The Origins of Paintball

Above: The Nel-Spot, the first paintball gun.
In 1976, a stock trader by the name of Bob Gurnsey and his writer friend Charles Gaines, the man who documented a series of photos called “Pumping Iron,” (yes, that Pumping Iron) were discussing Gaines’ recent trip to Africa where he hunted buffalo. To simulate the adrenaline rush of the hunt, and in talking about Richard Connell’s The Most Dangerous Game, the duo invented a game whereby they would hunt each other.

In 1981 in New Hampshire, using Nel-spot 007 pistols for paintball guns, which are typically used by hunters and farmers to mark boundaries, the pair and ten friends played a capture the flag type game.
Early paintball was quite different from today’s game. Shooting was rare, as the CO2 tanks were only 10 grams. Without masks, shop glasses were used, and the original paintball guns at most held 10 rounds, which had to be tilted to roll into the chamber, and recocked after each shot.

After the game, Gurnsey began talks with Nel-spot to license specific paintball supplies. In the following years, national interest surges as competing companies began making equipment, and the way was paved for modern paintball. By 1984, paintball had become international. The rest is history.