Tips
in Choosing & Buying Paintball Guns
Paint ball is one of the most popular sports world-wide.
It is a fun and exciting game that offers adventure
to its players. When getting on the paintball field,
it is very important to consider your one important
friend - the paintball gun.
Paintball would not be paintball without the paintball
gun. All paintball guns may look the same but it is
important to remember that choosing the right paint
ball gun is not an easy task. Here are some tips that
you may need to consider:
- The very first thing that needs to be considered
when buying a paintball gun is the price. It is important
that the buyer determine his budget for the gun. There
are many paintball guns in the market and prices may
range from $100 to $900. The cost of the gun will
depend on the brand and features that come with it.
- It is recommended a person test all types of guns
before buying one. He may want to try those that he
has borrowed or rented which will give him the chance
to choose which a gun that works for him. The paint
ball gun should provide ease of use and comfort for
the user.
- Before buying a paintball gun, it is important
that he decide on the size of the gun, the paintball
loader and the tank that he desires. Remember that
the bigger the tanks and the paintball loaders the
heavier the gun becomes. A good gun should be the
right size for the user and should contain the amount
of paintball needed to fire at the opponents.
- The buyer should shop around first before deciding
on a particular paintball gun. This will give him
the chance to evaluate and compare prices. Some shops
offer lower prices than other shops, so do some research
and purchase the one that fits your needs and pocketbook.
- Seek advice from friends who play paintball, instructors,
and coaches of paintball games who will be able to
provide some tips on what paint ball guns they have
used and have found effective. Paintball stores can
also recommend some good paintball guns and/or those
that they most often sell to their customers.
After choosing the right paintball gun, you must familiarize
yourself with the machine. Practicing with the paint
ball gun will help you move with the gun as well as
apply some strategies for using the gun.
Paintball is
all about the Gun
A paintball gun, which is also known as paintball marker,
is used to mark opposing players with paint. It uses
air to force the paintball out of the barrel at the
speed of about 300 feet per second. This will cause
paint balls to break upon hitting somebody but will
only cause mild bruising to a person. This could blind
a person, though, thus making it a necessity to wear
a face mask or eye protection such as goggles.
There are four types of paintball guns and they are
classified according to their firing modes. These are
pump action guns, semi-automatic guns, fully automatic
guns and ramping-mode guns.
In the early days of paintball, all guns were pump
action. Each shot would require the person wanting to
shoot to manually pull back the bolt to let a paintball
fall in front of it and then manually push forward the
bolt to bring the paintball in the position to fire.
This was excruciatingly slow when compared to other
firing modes used today, but is loved by many people
as it teaches the importance of a person’s skill
with his gun.
Semi-automatic guns were designed so that when the
trigger is pushed down, a shot will be fired and the
bolt moves back automatically to load the new paintball
in position for the next trigger pull. This allows the
player to increase firing frequency and accuracy because
he will not have to manually pump the gun.
Fully automatic guns are those that will continue to
fire paint balls as long as the trigger is held down.
The Tippman SMG was the first to feature a fully-automatic
gun.
Ramping-mode guns are guns that can fire up to 15 shots
per second. This type of gun prevents abuse from semi-automatic
guns or fully-automatic guns that can shoot more and
can cause injury to other people.
These types of guns are used in different kinds of
situations, usually to prove who the best player in
a tournament is. Pump action guns promote using stealth
and are desired by experienced players because of the
challenge they present. Semi-automatic guns are used
by players hoping to improve their shooting accuracy
and since they do not have to pump every shot, they
are able to concentrate more on their targets. Fully
automatic guns are used by infantry and middle men in
attacking another team’s base. Ramping-mode guns
are for controlled environments where there is a specific
rule to prevent injury and other problems.
Choosing
and Buying Paintball Guns
While one should never sacrifice value over the quality
of paintball safety equipment, paintball guns are available
today at reasonable prices and with a wide variety of
interesting features.
When deciding which the best paintball gun is for you,
be realistic and determine your “skill level”.
When just beginning, and do not know the frequency of
your play, begin with an inexpensive gun.
To decide which features you need in a paintball gun,
you can borrow markers from your friends and try them
on different paintball fields. After you have decided
on the features you want then start shopping for your
gun.
When playing for recreation, there is really no need
to spend a great deal of money as there are many recreational
guns of good quality that are not expensive. Note that
there are also several poor quality markers on the market
so you need to your research before you buy to make
certain that the marker that you purchase is dependable
and can be upgraded.
When you are making plans to play in tournaments, determine
what type of tournament that you will be entering. If
you are going to play in small tournaments you may use
a less expensive marker or upgrade your old one.
However, in the larger tournaments, you will need
an “electro-pneumatic” or a “blow-forward”
gun, which costs a minimum of $350.
The cost of markers depends primarily on the gun’s
pressure system as well as its accessories. The most
popular system today is the “carbon dioxide pressure
system” normally used in the less expensive markers.
The primary disadvantage is that usually the carbon
dioxide’s performance is influenced by the temperature
outside, and changes from its gas state to liquid resulting
in velocity instability that affects its shooting accuracy.
Serious paintball players use the “high-pressure
air and nitrogen system” markers that are much
more accurate because the nitrogen will never liquefy.
Having this characteristic, these markers are more expensive.
Extra accessories also increase the cost of your marker.
A loader or hopper is a very popular accessory. It is
a container that feeds paint balls into the gun. Hoppers
are available in many varieties - some are powered and
automated. Fast and lightweight hoppers are more expensive.
Just keep in mind that the any marker that you purchase
will not be perfect and will ultimately have flaws.
So when purchasing your marker, always double check
the choices offered and purchase a gun only if you know
what you really want.
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