I've come across this question a lot. Why should I get an electronic hopper for my semi-auto marker? Will an electronic loader help a semi-auto paintball gun? The answer is yes. I'm not saying go drop $100 on an expensive force fed loader mind you. A simple agitated hopper is all you need. Here's why.
First is better feed rate. More often, even the mechanical markers you can buy are pushing a rate of fire that's faster than a gravity feed. You're probably only getting about 5 balls per second. I've seen current mechanical markers stating 8 balls per second. That leaves you at the mercy of your hopper. Every agitated hopper that I've seen rates 10-12 balls per second. That's more than fast enough to keep up with your marker and shouldn't put you back more than $40.
Second, the "shake and shoot" problem. You're in a fire fight shooting away and suddenly, the feeding stops. Well, the gravity loaders have the tendency for balls to block each other from going into the feedneck. So you have to occasionally shake the gun and loader to get the balls into the feedneck. Very bad situation if you're slugging it out. The electronic hopper churns the balls so that they don't get hung up on each other. You pull the trigger, marker fires..no more gaps in your firing.
Third, most mechanical markers don't have eyes. The bolt doesn't know it needs to wait for the paintball to finish loading before firing again. The partially loaded paintball will get chopped by the bolt. Your recourse in that situation is to feed the balls faster than the marker will shoot. This will reduce the chance of chopping a ball. Think of one of those huge rotating doors at a hotel where you have to jump in and shuffle along with it. They don't stop for you, you can only get in there as fast as possible or risk loosing a body part. Other automatic doors have beams or pressure sensors that knows right when you're approaching and not to close on you. Same concept for the paintball marker - get 'em in faster to reduce the chopping risk if you don't have eyes. Again, an agitate hopper should feed at least 50% faster than most mechanical markers out there. With an electronic loader, you're less likely to experience chopping due to slow feeding and popcorning.
Finally, you reduce the chance of "popcorning". This happens on a number of markers where air pressure from shooting the marker will vent back up through the feedneck. Gravity fed hoppers are more prone to this since they're not the most consistent of feeders since it can leave gaps in the stack. An electronic hopper will feed more consistently to assure there are maximum balls in the stack so that the popcorning is minimal since the stack should always be full...thus maximum weight pushing down.
So if you have a semi-auto paintball gun, an electronic loader is definitely recommended. You'll only need to get an agitated hopper to get the desired results. If you can afford or know you will upgrade to a marker needing a force fed hopper, then you can invest for now. You'll still benefit even on a semi-auto mechanical marker.
2/7/09
Smart Parts Ion kit with literally everything
I don't use an Ion myself but if you want to buy one. FirstCallPaintball is selling a "evil" ion package for $270. Comes with a barrel kit which is pretty rare for marker packages. The other thing is that you have some room to mix and match - also a rarity for marker packages.http://www.firstcallpaintball.com/store/show_kit/42
What you get for the money:
Smart Parts Ion (Black)
Choice of 48 or 62 ci/3000 psi tanks
Empire tank cover [will only fit the 48ci tank though]
Tank Dust Cover
3 Evil pipe bases (.686/.689/.692)
2 Evil pipe tips (choice of length & colors)
Evil or Extreme Rage pack (your choice)
3 pods 140 rounds capacity
Extreme Rage sounds activated loader or Torque Loudmouth Loader.
2/6/09
Closeout Planet Eclipse Jerseys
Planet Eclipse 07 Distortion Jersey from PaintballGateway for $20 (msrp $55).
Only available in Blue/Yellow & size XL
http://paintballgateway.com/plec07dijebl.html
Looking for some cheap jerseys?
Paintball gateway is closing out the Dye C7 jerseys for $20. Available colors are black/gray (sz MED), black/gold (sz LG/XL), black/olive (sz LG/XL/XXL)
Features:
DYETACK shoulders so your tank doesn't slip
Shoulder padding
Venting on sides, upper back, and upper chest
Reinforced elbows.
http://paintballgateway.com/cloutpaje.html
I want to shoot faster....
It seems that this question will need to be addressed in a number of posts. It's a complex answer that may not be easily addressed with just one post. The thing that I want to start talking about in the first post is why? I've seen question after question about how to get one's marker shooting more than 20 balls per second. Every time, I wonder....Why? Why does someone need to fire at a faster rate than some REAL automatice weapons?
Some of the most feared automatic weapons will shoot at 1000 rounds per minute. That equates to roughly 17 balls per second. If a special forces or navy seal team can work with that rate or less - Why do paintballers need more than that kind of fire power?
I think this boils down to - accuracy by volume or "spray and pray". Rather than address the accuracy issues in paintball, it's easier to just shoot faster. If you can shoot 25 BPS and you're only accurate 10% of the time, a 1 second burst should score a hit. So what's the issue?
