.50 Cal (Our Take)

If you play paintball with any degree of consistency, by now you've heard about .50 cal making it presence felt. Much of what you read on line is negative speculation and this from some pretty intelligent people. They seem to fear change, choosing to believe that .50 cal will in some way forever end the game as we know it, not for the better but morphing us into a hybrid we will all hate.

Nothing could be further from the truth, just give it time, see for yourself wait until you shoot the guns & paint. Then decide for yourself don't let anyone tell you something is good or not good for the way you play, especially if they themselves have not tried it.

We've been in paintball a long, long time pretty much since it was invented. Before there were even pumps on guns and all the paint was staining oil base. We have heard all the same arguments at almost every critical point of the evolution of the game. The very first pump guns were considered "machine guns" and where such an advantage over the days bolt action gun that many felt the game would be ruined. When constant air hit the market, then too we had to deal with some very smart people arguing that it would "super charge" the guns and we would all be shooting so hard that everyone would quit. Hoppers and pods then replaced stick feeders and tubes, thereby increasing fire power, certainly the demise of the game loomed before us...no? N2 was introduced to arguments that the tanks could explode and many people believed that this was it, the end of paintball. Other thing's came along that had people running in circles screaming that the "sky was falling".

Like when the insurance company of the day allowed kids as young as 10 to play, or when Wal-Mart began selling paintball gear. How about when WDP introduced hyperball or Richmond introduced x-ball, electronic guns themselves were deemed over the top. The truth is paintball grew by leaps & bounds each time an innovative goal was attained, only recently have we as an industry faltered. So in reality maybe the timing for this .50 cal revolution is absolutely perfect, maybe.

So far we've seen two predominant arguments against .50 cal, number one: we're all going to have to buy all new stuff because .68 is going to be made obsolete. Of course the only way this could happen is if every manufacturer agreed to all at once stop making .68 cal equipment or .50 cal was so vastly superior that nobody ever again wanted .68 cal anything. If you've been in paintball for any length of time you know that the odds of any two manufactures agreeing on almost anything are zero much less all of them, so that idea is out the window. As far as if .50 cal where to prove vastly superior to .68 cal, well what's the problem with that?

The second main objection to .50 cal is one of actual performance, will a .50 cal ball travel as far, will it impact the same, and will it mark well? All legitimate concerns. The internet is lit up with dozens of arm chair mathematicians, ballistic experts & physicists many letting us all know it won't be the results we want. Of course almost none of them have seen much less tried shooting .50 cal paint. We have been shooting .50 cal since midsummer, letting certain team players as well as our customers check it out. So what we can say from a practical use perspective is, try it we think you'll like it.

Whether all the math is right or wrong in all the internet arguments is not an arena we're jumping into. While numbers don't lie and you've always got to pay attention to them, nothing beats hands on practical experience. So what we can say is that this .50 cal stuff shoots pretty good, as good as most .68 and we only have pre production samples. It marks well; the team players we let shoot it broke balls on their opponents on the break out. It also seemed fine in the woods, actually finding its way thru brush that some .68 may not have. So let the theorists theorize, feel free to add your comment when you've tried it for yourself.

What are we as an industry trying to accomplish at this time? Is this about making sure that the world's very best tournament players can shoot the entire length of the x-ball field at blazing speeds? Are you going to make that lone sniper shot at D-day to secure the victory for the allies a more realistic possibility with .68 cal vs. .50 cal? Will the ability to carry and shoot vastly more paint in a game forever alter 7-man? Or holding a fort? Is it really about any of those things?

How about the normal walk on and private group player being able to play more and spend less while allowing a struggling industry to increase or maintain a viable profit margin? We're thinking that's a pretty big deal from our perspective, as a major field. The air efficiency increase alone will make it so you may need to fill your co2 or n2 tank half as often in a day. If we can cut back our air & co2 requirements not only do we save on everything from fuel to run our compressors, parts & maintenance, but maybe we can eliminate having to purchase a third $25,000 + unit? As a customer you'll spend more time out in the woods playing and less getting ready to play. We save money at the same time; you add value to the money you've spent. With the ball being so much smaller and subsequently the boxes they come in we'll save money on all shipping and storage costs. You the consumer will need smaller harnesses to carry the same volume as .68 and if you choose to keep the same large harness you'll have your entire days supply on you. More time in the woods means longer game formats, larger fields to play on, less time walking to and from fields and more time on them. Again we save and you gain value. The actual ball will cost less to manufacture so it will save us all money, the distributors, the dealers & fields and ultimately you the customer. Can this be done in a fashion that gives you the experience you want along with a cost factor that you can live with while at the same time allowing the business to make the money we need to grow & survive? It sure looks like it to us so far.

That end user savings will be enough to keep some people playing that may otherwise have to quit due to lack of funds to stay competitive. For others it may mean they can play more often or simply to play longer when they do choose to play.

Will more corporations sponsor company outings given the choice of playing a .50 cal game for two thirds of the cost of a .68 cal game? Will more young people either come back to the game or get involved for the first time if the cost can be lowered? Thereby insuring a future customer base. If .50 cal proves to be better than, the same as, or even just slightly under .68 cal won't it give all the retail stores an opportunity for increased sales?

The big picture here must be what is considered, what is best for all involved from manufactures to dealers & fields and ultimately and most importantly to you the player. So read everything you can, talk to your friends about it but most importantly try it out for yourself. Then let us know what you think, we're all for it this year The Badlandz will offer .50 cal rentals as well as .68. The games will be combined .50 cal & .68 cal on the field at the same time. We will be offering the option to play your private games with .50 but if you'd prefer .68 just say so.

Our position is that almost every major change in paintball has drawn out a very vocal minority of nay sayers, yet each time we have made significant progress in the quality and quantity of paintball.

So once again . . . . here we go.