• Paintball guns can be expensive.marqueur paintball image by RomainQu??r?? from Fotolia.com
  
  Paintball is a sport where players compete in a war-like environment. However, instead of using live guns and ammunition, players are shot by small paintballs. Paintball can be an expensive sport, as players must buy guns and targets to practice. However, by using relatively cheap PVC pipe, you can create a wide variety of cheap paintball projects.
  
  

Paintball Gun

• Paintball players can create a cheap paintball gun using PVC pipe and other materials. Start by buying several inches of PVC pipe, some PVC caps, PVC cleaners, cement, ball valves, reducer bushing, seal tape and a Co2 valve. Make sure there are no holes or leaks in your pipes before beginning. Use the PVC pipes to create your gun. Make sure all ends, except for the barrel ends are stopped up by the PVC pipe caps. Place everything in place with cement and wrap the seal tape around the attached areas to avoid leaks. Carefully attach a Co2 valve to the barrel. The Co2 container can then be placed in this area to propel your paintballs. A small container can be placed on top of a small hole in the barrel. Fill this up with paintballs. Make sure only one paintball falls at a time to avoid confused shooting. Try out your own design to personalize your gun.
  
  

Silencer

• A silencer can give paintball players an advantage in play by quieting the sounds of their shots. PVC pipe can make an excellent silencer. Players should measure the width of their barrel. They should find PVC pipe that is just a little bit wider than the pipe. About an 1/8th of an inch is fine. A little extra room helps ensure that the pipe fits snugly on the barrel and that it won't block the barrel. Players should then find a larger pipe that fits over this smaller pipe. These pipes should be attached with cement. Players drill holes throughout the larger pipe at random. These holes will disperse the sound out of the barrel without affecting the trajectory. The smaller pipe then fits over the barrel of the paintball gun snuggly and carefully.
  
  

Target

• A PVC paintball target is very simple to make. Materials should include several feet of PVC pipe, some rope, cement, a large piece of particle board and some paper. Players decide on the size of their target first. The size depends on their needs. If they want a short range target, it can be a bit smaller. A long range target should be bigger so that it is easier to spot. Players take their PVC pipe and use it to craft the outward frame for their target. The elbow pipes help keep the pipes stuck together in a square frame. Players then cut holes in the particle board and attach it to the frame using the ropes. The ropes should be tight to make sure the target doesn't sag. Players can either draw a target on the particle board using markers or place a paper target on the board. Paper targets can be removed and evaluated for accuracy.