It is important to know the different parts involved in the makeup of a paintball gun. The different elements are crucial to the successful working of your marker, and beginners will often be confused when receiving instructions because of their lack of knowledge of what the basic parts are. Knowing the parts of your paintball gun will also help you have a better idea of what you should be looking at when it is time to clean or upgrade your marker.

The body of the marker is the largest part of the gun. The body refers to the area of the gun that incorporates the trigger frame, the valve, and the bolt. All of these pieces can be detached from each other in order to incorporate new equipment, but only experts on their guns should attempt this. Makers of paintball guns have a fairly standard approach when it comes to the body of the gun, with the main difference being in the placement of the trigger and the barrel. Pushing the trigger frame forward shifts the balance of the gun and thus makes it easier to handle with one hand. It will also cause the body to have a lower profile, which is crucial when players are involved in games where hopper hits count towards elimination. The difference is plain when newbies and pros are present in the field, as the rental guns provided by most outfits have huge and bulky bodies that present a lot of hit potential.

The hopper is the part of the gun that holds the rounds of paint. No matter how high end, manufacturers have not perfected a hopper which prevents balls from breaking in containment. These breaks will often lead to jams of the feeding mechanisms and the gun itself, which in turn may cause more balls to break. Gravity-feed hoppers are especially prone to ball breakage while still in the hopper because of their jamming problems. Aside from gravity-feed, there are also agitation hoppers, force feed hoppers, and stick feed hoppers.

The tank is the part of the gun which contains the type of gas that propels the ball forward down and out of the gun’s barrel. Markers use either CO2 gas or high pressure air as propulsion material. The CO2 gas is the original, but HPA is preferred as it is more reliable than CO2 and does not require an evaporation system in order to fire.

Finally, the barrel of the marker is what the ball travels down when the trigger is compressed. The barrel is responsible for the speed and the accuracy, as well as the distance, at which a ball travels, and is thus arguably the single most important component of the gun. Longer barrels will fire quieter than shorter models, but a marker owner should remember that no matter what length of barrel, the paintball can only travel a set distance in order to break. While really long barrels may look intimidating and offer better accuracy, they also are prone to be ineffective since they require a larger burst of air to propel the ball faster to make up the distance within the barrel itself.

By: Chris Abro

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Water Distillers

I’m sure you’ve heard of the sport of paintball and all of the fun that those that enjoy it, seem to associate it with it. Well, within this great action sport are a number of things that may at first confuse a newcomer to the sport. One of those terms is that of the paintball marker.

Basically, it’s as simple as saying paintball gun and that’s exactly what a paintball marker is. What you may be wondering is why in the world do they call it a marker rather than a gun?

Ultimately the reason it’s called a marker is because of the fact that they were first (as some speculate) used by forest rangers to ‘mark’ trees and stray cattle. Since it shot a ball of paint, paintball, and was used to mark it became known as a paintball marker.

Pretty simple huh?

Again, if you are new to the sport you may be amazed at first to find out just how much power one of these has. They are known to easily shoot their ammo at a rate of three hundred or more feet per second. That’s as fast as a bow and arrow, also as fast as some ‘real’ guns on the market.

Most consist of noting more than a barrel, a body, a hopper and an air canister. The paintballs stay in the hopper and as one is shot out of the barrel another drops into the hopper. The air canister consists of compressed air that, when the trigger is pulled, releases an explosion of that air which then propels the ball out through the barrel.

That’s it. That’s the very basics of it all. As with everything that has a passionate following such as this sport, there is a plethora of manufactured equipment available on the market for those that are just getting started or those that are more advanced.

Additionally, there is a large market of custom designed and styles available as well. So, the only thing that really affects what you end up with for a paintball marker is your own personal taste, skill level and how really bad you want one.

By: Matt Ryan

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Water Filters – Reverse Osmosis

Paintball gear should be designed for quick and efficient game play. A beginning paintball player who is looking into buying equipment has a few primary things to consider. Here is an introduction to the types and varieties of gear that will be helpful to paintballing:

Hoppers – In a real gun, what is known as a hopper would be called a magazine. The majority of hoppers feed the paintballs in through the top of the marker (aka gun). However, there are some hoppers that feed the markers through the side. Those that fit on top of the markers are usually the most effective, due to the fact they use the natural effects of gravity to feed the markers. Of course, as with all manmade equipment, problems can occur. The hoppers that fit on top of the markers can sometimes jam at the neck of the marker. When this occurs, the barrel of the gun gets clogged and the marker will “dry fire.” This means the gun will fire, but no paintballs will come out. Avoiding this situation in the midst of a game is a must for success. A spring loaded hopper is often used by the people who have a problem with this. The spring loaded hoppers significantly decrease the possibility that paintballs will jam inside of the marker. Propellants – There are two types of propellants used in most kinds of paintball guns – CO2 and High Pressure Air. High Pressure Air (aka N2) is the superior propellant to use. C02 has a tendency to form crystals in the tank, which makes the gun freeze on the inside. Those who use N2 do not need to deal with this problem. CO2 is typically less expensive than N2, but N2 is a more effective type of paintball gear. Masks – One of the most important things that a person can have when playing paintball is a good mask. The best masks usually include a thermal lens. A thermal lens mask can be effective for most paintball players thanks to the fact that they help a person avoid having a lens fog up while they are out on the battlefield. Most masks cost in the range of $20-$150. The more a person pays for a mask, the more likely he or she is to find an effective mask. Although there are expensive pieces of clothing that a person playing paintball could purchase, the fact is that this is not exactly necessary most of the time. If a person plays with an organized group that plays often, there is a chance that a person will want to coordinate with others who play to make sure that the team is on the same page. However, casual players do not need to do so much. In fact, all that the person playing needs to have is a few layers of clothing when playing. By dressing in layers, a player can minimize the amount of bruises he will have the next day. Ammo – Buying paintballs in bulk is a good idea. A person who plays paintball a lot is going to need thousands of paintballs anyway, therefore it makes sense to simply get as many paintballs as he or she can for a smaller price per paintball. Each individual paintball costs a matter of a few cents. One of these singles is the cheapest item paintball gear that can be purchased.

By: Anne Clarke

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Government Auctions -Seized -Surplus -Unclaimed