Watching the Snow Fly

The first few times I played paintball I really didn't shoot all that much. Maybe it was because I was paying $8.00 for 100 rounds or maybe I just didn't know what I was doing so I kind of stayed back and only occasionally fired. As I progressed in my game, I learned that there are times when you need to be able to fire quickly and I stepped up the speed of my trigger on occasion.

While learning how to play paintball I had been playing primarily with a gun with an expansion chamber and I really didn't think much of it. One day, though, I played with a gun without an expansion chamber. As I was firing fast, I noticed that white flakes were coming out of my gun. My friend explained that this was a result of the CO2 expanding and was commonly referred to as "snow". Snow typically won't hurt your gun, though when you get a lot it is a sign that your gun is getting cold and it probably indicates that your consistency is way out of wack.

Despite the problems snow might represent, I still find it one of the most memorable aspects of paintball. Not only is it fun to watch the snow come out, but it also carries with it the distinct smell of CO2. To this day, whenever I pick up a basic blowback, I always like to dry fire until I can see the snow fly.