Paint ball vs varmint question

[graycrait]

Lets say you had a raccoon, dog, deer, etc bothering your place but you didn't want to kill it for whatever reason.  I wonder if blasting it with a full auto paintball gun would leave a lasting impression to stay away from the place.   

[Pat]

Back when I had airsoft guns, I'd do the same thing. A few pap-pa-paps in the hind end of a critter will scare it off. Pretty handy if you don't feel like digging a hole, or don't have the space for a graveyard...

 

Now whether or not it'd keep the critter away... if an animal is hungry enough, it will just keep coming back for your garbage, animal food, garden, etc... worth a try. If it doesn't work, well, time for the .50 BMG?

[DaveS]

I had a dog keep getting in my trash can all the time. I didn't want to kill it. I hit that dog with about 8 shots from a PB gun, and he has never came back. That's been a few months back.

 

DaveS

[Clod Stomper]

Depends on the individual animal.  But most of them will stay away after a lesson like that.  Some agencies use paintball guns on habituated wildlife as "negative reinforcement".  That's not the term they use, but I can't remember it right now.  

 

It works for most animals.  But there will occasionally be one that will keep coming back regardless.  When I was trapping bears one summer we caught one three times.  I suspect he may have been addicted the the drug we used to tranquilize them.

 

Will

[Guest Bonedaddy]

Buddy of mine uses them 'cept with frozen paint balls and they tend to stay away after that.

[Wiljo05]

There is only one way to find out

[TNMTBik3r]

Marbles work too, bit more sting but non lethal. Or frozen paintballs as mentioned.

I have used air soft and paintball for nuisance animal control, everything from birds and dogs to cows that got out. It generally works well.

Can also go back to the old rock salt 12 or 20 gauge shells...

[Sam1]

dude a marble or frozen paintball can kill a small animal, it would be more humane to just shoot the thing with an actual gun.

[maroonandwhite]

dude a marble or frozen paintball can kill a small animal, it would be more humane to just shoot the thing with an actual gun.

I agree with this. An airsoft or non-frozen paintball wouldn't be that bad. I mean us humans shoot each other with them and I don't like getting hit by them. Anything more could probably do lasting damage.

[TNMTBik3r]

Guess I should have put depending on the size of the animal. And as an option for repeat offenders if a normal paintball doesn't keep them away.
And don't aim for the head if using a marble or frozen ball.

[Sam1]

I agree with this. An airsoft or non-frozen paintball wouldn't be that bad. I mean us humans shoot each other with them and I don't like getting hit by them. Anything more could probably do lasting damage.

 

Without question they will, seen a guy get shot with a cold paintball (just from sitting outside in winter and not even completely frozen), had to go to the hospital and ended up with bruised ribs.

[10-Ring]

Unless you are using something like liquid nitrogen paintballs will not freeze.  They just get brittle and explode before they exit the barrel.

[Sam1]

Unless you are using something like liquid nitrogen paintballs will not freeze.  They just get brittle and explode before they exit the barrel.

 

No sir it just takes cold weather, not liquid nitrogen.  They don't have to actually freeze like an ice cube, the paint gets dense and can put a hurt on you real quick.  The only reason a paintball doesn't hurt you in normal weather is because it explodes and that releases the energy.  If you play paintball, you will know how bad the cheap paint hurts, or old paint that has been sitting for a while because it basically turns into a rubber ball that won't break. 

 

A lot of fields will not let you sit paint outside in cold weather, and the ones that don't usually have the players themselves regulating the stuff.

[Shug]

Painted plenty of dogs pink. Nothing like big pink spots on a black dog

[10-Ring]

No sir it just takes cold weather, not liquid nitrogen.  They don't have to actually freeze like an ice cube, the paint gets dense and can put a hurt on you real quick.  The only reason a paintball doesn't hurt you in normal weather is because it explodes and that releases the energy.  If you play paintball, you will know how bad the cheap paint hurts, or old paint that has been sitting for a while because it basically turns into a rubber ball that won't break. 

 

A lot of fields will not let you sit paint outside in cold weather, and the ones that don't usually have the players themselves regulating the stuff.

 

Like I said, you can let them sit in a freezer for years and they will not freeze. 

[Sam1]

Doesn't matter if they are completely frozen or not, cold frozen/cold or anti-warm paintballs hit you a lot harder.

 

Someone actually spent a bit of time testing this out:

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UkzzbKLH0w0

 

Pay attention to his chart and you will see the only paintballs to completely penetrate his contraption out of 40 paintballs, were cold ones. And the numbers also show that in general, cold ones penetrated further on almost every single shot.  This increase doesn't happen because paintballs won't freeze.

[Shug]

mine won't shoot frozen balls