[DarkTamer]

Thanks for the support guys, this is the second version of this thread. If you’re interested in the older version which is slightly different and has some older guns, it can be found here: http://www.paintballforum.com/showth...16#post1832316

PLEASE READ THESE TWO PARAGRAPHS FIRST:

This is a quick guide for anyone wondering what gun to buy. It is by no means all encompassing, so still feel free to post your own thread asking people what they think of your choices, this is just to help narrow the choices. I will not cover every single gun, that would take too much time and be pointless. I will try to be as unbiased as possible. Keep in mind, these suggestions are all geared towards functionality/tournament play, I do not include guns designed to look cool for scenario games.

I have only covered guns still being produced/sold (as of today, 12/22/06), older guns are not included. This for guns sold being new from the retailer, not used. Some retailers have different prices, have sales, prices change etc. so you may find you can’t find the gun in some category in that price range, or perhaps you’ll find it cheaper; I can’t control this, I’ve tried to be as accurate as possible with prices.

I may decide to update or create newer versions of this thread in the future.

This thread was inspired by 98customplayer1's thread in the new player section, essentially the same idea but focuses only on lower end guns for new players looking for their first gun. Check it out if you're in that situation:
http://www.paintballforum.com/forum/...d.php?t=126182


[Note to Readers: I'm an opiniated human being, I'm not a true expert. This is all my opinion, it is by no means fact!]

$1-100 Category
This is the lowest category, so naturally these are not the greatest guns, these are the worst. These are meant to be for players who just like to go out and have fun once in a rare while, fool around in their backyard, etc. They are not worth spending lots of money upgrading; general rule of thumb is to not spend more money on upgrades than what you spent on the gun itself.

-Kingman Spyder Xtra:

Kingman Group
A cheap Spyder that has been around for years. It’s fairly reliable, simple design, and no electronics to screw up or mess around with it.
*Stacked tube blowback
*Spyder threaded barrel
*Works on either co2 or HPA (must be a High Pressure tank, LP will not work)

-PMI Eforce GTI 2006:

www.pminetwork.com/
The Piranha line of guns are cheap and pretty good performers, they perform exactly like spyders except are built at a higher standard and use standard parts, while spyders use metric parts which are very hard to find. This gun is cheap, electric (meaning faster than a mechanical gun) and pretty durable. My top pick for this category.
*Stacked tube blowback
*Spyder threaded barrel
*Works on either co2 or HPA (must be a High Pressure tank, LP will not work)


$101-200 Category
This is still no where near the top, so don’t expect too much but guns in this category are definitely worth looking at over the $1-100 Category. Some guns in this range simply the same as guns in the $1-100 Category with some trivial upgrades; others are actually a few steps above. Either way, guns in this range aren’t really meant to be tricked out and be used in competitively.

-PMI Eforce Evo:

www.pminetwork.com/
Again, same operation as a spyder (stacked tube blowback), but this time it comes with a very nice set of break beam eyes, which will do a far better job of reducing chops than the “ACS” bolt.
*Stacked tube blowback
*Spyder threaded barrel
*Works on either co2 or HPA (must be a High Pressure tank, LP will not work)
*Break Beam eyes

-Tippman 98:

Tippmann
It's not fast, or light, but it always works. It’s been described as the “AK47 of paintball”. What makes it such a good choice is it's near indestructibility. So long as you put a bit of oil through it once in a while, the only thing that will ever break on this gun is the feedneck when is something like a $10 replacement. It is mechanical, so there are no electronics to screw up.
*Single tube blowback
*Tippman 98 barrel threads
*Works on either co2 or HPA (must be a High Pressure tank, LP will not work)

-Diablo Wrath/Slayer:

.IABLO PAINTBALL:.
It’s a poppet valve with a spring return ram; this design seems to have a bad rap, although the design isn’t the problem here, it’s simply the gun over all. When they are working, they seem to be pretty decent guns, but reliability is not the best from what I’ve seen and heard.
*Stacked tube spring return ram driven
*Break beam eyes
*Autococker barrel threads

-Smart Parts Ion:

smartparts.com
Most definitely the undisputed king when it comes to bang for your buck, in any category. They have a bad rap for many different reason that I won’t really get into, but the fact of the matter is they’re pretty decent guns: they’re light, pretty robust, and fast. The real problem with these guns is the way they’re designed, you must take apart the entire gun to access the bolt assembly, which needs to lubed regularly. On top of that the electronics and internals are rather cheap, and since they must be handled very often to get to the bolt assembly they tend to break a lot. This is gun is definitely the best buy in this category, if you feel confident that you can strip it down and reassemble it without a problem. It’s not complicated to do, you just have to be extra careful. This is really the only gun in this category that if you felt like spending enough money on it, it can actually be as good or at least nearly as good as some “high ends”.
*Blowforward (Similar to spool valve but simplified)
*Impulse/Ion Barrel threads
*Replaceable plastic body shell
*Break beam eyes


$201-300 Category
Guns in this range are more or less for the same people as the $101-200 category. These guns just come with some better features out of the box pretty much.

