As with many games, paintball inevitably carries with it its own set of expressions and jargon, some of which can be rather baffling for those who have not participated before. For people thinking of playing paintball, here is a list of some of the basic expressions that are used in and around the game. 

DOUBLE ACTION – This refers to a paintball gun which needs only one pull of the trigger to both cock and fire.

DRILLED BARREL – This refers to a barrel on a paintball gun that has had relief ports drilled into it in order to make the gun shoot both further and with more accuracy.

DUAL FLAG – This refers to a paintball game variant wherein each team has a flag, located at that team’s starting point, which the other team must successfully capture and take back to their own starting point in order to win the game. The majority of paintball tournaments which feature seven to ten players use this style of game.

ELBOW – This is paintball slang referring to a paintball hopper adaptor.

ELECTROPNEUMATIC – This refers to a kind of paintball gun that has been designed to operate the trigger electronically and to also feature a valve operation that is likewise electronically controlled.

EXPANSION CHAMBER – This refers to a device which is the part of a paintball gun that allows the CO2 gas to expand before firing the gun, preventing it from “going liquid” on a particularly cold day or during rapid firing. There is no need at all for such a device on a paintball gun that uses HP air.

FEEDER – This is simply paintball slang for a paintball hopper.

FILL STATION – This refers to a device that is used to fill up CA tanks.

FLAG STATION – This refers to the base camp of a paintball team, where their team flag is located. They must protect the flag from being captured by the opposing team.

FLANK – This refers to someone being on the extreme left or right of another player or players.

FOGGING UP – This is an expression used to describe what happens when a player’s breathing can cause their goggles to cloud over, spoiling their visibility during the game.

FORE GRIP – This refers to a horizontal grip which is usually situated on the front of a paintball gun.

F.P.S – This stands for “feet per second”, which is a US paintball term for measuring how fast a paintball gun is firing paintballs.

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