If you love paintball and want to own it in your next match then you need to stop using the low quality and inaccurate hire guns. Once you get your hands on the best paintball gun that actually shoots where you want it to, and goes as far and as fast as you want – without balls jamming in the hopper. You’ll never go back to hiring a gun ever again.
Consider This When Buying Paintball Guns
Most paintball guns come with other paintball gear. And indeed our top three picks come with masks, canisters, hoppers, Co2 cans and a belt. You’ll have everything you need to own the field in your next match.
Bare in mind that not all paintball guns come with gear, our last gun doesn’t even have a hopper or Co2 can.
Top 10 Paintball Guns Overview
| Picture | Name | Includes | Price | Rating (1-5) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Planet Eclipse ETEK5 | Body only | $$$$ | 4.7 |
| 2. US Army Project Salvo Paintball Marker Gun 3Skull | Body only | $$ | 4.6 |
| 3. UTippmann Cronus Tactical Paintball Gun 3Skull | Hopper, Co2 cannister, mask, 6 paintball tubes, belt | $$ | 4.6 |
| 4. Dye Proto Rail Paintball Gun | Body only | $$$ | 4.4 |
| 5. Tippmann Cronus Paintball Marker Gun | Hopper, Co2 cannister, mask, 6 paintball tubes, belt | $$ | 4.4 |
| 6. Tippmann Gryphon | Hopper, Co2 cannister, mask, 6 paintball tubes, belt | $$ | 4.4 |
| 7. US Army Alpha Black Elite | Hopper, Co2 cannister, mask, 6 paintball tubes, belt | $$$ | 4.3 |
| 8. Spyder Victor | Hopper, Co2 cannister, mask, 6 paintball tubes, belt | $$ | 4.2 |
| 9. Tippmann TPX | 3x 7 ball magazines, hip holster, Co2 cannister | $$$ | 4.2 |
| 10. Azodin Kaos Semi-Auto | Body only | $ | 4.1 |
Buying Information
There are a lot of things to consider when buying a paintball gun. Firstly there are so many different types of guns out there from pistols to semi-autos to fully-auto guns and snipers. Here’s what you’ll need to consider next.
- Hopper size is very important. We only feature one gun with a small hopper size in our list – the Tippmann TPX. Big hoppers allow you to shoot for longer before you need to reload. This becomes especially important in fast paced, close-quarter games.
- Semi-auto is the most common paintball gun type, it allows you to shoot multiple balls quickly by quickly flicking the trigger. Sniper and pistol type guns generally have a “lock’n’load” delay and are better for stealthy players. Whilst full-auto guns need big hoppers to keep up with the heavy flow.
- Colouring is an important factor, generally a dark, well hidden colour is best. This of course depends on your environment but we find the army pattern to be the most effective at concealment.
- Sights and scopes vary between models, snipers are usually the only weapons with a scope. The rest will have sights to help you line up targets. Just remember that you’ll need to allow for wind and distance for long shots.
- Weight is the last consideration, and it’s not a light one (no pun intended). A gun that is too heavy will slow you down and wear you out. Whereas a light gun will keep you agile and make for a quick getaway if you’re ambushed.
- Co2 or air tank capacity becomes more important the longer your gameplay. For all day play in small fields with all day air supply, you can get away with smaller air tanks (less weight and bulk). But sometimes you don’t have this luxury and you’ll need a larger tank or a gun that doesn’t use loads of air per shot.
Top 5 Best Paintball Gun Reviews
1. Planet Eclipse ETEK5
This is the top of the line paintball gun, it’s used by some of the best players in the country. It shoots true and far, the accuracy on this weapon is incredible. The extra-long barrel ensures the ball travels straight to where you intended it to go.
Even over far distances this gun is incredibly accurate. With a very light build this gun is light and swift in your hands. You’ll be able to quickly swing it around to cover a flanking attack or an ambush.
The only gun better than this is the EgoLV1, but if you’re looking at spending a fortune on a paintball gun you’d already be looking at that. Combined with an oled board and barrel kit this gun rivals all other options on the market.
The rapidness of shooting and the hair line trigger are perfect for close quarters and fast paced games. Although there are other more expensive options out there this gun stands up to the line.
2. US Army Project Salvo
The most realistic gun in our list. This gun is officially licensed by the US army and is so lifelike you’ll feel like you’re on the front lines every time you use it. The makers of this gun have really gone all out to create a weapon that not only looks great but stands up to all the functions you’d expect in a top end model.
With a host of add-on and customisable attachments you can turn this gun into a scoped weapon for sniper like play or really pimp it out for fast action, close quarter games.
We were thoroughly impressed with the accuracy from this weapon, even over long distances it performed well. Usually guns that are designed for aesthetics lack in the actual performance of the real thing, whereas with this weapon it actually meets your expectations.
There are so many upgrades for this weapon it’s unbelievable. You could easily spend three times the initial purchase price on all the attachments and add-ons. And they will be well worth it too. Every attachment either makes this weapon look more badass or improves its usefulness during gameplay.
We really loved this gun. Its fun to look at, makes you look like a boss and hell, it works really, really well.
3. UTippmann Cronus Tactical
So something needs to be said about the level of quality that Tippmann have achieved in their paintball guns. It’s clear by our listing and many others, that they outperform many of their rivals. They’ve taken third, fifth, sixth and seventh place on our list.
This particular gun is our all-time favorite. It’s a classic looking army rifle. It feels great in your hands (is much lighter than the real one), has a large hopper and Co2 storage and looks damn cool. There are a few cosmetic upgrades that you can buy separately to make this gun look even cooler too.
One of our quarrels with this gun is that you need to unscrew everything to maintain and clean the internals. This is time consuming and there are other guns with easy methods of doing this. The gun also doesn’t have any performance attachments (such as scopes), other than what it comes with as standard.
So unfortunately this gun will remain fairly basic, and as you get better at playing you may choose to move up and buy a more expensive, customizable weapon.
4. Dye Proto Rail
One of the most accurate weapons we reviewed. This gun is precision honed to ensure that every ball that leaves your barrel travels exactly where you intended it to go. There are a lot of high end features packed into this weapon – things we generally don’t ever see in weapons of this price range.
The barrel cleans itself with every shot taken using an internal O-ring that slides up and down the chamber. This weapon can operate at very low PSI, as low as 140 which helps it produce a smooth cycle, minimal recoil and consistent accuracy.
There is a hyper air regulator so you can dial in different pressures for different situations. This is the marker of choice for players in the early stages of their paintball careers. An LED display enables you to always know the exact stats of your weapon during play. It’s a handy feature for quick reference in the field and one we wish other weapons had as well.
The trigger is fully adjustable and can be set to semi-auto, fully-auto and burst fire modes. The only drawback of this weapon is that it can be an air hog. This isn’t a concern when playing in small fields with all-day air supplies, but when playing in the woods without air refills you may need something a bit less air intensive.
5. Tippmann Cronus
At a fraction of the size of its tactical cousin, the Cronus is a well-built weapon that packs a big punch. With the 200 round hopper and 20oz Co2, you’re well prepared for big runs and spar of the moment ambushes.
The quality of the build in this gun is next to none and it’s a clear winner for the best paintball gun if you are searching for the one that comes with a very reasonable price tag. With a minimal design and a very lightweight body this is a great beginner weapon for improved accuracy and gameplay.
