The Anatomy of a Paintball Gun

A paintball gun is a recreational weapon designed to inflict minimal to moderate pain on the opposing team in a paintball match or tournament. The weapon itself looks much like a real gun, except for the paintball ammunition hopper and the carbon dioxide tank. A player must clean his weapon to remove splattered paint, but to do so, he must know the anatomy of the gun to properly disassemble and reassemble it.

  1. Paintball Grip Frame

    • The main frame of the paintball gun includes a sturdy hand grip and trigger frame. Though hand grips differ in each model, many paintball guns bear an M-16 rifle grip style. The trigger frame is attached to the front of the grip and is comprised of the trigger, trigger spring, trigger slider, trigger slider pins and the trigger guard.

    Paintball Receiver

    • Several valve bolts, pinch bolts and other tiny adaptive pieces make up the inside of the paintball receiver, which is the main top portion of the paintball gun. The air valve, power tube and safety on/off button are also found within the receiver frame. On top of the receiver, most guns contain front and rear sights and a hollowed-out section to support the paintball feed housing.

    Paintball Feed Housing

    • The paintball hopper holds several paint rounds that roll into the feed elbow of the feed housing unit. This hinged unit contains an elbow latch, elbow latch bolts, the ammunition box lock and elbow pins that allow for enhanced ease in disassembling for cleaning purposes. This is at the front of the receiver, right above the threads where the paintball barrel attaches to the receiver.

    Paintball Barrel

    • The paintball barrel screws in the receiver using the thick threads at the back of the barrel. Users must insert the barrel O-ring onto the barrel before screwing it in to assist with air tightness. The barrel itself is one unit and does not house any screws, bolts or additional attachments inside.

    Paintball Projection Unit

    • Carbon dioxide tanks of various sizes provide the projection necessities of a paintball gun. A carbon dioxide tank adapter fits onto the bottom of the grip frame with adapter bolts, allowing for the carbon dioxide to feed through the gas line, also known as the disconnect hose. The gas line is a curved hose that attaches to the front of the tank adapter on the back end and to the bottom of the main valve in the receiver. A replaceable O-ring is attached to the top of the carbon dioxide tank to keep the flow of carbon dioxide running into the tank adapter and through the hose, preventing it from spraying outside the tank housing.