New 50 Cal. Paintball Guns By Spyder

A .50 cal. paintball gun may sound much more deadly than the paintball guns we have now. After all, real 50 cal. guns are the chosen weapon for snipers and people who want a really powerful punch. However, most paintball guns today fire a .68 caliber round, which is substantially larger than a .50 cal. round. So what gives these paintball guns an advantage against other .68 caliber guns?

First of all, they use less air. It takes less air to move the smaller .50 caliber round than a .68 caliber round. Because of this, you can get more shots out of one tank. Spyder advertises about 3500 shots from a typically 20 oz. tank. That is more than enough for a day of paintball, even if you are a little trigger happy at times.

Because a .50 cal. round carries less energy at 300 fps than a .68 cal. round, there is going to be a little less pain, which is good if you are playing with little kids who can't tolerate as much as adults can. If you do the math (Ke=1/2(M x V)²), the kinetic energy from the impact of a .68 cal. round is around 13 joules, compared to the 5 joules of a .50 cal round.

A .50 cal round is quite a bit smaller than a .68 cal round as well. This means that you can hold more paintballs in a standard hopper than with normal sized paintballs. You can also hold more in pods as well, allowing you to stay on the field longer and fire more shots without reloading.

A .50 cal paintball gun also is lighter, which will benefit you in many ways. No one likes carrying a heavy gun around, and having a lighter one will let you run play longer without tiring as quick. It is also more compact than a .68 caliber gun, which is a huge plus if you play speedball and need to hide behind a bunker that is small.

These guns are also much more economical than a typical .68 caliber gun. 50 caliber paintballs cost less to manufacture, so they end up being cheaper. And because they use less air, you won't have to fill your tanks up as often, which saves you gas money as well as the money you would have used filling up the tank.

Spyder is currently the only major paintball manufacturer that produces .50 caliber paintball guns. They make four models: the Opus, the Opus-A, the Stormer, and the Advancer. I have no doubt that other companies will start to jump on the .50 cal bandwagon in the future. The prices vary from model to model, with the Opus starting out at just $79.75. If you are looking for a cheap paintball gun, this is it.

As with all new technology, there will be a few things to iron out. But in 2-3 years, .50 cal paintball guns may be just as common as the .68 caliber ones. Just remember when you play to be safe and have fun!