bwaites Wrote:Back 10-15 years ago I played a lot of paintball, and one injury that we all were scared to death of were eye injuries. However, the eye and the testicle actually are very similar in density and toughness. While we only allowed players to play who played with full face masks, some players chose to go without cups.I forgot about cups. Those are allowed, but I've never worn one. I don't remember anyone else using one either. I did fold up a chintzy hand towel and stuff it in my pants the first time we did it, but I haven't since.
Well, they did until a guy posted his story online, including pictures, of his testicular injury. 300 FPS doesn't sound fast when you are used to discussing 2-3000 FPS, but when a paintball hits at close to that velocity, tremendous trauma ensues. Its a testament to how well designed we are that sometimes there isn't even a welt or bruise.
Sims, paintballs, even airsoft pellets can do tremendous damage, especially at the ranges that most hits happen.
They are good training if used properly. At one point, there were enough of us playing competitively that we tried to talk the local sherriffs and PD's into using us as a hostage taker/terrorists aggressors. I wasn't available, but the guys that played said that the poor cops took a serious beating, and wouldn't try it again. The regular paintballers were MUCH more aggressive and focused than the cops, who simply hadn't had that kind of experience previously. Some of them began playing competetive paintball because of the experience, while others bad mouthed the paintball group as cheaters.
LRRPF and I have discussed this previously, but it comes down to being willing to keep going, period. Most cops have to work hard to develop that mentality in the face of fire, and its not natural to those who have not been soldiers previously, especially.
My main real complaint about sims or paintball (and I know there's nothing really that could be done about it) is that concealment becomes cover. I constantly harp about it to anyone around me when we train. When someone is concealed around the corner I won't wait for them to pop back out. I'll shoot them through the corner (depending on the circumstances of course). Plywood and sheetrock are not cover, and most of the the structures in my duty environment aren't either. I always worry about cops treating a bad guys concealment as cover.