Not quite a gun, but not quite a speedball marker either. The pump-action paintball rifles are a unique array of markers that change the pace and mechanics of the sport of paintball.
I wouldn't recommend you use a pump-action paintball marker against electronic or standard mechanical speedball markers, when everyone is playing with the same pump-action style marker, then you're in for a great game. Playing a game with pump-action only guns provides a very unique game compared to a standard game.
With pump action games, accuracy is key. Pacing is key. Maintaining the right angles gives you an incredible advantage over the other team. If you see your enemy first, and you are capable enough to take him down in one shot, you win. Using pump-action paintball guns makes for a more tactical game.
Pump-action paintball tournaments emphasize the finer skills of paintball players compared to speedball. The slower pace of the game and the absence of automatic rifles, prioritize accuracy and incredible spatial awareness over ground coverage and an aptitude for long distance combat.
You will find yourself sweating from ear to toe by the first fire-fight you manage to stumble into.
Before we delve into the details of all my top picks, let me first summarize my choices for best pump action paintball guns:
That said, let's get to the details!
The first marker on the list as the best overall pump action paintball marker is the Azodin KP3.5 KAOS, perhaps, the most well-balanced marker on the market if you compare the overall price of the gun to the experience you get while using it on the field.
The KP3.5’s frame is spacious and simple and offers the user an easy-to-become-acclimated-to marker suitable for all paintball game modes. Protruding from the frame are two, firm, stainless steel rods over which the pump of the gun (responsible for loading each paintball into the chamber) slides.
These two, metal rods give the pump extra stability to allow for quicker reaction speeds and smoothness in the heat of battle when everyone’s trigger finger gets a little more spastic. Though the Delrin Pump handle itself is plastic, with its wide grip and two supporting rods, the feeling of it matches the quality of any other gun you can find for the same price or more.
Included with the gun, are Azodin’s specialty, ZeRO System springs which serve to lower the air pressure building up behind each paintball loaded in the barrel down to two-hundred and thirty psi.
This prevents any paintballs from popping before it is flung into the air and manages to silence the shot of the gun as well. Another perk from the lower air pressure is that it reduces the recoil of the gun which increases accuracy.
Located at the bottom of the main grip is the Azodin KP3.5’s ASA lever that allows you to quickly shut off air flow to the barrel and prevent any accidental injuries. It is important to note that the KP3.5 uses compressed air, exclusively.
Though it may seem like a downside to being unable to choose between compressed air and CO2, this exclusion will result in more consistent shots and less money being wasted on the more expensive, CO2.
It is not advised to use CO2 cartridges with this gun as CO2 is contained at very low temperature and can possibly damage your hose line or O -rings.
The gun also comes with a fourteen-inch, two-piece barrel that is auto cocker threaded and suitable for a variety of barrel inserts. The gun maintains an incredibly ergonomic design with the only exception being an external, air hose, though it makes for easier maintenance.
The KP3.5 is an amazingly simple, inexpensive gun that proves itself to be one of the best pump action markers for players of all experience levels. The marker weighs a little over two-and-a-half pounds yet will pack a whopping punch on whatever field you take it to.
It’s no coincidence that two of Azodin’s products have been mentioned so quickly. The Azodin KPC is my choice as the best budget pump action marker for being one of the most-functional, budget friendly markers on the market.
It is about one-hundred dollars less than its cousin the KP3.5 but offers its own individual set of capabilities within the “skeletal” nature of the marker itself. The KPC, unlike the KP3.5, is able to handle both CO2 and compressed air for those who enjoy the liberty to choose their medium of choice.
The KPC comes with a single-piece, fourteen-inch barrel that operates at about three-hundred and fifty psi. Although it doesn’t offer any auto-trigger functionality, the pump of the marker comes pre-modded to allow for a smoother pull-back.
This mod is called the “hitman mod” and attaches a “trigger-like” bit of metal on the bottom of the pump so that it can be pulled back quicker and more comfortably. The grip of the pump, itself, is significantly thinner than the KP3.5, and can sometimes wiggle here and there.
Prepackaged with the frame, come wrenches that allow the user to immediately disassemble the gun without having to purchase an additional toolkit when something goes amiss.
A downside to the simplicity of the marker’s package is that with the KPC’s .689 singular barrel. This barrel isn't easily converted to other calibers, unlike the KP3.5 KAOS. (No one likes to see their paintballs roll down the barrel and fall on the ground because they are using the wrong caliber ball!)
Other than that, the KPC manages to come in a close second with its close-relative, the KP3.5 KAOS.
The Tippman SL-68 II maintains Tippman’s classic reputation as being the foremost company amongst all others in producing long-lasting, technological boundary-breaking products for paintball players of all tastes and experiences.
The frame of the gun is elegant in a simple and gritty kind of way, likened only to that which the Americans feel when watching some hero of the west sling his legendary revolver. When carrying this gun around, you feel dignified even when subject to the oppressive, weight of some, long-since lost game.
