What's a Venturi Bolt?
Generally speaking, the bolt is the device inside the gun which both pushes the paintball from the breech into the bore, and serves to channel the gas from the valve to the ball. In standard configuration, the bolt face has one large opening in front through which the gas is channeled. A venturi bolt has multiple holes designed to control the flow of the gas and it's impact on the ball. To say that it "improves" airflow is a misnomer, when in fact the very design of a venturi bolt restricts the airflow, and is not recommended in "low pressure" operations where unrestricted airflow is required. Whether or not the device is an improvement over standard bolts is debatable. In paintball, the Venturi bolt first appeared in Air Power's Apex Elite pump paintball gun around '1989 or '90.
 

What do Electronic Guns do that Manual ones cannot?
Electronic guns come in several forms, including electro-pneumatic (where the actual internal operation of the gun is controlled electronically), and in conversions where only one function (such as the sear on a blow-back gun) is controlled electronically. Electro-pneumatics, because of the ability of precise control, can be made to operate more efficiently than purely mechanical guns, but they all are not necessarily more efficient. Electronic guns in general offer lighter trigger pulls, which can result an easier attained high rate of fire. Many of them also offer multiple modes of fire such as 6 or 3-shot burst, full auto, etc.
 

What is rear cocking, side cocking or top cocking on a paintball gun?
Although a gun like the WGP Autococker is considered "rear cocking", the terms "rear cocking", "side cocking" and "top cocking" relate more to variations found on two-tube blow-backs like Spyders and Piranhas, and describe where the manual cocking lever is located on those guns. Aside from cosmetics and possibly a few concepts related to personal taste and style of play, there is not necessarily an advantage to one over the other.
 

What should I be looking for in a barrel?
You shouldn't look for a barrel unless you are having a problem with the one you are using now, or just have money to burn on nicer cosmetics. If there is a problem, then you should look for what solves that particular problem. Are a lot of balls breaking down inside the barrel? The you may need something with a larger bore. Is the barrel too long for your style of play? Then look for a shorter one. If you have horrible accuracy and you're convinced it's not the quality of the paintballs you're using, then you may need a smaller bore. Barrel theory could go on for hours. The main thing to remember is, no matter what kind of barrel you have, there will always be a variety of factors that affect accuracy outside of the barrel itself, and the weakest link in the chain will always be the inconsistency of paintballs.
 

What is a boom stick?
The Dye Boomstick is an aftermarket barrel. There are many unproven claims about the performance enhancements of the two piece design, but the one thing I can tell you is that mine seems to shoot any paint well, and it's quiet. However, that being said, the Boomstick is also rather expensive and other barrels I have shoot just as well for half the price. Like a lot of products, the name and cosmetic design of the Boomstick are as much a credit to it's sales success as anything.
 

What is Velocity? And how is this regulated and monitored in a gun?
Velocity is the speed of the ball leaving the gun, measure in "feet per second" (fps). All guns are adjustable for velocity, although some older models are harder to adjust than others. On most mechanical guns the adjustments center on the tension of a spring which drives a hammer to strike open the valve which releases gas to propel the ball. Some guns are adjusted via regulators, restrictor screws protruding into an air passage, or a variety of other ways particular to the gun's operating system. Most adjustments on modern paintball guns are external and do not require disassembly of the gun, however to prevent tampering on the field, they do require the use of tools. The velocity is monitored by the use of a chronograph.
 

What is a chronograph? Why is it necessary?
To Chronograph or "Chrono" a gun is the act of using a chronograph to measure the velocity of the paintball leaving the muzzle of the gun. Some chronographs use light sensors while some use radar to measure the speed in feet per second (fps) as the ball is fired over the device. The standard accepted maximum velocity in paintball is 300 fps (although some fields have lower limits). At 300 fps, a paintball is said to produce a 9 foot-pound impact at point blank range. Goggles and safety equipment are required to exceed that figure without breaking. The use of a chronograph is a safety measure first, but it also stands to keep everyone on a level playing field from the aspect ball velocity/range.
 

A friend has a gun which seems to shoot further than mine. How is this possible?
His gun is likely shooting a higher velocity than yours. If your guns are shooting the same velocity, the overall distance should be the same. Your perception could be off for several reasons. If he is holding his barrel at even a slightly higher angle, the lob effect will cause his range to be longer. If his gun is more consistent in windage (side to side accuracy), it may appear to have more range. Likewise, if his shot to shot velocity is more consistent, he will appear to have better range.
The exception to this is if your friend is using the Tippmann Flatline barrel system, which imparts a spin on the ball and actually gives it a flatter trajectory, resulting in a comparatively longer range when the barrels are held evenly.
 

How can you tell if a Co2 tank is empty or full?
Although some fields and stores now use more imprecise methods, Co2 tanks are supposed to be weighed when they are filled - that's why the tank size is designated by weight. A full 12 ounce tank should weigh 12 ounces more than the same tank when empty. It is a good idea to make a note of the weight of your tank when it is dry. That way you can weigh at any time and calculate the how much Co2 it has in it. Any individual tank should be weighed because all tanks of a given size do not necessarily have the same dry weight.
 

I keep damaging the CO2 tank o-rings when I unscrew the tank from the gun. Is there any way to avoid this?
Yes. Co2 pressure causes the o-ring to swell resulting in a cuts from the threads as the tank is unscrewed. The trick is to relieve the pressure first. For regular pin valves, instead of unscrewing the tank all of the way, back it off about a half of a turn - enough to disengage the pin depressor on the gun. Then shoot the gun dry of Co2. Remember to only shoot the gun dry in a safe area and without balls in the gun. For tanks with on-off valves, simply turn the valve off and shoot the gun dry. This will allow the tank to unscrew easily without cutting the o-ring.
 

