B

Ball Detent: A round device inside some paintball guns that keeps a paintball in place until the gun’s bolt pushes the paint into the barrel, thereby stopping more than one paintball from loading into a paintball gun’s chamber per cycle.

Barrel: n. The tube on the front of a paintgun from which the paintball is discharged when the gun is fired. Paintball barrels can be made from aluminum alloys, brass, stainless steel, ceramic or carbon fiber. The major characteristics of a barrel are its interior diameter, length, and effective length.

Barrel Condom: n. (slang) See barrel sock.

Barrel Plug: n. A piece of plastic or metal, usually with an o-ring, designed to fit into the front end of a paintball gun barrel as a safety precaution in the event of an accidental discharge. With modern fast-firing electronic markers it is possible for an accidental discharge involving multiple shots to blow a barrel plug out of the barrel and still injure a bystander and thus barrel socks are preferred.

Barrel Sock: n. Also barrel condom. Evolved from the barrel plug, the barrel condom is a cloth or nylon sleeve that is placed on and around the tip of the barrel to prevent paintballs accidentally fired from the paintball gun from hitting anything. Two chords attached to this sleeve tie around the feed of the paintball gun, to prevent the sleeve itself from being fired off. Barrel socks are considered superior to barrel plugs.

Barrel porting: n. A ported barrel has holes (ports) drilled through its walls for part of its length. Porting serves to quiet the paintgun by venting gas to the sides of the barrel, reducing the explosiveness (and noisiness) of the exhaust from the muzzle. Porting is also thought to reduce turbulence around the ball as it leaves the barrel and thus lead to marginally better accuracy. Porting reduces the effective length of the barrel.

Barrel rifling: n. Sometimes barrel porting is called barrel rifling, but this is a misnomer. Rifling actually refers to spiral grooves cut on the inside of a barrel intended to make the paintball (or any projectile) spin in flight. This spinning is supposed to stabilize the projectile and lead to much improved accuracy. While this works well with bullets, it is generally regarded as a failure with paintballs. The problem is that the liquid filling of a paintball will not spin in a stable manner. Occasionally rumors surface regarding paintballs that can be reliable spun.

Barrel tag: n. During recball or other informal games a player can be eliminated by sneaking close enough to touch him with the barrel of your paintgun. In theory this spares that player the pain of a close range hit. This is the only acceptable way to touch another player in a paintball game, and many fields even prohibit barrel tags. Any other touching can technically be considered assault and thus criminal. The no-touch rule is intended to prevent fighting, and is taken very seriously.

Barrel tap: n. Synonym of barrel tag.

Beavertail: n. A metal shroud designed to encase the protruding bolt to keep it from striking the user when the bolt fires and retracts. Designed specifically for rear cocking paintball guns.

Bleed Valve: n. A valve that allows the compressed gas in a paintgun and remote to be discharged before disconnecting the gun from it's propellant source.

Blind firing: v. (slang.)- To shoot over the tops or sides of a bunker by sticking the gun over or around a corner without aiming. Commonly a mistake made by newer players. It is also usually considered a safety hazard and is thus banned on most fields.

Bolt: n. The internal part of a paintgun that pushes the paintball into the barrel after it has been fed through the breech. The bolt also actually brings the propellant (gas) into contact with the paintball. In both closed and open bolt guns the bolt is brought to rest behind the paintball and gas flows through the bolt to push the ball through the barrel.

Bonus ball: 1. v. (slang) To overshoot someone. This term is also commonly used in two very specific circumstances. The first is purposefully overshooting someone, either maliciously because you dislike them or think it is funny, or vindictively in retribution for perceived cheating. The theory on the latter is that the player cannot effectively wipe multiple hits as easily as a single hit. The second circumstance is accidentally shooting an eliminated player who happens to cross your line of fire while he is exiting the field. 2. n. Also used to describe the actual extra paintball or paintball hits when someone has been bonus balled.

Bore: n. The diameter of your barrel and the circumference of your paint

Bottle: n. A synonym of tank, used more commonly in Europe.

Bottom Line: n. An air fitting that moves the paintgun's gas input to the bottom of the grip frame.

Bounce: n. When a paintball bounces off after striking a player, as opposed to breaking. A hit that bounces does not count, unless certain special rules apply, and the player is not eliminated.

BPS: n. Balls per second. A unit of measurement to describe how fast a paintgun fires or how fast a hopper feeds, and indicates the number of paintballs fired or fed in one second.

Break: 1. n. When a paintball breaks upon impacting a player, thus eliminating him. Contrast with bounce. 2. n. A malfunction wherein a paintball splatters inside the barrel or in the breech. Usually accuracy suffers after a break. 3. n. The initial few seconds right after the whistle blows to start a game.

Breech: n. The opening in the side of a paintgun through which the paintballs feed. Generally, a hopper attaches to the breech via a feed neck and occasionally an elbow..

Bunker: 1. n. Any man-made object that is used as cover during a paintball game. A bunker can be a log pile, a wall, a pallet or spool, an inflatable obstacle, a 55-gallon drum, and so on. Of note, trees are not bunkers. 2. v. (slang) To rush around the sides or over another players bunker and fire upon them at close range.

Burst disk: n. A part of the valve assembly at the top of a CO2 tank, the burst disk ruptures when the pressure inside the tank exceeds the container’s pressure rating. The gas in the tank is then vented safely.

Butt Plate: A device that attaches to the rear of an air tank, making firing the paintgun more comfortable.

BYOP: bring your own paint (as opposed to being able to, or having to, buy paint at the field).