In order to enjoy a fun game of paintball, you first need to understand the style of paintball that you are looking to play. If you are a speedballer, the Dye DM series Angels are quite nice, and the Ego is a crazy SOD for a gun. However, if you are looking for a paintball gun with a smaller profile, the Smart Parts Shocker is an awesome choice. There are so many guns on the market to choose from and the prices are set higher for a reason, you get what you pay for.
Speedball Or Woods Ball
You must first define your playing field before you can properly rate a paintball marker, and if you have played both speedball and woods ball, you will understand that while some paintball markers are a good fit for speedball, they definitely don`t make the cut for woods ball. For example, if you are playing speedball, a clean tight field with ample artificial structures, you will need a marker that is light weight, relatively short in length, and can handle a high rate of fire. For this game, paintball markers such as the Intimidator, the Spyder, or the Ego (e.g. the Tippmann Triumph) will do quite nicely.
Woods ball, on the other hand is set in a field rich with rocks, trees, wet ditches and patches of open field, and will require a marker that fires accurately over reasonably long distances and can handle the punishment of being dropped and neglected, as well as covered mud. You will want to invest in a Tippmann A5 or X7 with a flatline barrel for range, and a response trigger for higher rates of fire, or H.E. E-Grip if you plan on never crawling through the mud.
Reliability
The best paintball gun, capable of handling any form of abuse, is the Sheridan VM-68. It may be old but it sure is reliable, and it has a unique mechanism which never breaks. The Tippman with a Flatline, or automag with a ceramic Taso barrel, in my opinion, is one amazing sniper paintball gun. There is nothing worse than having to clean paint from a barrel in the middle of a fire fight. The old automag design with a twist and lock barrel was the best paintball gun with only 5 seconds to switch the barrel, and the old auto cocker design worked well too, with enough brute force to shoot the paint out.
Look, Feel And Weight
My personal preference would be the second best paintball gun. In a nutshell, that reliable but ugly and heavy metal marker will kick any light-weight piece of junk any day and is what you should be going for. After all, the idea is to use the marker, not display it on a stand. A good marker should have scratches and dings, and be covered in dried, crusty paint, and that’s how you tell a player from a poser!
