In article <34F63D22.8FA24248@cgocable.net>, Wild Willy <wcramp@cgocable.net> wrote:

> > I've readied grenades and nailed people with them plenty of times!  Of
> > course, we're not talking speedball here...  That would not be adviseable.
> >
> 
> Okay, so that's how the tippmann grenades work. What about the M69/A2? I see
> these advertised in the major mags. Are they a pyrotechnic grenade that
> explodes seconds after ignition. If that's the case, there must be only a
> handful of states/provinces where these paint grenades can be used. Anybody
> use one during a rec game?

The Squadbusters are basically black surgical tubing (rubber) pumped
to high pressure with paint.  They look like a sausage folded in half.
There's a cap on top and a pin. Pull the pin, remove the cap.  If you're
smart, you'll use a thumbnail and push the BBs in each tubeout a ways,
near the end of the tube, before you throw it.  The idea is it has to
hit the ground (or whatever) hard enough that the increased pressure
on the paint pushes the BBs out.  I have seen these things get tossed
back and forth several times before "going off".  When the BBs fly,
the thing flops on the ground like a hit duck, spraying dual streams
of paint for about a ten foot radius.  THe paint is thick and sometimes
grainy, and can be difficult to clean off later.  If it is old and
grainy, it can scratch goggles when being cleaned off.  Use lots of
water!  Cost is around $5-7 each.

The M69/A2 is an explosive grenade.  I'm still not sure how they are
legal, but there they are.  About the size of a popcan, they have a
post on the top about the size of 1/2 of a AA battery.  There's a pin
and a white cap.  The thing is made of military green painted cardboard.
You pull the pin, and pull off the cap with a jerk. (it pulls on a
string, but does not come off completely)  Anywhere from 1-10 seconds
later it goes off. (they say 3-5 seconds, but 1-10 is closer to the
truth)  The stem you see is the top of a long post, which goes almost
all the way to the bottom on the inside.  It's some kind of chemical
fuse and explosive.  There's a bag of paint (donut shaped sort of)
that sits around this explosive.  When it blows, the cardboard is
ruptured and the bag is torn and paint flies around.  It's somewhat
random, and usually blows in a particular direction.  Range is
about 15 feet, but it tends to send a mist of paint, and hits can
be difficult to judge, unlike the lines of paint from the squadbuster.
At least they can't throw them back at you.  Cost is around $7-10 each.


Neither has a long shelf life.  The squadbusters get grainy and the
BBs get more stubborn.  The paint in the squadbusters gets watery
and the bag may start to leak. ('twas not funny at the time)  The
M69/A2 fits nicely inside most 100 rnd loaders while the squadbuster
is larger and more cumbersome.