Paintballs: Finding the Right Match For Your Paintball Gun

Why do some paintballs work better in my marker than others? This is a question that we get on a daily basis. The answer is that unlike humans, paintballs are not created equal. Paint will differ in many areas such as quality, size, fill consistency and shell thickness. The key point to always keep in mind is that no two paintballs are exactly the same size. Although better paint will typically have a more uniform size, there is still some slight variation that may cause fluctuations in performance. Although most boxes will simply list the size as being .68 caliber. When selecting a paintball, keep in mind that most manufacturers make paint in the range of .675 - .695, rarely is paint produced at .680. That's a lot of variation. Paintball matching is one technique that you can use to determine whether a specific paintball is a good fit for your gun. When we say 'fit', we're making reference to the barrel on your gun. Barrels will also differ in bore, therefore good paintball matching to your barrel is key to getting better accuracy and performance per shot. Some people know the bore of their barrel already and a few manufacturers will list their paint size to the 10 thousands position (0.000) making matching an easy task. Often this is not the case though. Initially, we recommend purchasing a few small packs of paintballs from different manufacturers. Take the barrel off your gun. Now insert one paintball into your barrel. If the paintball simply rolls out, you know it's too small for the barrel you are using. If the ball stays in the barrel, attempt to blow it out using your mouth. A perfectly matched paintball will not roll out of the barrel nor get stuck but simply blow out with very slight resistence. If you attempt to blow the ball out and no air can get down the barrel, the paint is too large. What you are doing is recreating how the airflow travels down the barrel around the paintball, just on a smaller scale. Good paintball matching will have a dramatic effect on accuracy and distance. There are resources online that will list specific barrel bores and paintball sizes. Your best bet will always be trial and error and using the paintball matching technique.

Aside from paintball matching, selecting a paintball of higher quality is key. Although most come with a higher price, you will get what you pay for. Top level paintballs will have a superior shell, uniform size and better quality fill. This all adds up to better performance and a more enjoyable day in the field.