This is a simple guide on how to purchase a Best Paintball Marker, or as it is known in the market, a Paintball Gun.
Please understand the proper name for this equipment is a Paintball Marker and not a Paintball Gun.
A gun is stuff that the automotive industry uses to put paint on a car or car parts. Paintball markers are a unique item to buy, either for you or for your son or daughter. The reason is that depending on where you go and who you ask, the information that you may find will be different. For example, if you ask a paintballer on the field, why they like their gun, they may say it’s because it’s the best in the world. According to them, their marker can shot longer, faster, and be more accurate than any other marker out there. If you go to a retail store, the marker with the greatest markup will be the best choice for the salesperson to sell you, or the most expensive, since they will be more than happy to tell you that this marker does the impossible and that you will be better off buying a gun that does everything know instead of upgrading later.
My testing team visits paintball stores all across California where we are located, and I can tell you some stories about what we hear in some stores. We make it a habit to revisit stores that we feel are not giving the right information to potential customers, just to see if maybe it’s just a fluke, or maybe the sales associate is just misinformed. But we find that the more we visit these stores the more the information about the marker and its accessories goes by the wayside.
This story is the most common that my testing team has heard in multiple stores.
This marker, which will remain nameless, will be the best for your kid. It can shoot about 25 BPS, “Balls per Second”, and has great accuracy. Plus look at it this way, I know that it cost 599.99 but you will not have to upgrade later, so it will save you money in the long run. With this loader, (a piece of equipment the holds your paintballs and feed paintballs to your marker), it will be great with this marker. The only thing you need is some CO2 and a face mask and you are all ready to go.
The problem with this story is,
- This story is really true, this is the kind of stuff that you, as a parent or new paintball player may hear.
- You don’t need to have a $599.99 or even a $1000.00 marker in order to be an effective paintball player. There are other things that you have to consider before you buy a gun with high BPS.
- The loader that was offered with this gun, because it was a simple agitating loader that would at best only feed 10 BPS, would only harm the performance of your maker.
- CO2, which is the most common use of propellant for markers because of its low cost of use and purchase, will not give you proper accuracy with this marker. The reason is that CO2 is not a consistent form of air source. It may give you different performance depending on the climate conditions.
- Safety is the most important thing our on the field. I would send more money on my safety equipment than I would on my marker. Why you ask, it is simple, I can always replace or upgrade my marker or marker equipment, but I can never, well maybe in the future, replace an eye or any other body part.
- Finally, the reason you hear this story so often is that most players will spend more money on a marker and not on its equipment. If you play or have a chance to play, you will notice a large volume of players with an expensive marker and relatively cheap loaders or accessories.
Buying Guide and what should you consider first. - Buy a marker that is simple. For example, if you or your child is just getting started, make sure that they will be able to handle the marker. Consider the total weight of the marker, being able to hand the marker and also that they will be able to understand the marker. Make sure that you don’t buy an expensive marker to start with, the reason is that this may be too much for them to handle, also take into consideration that on the playing field most referees relates the type of marker with playing experience. Therefore you don’t want your beginner to be placed with a team or group of people outside of this experience realm just because of their marker.
Things to consider before buying a Paintball Marker.
What you should consider in a marker is Weight, Barrel length, BPS, and upgradeability, but the most important factor is what I call, “Out of the Box.” Out of the box is a marker that will performer without a problem, straight out of the box. Some markers require upgrades in order to give your a great performance on the playing field. Others are great markers just out of the box. In the near future, when the testing team has an opportunity to test most of the marker in the market, there will be a section where you could find guns under these criteria.
- Buy a loader that can handle the markers BPS maximum speed. For example, if the marker has a 16 BPS speed, get a loader that either can handle that speed or more. Never get a loader that can handle less than what the marker can perform.
- Some marker has an on/off air value for your tank, please if possible buy a marker that has this setting. Most “Out of the Box” markers don’t have this feature, because of the price range they may fall, so this may be the only exception to the rule. Please if possible, upgrade your drop forward, “the part where the tank links into the marker,” this is a great safety device that will help protect your marker investment and also the player.
- Make sure that maker has a safety switch, ON/OFF or a fire switch, ON/Off. Some of the markers out there that have an electronic trigger will have this safety feature. There are some markers that have only a mechanical trigger that does not use an electronic trigger, which will not have a safety switch.
- Barrel length is only important when the players’ age or height is a factor. For example, if the player is small in height, you don’t want the marker and tank to be more than 1/4 of his total height. The reason behind this thinking is that it will make it hard for them to move in and out of tight spaces or run under pressure since they will have to carry this bulky marker.
These are our basic guides for purchasing a Paintball Marker. Please stay tuned for Part 2 in purchasing a Paintball Marker.