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Paintball gun checkpoint

Arm soldiers manning check points with paintball guns.
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In Iraq many civilians were killed approching a military checkpoint in automobiles. The soldiers fired warning shots, the civilians panicked and spead up, the soldiers killed the civilians. If the soldiers had paintball guns they could fire at the windshields forcing the civilians, or even enemies, to stop. If the paintballs failed to stop the vehicle ... oh well.
GeorgeF, May 16 2004


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Annotation:







       This isn't such a stupid idea - if there was a paintball attachment to ordinary weapons, the paintball could be fired as a warning shot before real shooting happened. With a bit of luck, in many situations the shock of being hit with a paintball would deter that individual from further action, without them actually being shot with a bullet.   

       On second thoughts, that's the whole point of rubber bullets isn't it? I'll shut up now.
iivix, May 17 2004
  

       In the case of this checkpoint, firing real bullets apparently caused panic and caused the driver to accelerate toward the source of the shots. Why would paint have been a more effective warning? Did the driver not know where the shots were coming from and accelerate through the checkpoint in an attempt to reach safety?   

       If the target is not in a vehicle, an attachment to a gun could be useful for firing the pepper spray filled "paint" balls.
Gromit, May 17 2004
  

       //On second thoughts, that's the whole point of rubber bullets isn't it? I'll shut up now.//   

       no you are right. these would be much preferable to plastic bullets which have claimed many lives in Nortern Ireland during the 80's and 90's. Not only do paint balls cause pain with only the slightest of possible damage (blinding would still be a risk) but they also mark individuals and vehicles for possible arrest later. Paintballs could be extremely effective in a riot, civil disturbance situation for this reason.
etherman, May 17 2004
  

       Paintballs guns are traditionally powered by compressed air, so they do not fly very far, and firing them does not make much noise so they would not work for warning shots. And due to the contruction of the balls (round), paintballs rarely go in a straight line.
I know that when i have been hit by a paintball i have always been more mad than hurt, which would lead to a very dangerous situation in a riot or at a checkpoint.
brodie, Oct 15 2004
  

       salon had a report this morning of police using paintballs containing pepperspray on anti bush protesters yesterday
elfling, Oct 15 2004
  

       There is an underbarrel attachment for the M4 assault carbine which fires paintballs, rubber bullets, pepperballs and etc. I'm not sure if it is currently issued for riot control though.
whatastrangeperson, Oct 17 2004
  

       Just thought of this same idea, after those Italizans were killed approaching a checkpoint. I envision something like a Vulcan gun that would really pepper the car. And not those typical watery paintballs: this would be gluey, gooey, tarry stuff. The gun would be mounted at the checkpoint. The paint would cover the windshield and make it hard to see. If the car still did not stop, they are a good candidate for the bullets.   

       This same gun could also be used on people, for a nonlethal crowd deterrent.
bungston, Mar 09 2005
  

       In some parts of rural America, there is a certain shade of light-purple paint that is understood to symbolize a no-trespassing sign.
Make your paintballs a special color. Make the balls a custom, larger size for special long-range shooters. Give the shooters a distinctive loud sound, and let people know what that sound and/or color symbolizes.
  

       In some parts of Africa, there were/are bandits who would set up an ambush on a stretch of road. Their technique was to shoot at cars from hiding. If the cars stopped, the people in them died. The drivers' only hope was to speed up and drive for safety, such as to the nearest checkpoint.
I'd say someone in a car has a hard time telling where shots are coming from.
baconbrain, Mar 09 2005
  

       If the idea was employed I think it should be used in the soldiers' 40mm grenade launcher underbarrel attachment. This way the 'paintball' could have a thicker skin, that way be accelerated faster than typical paintballs without worries of rupture in the barrel(most paintballs are .68 calibre and have a high rate of rupture if fired at a speed higher than 300 ft/sec). The extra speed would translate to added range. The round should also be in the form of a bullet instead of a ball for better accuracy and improved range.

Also, the larger paintball should be aimed at the windshield. If I were coming to a check point and all of a sudden there was a loud thud and all I can see out of my front windshield is blue paint, I'd be pretty tempted to pull over...
scott_r_uber, Aug 14 2005
  

       I've heard about this first hand from soldiers, too. They are told to stop, don't understand or don't see the soldiers, get killed. It would save a lot of innocent lives. We should start a fund to buy paintball guns for soldiers. Have them assign one man the job of warning people off with them.
omegatron, Aug 15 2005
  

       I didn't have access to this when I made the annotation above. It's from a book of letters from Africa. I've changed the names.   

       "They were just driving along and came around a corner and saw men spraying the road with bullets. Their only choice was to accelerate and try to get through. Everybody knows that, and Dr. Forrest said he went as fast as he could. Three bullets hit the car. Tina's heart was shattered and she died before her mother could turn around. Dr. Forrest kept saying that maybe if he'd stopped and given them the car, Tina would be alive. If he had stopped, the whole family would be dead."   

       In other words, many folks know you don't stop your car when you hear gunfire.
baconbrain, Apr 27 2007
  

       You could fill the paint balls with the same dye that banks use to spray bank robbers and/or the cash.
Gamma48, Apr 27 2007
  

       i wish someone thought of that sooner!
nickmancomp, Apr 30 2007
  


 

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