Every time you put a round downrange, you alway wonder if you are going to hit what you are aiming at. Here are a few characteristics of projectiles that might enlighten you on why the paintball does what after being fired.

Characteristics of Fire.
To help the gunner understand the characteristics of fire for their weapons, the following definitions are helpful: (1) Trajectory. Trajectory is the path of the bullet in flight.

(2) Maximum Ordinate. This is the highest point the trajectory reaches between the muzzle of the weapon and the base of the target. It always occurs at a point about two-thirds of the distance from weapon to target and increases with range.
(3) Cone of Fire. This is the pattern formed by the different trajectories in each burst as they travel downrange. Vibration of the weapon, variations in ammunition, and atmospheric conditions all contribute to the trajectories that make up the cone of fire.
(4) Beaten Zone. This is the pattern formed by the rounds within the cone of fire striking the ground or the target. The size and shape of the beaten zone changes as a function of the range to and slope of the target. Gunners and automatic riflemen should engage targets to take maximum effect of the beaten zone. The simplest way to do this is to aim at the center base of the target. Most rounds will not fall over the target, and any that fall short will turn ricochets into the target.

FUNDAMENTAL TECHNIQUES OF AUTOMATIC FIRE
The fundamental techniques of automatic fire are common to machine guns and squad automatic weapons.

b. Characteristics of Fire. To help the gunner understand the characteristics of fire for their weapons, the following definitions are helpful:
(1) Trajectory. Trajectory is the path of the bullet in flight.

(2) Maximum Ordinate. This is the highest point the trajectory reaches between the muzzle of the weapon and the base of the target. It always occurs at a point about two-thirds of the distance from weapon to target and increases with range.
(3) Cone of Fire. This is the pattern formed by the different trajectories in each burst as they travel downrange. Vibration of the weapon, variations in ammunition, and atmospheric conditions all contribute to the trajectories that make up the cone of fire.
(4) Beaten Zone. This is the pattern formed by the rounds within the cone of fire striking the ground or the target. The size and shape of the beaten zone changes as a function of the range to and slope of the target. Gunners and automatic riflemen should engage targets to take maximum effect of the beaten zone. The simplest way to do this is to aim at the center base of the target. Most rounds will not fall over the target, and any that fall short will turn ricochets into the target.
(5) Danger Space. This is the space between the weapon and the target where the trajectory does not rise above 1.8 meters (the average height of a standing soldier) and includes the beaten zone. Gunners should consider the danger space of their weapons when planning overhead fires.
Classifications of Automatic Weapons Fire.

Automatic weapons fires is classified with respect to the ground, the target, and the weapon.You will not use with respect to the weapon unless your marker is on a mount, tripod or bipod

(1) Fire with respect to the ground includes--

• Grazing Fire. Automatic weapons achieve grazing fire when the center of the cone of fire does not rise more than 1 meter above the ground. When firing over level or uniformly sloping terrain, the SAW can attain a maximum of 600 meters of grazing fire. And your marker: nowhere near that.
  
• Plunging Fire. Plunging fire occurs when weapons fire at long range, when firing from high ground to low ground, when firing into abruptly rising ground, or when firing across uneven terrain, resulting in a loss of grazing fire at any point along the trajectory. Can you say "long-balling it"?

(2) Fire with respect to the target includes--

• Enfilade Fire. Enfilade fire occurs when the long axis of the beaten zone coincides or nearly coincides with the long axis of the target. It can be frontal or flanking. It is the most desirable class of fire with respect to the target because it makes maximum use of the beaten zone.
• Frontal Fire. Frontal fire occurs when the long axis of the beaten zone is at a right angle to the front of the target.
• Flanking Fire. Flanking fire is delivered directly against the flank of a target.
• Oblique Fire. Gunners and automatic riflemen achieve oblique fire when the long axis of the beaten zone is at an angle other than a right angle to the front of the target.