-ICD Promaster:

ICDPaintball
It’s light, quite fast, and efficient due to it’s poppet valve innards. It doesn’t come with a bottomline, so you’ll have to spend at least another $15 or so bucks to actually get it up and shooting right out of the box. Beware, I personally do not like anything from ICD, as I’ve seen too many of their guns having strange issues, particularly with their regulators, both the LP and HP.
*Stacked tube air ram
*Autococker barrel threads
*Break beam eyes

-Ion Pro:

smartparts.com
This is an Ion with all the essential upgrades you need: new barrel, on/off, and clamping feedneck.
*Blowforward (Similar to spool valve but simplified)
*Impulse/Ion barrel threads
*Break beam eyes
*Clamping feedneck
*On/off ASA

[continued in next post]

[DarkTamer]

$301-400 Category
Quite honestly there aren’t really any guns in this category that I consider worth it. It would be better to buy something form the $201-300 Category and spend about $100 in upgrades and end up with something better, or just go ahead and buy something from the next category up, the $401-500 Category.

-Dangerous Power Fusion:

Welcome To Dangerous Power.com!
This is probably the only gun in this category worth looking at in my opinion. The design is remiscent of the BKO's, sort of a "FASOR" design (although FASORs are spring return, the spring in this pushes forward): it's a stacked tube poppet valve with an air ram, but instead of air pushing it both back and forth, a spring controls the forward movement. This design has a bad rap due to the guns it's been used in, but it isn't actually the design that was the problem, it was the manufacturers quality that caused problems.
*Stacked tube spring forward ram driven
*Autococker barrel threads
*Break beam eyes
*Clamping feedneck
*On/off ASA

-ICD Lasoya Promaster:

ICDPaintball
It’s just a milled down promaster. Comes with a board that offers more options, a new bolt, and a different trigger.
*Stacked tube air ram
*Break beam eyes
*Autococker barrel threads

-Worr Games Mini E-Orracle:

Worr Game Products - WGP paintball markers and accessories
It’s appealing for essentially the same reason many people would dislike it: it’s an autococker with a select fire frame. Because it’s an autococker, that means it will shoot great; because it’s an autococker some may find it to be finicky and more difficult to maintain. Because it has a select fire frame, it will be fast; because it uses a select fire frame, it does not have much adjustment (compared to the E1/E2 or Raceframe).
*Autococker operation (true closed bolt function)
*Autococker barrel threads
*Reflective eye
*On/off ASA

-Redz Ion:

Redz International 2007 || Redz 2007 Paintball Gear and Apparel
Same idea as the Ion Pro, it’s an Ion with upgrades installed except the parts are Redz stuff. Main difference is that this includes a new bolt along with the clamping feedneck, on/off, and new barrel.
*Blowforward (Similar to spool valve but simplified)
*Impulse/Ion barrel threads
*Break beam eyes
*Clamping feedneck
*On/off ASA



$401-500 Category
This category recently had some very new and interesting additions. Guns in this range are mid-end guns, which basically means they generally shoot as well as high end guns but they are not quite as reliable and/or don’t come with as many features. They are good as backup guns or for competitive players looking to save some money.

-Invert Mini:

Invert Paintball :: Home of the MINI
One of the three new contenders in this range, with a completely new operating design that no has seen before. It is absurdly tiny and light, but it is a poppet valve which was unheard of before this and the Onyx came around. It also boasts a zero hoses and only one wire. Describing in depth all the odd new features would take too long, so I just suggest checking it out yourself. Just beware however, this is the first time this company has made it’s own gun, and on top of that it is nothing like anything that has been built before: this all means the possibility of bugs that need to be worked out is high.
*Inline Pressure controlled poppet valve (poppet valve is not stationary, unique design)
*Autococker barrel threads
*Break Beam eyes
*Clamping feedneck
*On/off ASA

