Best "Woodsball" Gun??
- Thread starter Gingus Khan
- Start date
I've been using Egos for scenario games and walkons for the past 4+ years and they have been bombproof reliable throughout, even when gunked up with water and mud.
There's no such thing as a 'woodsball' gun. Any paintball gun will work just as well in the woods as it does on a sup air field.
A lot of people say 'woodsball' when they mean 'milsim' (styled to resemble a real-steel firearm). In almost every case a normal paintball gun will be a better choice than a milsim one. Milsim styling adds needless bulk and weight while offering no benefits. Their use of high-level stocks or tank-in-stocks is an ergonomic disaster for a gun you have to use with a mask that doesn't need to accomodate any significant recoil and milsim guns in general use outdated valve systems that offer worse efficiency and consistency than more modern designs.
In the vast majority of cases gun failures are caused by o-ring failures or dirty seals. Electronics failures are incredibly rare and the associated benefits (eyes, lighter trigger pull, consistently managed valve dwell) outweigh any potential reliability advantage of having a purely mechanical gun.
Gun and barrel design don't govern accuracy. Any gun shooting a standard paintball at a given velocity will be as accurate as any other. Paint quality does affect accuracy, as does the consistency of the gun - if each shot leaves the barrel at the same velocity, then they're more likely to travel the same distance.
Flatline & Apex barrels don't increase accuracy, only range - at the expense of terminal velocity (less likely to break on impact). Rifled barrels (hammerhead et al) are marketing gimmicks with no improvement in accuracy with standard paint.
Shaped projectiles such as First Strike do offer massive increases in both range and accuracy and can benefit from a rifled barrel. But they're expensive and not all sites will let you use them (plus they're bloody cheating in my opinion!
)
Bore sizing your barrel to match your paint can improve efficiency, but not accuracy.
To choose a gun, decide how much you can afford and then consider what's available new and what's available secondhand - taking into account reliability, consistency, spares availability, weight and size.
My current recommendations for guns are:
- GoG eNMEy as a cheap mech-only option - just over £100 new and offers great performance and simple maintenance.
- Secondhand Empire Axe - £250 will buy you one to great condition that offers all the performance of a top-end modern gun, with an excellent reputation for reliability and superb aftersales support and parts availability.
Once you start getting into the £500+ bracket the world is your oyster secondhand - I'd just recommend you buy as new as possible, as parts can be more difficult to find for older Egos etc.
A lot of people say 'woodsball' when they mean 'milsim' (styled to resemble a real-steel firearm). In almost every case a normal paintball gun will be a better choice than a milsim one. Milsim styling adds needless bulk and weight while offering no benefits. Their use of high-level stocks or tank-in-stocks is an ergonomic disaster for a gun you have to use with a mask that doesn't need to accomodate any significant recoil and milsim guns in general use outdated valve systems that offer worse efficiency and consistency than more modern designs.
In the vast majority of cases gun failures are caused by o-ring failures or dirty seals. Electronics failures are incredibly rare and the associated benefits (eyes, lighter trigger pull, consistently managed valve dwell) outweigh any potential reliability advantage of having a purely mechanical gun.
Gun and barrel design don't govern accuracy. Any gun shooting a standard paintball at a given velocity will be as accurate as any other. Paint quality does affect accuracy, as does the consistency of the gun - if each shot leaves the barrel at the same velocity, then they're more likely to travel the same distance.
Flatline & Apex barrels don't increase accuracy, only range - at the expense of terminal velocity (less likely to break on impact). Rifled barrels (hammerhead et al) are marketing gimmicks with no improvement in accuracy with standard paint.
Shaped projectiles such as First Strike do offer massive increases in both range and accuracy and can benefit from a rifled barrel. But they're expensive and not all sites will let you use them (plus they're bloody cheating in my opinion!
)Bore sizing your barrel to match your paint can improve efficiency, but not accuracy.
To choose a gun, decide how much you can afford and then consider what's available new and what's available secondhand - taking into account reliability, consistency, spares availability, weight and size.
My current recommendations for guns are:
- GoG eNMEy as a cheap mech-only option - just over £100 new and offers great performance and simple maintenance.
- Secondhand Empire Axe - £250 will buy you one to great condition that offers all the performance of a top-end modern gun, with an excellent reputation for reliability and superb aftersales support and parts availability.
Once you start getting into the £500+ bracket the world is your oyster secondhand - I'd just recommend you buy as new as possible, as parts can be more difficult to find for older Egos etc.
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Many mechanical guns will work when submerged in water. Even electronic guns can - it just needs to not get a short circuit in the water. Some boards are coated and waterproof, if the grip (and trigger setup) keeps the water out then it will work
But that's irrelevant - woodsballers don't play underwater
In bad weather the players will give up before the guns do (if the gun is maintained)
Rain does not submerge a paintball gun, put your lid back on the hopper if you use a speedfeed.
There is no such thing as the best woodsball gun, all paintball guns are different and have different features. If you want ergonomics, efficiency etc then look towards the dedicated paintball designs (electronic or mechanical)
But that's irrelevant - woodsballers don't play underwater
In bad weather the players will give up before the guns do (if the gun is maintained)
Rain does not submerge a paintball gun, put your lid back on the hopper if you use a speedfeed.
There is no such thing as the best woodsball gun, all paintball guns are different and have different features. If you want ergonomics, efficiency etc then look towards the dedicated paintball designs (electronic or mechanical)
I eecond that any marker that you feel comfortable with is as good as any other. And the under water vid was just a bit of fun I would never do that with any of my guns!
The enmey is a very undervalued mech in my opinion! It cuts the mustard with the big boy mechs! Its just the stupid smart parts thread that I dislike. Why cant all the manufacturers just go with cocker thread as an industry standard thread?
The enmey is a very undervalued mech in my opinion! It cuts the mustard with the big boy mechs! Its just the stupid smart parts thread that I dislike. Why cant all the manufacturers just go with cocker thread as an industry standard thread?
Although I'd love to see everyone standardise on single barrel thread, I actually prefer the GoG/SP thread over the cocker one - quicker to do/undo and doesn't shake itself loose. Some of the recent Empire guns such as the Vanquish have been coming with a faster version of the AC thread and I've heard that PE might move to the revised thread in the future too.