Knowing Your Paintball Pistols

Paintball pistols are paintball guns or markers that are designed to look and feel just like real pistols. They are opposed to rifles or standard paintball markers which have longer barrels and need two hands to use, and they are meant for closer range. There are many good reasons to use paintball pistols.

For one, they are extremely light and can be holstered easily. In longer plays and tournaments, you don't want anything weighing you down. Some players use more than one paintball pistol as they are easily kept with you, and your belt or vest can support more than one holster. Like with the real military or law enforcement, you can have holsters on your waist or ankles.

Paintball pistols are also smaller and so will not give away your position. While snipers need to use rifles for their distance and accuracy, other paintball players can use paintball pistols in most areas of play without betraying themselves.

A standard paintball marker is still preferred by many players because of its distance abilities and the fact that it holds more ammunition. Paintball pistols typically don't hold that many paintballs, and because of their shorter barrels they are less accurate in firing. Longer barrels allow the ammunition to stabilize in direction as it leaves the gun, and this is true for paintball markers or any other weapon. Because its triggering and air tank is smaller, its distance may also be somewhat limited.

When gearing up for play, experience gamers typically use both standard paintball markers that are rifle style and paintball pistols as well. Rifles are good for most types of play and allow you greater distance and accuracy, whereas pistols are a good backup system, especially when you can carry more than one.

If shopping for paintball pistols, you can obviously spend hundreds of dollars for a newer model, but it's advised that you at least buy one that's lightweight and smaller in size. Some pistols look intimidating because of their larger size but then wind up being clumsy and difficult to holster and un-holster. You would do well to try different models of paintball pistols to find one that fits well into your hand and that doesn't feel too heavy or too light for you. In the end, having the right equipment on the field can make the difference between success or failure for you and your team.