and escape it. You should know many things on priority before using the paintball markers with pepper balls.
The most crucial factor of consideration is to know when to use it and when to not. No one can educate you that, as your instinct, will make the call. Do not pull the gun out unless you find the situation threatening. Besides that, make sure you fire it only for the necessary times to pin down the person threatening you, call the police and leave the site. Do not go for complete domination and release all of the ammunition on the person, as it might cause fatal outcomes.
So, this is all about using paintball markers with pepper balls! You can get the pepper balls online from respective stores, or you can also head out to the physical paintball or sports stores. There are specific providers for pepper balls as well. Look for the option that suits your needs the most, and make the purchase.