“Because then how would you make money?”
Tempting answer. Incorrect answer. Mostly.
You’ll notice almost every paintball field, especially in the Midwest, has an OFP policy. That stands for On-Field Paint Only. Some tournaments allow outside paint, but for regular field play, it’s rare.
There are three main reasons we don’t allow outside paint:
- Scott County says no.
- Safety for players.
- Safety for equipment.
1. Scott County Would Absolutely Not Let Us
In 2025 alone, we put just under 2,000,000 paintballs into the woods. That’s just .68 caliber.
Each paintball weighs about 3 grams, which means we put roughly 13,000 pounds of paint into the ground. That’s about 6 tons. Or, if you prefer truck math, roughly the weight of three Toyota Tacomas.
Even spread across 180 acres… that’s a lot of paint.
Because of that, Scott County requires that our paint be tested to ensure we’re not dumping anything unsafe into the soil at a rate of six tons per year.
So no, I am not sending the mystery paint you bought on Amazon out for testing so I can tell the county, “Hey, we added 2,000 of these random ones too.”
Fun fact: the paint we use is food grade. Technically edible. Deeply unpleasant. But edible.
2. Safety for People
We know exactly what paint we use. We know how brittle the shell is. We know how it breaks. We know what it feels like when it hits someone.
All paintballs are not created equal.
Some have thicker shells. Some are harder. Some hurt more. We are not interested in someone showing up with a case of “Monster Ball 9000” that’s been sitting in their basement since 2014 and tagging someone in the neck with it.
We accept the risk of occasional welts and bruises. We do not accept the risk of preventable injuries because someone wanted to experiment.
3. Safety for Our Equipment (And Your Sanity)
We still use Tippmann 98s. They are the Toyota Camry of paintball markers. Reliable. Durable. Unbothered.
But paint size matters.
We call it .68 caliber, but that’s not technically precise. Paintballs can range from roughly .683 to .689 in diameter. Many players even change barrel bore sizes to match their paint.
If you show up with .689 paint and our barrels are bored .686, you are going to have a bad time. Best case? Breaks in the barrel. Worst case? A very frustrating day.
You probably won’t destroy a marker with the wrong paint… but you might get frustrated enough to try. And unless you brought an oxy-acetylene torch, that’s unlikely to work anyway.
So we keep it simple: use our paint, and everyone has a better day.
The One Exception
You can absolutely bring paint you previously purchased from us and you can bring First Strike rounds.
If you’re storing it:
- Keep it in a warm, dry place
- If storing for more than a few months, rotate the box every few weeks to avoid dimples
Dimples are cute on you. Not on your paintballs.
That’s it. It’s not about being difficult. It’s about environmental compliance, player safety, and keeping your day from turning into a barrel-cleaning workshop.
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