Paintball Guns – 43 or 68 Caliber?

In recent years, paintball guns have become more widely available. It was around the early 2000s that paintball guns started to make a comeback. They died later in the ’90s because of the hyped up semi-cars that were highly sought after. Paintball players wanted faster markers that could take them out of the old 12 gram style of play. Now that paintball players have become familiar with the new technology, guns have returned to the spotlight.

More and more paintball players are looking for a reliable backup gun to take into the woods.

Today, paintball has become a sport of various calibers. By multiple caliber, I mean projectiles of different sizes are fired. Two rounds commonly found to be used by paintball guns are .43 and .68 caliber rounds. Most paintball guns use these rounds.

The general rule of thumb is that the smaller the caliber, the more shots you can expect to get per 12 gram CO2 cartridge, which is exactly what paintball guns power. However, the downside to using a smaller caliber pistol is that they tend to not shoot as far or as accurately. This is due to basic physics, as the mass of the projectile is lighter, allowing it to react to air and wind resistance on a different level than the heavier .68 caliber round.

To determine which pistol caliber is best for you, you must choose which features are most important. If you choose a .43 caliber paintball gun, then you’ll need to purchase and use separate paintballs from the ones your primary marker uses. While you would assume that .43 caliber paintballs would be cheaper, they aren’t always. They cost about the same as .68 caliber paintballs. However, some players like to have a pistol that fires smaller rounds because they feel it simulates the real deal effectively. In the end, it all comes down to preference.