You are What You Shoot

By Jordan F. Ricks

People say that they can learn a lot about you by the car you choose to drive. Maybe there’s some truth to that, maybe not. Then again, some people say that they can learn a lot about you by reading your palm. Now that sounds like a load of bat dung to me, but I do believe that the type of paintball gun you use reveals a lot about the type of player you are. One doesn’t have to be a psychic to know that a woodsball player who uses a Special Ops Longbow is most likely a patient one-shot-one-kill player who enjoys the thrill of the hunt and outwitting his prey. On the other hand, a player who carries a Tippmann A-5 with 3-inch stub nose and E-Grip is probably an aggressive, fearless warrior who craves being in the middle of the action.

If you are an experienced player, you are obviously using your particular gun for specific reasons, but chances are, it took you a lot of paintball games before you were ‘sold’ on the gun you use today. As you think back to your early paintball days in Newbie-land, you probably didn’t discover what aspects of the game you were best at, or most thrilling for you until you were placed in situations that forced you to think and play outside of your comfort zone. Like other sports, it’s good to explore the game and play several positions before settling into a niche. After finding your ideal role on the paintball field, it’s a whole lot easier to narrow the choices in terms of finding the right paintball gun.

A smart ‘first purchase’ requires some field experience, commonsense, and patience. (And it doesn’t hurt to conduct a little research by reading a variety of technical specs, maintenance requirements, product reviews, etc.) As far as the performance features of the gun are concerned, prospective buyers need to first identify their personal style of play to determine what features are most needed in a paintball marker.

As you play, dissect your performance and evaluate what you enjoy most when playing the game. Are you a conservative player or an aggressive player? Do you like to pack light and charge for the flag, or pack heavy and provide devastating suppression fire? Or maybe you have the “one shot, one kill” temperament with nerves of steel and prefer stalking the enemy at close range before lowering the boom as a sniper. Whatever style you favor, you’ll need to determine how that relates to the demands you’ll be making of your marker and what features are most likely to promote your success on the field at that position.

It’s darn near impossible for a newcomer to find the ideal marker without having much playing experience. Sometimes, inexperienced players make such poor choices for their first marker that they become frustrated and discouraged, and quickly lose interest in the sport altogether. (When every third ball breaks in the barrel of a cheap gun, how fun can the sport be?)

Naturally, newbies start their paintball career using any marker they can get their hands on. In addition to making the mistake of purchasing a cheap, lousy performing marker, many newcomers who haven’t played enough to
know what features they really need in a marker end up paying far too much money for a marker with features that will seldom be used. Some are influenced by slick ads in a magazine and buy a high performance tourney marker for woodsball, only to discover that the gun isn’t allowed on many scenario fields or it isn’t durable enough for rough woodsball games. So first and foremost, before you fork out the big bucks for a new marker, it’s important to get some playing experience under your belt so you can make an educated decision when you go shopping.

Fortunately, the market is loaded with a variety of stellar performing, low maintenance scenario and woodsball markers – as well as some killer mods that can convert your marker to the custom paintball gun that is ideal for you. Try to get some practical, real game experience with as many different markers as possible before you buy a paintball gun. Bribe, beg, or sweet talk your friends into letting you spend time trying out their markers in game situations. Gain as much experience as possible using the various paintball guns available within your local circle of players. Hopefully, you’ll even find someone who owns the same marker that you want to buy. Do whatever you can to spend some quality time with it before you decide. Learn about the gun’s maintenance requirements. Don’t wait until after you buy the gun to discover that it’s very particular about the paint you use, or it’s too heavy and not balanced the way you like, or the grip is uncomfortable, etc.

Buying a marker online or from a catalog without trying out the real deal is where many new players make their first mistake – which is easy to understand because they are usually in such a hurry to get a paintball gun and start playing. But sometimes, in the rush to own a marker and “join the club,” many first buys are influenced by factors that don’t translate well on the field. All revved up and gassed up, a newbie may run into the woods with a shiny new marker that was purchased because of its cool looks, its overly-optimistically advertised cycle rate of 20 bps, or because it’s the same marker that his pro tourney hero uses. He didn’t know that only a handful of expensive electric loaders are suited for his new gun, or the marker only shoots expensive, high-end, tournament-grade paint and only the stock barrel can be used.

Don’t get locked in on a specific marker because it happens to be the latest fad or the current rage among friends. Buying the right marker not only means researching that product’s features and specs, but it means comparing its performance to similar paintball guns on the market.

Understand the elements of your style of play and the skills that you want to add to your game. Check out all the information and reviews you can for the markers you are considering. And again, if it’s possible for you to gain some time playing with any of the markers that you’re interested in, by all means do it!

But one other fact is certain. If you end up playing paintball on a regular basis for the long haul, you might as well start making room in your gun case for the additional markers you are going to buy. Certainly you’ll find a marker that provides the majority of features that complement your game, but there will always be a sparkle from another new gun that catches your eye and offers an enticing new capability that makes it hard to resist. If you feel that you can’t resist adding another paintball gun to your collection, at least you’ll have a better idea of what you want in a paintball marker, and you'll know exactly what to look for. In the meantime, have fun, play smart, and buy smart.