Paintball Markers

Paintball marker is the most important piece of equipment in playing the game of paintball. Paintball markers or also called as “paintball guns” are used to mark an opposing player with paint or what most paintball players would call a “hit”. Paintball markers are powered by a rapidly expanding gas, usually carbon dioxide or compressed air. The carbon dioxide or compressed air forces a paintball (the ammunition) through the barrel at a very high velocity sufficient enough for the paintball to break upon impact but not enough velocity to cause serious tissue damages.

Paintball markers have evolved rapidly. From a single shot, hand held, manually cocked pistol that was primarily used for marking cattle and trees to an electronically controlled, pneumatically cocked, full ranged firing modes markers. Early paintball guns were manufacture for the Forestry Service for marking trees. Most of the early paintball markers have identical functions and features.

Paintball markers have four chief components. These are the body, hopper, tank and the barrel. More known as loaders, hoppers holds the paintball (ammunition) for the paintball marker. Hoppers have lots of different variants. The hoppers principal methods of feeding the paintballs into the paintball markers are gravity, force feed and agitate feeding. Paintball marker hoppers that use force feed and agitate feeding have higher rate of fire than paintball markers that use gravity as a feed method, however they have a higher tendency of malfunction.

Paintball marker tanks hold the compressed gas that is used to accelerate the barrel. The tank is usually filled with carbon dioxide. But some paintball markers use nitrogen or more known as “high pressure air”. “High pressure air” tanks (HPA tanks”) are more expensive than carbon dioxide tanks. Most paintball players prefer paintball markers that use high pressure air than makers that use carbon dioxide. Markers that use HPA tanks are more consistent and reliable. Barrels of most paintball markers come in twelve, fourteen, sixteen, eighteen and twenty inch in length. Some paintball players have markers with barrels up to forty-eight inches, because longer barrels are quieter and more accurate. Barrels below eleven inches have no accuracy and inefficient. On the other hand, paintball guns with longer barrels need more propellant for the paintball than short barreled paintball guns.

To increase the rate of fire of paintball guns in the early years means polishing the internal parts and changing spring rates. As the game evolves the rate of fire of paintball guns also evolved. Add on products are then attached to the marker for an increase in rate of fire. Paintball marker manufacturers then introduced various upgrade parts for paintball guns. Paintball guns manufacturers then began to improve the designs of paintball markers; moving further and further away from the original designs of the early paintball markers. Some manufacturers even produced markers that are more realistic, more military like paintball guns.