Shot count. What is good, what is not, when buying second hand marker?

[Darr89]

I've noticed that when people are advertising a second hand marker they ofter put the shot count down. Some will be low, like 4,000 and some I've seen are around 50,000. I'm guessing that the more a marker is fired the more wear it has suffered therefore leading to bits eith having to be replaced, or a new gun bought. Am I correct in saying that?

When looking for second hand markers, what is considered to be a:

A) Low shot count?
B) Average shot count?
C) High shot count?

 

[Garideon]

Yes and no, if it's shot tens of thousands of balls then you know it's broken in. A fully broken in marker will shoot amazing.

How do you know if the markers any good if its only shot 2 cases of paint? It could be a dud.

Also I know some people who shoot nearly 5 cases of paint in a weekend. So 5 months down the line there could be 100000 on the clock. So it's not old but well used and you know it actually works and hasn't been in a kitbag gathering dust.

Sometimes high shot counts doesn't always mean it's been fired that many times. People practice walking the trigger so that adds to the count and you can do that without even having a bottle on.

There's always pros and cons to high and low shot counts. Number doesn't mean much. Aslong as its being services and maintained properly it will last ages.

You can reset some markers so you won't actually know how much it's been fired so you could buy an 'as new' marker of someone thinking is only had 2 cases through it but could actually have had 50 through it.

Forget about numbers. Check for breach wear, damaged threads and also try before you buy. Shoot it over he chrono, if it's +/- 2 fps then it's a keeper no matter how many balls have been through it.

These are all my own opinions and what I've learnt since starting

 

[Darr89]

Yes and no, if it's shot tens of thousands of balls then you know it's broken in. A fully broken in marker will shoot amazing.

How do you know if the markers any good if its only shot 2 cases of paint? It could be a dud.

Also I know some people who shoot nearly 5 cases of paint in a weekend. So 5 months down the line there could be 100000 on the clock. So it's not old but well used and you know it actually works and hasn't been in a kitbag gathering dust.

Sometimes high shot counts doesn't always mean it's been fired that many times. People practice walking the trigger so that adds to the count and you can do that without even having a bottle on.

There's always pros and cons to high and low shot counts. Number doesn't mean much. Aslong as its being services and maintained properly it will last ages.

You can reset some markers so you won't actually know how much it's been fired so you could buy an 'as new' marker of someone thinking is only had 2 cases through it but could actually have had 50 through it.

Forget about numbers. Check for breach wear, damaged threads and also try before you buy. Shoot it over he chrono, if it's +/- 2 fps then it's a keeper no matter how many balls have been through it.

These are all my own opinions and what I've learnt since starting

Okay, thank you for the info, it's It's a bit difficult for me to try before I buy if I buy second hand from this forum or another site, so is there anything I should be looking for in pictures, or questions I should be asking before purchasing?

Thanks Garideon

 

[dave t]

buy from reputable sellers

 

[jfp]

Personally I have never really bothered with shot count, I mean I have only been paintballing a few years so am unsure of what a high shot count will really do to a marker, but to my understanding o-rings will always need replacing regardless of how well or un well you treat your marker (although keep it lubed etc and they will last a lot longer) as for everything else as long as the marker is looked after it should be fine Dye markers for instance have no record of shot count on the board

 

[Garideon]

buy from reputable sellers

Agree, do a little research on the person before buying the marker. Ask for a shooting video to make sure it's leak free.