Wondering Which Paintball Gun Is Right For You? | Hobbies

By TimOsborn
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You have made up your mind. It is time to buy a paintball gun.You begin your research and quickly find out there are so many choices and features. What does it all mean and what should you buy? This article will help narrow the choices.

The first thing we usually ask people is where are you going to play? Will you be playing on an organized field or will you be playing around your own land or a friends land in the woods? The answer to this question will guide you to certain models of guns due to the air supply. If you are going to play at an organized field, they will have resources for compressed air or CO2. The type of air you have access to, will lead you to choosing an applicable gun.

Care must be taken to use makes and models of paintball guns that are designed to run on CO2. The damage caused by using CO2 in a paintball gun designed to run compressed air is irreversible. We would hate to hear of someone using CO2 on a compressed air gun and literally throwing away their money as the internal parts are not designed to handle the liquid CO2. There are plenty of high quality paintball markers that are designed to run CO2.

Once you have decided that CO2 paintball guns are what you need to focus on, your attention can shift to the makes and models. For non-electric models we recommend the Spyder Victor, Xtra, Sonic. If you are looking for electronic models you can choose from the Spyder Pilot, Electra, VS1, VS2. Smart Parts has excellent mid range CO2 models designed to run on CO2. New technology and easy to maintain are the Smart Parts Vibe.

Staying with CO2 and a military feel are the Spyder MR1, MR2, MR3. Smart Parts has the SP1 a new release with excellent features and easy to maintain. The king of all military releases are the Tippmann paintball markers. There are so many to choose from and many are customizable. The low price points are Tippmann Alpha Black series of paintball guns. Considering the budget you will move up from the Tippmann Alpha Black to the Tippmann, 98 Custom Platinum, A5, X7 Series paintball markers. All are excellent choices for CO2 run markers.

We left the compressed air paintball guns until now because generally the compressed air markers are a little more expensive to a lot more expensive. Paintball guns range from the low $150's to close to $2000.00. This is often where the range and choices on the market confuse everyone. Simply stated, at this point it is about features, price points and you get what you pay for. You really have to determine what it is that you are looking for. Are you a recreational player, or are you playing competitively? There are several main features and so we will briefly explain some the popular features.

Once you know if you want electronic or non-electronic, speed of firing can be determined by firing modes. Read carefully to find out about the balls per second and the modes of fire allowed. Also check if your field allows the modes of fire. I have seen players ask for fully automatic paintball guns only to learn that the only place they can play paintball in their local area does not allow full auto mode. So then, why pay for a feature you do not need? Generally the modes are single shot, 3 shot burst, semi-automatic or fully automatic. There are others but these are the main modes of firing. Some are set easily with external switches, others require some changes in internal programming to the board.

The next consideration is what kind of player are you? Ease of maintenance can be a key to keeping a paintball gun performing at its best and lasting a long time. Choose paintball markers that are easily maintained, if you are not very mechanically inclined. The Smart Parts Guns are very easy to maintain as are the Tippmann Platinum Series with a split receiver. Be sure to use the proper lubricant recommended. If you have no fear, you can buy any paintball marker and learn how to maintain it. There are several help manuals and videos on manufacturer's websites. Youtube is also a great source for self maintaining paintball guns.

Paintball markers can usually be upgraded. However, some a lot more than most. A Tippmann X7 paintball marker can be upgraded in several ways. Triggers, barrels, sights, magazines, foregrips, stocks and more. The Tippmann X7 paintball marker can be changed from an M16 to an M36 with a few upgrades. If upgrading is important to you, please research your model of paintball marker to see what can be added after purchasing. For example, the Tippmann Alpha Black Series are very economical to buy. They are meant to be starter guns. You cannot upgrade a Tippmann Alpha Black Basic to an Egrip because they have not made an upgrade for it. Instead, Tippmann made the Egrip model inexpensive so that you would buy the paintball gun with the electronic upgrade in the first place.

While we have tried to enlighten you on your paintball gun choices, the reality is there are several makes and models, price ranges and features to choose from. First decide where you will play and the air system you should use. Then decide what features and looks are important to you. Then, get busy and research your potential paintball gun until you are comfortable with the price range, the features and value in that price range and if you will be able to maintain it or upgrade it while you own it. Then get out there and paint the other players!

About the Author

Paintball is great fun whether you do it every day or once a year, choosing the right Paintball Gun for you is important. Buying from with a knowledgable Paintball Gun company will ensure you get the gun that is right for you.

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