-Proto MR:

PROTO PAINTBALL
Another of the three new contenders in this range, this too with a relatively new but not particularly revolutionary design. It is essentially the same as any of the other Matrixs, except with no LPR. This means it has slightly more kick than the rest of the Proto and Dye guns, but other than that shoots the same. A big turnoff to many people is some of the plastic parts it has, including the collar of the feedneck, back cap, trigger, trigger frame, and eye covers.
*Spool valve
*Autococker barrel threads
*Break Beam eyes
*Clamping feedneck

-Smart Parts Epiphany:

smartparts.com
The last of the three new contenders. This one offers nothing new really, it is still an Ion at heart. The plastic parts have been replaced with metal ones, and it offers a few other things like a new barrel, new solenoid, etc.
*Blowforward (Similar to spool valve but simplified)
*Impulse/Ion Barrel threads
*Break Beam eyes
*On/off ASA

-Smart Parts Nerve:

smartparts.com
A very underrated gun, due to it not living up to expectations thanks to SP hyping it up way too much before its release. It is basically a really, really nice impulse. It’s known for exceptional efficiency, in some cases even coming close to the legendary efficiency of AKA markers (which have been known to get a whole case off of a 68/45 HPA tank).
*Stacked tube air ram
*Impulse/Ion Barrel threads
*Clamping feedneck
*On/off ASA



$501-600 Category
There seems to be an odd black hole with very few guns in this price range. Like the $301-400 Category, I’d suggest buy something cheaper and upgrading, or saving some more money and buying something in the $701-800 Category.

-Alien Paintball Interceptor:

ALIEN PAINTBALL - Light Years Ahead!
A light poppet valve style gun. Fans of the line claim ego-like performance for half the price. What’s unique to the Alien line is that they come with what they call the “Sweep Trajectory”. I won’t explain the system in detail, but they claim a flatter trajectory and better accuracy; whether it is just hype is still being debated. Beware though, as there have been many reports of issue with reliability.
*Stacked tube air ram
*Autococker barrel threads
*Break beam eyes
*Clamping feedneck
*On/off ASA

-WGP Black Magic 05:

Worr Game Products - WGP paintball markers and accessories
Another autococker from the same company. It’s smaller and lighter than the Karnivor, but comes with a select fire frame rather than the E2 which offers more adjustments.
*Autococker operation
*Autococker barrel threads
*Reflective eye
*Clamping feedneck
*On/off ASA


[continued in next post]

[DarkTamer]

$601-700 Category
This is really where guns can start to be considered “high-end”; if you want to be truly competitive and play in nationals or regionals, you should be reserving at least this much money just for the gun alone.

-Alien Paintball Remains:

ALIEN PAINTBALL - Light Years Ahead!
Essentially the same as the Interceptor except milled down to be a bit lighter and slightly more efficient. They are extremely light, rivaling even the SL66 line of Egos.
*Stacked tube air ram
*Autococker barrel threads
*Break beam eyes
*Clamping feedneck

-Bob Long 2k5 Intimidator:

Bob Long Technologies
This is the most basic of intimidators, which means it uses an LED instead of LCD, his different milling than the other 2k5 style intimidators, and a few other features are missing. It will still shoot pretty similar to an Alias or any other 2k5 timmy. Does not come with a bottomline.
*Stacked tube air ram
*Autococker barrel threads
*Break Beam eyes
*Clamping feedneck

-WGP E2 Karnivor:

Worr Game Products - WGP paintball markers and accessories
Arguably the best autococker ever. They’re relatively light, quite fast, and shoots like an autococker. Again though, it has the con(s) of simply being an autococker which could turn some people off it.
*Autococker operation
*Autococker barrel threads
*Reflective eye
*Clamping feedneck
*On/off ASA

-Smart Parts NXT Shocker:

smartparts.com
The latest version of the shocker, the last one being the “SFT”. New features include break beam eyes, higher grade aluminum (so no more anno fade supposedly), redesigned trigger and trigger frame, new NXT regulator (same as the Ion), and some other goodies. This gun is good enough to compete with guns up in the next category, so it makes sense that it just misses actually being in that category by a couple dollars. The feedneck is not clamping, it’s the same style as the stock Ion one.
*Spool valve
*Impulse/Ion barrel threads
*Break Beam eyes
*On/off ASA



$701-800 Category
The next step in high end guns, if you have a gun in this range you can feel comfortable that it will be able to compete at all levels of competition.

