Electric Or Semi?
In today's sport there are many different types of Semi-Automatic paintball markers. These guns can differ a lot from each other. They can vary in cost, and especially performance. There are two types of Semi-Automatic markers, either Electro-Pneumatic or Semi-Pneumatic. The main difference of the two is that in an electo-pneumatic marker there are circuits controlling many parts of the gun, mainly the trigger. In a Semi-pneumatic marker there are no electric parts within in the gun to help fire the marker.
The question for many paintballers today is Should I go Electric? Or should I stay with a regular semi? This is not an easy question to answer; it matters on a lot different things. From how you play the sport, what type of game you play, and how much money you have to spend on a new gun.
Lets talk about Semi-Pneumatic markers first. Most of these guns are great. They are reliable, easy to fix, and cheap to upgrade. There is a wide variety of markers to choose from in this category. And almost every marker has many upgrades. And for most guns, if you wanted you could even make them Electric by adding a new frame or other parts.
When owning a Semi there are some better qualities then owning an Electric gun. For example most semis have better range and accuracy over and electric gun. One reason for the better accuracy is because some Electric guns have a kick to them that you would not notice because you are not firing as fast. Range is better in certain Semi guns such as Autocockers because most of the time you do not have to worry about drop-off (which is when less air is getting to the ball, which makes for a lower velocity and lower range.) which occurs in firing at a high ROF (rate of fire). You also do not have to worry a lot about the tear and wear of your gun. Most of the time you can bang a semi against a rock and it will be fine, because you do not have to worry about expensive electric parts. You dont even have to worry about a battery to keep charged most of the time electric guns dont worry about this anyway, but still. With a Semi gun you can run it off of CO2, most of the time, which is cheaper then, compressed air or nitrogen.
Competition is also what is on a lot of Semi owners minds. The question about competing against electric markers always comes up. To tell you the truth it doesnt really matter much. If you have a well-tuned Semi-Pneumatic marker you can take out any Electric gun. The most important thing is your skill, accuracy, and speed over his. Most professional players also prefer their upgraded Autocockers to electric guns. There is nothing better then a well-tuned upgraded Semi-Pneumatic gun.
Now for the Electric guns and what is good about them. The trigger pull on an electric gun is a lot easier unless it is set otherwise. If you hand a Bushmaster to a player who is use to his Spyder, I guarantee he will shoot the front of his own bunker at least once. It happened to me the first time I played with an Angel. Another difference in most electric markers is that there is more then one mode of fire. You can have anywhere from 3 modes of fire to 26 programmable modes of fire like on the Angel. Most of the time however even more then one mode of fire is useless, because in most fields and tournaments only Semi-Automatic fire is allowed. And there is a rumor going around that if you compete in the NPPL you must have a gun that only has Semi-Automatic guns. That means even locking down your other modes is not allowed. You can however buy a new electric board for your gun. With some electric guns there is only semi-automatic also, such as the Diablo Matrix.
To tell you the truth I play with one for a few reasons. For one it fits the type of game I like to play, very fast with a lot of paint flying. I also cannot pull the trigger very fast on most Semi-Pneumatic guns, I prefer to just tap a trigger. But if I had enough money for a good Autococker such as a DYE I would definitely take that over my current marker. My word of advise for you is simple, If you like your current marker stick with it, dont bother upgrading just because you notice more Angels around your field.
So remember Keep ballin, have fun, and play safe
Written by: Brannon Fissette
& Matt Carter.
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