The gun’s frame donnes a black and silver finish and weighs a tad over two pounds. With its solid metal frame, the marker feigns the brilliancy of a weapon much more powerful than it is.
Ergonomically, the marker is designed so that the pump requires less movement to reload each paintball into the chamber which, increases the fire-rate of your weapon. On top of this, the gun has a functional auto-trigger rig which offers the player an incredible advantage over those with markers that have dreadfully slow fire-rates.
The handle grip of the Tippmann SL-68 II is composed of one solid, metal piece of high-quality aluminum (just like the main frame), and is perfectly shaped for those with much wider grips.
Although the pump handle, itself, is plastic, the majority of the marker is metal and maintains that aura of being a high-value piece of technology. Located at the very bottom of the main-grip is the marker’s ASA switch, which allows one to quickly shut off the air pressure coming from the CO2 or compressed-air canister.
Also located on the bottom of the main-grip and the fore-grip are notches that allow for a sling attachment to ease the process of carrying the marker while it is inactive.
The marker is incredibly simple to maintain and is suitable for players of all experience levels, as there are exceptionally few mechanical bits used inside of the gun. If duty calls and you find yourself needing to dig deep inside the gun to fix some broken bit, or unclog a lost paintball; you need only to loosen a single screw holding the base of the barrel to the frame.
Inside of the barrel, lie one spring, one valve, and one O-ring. It’s that simple. The Tippmann SL-68 II is a perfect testimony to the reality that complex problems many times require simple solutions, and that such solutions are the best.
The only noticeable downside to the gun on the field is the fact that when the barrel is loaded with a paintball and angled downwards, the ammo will fall out.
Furthermore, the gun has no capacity to attach a different-sized bore nor any other type of barrel.
For a little over three-hundred and fifty dollars and a little under three-and-a-half pounds, the Empire Paintball Sniper offers the player with a gorgeous, solidly-built frame and two plush grips rested on the handle and around the pump.
The marker has a two-piece, fourteen-inch barrel that is auto cocker threaded and easily dismantled to make for easy storage when not in use and straight-forward maintenance for beginners.
On top of its external barrel, the marker also comes with a three-piece set of barrel inserts that allow you to more freely choose whichever caliber, paintball ammo you wish (this prevents the unnecessary loss of paintball via falling from the barrel).
The marker comes with an auto-trigger for rapid firing, as well. At the bottom of the foregrip lies the CO2, ASA switch, and at the top of the foregrip there is a pressure gauge. The gun comes with a comprehensive manual to help beginners set up and maintain their marker more easily.
The gun also has an extra hopper attachment that increases the number of paintballs you can fit into your hopper by ten. The paintballs fire at two-hundred and twenty-five psi, though the gun has been known to be able to operate at two-hundred and forty psi.
The low air-pressure behind your shot allows you to maintain higher accuracy at farther ranges and prevents serious injury at close range.
The Empire Paintball Sniper is a straightforward, pump-action marker that speaks more on the field than it does on any article. Whether you are a newer player or have been playing all your life, this gun will serve you well.
Like all other paintball shotgun markers, the Valken Gotcha Paintball Marker, a tactical variant of their shotgun is spring loaded rather than powered by CO2 or compressed air.
The pump-action, shotgun marker will also require smaller, paintball pellets than your usual marker. They require .50 caliber as opposed to the more commonly used .68 caliber.
The hopper, unfortunately, is sold separately. For the mothers and fathers who what to provide the safest possible environment for their danger-prone children, the Valcan Gotcha marker makes for the safest paintball experience for your kids while assuring you that they will have the best time, of their mischievous careers, using this marker.
This paintball marker is intended for closer contact games, the shotgun variants of the pump-action paintball gun line has a decreased velocity to prevent any serious or mild injuries at close range. Though, this is not to say that they should be used carelessly.
If you’re looking for the cheapest alternative to all other pump-action markers and want to cut out any unnecessary spending on CO2 or compressed-air, the JT Splatmaster Z300 is the best suited marker on this list.
The JT Splatmaster Z300 is completely mechanical. Instead of using CO2 or compressed air, the marker pushes each paintball out with a spring. The paintball marker uses .50 caliber ammunition (like the Valcan Gotcha) and can fire them accurately to up to one-hundred and twenty feet.
Though the frame is composed primarily of plastic, you’ll get every penny out of it. Like the Valcan Gotcha, the JT Splatmaster Z300 is suitable for paintball players of all ages and weighs slightly over three pounds.
As the third variant of the JT Splatmaster, the Z300 perfected all the inadequacies of its previous models. Not only does the marker come with a built-in iron sight, but a stock, as well, which makes for a much more versatile marker and provides a surprising quality to the feel of the gun.