-Infinity Legend:

[Note: It is pictured with a CP reg, Hybrid grips, and Proto barrel, the later models are supposed to have their own style reg, grips, and barrel.]
INFINITY Paintball Products
A new gun from a relatively small company. There design isn't really new, it's actually a FASOR, sharing a similar operation as BKOs and Wraths. Like I said with the Fusion, this is not really a bad thing, the reason previous FASOR guns were unreliable was the manufacturing not the design. The difference between this gun and other FASORs is it's lack of an LPR, it only has a HPR. The pressure going to the bolt is the same as the pressure going to the solenoid. It is known to be light, and very fast. How reliable it is, is relatively unknown so far.
*Stacked tube spring return ram driven
*Autococker barrel threads
*Break Beam eyes
*Clamping feedneck


-ICD FS8:

ICDPaintball
The latest incarnation of the freestyle; Lighter, more efficient, faster than it’s predecessors. All reports and videos have shown it to be a very impressive gun. Too bad ICD still decides to use their notoriously poor LPR and HPR they’ve always put on their freestyles.
*Blowforward (Similar to spool valve but simplified)
*Autococker barrel threads
*Break Beam eyes
*Clamping feedneck
*On/off ASA

-FEP Quest:

First Endeavor Paintball
Size of a shocker, better efficiency than a shocker, from what I’ve seen more reliable than a shocker. A very nice little gun. Only downside is that FEP (First Endeavor Paintball) is very new, so how they are in terms of customer support is pretty unknown. I have yet to hear anything bad about them thus far though.
*Spool valve
*Autococker barrel threads
*Break beam eyes
*Clamping feedneck

-Evil Minion:

EVIL-PAINTBALL
Same exact thing as the PM6, but milled down a bit more and has metal eye covers, and come with an evil pipe for the stock barrel instead of the proto two piece the M6 comes with. Same exact performance, the choice between the two really comes two style preference.
*Spool valve
*Autococker barrel threads
*Break beam eyes
*Clamping feedneck
*On/off ASA

-Planet Eclipse Etek Ego:

Planeteclipse.com - Official Eclipse Paintball Products - Ego 7 (Ego7)
Like the PM6 is to the DM6, the Etek is to the Ego6. Main differences is the ram does not have integrated QEV’s like the Ego6 has, and the trigger is a spring return instead of magnet return; the board also utilizes a series of LED’s versus the LCD screen the Ego6 uses.
*Stacked tube air ram
*Break beam eyes
*Clamping feedneck
*On/off ASA

-Bob Long Alias Intimidator:

Bob Long Technologies
It’s an intimidator, nothing particularly special about it. Medium weight, fast, and efficient, but has some kick like all poppet valves. Does not come with a bottomline.
*Stacked tube air ram
*Autococker barrel threads
*Break beam eyes
*Clamping feedneck

$801-900 Category
There is an odd lack of guns in this price range, and the few that there are not worth listing. Moving on…


[continued in next post]

[DarkTamer]

$901-1000 Category
Once again, these guns are a step up above the previous category.

-Proto M7:

PROTO PAINTBALL
The M7 has been redesigned to be smaller and lighter, nearing the size of shockers. It also includes a board with multiple modes, no more need to upgrade the stock board in order to play tournaments that utilize ramping.
*Spool valve
*Autococker barrel threads
*Break beam eyes
*Clamping feedneck
*On/off ASA

-Bob Long Marq:

Bob Long Technologies
A new design that shares some of it’s origins with the old school tippmans, except it has been streamlined. It has the size of a DM but the efficiency of an intimidator. What’s particularly interesting is the use of four eyes instead of the traditional two (this an optional feature); the idea is to sense the ball on it’s way down before it is seated in the breech, and begin the firing cycle. This allows for a few MS to be shaved off the firing cycle, allowing for a faster ROF.
*Inline poppet valve
*Autococker barrel threads
*Break beam eyes (dual sets an upgrade option)
*Clamping feedneck



$1001-1100 Category
My goodness, the $1000 mark has been breached; if you’re spending this much money on a paintball gun, you can officially call yourself addicted to paintball. Whoops, I mean… “dedicated”.

