The Parts of a Paintball Gun

First, let’s get one thing clear. To the avid paintball player a paintball gun is known as a paintball marker. It is obviously a throw back homage to the origins of the extreme sport of paintball. Markers were originally used by the forestry service to mark trees, and by farmers and rangers to mark cattle. Almost 30 years, and hundreds of modifications later, modern paintball markers are fast, efficient machines that can cost over a thousand dollars.

The marker is a crucial piece of equipment for the paintball player, and should always be in tip-top shape. Regular cleaning and maintenance is imperative to maintaining the performance you are looking for. You should literally know every component to your marker inside and out. Trust me, knowing your marker inside and out will make you a better player.

Each part of the marker has an important job to perform. The largest part of the marker is the body. The body is made up of the trigger frame, the valve, and the bolt. Each of these parts can be broken down from each other for cleaning and upgrades. Most companies that manufacture paintball markers all use the same approach to the body. The variations come in the placement of the trigger and barrel. By placing the trigger frame forward the balance for the gun shifts making it easier to hold and handle with one hand. It also gives the body a lower profile. This is especially advantageous when you are playing a game where hopper hits get you eliminated.

Which leads to the hopper itself. The hopper is the part that holds the paintball rounds. Try as they might, manufacturers have still not perfected a hopper to prevent paintballs from breaking while contained. As you can imagine, breaks can lead to jams both in the feeding mechanism and in the gun itself, which leads to a vicious circle of causing even more balls to break. The different types of hoppers include gravity-feed hoppers, force-feed hoppers, stick-feed hoppers, and agitation hoppers.

The part of the gun that holds the gas that propels the paintballs is logically called the tank. Markers use carbon dioxide gas or high-pressure air. Carbon dioxide is the original propulsion material, but high-pressure air is more reliable and easier to handle.

Finally, the last part of the marker is the barrel. The type and length of the barrel determines speed, accuracy and distance of the paintballs. Longer barrels offer better accuracy, but it also takes a larger burst of air to actually get the paintball out of the barrel, so that accuracy performance could be compromised. Some barrels are rifled on the inside. The jury is still out on whether a rifled barrel enhances shooting performance.

This quick overview of the parts of a paintball marker really only covers the basics. If you aspire to become a serious player you owe it to yourself to become even more familiar with the details of your marker.

Author Bio: Layne regularly writes for ProlificPaintball.com, they carry such paintball equipment as Paintball Marker and the Tippmann A-5, as well as many other items from a variety of manufacturers.

Category: Sports
Keywords: Paintball Marker, Tippmann A-5

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