Homemade Paintball Loader

The home made paintball loader is one of the most convenient things to have around the campsite during scenario games. It allows easy and fast loading of balls into loaders, and best of all, was cheap to make. There are lot of ways you can make something like this work. The following is how Pukin’ Dogs member Johnny Bucy did it.

Parts List;

  • heavy duty 2-inch muffler clamp
  • 2 couplers which fit the muffler clamp thread
  • 2 screws for the couplers
  • a metal band
  • 2 springs
  • water cooler jug

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The top half of the water jug was removed to allow paintball to be poured in directly from the bag. Johnny then constructed a “gate” mechanism which can be pulled open to allow balls to pass through the neck, and automatically snaps closed. The springs will snap the gate closed quick enough to chop a ball if one gets caught, so it works best to let it close slowly by hand. We haven’t had any problems with broken balls from the loaders.

The Gate is held together with a 2-inch muffler clamp, with the couplers providing space between the jug and plastic face plate.

The metal band used as a gate to hold the balls back is commonly found in hardware stores. It’s used to hold wooden structures together (in this case an outdoor deck). The face plate to which the springs are attached is simply a section cut out of the upper part of the water jug.

Slots for the metal band had to be cut in the face plate, the muffler clamp, and the neck of the water jug. Small holes were drilled in the face plates to attach the springs.

The Final step is to mount the loader some place where it can be used. Johnny mounted the ones we use on wooden boards using duct tape. The board has metal brackets for hangers on top, which allows the unit to be hung on the inside of the awnings we use at the campsite. We hang the units where the legs of two back-to-back awnings meet. A small wooden block can bee seen at the bottom of the wooden board, which allows the unit to stand vertical against the leaning legs of the awnings. A belt strap holds the wooden board tight against the legs, which makes for a secure mount and allows one handed use of the unit. The belt strap also hold the legs of the two awnings together.