Electronic or Mechanical: Which Paintball Gun Is Right for You?

You’re in the market for a paintball gun but you’re not sure what type you should get. Do you want to go for an electronic or a mechanical paintball gun? Each of these guns has its own advantages and disadvantages. Let’s take a look at electronic and mechanical guns and how they work so you know which type is right for you:

Basics

Every single type of paintball gun has been designed to shoot a multitude of paintballs at a high speed. The guns do this using CO2 or compressed air. When you fire a paintball gun a very small bolt pushes one of the balls into the barrel. Then a valve releases the gas and expands the barrel. This action forces the ball out of the barrel.
Mechanical guns are activated mechanically (by you) and electronic guns are activated by a circuit board and a battery. You can get guns that are electro-mechanical that can work well but they can be quite complicated to use.

Electronic Paintball Guns

Electronic paintball guns are fired by using a circuit board that is battery-powered. The trigger when pulled tells the gun to fire. Telling the gun to fire is very easy and takes little effort.
There are different types of electronic paintball guns available and they can have very different set ups. However, their good and bad points are much the same. When it comes to maintaining this type of pain gun, they are hard to take apart. What’s more, is assembling them can take some time. If you wish to upgrade or repair an electronic gun you should ask a professional to do the work for you.

– Advantages of Electronic Paintball Guns

They are very accurate, particularly when you compare them to mechanical guns.
They tend to fire a lot faster and with little effort on your part.
Electronic guns tend to be lighter than mechanical guns which makes them easier to use in the field.
You only need to pull the trigger lightly for it to fire.
The amount of pressure needed to fire an electronic gun is a lot lower than its mechanical counterpart.

– Disadvantages of Electronic Paintball Guns

Electronic paintball guns tend to cost a lot more than mechanical ones and they’re not always that easy to buy due to availability issues
They can be quite hard to repair and will need to be serviced regularly.
The batteries need to be charged before you play.
Electronic paintball guns usually need compressed air to run.

Mechanical Paintball Guns

Many mechanical paintball guns are semi-automatic and they are known as “Blowback” guns. They fire when a trigger is pulled and a bolt is sent forward by a small spring. The spring ensures the paintball is pushed into the gun’s barrel.
As soon as the paintball is in the barrel, a bolt strikes it and a valve is opened. This allows air to travel down the barrel. The bolt goes back to where it started and waits for you to pull the trigger.

– Maintaining Mechanical Guns
Mechanical guns are very reliable and don’t really need much maintenance They will need to be cleaned and then oiled each time they have been used. The good news is that a mechanical gun is usually easy to take apart. If there is an issue with the gun you will find that replacement parts are quite cheap.

– Advantages of Mechanical Guns

They’re usually quite a lot cheaper than electronic paintball guns.
They’re ideal for anyone who is trying out paintball for the first time.
They’re easy to set up and can run on compressed air or CO2.
Lots of mechanical parts made by different manufacturers will fit in most mechanical guns.

– Disadvantages of Mechanical Guns

Mechanical guns are not very accurate or fast. The amount of air that they shoot out the barrel can change between shots.
This means that accuracy is affected.
They tend to be quite a lot louder than their electronic counterparts and need to be cocked before you fire them.
This can make them a little inconvenient during battle.
The air tank required to shoot a mechanical gun needs more pressure than an electronic gun, typically 3-4 times as much.

Which Type of Paintball Gun Should you Buy?

This all depends on a few different factors such as your experience, your budget, and your preferences. Let’s take a look at each of these factors now:

Experience: If you are new to the world of paintballing you might want to purchase a mechanical paintball gun. This is because they are much cheaper and there’s always a chance that you’ll decide you won’t take up paintball after all. Alternatively, a mechanical paintball gun could introduce you to the game and make you want to buy an electronic gun when you’re better on the field.
In addition to this, mechanical paintball guns are usually much easier to use.
Budget: If you don’t want to spend a lot of money on your new paintball gun you could opt for a mechanical one. They cost less to begin with and you can usually repair them yourself. What’s more, is they’re usually very easy to clean. You won’t therefore, need to pay for someone else to clean your new gun.

Preference: Some players simply prefer having a mechanical paintball gun as they allow you to have more control. However, other people prefer electronic guns as they are usually more powerful and more accurate.

Consider what you need from a paintball gun. Would you like it to look good and be easier to carry while you play? Or would you prefer to use a gun that can be repaired easily? Remember, you could be using your first paintball gun for quite some time so it makes sense for you to but a paintball gun that you’re comfortable using. The choice is yours.