Paintball Markers
When you are ready to really get into the sport of paintball you will need to get the necessary equipment. One of the most if not the most important is your weapon. After all what is a soldier without his weapon? One word DEAD. You start your research, talk to your paintball buddies, and guess what. You are now officially more confused than ever. Hopefully by reading this article you will have better idea of what you should buy.
The first question that has to be answered is what type of environment do you pursue your enjoyment of paintball. Are you a part of an organized paintball game or do you and a bunch of the guys just go out and shoot at each other? If you are playing in an arena most of the time you should check with them and find out what type of markers (guns) do they have resources for. Do they use compressed air or CO2? This alone could decide what type of gun you will use. You do not want to use Co2 on a gun that is not meant to use CO2 because liquid CO2 can ruin guns and equipment not meant for CO2.
There are many discussions on what is best CO2 or compressed air (CA). Compressed air can be expensive and is not recommended as the best choice for the beginner. CO2 should probably be what a beginner starts out with but even with CO2 markers you have to get a large enough tank to keep from refilling often, less trouble and less money. One other caution with CO2 is if the tank is left in the sun too long there is the potential for the CO2 to expand and cause problems.
Another factor when choosing a marker is the ability to upgrade. As your skills improve you may want to add certain other equipment such as scopes and the ability to make your marker fully automatic. If you are the type of person who likes to take things apart and rebuild them will the marker you choose allow you to do this with little trouble?
Consider the price of the marker which can range from $100 to $2000. As with all purchases you get what you pay for and I can guarantee that there are not many serious players out in the field playing with the $100 Wal-Mart special. If price is a problem take a look on EBay or Craig’s List for used markers but make sure you know what you are buying.
To sum it up the factors to consider when choosing to buy a marker is what type of playing area are you going to be using it in, what type of air do you want to use, the ability to upgrade, and price. Once these factors are determined you are ready to shop.