What is Nitro, or nitrous?
Those are common names people use for compressed air (CA), high pressure air (HPA), or Nitrogen which is all basically the same gas source used for powering paintball guns. Air is largely nitrogen, so the terms CA, HPA, and Nitro are interchangeable. However, "nitrous" is somewhat inaccurate, since that term is short for "nitrous oxide" which is not used to power paintball guns.
 

What is meant by psi? Is that similar to fps?
Psi is "pounds per square inch" and is a way of measuring how much gas is in a given space. For example, a 3000 psi HPA tank holds 3000 pounds of pressure per square inch. Fps is "feet per second" and is a method of measuring the velocity (or speed) of paintballs as they leave the gun. The terms are not interchangeable.
 

What are the gauges for on some guns?
Different gauges serve different purposes. Some gauges show how much pressure is left in the gas source tank, while some show how much of the pressure in the tank is actually feeding into the gun. Gauges are used not only to track what's left in the tank during a game, but can be useful in tuning a gun to operate efficiently. The latter is convenient for those who like to tinker but is not a necessity.
 

My gun came with a Co2 tank. Can I switch to High Pressure Air (HPA)?
Yes. Any gun which uses Co2 should work with HPA without modification. Most of the lesser expensive HPA tanks have fixed output regulators which provide 750 psi of operating pressure, which is enough to power most paintball guns. You should be able to screw the HPA tank in place of your Co2 tank , although some velocity adjustments may have to be made to the gun.
 

Does guns performance change over time? Do the guns heat up after large amounts of firing?
If you are using unregulated Co2 as a propellant, temperature fluctuations through the course of the day can change the output pressure of the tank, thus changing your velocity. As for the gun itself, unlike firearms, paintball guns do not produce enough friction, residue build-up, or heat to impact the performance of the gun over the course of a day.
 

What is an Autococker? Aren't all guns auto cocking?
Autococker is the brand name of a series of guns designed by Worr Games Products (WGP). The gun started life as a manual pump gun (the Sniper), meaning the operator had to pump the gun once to cock it for each shot fired, much like a pump shotgun. When WGP added a pneumatic system to automate the cocking process, they called their gun the Autococker.
All paintball guns are not auto cocking. The first guns designed to shoot paintballs, and later the first guns designed specifically for the game we now call paintball, were manual pump guns. Several companies still sell pump guns.
 
On an Autococker, what is a 3-way?
The 3-way (some call it a 4-way) is actually an air valve - a switch basically - which directs the flow of air to opposite ends of the pneumatic cylinder (a.k.a. ram) to accomplish the pumping process. It has one input, from the low pressure reg, and 2 outputs connected to opposite ends of the ram via small hoses. The 3-way is slaved to the trigger, via the timing rod. When the trigger is pulled back, air is directed to one end of ram, causing the internal plunger to move in a rearward direction, thus making the rearward pump stroke. When the trigger is released and comes forward, the 3-way directs air to the other end of the ram, causing the plunger to come forward, completing the forward pump stroke.
 

What is a Low Pressure Regulator?
Typically, the term "Low-Pressure Regulator" refers to the regulator which reduces the output pressure of the gas source for use in pneumatically or electro-pneumatically operated guns. Gas from the low-pressure regulator is usually less than 200 psi and drives the pneumatics which cock the gun. The low-pressure regulator should not be confused with a regular "regulator" which reduces the pressure supplied to the valve system used to propel the ball. As an example, the Palmer "Stabilizer" is a regulator which controls overall gas pressure going into the gun, however, a Palmer "Rock" is a low-pressure regulator which controls gas going only to the pneumatics. Most (but not all) regulators are externally adjustable.
 

Why are some hoppers motorized? Is this necessary?
Many paintball hoppers, which act as a magazines to hold paintballs on the gun, include a system of agitating the balls to ensure proper feeding. The majority of paintball feeding systems rely on gravity to force balls to drop from the hopper into the gun. The hoppers can jam which stops balls from dropping. The motorized agitation system is designed to clear the jam. While some guns vibrate enough from shot to shot to keep hoppers from jamming, others operate more smoothly and jams occur more frequently. Without an agitated hopper, these guns will frequently fire "dry" shots, and may even chop balls under rapid firing.
 

What Is the difference in chopping or breaking a ball?
Chopping a ball occurs when the bolt is coming forward and slices a ball in half as it falls into the breech. This can happen for a variety of reasons and is usually related to rapid firing. For example, if you fire the gun faster than the balls can feed, you can chop one before it falls completely into the breech. Breaking a ball is simply when the ball breaks, such as in the barrel. This can occur when the ball is too big for the barrel (bore too tight) or when the balls are brittle, old or otherwise in poor shape.
 

What's a drop forward setup?
A "drop forward" is a bracket or mounting system attached to the bottom of the grip frame of the gun. It relocates the gas source tank forward and below the grip, as opposed to directly beneath the grip such as appears on many modern paintball guns. The drop forward allows the player to shorten the profile and alter the overall balance of the gun.
 

What's speed ball?
Speedball is a form of the game played on a small course with man-made objects used as cover, as opposed to being played on large wooded fields. Because the time limits are usually shorter and players start off in close proximity, the game is faster paced, hence the name. In most cases, elimination of the other team, or a center flag is the object of the game. The Speedball concept was invented as a way to allow spectators to view the game. It's a popular concept with players because of the intensive and immediate action. It's popular with field owners because the courses require less space, and cause players to shoot more paint and buy higher performance equipment.