| Paintball guns come in many varieties. However, the | | | | feed more than eight paintballs per second reliably and |
| biggest differences are not in the guns as much as | | | | on a consistent basis. They commonly jam up paintball |
| they are in the hoppers or loaders. These are the | | | | guns and occasionally force paintballs to pile up above |
| components of the guns, or "markers", which store and | | | | the tube. |
| load ammo. | | | | - Agitating - Agitating hoppers for guns use a propeller |
| Anywhere from 40 to 300 paintballs can be held by | | | | inside of the container. These small fan blades prevent |
| different loaders. The size of the hopper will affect the | | | | the paintballs from jamming up the neck of the gun. |
| weight of the gun. The speed and reliability of the | | | | This allows the gun to be fired at a more accelerated |
| marker is also greatly affected by the hopper type, | | | | pace than that of the gravity loaders. |
| especially when it comes to mechanized options. | | | | - Force-feed - These hoppers use a device to |
| Even though there are many types of these loaders | | | | capture paintballs and then force them into the marker. |
| available on the market today, they all mostly fall into a | | | | The device is often spring-loaded or powered by a |
| few primary categories. These categories are | | | | belt system. These kinds of hoppers are frequently |
| gravity-feed, agitating and force-feed. Stick feeds are | | | | found in guns of professional, tournament-playing |
| another form of loader, though they are not commonly | | | | paintballers because they are among the only guns |
| referred to as "hoppers." | | | | that are able to keep up with that form of accelerated |
| Here is a brief overview of these different loader | | | | play. Force-feed hoppers continue to be developed |
| categories: | | | | and have advanced in recent years. Many offer a |
| - Stick feeds - Stick feeds are most often used on | | | | digital readout of how many paintballs remain within the |
| pump-operated guns. They consist of simple tubes that | | | | loader. The newest types even use wireless |
| are capable of holding about two dozen paintballs. | | | | communication to efficiently continue feeding the |
| Most stick feeds are parallel to the barrel of the gun. | | | | paintballs before the pneumatic system of the gun has |
| The next paintball is always loaded by rocking the gun | | | | even started the cycle for the next shot. A system |
| slightly forward. Even though some stick feeds are | | | | like this is desirable as it near completely eliminates |
| vertical to facilitate gravity feeding, these guns are not | | | | misfeeds. Of course, it also greatly increases the |
| always reliable. The horizontal versions are a common | | | | speed of the loader. In addition to all this, it may even |
| requirement for stock paintball play. The concept of | | | | extend battery life by minimizing any extra work done |
| stock paintball is to enforce limitations on game play, so | | | | by the gun. As companies continue to receive |
| that it resembles the sport as it was originally born. | | | | feedback from users of paintball guns, it is likely that |
| This may be done for added challenge or simply to | | | | there will be continual advancements made on this |
| save money. | | | | style of marker in particular. Force-feed hoppers and |
| - Gravity feeds - A person who is looking for a simple | | | | agitating hoppers are designed to fire paintballs more |
| and a cheap hopper for his or her gun will usually | | | | quickly than the other varieties. Still, there is a chance |
| choose a gravity feed. These hoppers consist of a | | | | that these can fail at performing their function. The |
| large container as well as a feed tube that is placed at | | | | most common circumstance under which these guns |
| the bottom. Although these hoppers are able to feed | | | | fail is when they come into contact with moisture. |
| more than eight balls per second, they are not able to | | | | |