Whether you intend to buy this gun as a present for your children, or battle it out against friends and competitors, the JT Splatmaster Z300 will prove itself to be a great gun for a cheap price.
If none of the other guns on the list seem to satiate the ever-growing hunger in your chest for the best, pump-action paintball gun on the market, then the CCM S6.5 is your fatefully ordained, companion. Although these days, they are hard to get your hands on. Supply chain issues due to COVID had made it hard to get these guns!
This seemingly supernatural weapon of mass destruction has accrued for itself-more than any other pump-action marker-a legendary status amongst paintball enthusiasts as being one of the greatest pump-action markers ever made.
Of course, with its status comes a hefty price tag and prerequisite for skill. Not only does this marker come with an auto-trigger mechanism, but a sleek, shiny frame and singular-piece, eleven-inch barrel that seem to hum, together, a subtle hymn from the very streams of Nirvana.
The pump is positioned closer to the foregrip to make for more sturdy handling and is shaped in such a way as to fit your fingers plushly. From the color variations to the incredible functionality and repore of the CCM S6.5, there are no sequence of words or phrases left that adequately express how well-endowed a paintball player is when in possession of this gun.
Besides the hefty, price-tag there are no negative aspects to this gun, and it will serve anyone that uses it, well.
Technically speaking, there is no well-defined difference between a CO2-powered, paintball marker and a pump-action, paintball marker.
There are quite a few pump-action markers that take CO2 or compressed-air. If you are looking to make a decision between one or the other, you’d get the most quality out of a CO2-powered, paintball gun.
A strictly, mechanical paintball marker, though it will have less-complicated moving parts, will break down easier and prove to be inadequate for competitive play as a primary weapon. A CO2-powered, paintball marker will provide a means for a player to shoot at greater distances with much greater accuracy.
On top of this, CO2-powered markers will shoot paintballs at higher velocities than fully mechanical, pump-action, paintball markers. If you are looking for a competitive experience using pump-action markers, use CO2 powered guns as most strictly mechanical, markers will not operate as efficiently.
However, if your intention is to find a quirky, marker that is nowhere near as dangerous as a competitive marker, or are planning a surprise gift for someone much-too-young to be playing around with weapons, an entirely, mechanical marker would be the best choice out of the two.
The differences between the three of these guns is proportional to the differences between a blow dart, an A-K 47, and an L-SAT. You’d need to be in a trance of some sort to head out with a pump-action rifle into a field armed to the teeth with mechanical and electronic markers.
Mechanical and Electronic markers on average have much harsher velocities behind their shots than a pump action rifle. In addition to this, they are capable of semi-automatic and fully-automatic firing rates which render your rifle useless due to how quickly and intensely such firing mode will dominate areas of the field.
Mechanical and Electric, paintball markers will also have higher air pressure built up behind each shot, with the Electronic marker having the highest psi and the pump-action having the lowest psi.
Simple mechanics (less components required to shoot the paintball), Require more skill to use competently due to the slower fire-rate and low velocity when used against mechanical and/or electro pneumatic markers.
It is not recommended that players new to the sport use pump-action markers in tournament play or against the other types of markers, though the more skillful players use them to practice their accuracy, to improve their reaction speed and their overall game intelligence.
It should be noted that there are pump-action markers that can be found that do not use compressed air or CO2, though such guns are usually shotgun variants catering to younger players.
Mechanical, paintball markers are similar to the pump-action rifles, though offer a faster fire-rate and a more complex design. Rather than having to pull some pump in order to load a paintball into your marker’s chamber, mechanical markers automatically sift ammo into the barrel as you pull the trigger to open up a valve that releases all of the air pressure behind the pellet and shoots it through the tip.
Such markers are the most commonly used in tournament play, both by beginners and well-seasoned competitors.
When using an electronic marker, one will feel his shots firing more smoothly out of the barrel than with a pump-action or a mechanical, paintball gun. The marker will be doing most of the work without mechanical friction, resulting in quieter shots and less recoil.
With an electronic marker, one will be able to pick between a semi-automatic and fully-automatic, firing-rate. Electronic markers will often cost more than mechanical and pump-action markers and will need to be charged as often as their batteries require.
An auto trigger is a mechanical setting on specifically designed paintball markers to allow the player to maintain a faster fire-rate on pump-action paintball guns by just pumping the barrel rather than pumping to reload and pressing the trigger to fire.
With this setting activated, it is possible to hold down the trigger and fire a shot with every stroke of the pump. Having an auto-trigger functionality on any pump-action paintball gun can significantly increase the number of hits you get per game and will definitely give you a beneficial advantage over the opposite team if they, themselves, don’t have it.
Can it compete with a mechanical or electronic marker? Most-definitely not. But there is no need to compare stone tools with iron.
Empire Paintball Sniper Pump Marker Review
Azodin KP3.5 KAOS Review
Tippmann Cronus Review
Empire BT DFender Review
