April 2009 marks the start of a new era for simulation training and gaming with the Real Action Marker. Previously compared to airsoft and traditional paintball, the RAM system now breaks away from its predecessors to introduce a whole new concept of milsim action – with the perfect powderball ammo.
P.Ball - Perfect Powderball Ammo
The new ammo is no longer paintball and thus RAM is able to leave behind the limitations posed by the paint-filled ammo. With the new P.Ball ammo, the RAM takes training and gaming to a whole new level…where the environmental conditions are no longer a factor.
What is it? P.Ball is basically a colored powderball that is more rigid in shape than the traditional paintball. It holds it shape even exposed to air, humidity or water. We tried an experiment wherein we placed a P.Ball together with a 0.43 caliber paintball in glass of water overnight. The next day, the paintball had swelled up to more that double its original size and was soft and spongy. The P.Ball was still perfect in shape, size and rigidity — we were even able to fire it successfully and accurately at a target.
What does it do? The P. Ball retains the basic advantage originally offered by paintball — it leaves a distinguishable mark. However, it also offers a lot more — a visual impact mist usually seen in movie special effects. Now what does this mean to the RAM user, instructor or recreational player? It means that one doesn’t need to come close to verify a hit – you will be able to see where the ball hits because of the mist effect. And since most of the powder sticks to the impact point, visual verification in the after action sequences can still be done.
In the high-adrenaline milsim training, one might fail to see a legitimate hit from paintball or airsoft.
What makes it special for the RAM System? We have always contended that the RAM is the perfect tool for training or milsim gaming. Now with the P.Ball, RAM users can experience the full range of simulation scenarios. Because the P.Ball is water-proof, one can literally play in extreme wet weather. As further proof, our Hong Kong officer literally dunked a RAM rifle and pistol, with full magazines of P.Ball in a tub of water. Then he proceeded to pull the waterlogged rifle and the pistol out of the tub, shake off the water, load a magazine and hit a target several times flawlessly. How is that for extreme realism! Its the kind of field test that one can never do with an Airsoft or traditional paintball gun. Now imagine yourself in a scenario where you have to assault after being submerged in water – ala-Navy SEALs style — now you can literally do that!
Here we see the far-side attacker scoring several body shots. Note the colored mist pluming around the right side of the "victims" body.
And because the P.Ball is more rigid, one can now literally crank up the RAM setting for more power and force – the ball will be able to take the extra pressure and not explode in the barrel. However, only a skilled RAM armorer will be able to do this — so regular users take note and don’t do the pressure modifications yourself, unless you want your RAM gun to malfunction in the middle of training or gaming.
The P.Ball gives an exciting new visual effect to hits, almost like the ones you see in movies.
Is it accurate? One common complaint with paintball ammo is that it will never be completely accurate after a certain distance. This is because the paint inside is still liquid and will almost always give the flying projectile a wobbling flight. The P.Ball, on the other hand, is powder packed solid into a ball shape, and encased in a breakable shell — this means that there is no wobble or shifting of the contents during flight. This means the P.Ball flies straighter and thus becomes more accurate than the paintball. And with a little pressure adjustment, the projectile can even fly farther and straighter than when one uses paintball ammo.
Here a three-round burst catches a target dead on. And you can literally see him take the hits even if you are watching the action from a safe distance. No zombies here!
Is it more expensive? The beauty of the P.Ball is that it’s priced just like your regular paintballs. So no need to shell out extra for a bag of 1000.
Is it available now? Yes the P.Ball ammo is available in the Philippines already. We had it for a week now, but we wanted to conduct our own first hand performance tests before we announced it publicly. And we at ATACS are glad to say that the P.Ball more than exceeds its hype and our expectations!
* For more info on the P.Ball, please don’t hesitate to email or call us.
Still not convinced? Check out the video and see for yourself! Please note that the video is a video-catalogue made by our Hong Kong office and features most of the new Real Action Marker products. The video is in the new VodPod link on the right side of your screen, just click on the image marked “Real Action Marker 2009″. The video is pretty long, but it has all the exciting footage of the new P.Ball, plus a lot of other fun stuff from RAM.
What does this mean for ATACS and RAM in the Philippines? Well with the arrival of the P.Ball, ATACS will be slowly easing away from paintball and incorporating the new ammo more and more — which will signal the full breakaway from the old ammo for our RAM and into the new future of scenario type training and real action gaming.
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this is exciting. i have been reading alot about this P.ball thing. sounds alot better and cleaner than the regular paintball. will this work on regular paintball markers (tippmann)? how much is it? does it come in a bag of 500 or 1000 or more? please let me know. maraming salamat po.
Bnong, the P.ball is available at 0.43 caliber and 0.68 caliber balls. The latter can work on regular paintball markers, although I have not tried it personally since I don’t employ tippman markers. But I have samples of the 0.68 caliber balls here and if you want, we can meet so that you can try if it works on your marker.
Only the .043 caliber comes in 500 and 1000 pcs bags, the 0.68 caliber comes in 1000 balls per bag, but I can probably request for the smaller quantity, depending on the order.
As to the price, we haven’t yet figured out the retail price for the 0.68 balls since we only sell 0.43 caliber powder balls here for RAM users. However, once you test it out on your marker and place your initial order, I can check the price out from our headoffice.