How Far Can a Paintball Gun Shoot?

The one thing we paintballers have in common is the desire to see how far our paintball gun can shoot. Seriously: how far can a paintball gun shoot? Do the best paintball guns shoot farther? What factors affect paintball shooting distance?

So, how far can a paintball gun shoot? Most traditional paintball guns shoot paintballs up to 100 feet away. Anything more than that, and your paintball won’t break open. You can modify your paintball gun to shoot a further distance, but you run the risk of the paintball staying intact. With modifications, paintball guns can shoot paintballs 150 yards and beyond.

If you have ever wondered how far a paintball gun can shoot, keep reading. This article will discuss how far a paintball gun can shoot, which paintball gun has the longest range and more handy information you won’t want to miss.

Long Range Paintball Guns: 3 Factors That Affect How Far Paintball Gun can Shoot

When it comes to knowing how far a paintball gun can shoot, it’s not a clear-cut answer. Many things come into play that can affect the distance. The three most important things to consider are the following:

• Effective Range
• Safe Range
• Absolute Range

Let’s take a closer look.

1. What is the Effective Range?

The effective range is essentially how far the paintball gun can shoot the paintball to be still effective. Basically, paintballs need to be flying at a certain speed to break open and create that desirable, well-known splatter effect. If the paintball is moving too slowly, it simply won’t break.

That said, shooting from an incredibly long distance may end in your paintball staying intact. So, even though you technically hit your opponent or target, it won’t be on your scorecard because it did not break open.

Clearly, the effective range plays a significant role. But just how far is too far? That really depends on the type of paint you are using and how much ‘armor’ your opponents are wearing. However, typically you should avoid going over 100 feet to avoid a disarmed paintball fiasco.

2. What is Safe Range?

The next thing to consider is the safe range. Paintball guns are designed with a safe range to ensure there is no injury. To do this, the velocity is lowered. Most paintball guns will limit the paintball gun to shoot at around 200 miles per hour. With that in mind, you’re limited to around 100 yards or less. 

3. What is Absolute Range?

Absolute range describes the distance you can absolutely shoot your paintball. With absolute range, you won’t care about velocity or whether or not the paintball breaks open. If you’re simply trying to see how far a paintball can shoot, then you can crank up the velocity on your paintball gun and shoot. You can easily get 150 yards or more.

How to Make Your Paintball Gun Shoot Further

Looking to make your paintball gun shoot further? There are a few ways to modify your paintball gun for further distance and an enhanced experience.

Increase the Velocity

The best way to make your paintball gun shoot further is to increase the velocity. However, if you are playing on a paintball field, make sure you are still in the ‘legal’ range of velocity. For example, if the limit is 260 FPS, you don’t want to modify your gun to 280 FPS. Here is a handy video that shows you how to do it.

Install a Barrel with Backspin

Paintball guns come with a straight barrel that guides the paintball, which is great for most situations. But if you want to gain further distance, you might consider using a barrel with backspin instead. Backspin barrels provide Magnus effects which encourage the paintball to lift and fly for a longer distance.

However, keep in mind that a backspin barrel can affect the accuracy of your shots. So, this may not be the best option for newcomers.

Longest Range Paintball Gun

The TACAMO Bolt M82 Sniper is notably the best long-range paintball gun on the market today. This impressive paintball gun has an impressive shooting range of up to 300 feet. That’s remarkable, considering most paintball guns cap at around 100 feet.

Aside from the shooting range, this is a highly sought-after model because it’s a semi-automatic paintball gun that will get the job done. It offers enhanced control and stability, which is great for beginners and novice players alike. Although having a wide range of impressive features, this paintball gun surprisingly only weighs around 8 pounds.