How far does a paintball go?

[markdem]

Im not asking about the "effective" range for gameplay. Im wondering how far a paintball goes when i shoot at a 45(ish) degree angle. Has anyone gone to a flat field and actually measured the distance?

[SETHZILLA!]

Firing a 68 caliber ball at a 45° angle at 300fps, in perfect non-windy conditions you can consistently get them at 343'.

You can do the math here.
https://www.sciencebuddies.org/scien...20seconds%20(s).

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[jokers]

Did you convert to meters per second and out of meters per second? I got 2800 feet using the range formula.

[martix_agent]

Firing a 68 caliber ball at a 45° angle at 300fps, in perfect non-windy conditions you can consistently get them at 343'.

You can do the math here.
https://www.sciencebuddies.org/scien...20seconds%20(s).

Sent from my SM-S921U using Tapatalk

yea. math should solve this pretty easily, with a few minor variables that real life can bring in.

[redsquirrel]

This online calculator says 2802ft @300fps.

https://www.omnicalculator.com/physics/range-projectile-motion

ChatGPT says 2798 ft with the following prompt.

”Calculate the range of a .68 inch spherical projectile weighing 3grams that is fired at 300 feet per second at a 45 degree angle from an initial height of 5 feet.”

Haven’t actually ever tested this in a field but I’d say the math is going to be on point assuming a perfectly round paintball and no wind interference.

[SETHZILLA!]

Computers can't math...lol

[Drcemento]

2,800 ft vs 343, both using math….. thats quite a spread

[scottieb]

It really depends where you are.

When I was on the international space station I shot one out the window. I bet that thing is still going.

[Chappy]

Hard to tell. Mine never make it past the guy I’m shooting at

[Alexndl]

Never?

[scottieb]

Ahahaha!

[Chappy]

No never

[rawbutter]

2,800 ft vs 343, both using math….. thats quite a spread

And both feel obviously wrong. One is barely longer than a football field. The other is over half a mile.

I think the lower number is closer to the truth. My home field is about 400 feet long, and I can shoot from one side to the other if I angle up a bit. I usually fire a few shots at the start of every match hoping for a lucky hit. I'm not shooting at 45° though. Maybe 30°? So I'm gonna guess that 500 feet is closer to the truth.

Edit:

I got more curious and looked at this projectile trajectory calculator from Desmos. I got about 470 feet. BUT I had to guesstimate a bunch of the values, so who knows how accurate that is.

[RhoXi]

I too used a range calculator and got about 2800ft but I am pretty sure it's not taking into account wind resistance (or mass for that matter) and is assuming the projectile is moving at 300fps during its entire flight.

[DocsMachine]

Yep, about 300 feet is closer to the truth. Back in my "young & ignorant" days, I bought a 'venturi' bolt for my 'Cocker that was supposed to give "more range". I of course saw no difference on the field, so I tried a test- I'd shoot the ball as far as possible, so if there was any difference in range, it'd be most obvious.

We set up a kind of makeshift stand off the back of my truck, and had a nice open dirt area next to the parking lot. Nowhere near 'scientific', of course, but we figured if the bolt was supposed to give more range under playing conditions, it'd be obvious under maximum ranges.

Used my 'Big Red' chrono to keep the speeds uniform and... of course there was no difference at all. Every shot landed in about a 10' circle or so, at about 90 paces- roughly 100 yards, or plus-or-minus 300 feet.

Again, hardly scientific, but I remember it clearly as being one of the first times I specifically thought "you know, I don't think these advertisers are being entirely truthful!"

Doc.

[Pyrate Jim]

There used to be a tactic known locally as "Shooting the moon". Aiming high and hoping the balls would land on an opponent.
Yes, you got more range. But accuracy was iffy at best. Not very effective in the woods, but in open fields it could strike and break.

The "effective range" is as close as you can get. The shorter the distance, the more effective you can be.

[Hp_lovecraft]

I remember the Java Paintball Trajectory Calculator from 20 years ago. The website is on the archive, but the java code does not run.
When I got bored, I'd play with the variables, and see how far I could get my max range. Usually around 340ft. But in my head, I imagine the max range to be "about a football field".

In modern paintball, range is nonsensical, but in the old days, especially in urban-style fields, the far end might be just out of range, so you would lob paintballs out to 300', and hop they would land on top of someones masks.