-Smart Parts Russian Legion Shocker:

smartparts.com
Crazy milling, break beam eyes, the new style regulator (essentially the same as the Ion reg believe it or not, supposedly more consistent than the Max Flos), and other goodies are some of what this gun offers. If you like shockers and are a fan of RL, this is an excellent choice…
*Spool valve
*Autococker barrel threads
*Break beam eyes
*Clamping feedneck
*On/off ASA


-Smart Parts Naughty Dogs Shocker:

[Note: It is pictured here with a CP reg, but it comes with a NXT reg like the rest of the shockers]
smartparts.com
Similar to the RL shocker, but with much more subdued milling and a different trigger. If you like shockers and are a fan of ND, then this instead would be a good choice.
*Spool valve
*Autococker barrel threads
*Break beam eyes
*Clamping feedneck
*On/off ASA


-Smart Parts Evil Shocker:

EvilStore.com - Official Store of Chicago Evil, Professional Paintball Team. Evil Factory Team Minion and Evil Factory Team Shocker
Once again, same perks and specs as the ND and RL shockers, but with different milling and trigger. This is personally my favorite of the three, although I don’t like the trigger much.
*Spool valve
*Autococker barrel threads
*Break beam eyes
*Clamping feedneck
*On/off ASA

$1101-1200 Category
After this point, guns don’t really perform any better than one another, the differences are mainly operation preference (poppet valve vs. spool valve) or stylistic preferences.

-WDP Angel 1:

WELCOME TO wdp-paintball - IT BEGINS!
The smallest, lightest, and most tricked out Angel ever. Some users have reported some small bugs, but these are definitely a heavy contender. WDP has also had a reputation for quality and fast guns, this doesn’t appear to have broken that tradition. This is a poppet valve gun, which means great efficiency but more kick than a spool valve.
*Stacked tube air ram
*G7 Fly barrel threads
*Break beam eyes
*Clamping feedneck
*On/off ASA

-MacDev '07 Cyborg

www.macdev.net
A gun that has and more or less continues to fly under the radar. It never has really garnered much attention or popularity, why exactly I don't know because they are pretty solid guns. They've always been fast and extremely efficient (this latest model even more so obviously), and now they'd even made them very lightweight. They are definately worth looking into.
*Stacked tube air ram
*Autococker barrel threads
*Break beam eyes
*Clamping feedneck
*On/off ASA



$1201-$1300 Category

-Planet Eclipse Ego7:

Planeteclipse.com - Official Eclipse Paintball Products - Ego 7 (Ego7)
The latest and greatest ego. The ram sleeve has been eliminated so the ram sits in the body itself, allowing the body to be reduced in size in the back; also overall body weight has been reduced, with PE shaving off any excess metal they can: this is the lightest ego ever, beating out even the legendary SL66 line. A new board features more modes and allows the user to utilize either optical sensors or a microswitch for the trigger, something never done before.
*Stacked tube air ram
*Autococker barrel threads
*Break Beam eyes
*Clamping feedneck
*On/off ASA



$1301-1400 Category
Anything more expensive than this doesn’t offer anything new, they’re just PL versions with special milling or something.

-Dye M7:

Dye Paintball
The latest and greatest DM. Stylistically it looks nearly identical to it’s predecessor the DM6, with nearly no difference in weight or size. The only real difference is the revamped self-cleaning eye system. The original system introduced with the DM6 was plagued with problems, so much so that some people took it out and just used DM5 eyes. This new system promises to be much better, which means in the event of a ball break, you might be able to shoot right through it without bothering to squeegee.
*Spool valve
*Autococker barrel threads
*Break Beam eyes
*Clamping feedneck
*On/off ASA

[punk_pntballar]

Great thread, you must be bored. Pictures would help, and up the apeal of this thread.

[DarkTamer]

Originally Posted by punk_pntballar

Great thread, you must be bored. Pictures would help, and up the apeal of this thread.

Not bored really, this takes actual work... and I thought about pics, I'll probably update it a bit later with pics I just didn't feel like doing them right now

[punk_pntballar]

Yea when I made the thread about all the new stuff, that took alot of work searching and stuff like that. Have fun and keep up the good work.

[Strikr]

I have never heard ICD FS8, FEP Quest or Evil Minion. Do you think you could break these 3 down for me. How they work and such.

From what I get of the Evil Minion is that its PM6 with a lighter body.

[DarkTamer]

I'll probably add pictures and links to the manufacturers site later tonight.

-edit- websites have been added, pictures will be done later... possibly tommorow but probably not.

[DarkTamer]

Pictahs have been added

[punk_pntballar]

Nice, it looks alot better now.

[DarkTamer]

Oh wow, I just noticed I left out the $701-800 and $801-900 Categories. Woops. It's fixed now.