First, I've yet to see a marker "legally" hit that rate of fire. Second, who gets to shoot at someone for that long? I think the real remedy would be to improve the accuracy so that the higher rate of fire (ROF) becomes less relevant.
What would I recommend? First, use good paint. You need paintballs that are as similar as possible. Snipers can rely on the fact that each round will have the same flight path as any other. I know that in paintball that is easier said than done but with a higher quality paintball, the variance is much smaller giving you more consistency. So as long as the paintball's flight path is the same (even if its not perfect), you'll be able to improve your accuracy.
Also, the paintball to bore match is crucial. If the paintball is too big, the barrel can cause drag - thus imparting spin - thus inaccuracy. If you get a good paint to bore match, there is little to no spin induced but maximum velocity imparted to the paintball - thus, better accuracy. You can 'overbore' which will reduce the chance of a barrel break but the accuracy is decreased due to the gaps that can occur. Since the paintball is smaller than the barrel, it may or may not affect the trajectory. Again, it's these inaccuracies that seem to lead players to compensate by shooting faster.
If you think I'm not on the right track, have you seen people use pump action markers against you? I have. Why can they stand up to such an overwhelming rate of fire? Accuracy (i.e you don't have it and they do). They usually have honed their skill and marker to increase accuracy. I'm not saying that ROF is bad, but not addressing why you need to shoot so fast will still leave you vulnerable.
Some of the most feared automatic weapons will shoot at 1000 rounds per minute. That equates to roughly 17 balls per second. If a special forces or navy seal team can work with that rate or less - Why do paintballers need more than that kind of fire power?
I think this boils down to - accuracy by volume or "spray and pray". Rather than address the accuracy issues in paintball, it's easier to just shoot faster. If you can shoot 25 BPS and you're only accurate 10% of the time, a 1 second burst should score a hit. So what's the issue?
First, I've yet to see a marker "legally" hit that rate of fire. Second, who gets to shoot at someone for that long? I think the real remedy would be to improve the accuracy so that the higher rate of fire (ROF) becomes less relevant.
What would I recommend? First, use good paint. You need paintballs that are as similar as possible. Snipers can rely on the fact that each round will have the same flight path as any other. I know that in paintball that is easier said than done but with a higher quality paintball, the variance is much smaller giving you more consistency. So as long as the paintball's flight path is the same (even if its not perfect), you'll be able to improve your accuracy.
Also, the paintball to bore match is crucial. If the paintball is too big, the barrel can cause drag - thus imparting spin - thus inaccuracy. If you get a good paint to bore match, there is little to no spin induced but maximum velocity imparted to the paintball - thus, better accuracy. You can 'overbore' which will reduce the chance of a barrel break but the accuracy is decreased due to the gaps that can occur. Since the paintball is smaller than the barrel, it may or may not affect the trajectory. Again, it's these inaccuracies that seem to lead players to compensate by shooting faster.
If you think I'm not on the right track, have you seen people use pump action markers against you? I have. Why can they stand up to such an overwhelming rate of fire? Accuracy (i.e you don't have it and they do). They usually have honed their skill and marker to increase accuracy. I'm not saying that ROF is bad, but not addressing why you need to shoot so fast will still leave you vulnerable.
2/5/09
Kingman FASTA loader - speed feed for $14
If you're looking for a speed feed for your Kingman FASTA loader, here is one company that's making one:
2/4/09
Empire barrel kit for spyder threading - cheap
Just can across a spyder threaded Empire Revolver barrel kit for $50. Seriously! I mean that's the price of some barrels alone. It's 14" with 5 inserts (.684, .688, .690, .692, .696).
http://www.firstcallpaintball.com/store/show/112236
http://www.firstcallpaintball.com/store/show/112236
This barrel kit rates 9.6 out of 10 on pbreview.com.
Vents Avatar paintball mask - also cheap
Here are the Vents Avatar I came across on sale at Paintballgateway.com for $48.50 (usually $65)
Black/Blue - http://www.paintballgateway.com/veavthpagosy1.html
Black/Charcoal - http://www.paintballgateway.com/veavthpagosy4.html
Empire Event Paintball mask yellow - cheap
These are the same as the Vents Avatar paintball mask. I've come across a couple stores selling them real cheap (usually about $65). Yellow only.
PunisherPB.com for $35
PaintballGateway.com for $39.95
2/2/09
I wanted to start a paintball blog for the typical paintall player. There are a lot of places that have information about paintball but most tend to forget the average joe that wants to play paintball. Those that want to compete but not pay thousands of dollars on gear. Those looking for great prices on paintball gear.
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