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What's the Best Paintball Gun for a Beginner?

What's the Best Paintball Gun for a Beginner?

 

What’s a good paintball gun for a beginner?

Throughout our years as a paintball retailer, we’ve had hundreds of people contact us that are starting out, and the number one questions they ask is “What’s a good paintball gun for a beginner?” There is no simple ‘one gun’ answer to this, as there are a number of factors to consider:

Co2 or HPA (High Pressure Air)

Where you’re going to be playing, do they use co2 or HPA? This can affect your options – i.e. some paintball guns will only work on HPA (mostly the electronic ones), so it would be pointless getting a gun that can only work on HPA if your local field only uses/supplies co2. Check out our blog post on CO2 and High Pressure Air tanks for more info.

Magfed v Hopper Fed

Traditionally, paintball is played with paintball guns fed by hoppers, however there is a new format of paintball which is becoming increasingly popular where the paintball guns are fed by magazines rather than hoppers. Magfed play tends to be more tactical as the ammo is a lot more limited, i.e. a hopper can hold around 200 paintballs at a time where as most magazines might only hold up to 20 paintballs.

Tactical Style v Speedball Style

This one is purely down to personal preference. The speedball style markers are generally easier to handle as they’re lighter and less bulky, but some players prefer their paintball guns to look as real as possible.

Electronic v Mechanical

Electronic guns have a higher rate of fire (bps/balls per second) than mechanical, and most may have a more consistent (accurate) shot compared to mechanical guns (there are exceptions to this rule!). However, electronic guns are generally more expensive to buy, require more maintenance and also require an electronic hopper to feed the paintballs quick enough. Also, your local paintball field might not allow electronic paintball guns so you should consider this too. Check out our Electronic vs Mechanical Markers blog post for more info.

How often are you going to play?

If you plan on taking up paintball as a hobby but only plan on playing once or twice a year, it might not make sense for you to drop a load of money on the latest and greatest paintball gun. Similarly, if you’re going to play frequently, you’re better off spending a little more on your gun to get something that you’re going to be happy with for longer. Quite often we see people come into the game, buy the cheapest kit they can find, only to get totally hooked and then end up spending money on a whole new set up in just a few months time because they find the basic gun they bought doesn’t quite cut it any longer.

What is your budget?

Up to a certain extent, you really do get what you pay for with a paintball gun. Generally, if you can afford something a little more expensive than the budget guns, they’re going to keep you happier for longer. However you should consider what else you might need to go with the gun to get the best out of it – you may need an electronic loader to feed it, or an air tank rather than co2 to power it.

Stick to a recognised brand

When buying any paintball gun, you want to buy with the confidence that if you do encounter any tech issues, you’re going to be able to get warranty, parts & support. Your best bet is to stick to recognised paintball brands, such as Tippmann, GOG, Planet Eclipse, Empire or DYE. Check out our full range of paintball guns here. Here at BZ Paintball we stock various paintball markers that are ideal for novices, simple to use and easy to maintain. Check out our top beginner marker picks below and what to look out for.

Mechanical Markers - Top Picks

Low-End Mechanical markers (Less Than £150)

Medium Range Mechanical markers; (£150-£220)

Electronic Markers - Top Picks

Low End Electronic markers (Less Than £350)

Medium Range Electronic markers (£350+)

What happens if your paintball gun breaks?

Unfortunately it’s the nature of the sport, and there is a chance you may have issues with your paintball gun. Sometimes it can simply be an issue with maintenance or a dead (or cheap) battery. In some cases you may be able to fix issues yourself, but if you do need help we have in house expert techs which will assist you. You can call us on 01642 605000 or email us on [email protected] and you can send in your gun to us and our tech team will price up the issues and go ahead with fixing your gun.



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