Are Paintball Guns Loud? Learn the Truth Here Today!!

One thing you should do before you even consider buying a paintball gun, is to understand how much noise it’s going to make.

It doesn’t matter if you are using your paintball gun at the official site or somewhere in your neighborhood, the noise coming from your paintball gun might bother people and also causes some unwanted issues.

With that said, I don’t think paintball guns are loud at all. You can always find different extent of sounds that paintball markers produce, though it all depends on the model of the gun and the quality of the design.

Are Paintball Guns Loud?

As mentioned earlier, paintball guns are not loud. The only thing you’ll notice when firing your marker is that it makes a hissing sound, while very few produce a popping noise. The actual noise of the gun varies base on the quality of the paintball marker, whether it’s mechanical or electronic, and a few other internal factors.

In this article you’ll learn everything you need to about the noise levels of both mechanical and electronic paintball guns and the part of the gun that actually changes the sound.

Paintball Gun Noise Levels: Mechanical vs Electronic

What is a Mechanical Paintball Gun?

Mechanical paintball guns are usually run on either CO2 or compressed air and are relatively easy to setup and use even if you are a complete beginner.

These guns are usually known to be cheaper compared to electronic markers and are readily available for those who are just starting out in the sport.

The biggest downsides that comes with this is the fact that it’s not as fast, accurate, or consistent as electronic guns.

What is a Electronic Paintball Gun?

Electronic paintball guns also referred as electro pneumatic guns, fired paintballs by using battery powered circuit boards that activate solenoids which actually causes the gun to fire. These paintball guns are normally run with a battery that can be charged through a 12V wall outlet.

The only drawback with this is that you might need to carry an extra battery with you if you are planning on playing for an entire day.

Another thing with these markers is the fact that they cost considerably more than mechanical markers and are not readily available.

Mechanical Paintball Gun Sound

Mechanical paintball guns tend to be a lot louder compared to their electronic counterparts. This is due to the gas or release which usually causes a popping noise, although you may notice that some mechanical guns also produce a hiss.

If you should ever purchase a cheap low quality mechanical paintball gun, you’ll certainly realize that it is much louder than almost all gun that you have used. One of the main reason for this is because it doesn’t have anything that is capable of lowering the sound or simply reducing the impact of the CO2 or compressed air, which results in heavier kickback and volume.

When comparing both paintball guns, you will find out that the average mechanical paintball gun will almost always sound louder than an electronic paintball gun. However, there is a chance of you getting a high end mechanical paintball gun that’s pretty much quieter compared to the cheaper options.

If you want to play paintball with your friends and family, but you have to be quiet in your neighborhood, it’s best to invest in an electronic paintball gun. They are considered to be much quieter and you’ll still get a very powerful marker.

If you want you can take a look at this superb quality mechanical paintball gun, the Planet Eclipse EMEK 100 on Amazon.

Electronic Paintball Gun Sound

These paintball marker usually makes a hissing noise. The noise is relatively low – you’d have to put your ears very near to actually hear it. With that said, it’s almost impossible to hear a high end electronic paintball gun if the marker is of great quality.

If the marker quality is not superb, then the noise may be on the higher end which is why we only recommend investing in high end paintball guns. Even if the noise is a bit louder, you won’t be that bad since you will only hear a louder hiss that is still hard to hear without listening closely.

We really appreciate that the battery of an electronic paintball gun doesn’t make any form of sound, so the only sound from an electronic paintball gun comes from the bolt, projectile, valves and the spring.

Here are a list of two of my personal favorite electronic paintball guns on the market. You can both markers on Amazon today.

Empire Paintball Empire Axe Marker – High-End Marker

Spyder Fenix Electronic Paintball Gun – Eye-Catching Design

How the Bolt and Valve Impacts a Paintball Gun’s Sound

The bolt and valve are two key parts of a paintball gun – both can seriously impact the noise level of a marker.

The valve in a paintball gun definitely changes the volume. The reason for this is because of the sound that it produces made by more or less air efficiency.

You should keep in mind that a spool valve tends to be much quieter and it comes with a very little recoil compared to the other valve types. It also weighs a bit less, although you won’t really know the weight difference in most cases.

The main disadvantage of the spool valve is the fact that it isn’t really air efficient, meaning it uses more air when shot. This normally result in you having to change out the cartridges more often.

Another downside that comes with using a spool valve is that it requires much more maintenance on the O-ring. First of all the O-rings are also much more sensitive to lubricant, which can cause damage to the valve quickly if not done correctly.

The other type of valve used in paintball gun is called a poppet valve. These valves are known to be much more efficient, using significantly less pressure per shot. This will end up saving you money and time replacing cartridges in addition to the ease of O-ring maintenance.

One thing you will notice is that the kickback is a bit more in a poppet valve, although it’s still not much of an problem in any paintball. As you can see the biggest downside to the poppet valve is that they are louder than the spool valves.

Another thing that might be an issue is the additional weight that comes with the poppet valve, but a lot of players seems to enjoy the increase. It even makes the paintball gun a bit easier to control, lowering the aim sensitivity and creating a more durable gun all around. The weight of a poppet valve is great if you prefer the realistic side of paintball.

How to Increase the Volume of a Paintball Gun

Even though a lot of people prefer to have a paintball gun that’s quiet, some wants to increase the sound.

Increasing the sound of your paintball gun will give you a more realistic military feel when on the battlefield. It’s also good to have a paintball gun that’s a bit noisy due to the fact that it will notify other people of your presence to prevent unwanted injuries.

Here are a few ways which you can increase the volume of your paintball gun.

Invest in a mechanical paintball gun instead of an electronic paintball gun

Get yourself a paintball gun with a poppet valve or simply replace the valve in your current setup

There are a few barrel attachments that can help to echo the volume, increasing it and altering the sound a bit

The tiny holes around the porting usually lowers the volume. What you can do is use an electrical tape to seal a few of the holes to increase the volume produced from the barrel

Conclusion

In this article, we’ve explained everything you need about paintball gun noise level. As you can see paintball guns can be loud or relatively quiet, depending on several influential factors. Another thing you should keep in mind when buying a paintball gun is that mechanical paintball guns are much louder compared to electronic paintball guns.

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