(3) Fire with respect to the weapon includes--

• Fixed Fire. Fixed fire is delivered against a stationary point target when the depth and width of the beaten zone will cover the target.
• Traversing Fire. Traversing distributes fires in width by successive changes in direction.
• Searching Fire. Searching distributes fires in depth by successive changes in elevation.
• Traversing and Searching Fire. This class of fire is a combination in which successive changes in direction and elevation result in the distribution of fires both in width and depth.

d. Types of Targets. Targets have both width and depth. The size of the target, stated in terms of the number of aiming points required to engage it completely, determines its type.
(1) Point Target. Point targets require a single aiming point. Examples of this include bunkers, weapons emplacements, vehicles, and troops.
(2) Area Targets. Area targets require more than one aiming point. Machine gunners and automatic riflemen use traversing and searching (or a combination) to engage the target. Area targets are distinguished as linear, deep, and linear with depth. Gunners and automatic riflemen engage deep targets using searching fire. They engage linear targets using traversing fire. Finally, they engage linear with depth targets using traversing and searching fire.
e. Rates of Fires. Automatic weapons fire in one of three rates: rapid, sustained, or cyclic. Normally machine gunners engage targets at the rapid rate to suppress the enemy quickly. Thereafter, they fire at a sustained rate to conserve ammunition. Automatic riflemen use the three-round burst, resighting their weapons as quickly as possible. In engaging aerial targets machine gunners and automatic riflemen use the cyclic rate.
(1) Rapid Fire. Rapid fire is 200 rounds per minute in bursts of six to nine rounds at four- to five-second intervals.
(2) Sustained Rate. Sustained fire is 100 rounds per minute in bursts of six to nine rounds at four- to five-second intervals.
(3) Cyclic Rate. The normal cyclic rate of fire is 650 to 850 rounds per minute. To fire the cyclic rate, the gunner holds the trigger to the rear while the assistant gunner feeds ammunition into the weapon.
of course, take away from the end part here the amount of fire laid down in bursts with the time differences.
I have yet to see a marker put down 850bpm




Hope this helps
see below

http://s135.photobucket.com/albums/q...ticsoffire.jpg

Some of this brings back memories and some is completely new (or my brain is weakening faster than I thought).

A question about the Maximum Ordinate: is the 2/3 rule true for paintball? Some of this is geared toward real weapons.

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i usually hit what im aiming at

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A5 I Ape v2.0 Egrip I Opsgear SAW Stock I J&J 12" Ceramic I Palmers A5 Stabilizer I Vortex Mod I Lightning Rod I QEPH I Tac Cap I Techt Squishy Paddles I tasco 30mm red dot I Polished Internals I Macroline Kit I
Tippmann Bravo One

the N conditions surrounding the shooter always determine a different trajectory for every shot. no two shots ever hit the exact same space. it is improbable for many shooters to calculate a subsonic trajectory within a reasonable time and hit the target at the desired place given that no two shots are identical, nor are identically loaded, nor face the same obstructions before reaching the target.

shoot first, ask questions later.

Bump!
Know the characteristics of fire for your weapons

Wow, great post. I'm going to have to read that again when I'm fully awake.

You should sticky this, or move it to the tactics section and sticky it there.

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Team WOW My YouTube Operator Strike Force Brigade Page

Actually, my A-5 easily fires 900 rounds per minute. That's only 15 balls per second. 450 round hopper and my partner loading over my shoulder as I fire can easily achieve that effect. I've actually done that in a game once. My partner was experiencing a weapon malfunction, so he was loading and spotting for me. We were in a tower in the center of our team's defensive line, and I was able to keep 15-20 of the opposing team pinned down long enough for our team to flank them. I went through 1200+ rounds in a matter of minutes in the game.

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A5, 12" PPS Brass (.690) with Apex tip, Tacamo HK 416 shroud, Tacamo AK-47 Sight Cover, JCS Gold Powertube, E-Grip (APE), Core CQB Wire Stock w/ RVA, Palmer Inline Stabilizer, Lapco Cyclone Ratchet, 450 round Hopper, 48 oz CO2 with remote line

What I meant was I have yet to see anyone actually shoot that much

Excellent stuff!
Relates completely to paintball and a huge help to me personally because just last week I was trying to figure out the "Danger space" of my marker when shooting for distance.

sometimes i dont care how im shoting b/c if i taking fire from 3 guys in different directions, thats the last thing on my mind