The U.K paintball activity center, Team force, reports the controversy in which a gun was the first to be used for paintball; specifically, the first gun that was designed for this purpose was patented by the Daisy Manufacturing Company of Plymouth, Michigan, and it was under contract to the Nelson Paint Company.
History
In the 1960s, the Nelson Paint Company introduced paintballs under contract to the U.S. Forestry Service. Originally, paintballs were used to mark trees in an accurate way from long distances, according to the Team Force website. Gelatin capsule that could be injected with paint and can be fired from a gun was invented by Charles Nelson. Initially, the Team Force reports that paintballs were fired from .22 pellet guns marketed by Nelson as the Nel-Spot 707 and manufactured by Crossman.
Invention
According to the Funding Universe Investment information website, the invention of the first paintball gun was during the 1970s. It was indeed Daisy which was the largest producer of air guns and ammunition. A technology to create the first paintball gun was modified by engineer James Hale. He named such invention the “Splotchmarker.”
Production
The manufacturing of Daisy-designed Splotchmarker began in 1972, as explained by Team Force, after an agreement was done between Daisy Manufacturing and Nelson Paint Company. When production began in 1972, the Splotchmarker was rebranded as the Nel-Spot 009. The use of paintballs expanded during that same period from the marking of trees to the marking of cattle from long distances in the farming industry.
Nel-Spot 007
Today, the Nel-Spot 007 is no longer manufactured by the Nelson Paint Company, but is still sold on the paintball market worldwide, according to The Paintball Times. Moreover, The Paintball Times also reiterated that the CO2 cartridge is held in the grip of the pistol that pierces the cartridge with a sealed pin. In order to activate the pistol, the bolt on the top must be pulled back, thereby allowing the pistol to fire a paintball.
Paintball Use
Paintball as a game was not created until 1981 when a group of men from New Hampshire created a survival game. Ritchie White was the winner of the first paintball game using the Nel-Spot 007. In order to win the game, Ritchie captured flags for victory without even firing a shot.
It was during the 1970s when the paintball exploded into extreme sports, and, during the last decade, it escalated into an industry that creates billions of revenues worldwide. Once again, its grass roots can be found in North America with farmers turning their cattle-marking guns on each other. At present, paintball is being played in 110 countries with 15 million players just like BB guns and BB Guns For Kids, for now, is already bigger than rugby, snowboarding and surfing!