The Best Paintball Guns for Kids are:
- JT SplatMaster – Great for kids ages 9 to 12
- Valken Gotcha
- Tippmann Cronus Paintball Gun – For Kids Ages 13 and Up.
If You Want to Learn More About the Tippmann Cronus you can Click here to read my article on the Best Paintball Gun For Teens
1- JT Splatmaster
- Designed For Kids: These Guns were made for kids within this age group
- Affordable: Cheapest Paintball Gun You can find You can Click to See the Price of the JT SplatMaster Shotgun On Amazon
- Low Maintenance and No need for Compressed Air
1- Designed for kids
The JT Splatmaster like most spring powered paintball guns were designed with kids in mind. So as to create a safe and fun way to get kids involved in the sport.
They are low impact meaning that they won’t hit the targets as fast as a normal paintball gun. The best analogy I would use is to try and imagine getting hit by a slow snowball.
Since Spring Powered paintball guns are the slowest they are best paintball guns for kids, beginners and a lot of teens and even adults play with them.
2- Affordable
The JT Splatmaster if not all spring powered paintball guns are very cheap roughly $40-55 dollars.
And this is very important because paintball can be pricey for a newcomer and who might not be willing to spend hundreds of dollars upfront when they are not sure if they are gonna love the sport.
(If you are an adult and want to try paintball just go to your nearest paintball field and rent out some equipment for a day before you go buy any expensive paintball gear.
You Can Click to See the Price of the JT SplatMaster Shotgun On Amazon.
3- Low Maintenance and No Compressed Air
This is an important one of the most long-term expenses any paintball player will complain about is the cost needed to buy compressed air every time they have to play.
The JT Splatmaster won’t have this drawback since it is powered by spring action and also maintenance is almost little to none.
Drawbacks to the JT Splatmasters
1- Won’t last too long
The springs get worn out after a while (might last around 10 to 12 months) especially if you play a lot. Most spring powered paintball guns are relatively cheap so they can be easily replaced. I wouldn’t advise paying for repairs. (That might be more pricey).
2- Not Very Accurate
Since these guns are not very powerful you can expect much at this point though they are good for 30 feet to 50 feet. (Varies by the manufacturer).
3- Not very Strong
The JT Splashmaster is made entirely of plastic so it is not very tough. Though I think the fact that it is very affordable makes up for this drawback.
The JT Splatmaster’s Come in Two Designs: The Shotgun and Pistol.
JT SplatMaster Shotgun
This was the first paintball gun that I bought for my kids. It is the paintball gun solely responsible for getting my two boys into paintball.
The JT Splatmaster is a spring powered pump action paintball guns meaning that it requires no batteries or compressed air.
The JT Splatmaster Shotgun is by far the most popular paintball gun for kids. It has a range of 100 feet with an accuracy of 45 to 50 feet. It is made entirely of plastic making it very light and easy to use.
I was instantly drawn to this JT Splatmaster Shotgun when I read that it was actively being used by paintball fields all over the country, as a way to safely get kids involved in the sport. Based on this alone I knew the Splatmaster Shotgun would be tried and tested with kids.
The Splatmaster Shotgun can hold fifteen rounds of paintball ammo at a time and uses .50 cal of ammo which is smaller than the usual .68 cal used in regular paintball guns. (Remember I said these guns were designed with kids in mind).
The JT Paintball company which is the manufacturer of The Splatmaster is a pretty big name in the paintball gun world so you are gonna be in good hands.
Additional Tip
I know your kids might think because of the bright color of The JT Splatmaster that its a toy. What you can do is spray paint it black, and it is gonna be super realistic.
Check out a short video below to see the JT Splatmaster in action
Where to Get the JT Splatmaster Shotgun
You can check the price for the Splatmaster Shotgun on Amazon by clicking here JT SplatMaster Shotgun.
You can click here to check out a Combo Package for the JT Splatmaster.
JT Splatmaster Pistol
The JT Splatmaster pistol is the smaller sibling to Splatmaster shotgun.
If you are looking for a small paintball handgun for your kids, this is the way to go.
Like the JT shotgun, the JT pistol is spring powered and in my experience a bit less accurate and with a smaller range than the JT Shotgun.
The JT Pistol holds seven rounds and uses the same .50 cal ammo as the JT Splatmaster Shotgun making them a pretty good combo to buy for your little one.
Where to Get the JT Pistol
You can check out the JT Pistol on Amazon by clicking here: JT Splatmaster Pistol.
You can click here to check out a Combo Package for the JT Pistol.
3- Valken Gotcha Shotgun
The Valken Gotcha Paintball Shotgun is the new kid on the block when it comes to spring powered paintball guns.
It has the same features as the JT shotgun with the added advantage that it comes with the ability to have a hopper which allows it to holds more paintballs.
The hopper is sold separately.
The hopper (a tank like structure that holds paintballs on the top of the paintball gun to be fired) grants the Valken the ability to hold 120 rounds of .50 cal paintball ammo a big jump from the 15 that the JT Splatmaster shotgun holds.
The Valken is basically an upgraded version of the Splatmaster Shotgun. The reason why I didn’t use it as my main recommendation is that I have never tried it out so I wouldn’t have felt comfortable giving it that title.
Though when I did my research it seems like a really good paintball gun it’s a bit more expensive than the JT Splatmaster shotgun. I think it might be worth the extra dollars based on the fact that it can hold more ammo.
Where to Get the Valken
You can check out the Valken Gotcha on Amazon by clicking here: Valken Gotcha Shotgun
And the Hopper for the Valken here: Valken Gotcha Paintball 120 Round Loader/Hopper
Paintball Gear to Go with a Spring Powered Paintball Gun.
Ammo
Stick with only .50 cal Ammo Paintballs it is the recommended paintball for kids since it is smaller making it low impact. Click to see my recommended .50 cal nontoxic Paintballs.
Masks
Though these Paintball Guns are designed for kids you still need to get the correct gear to ensure your kids can play safely.
I would recommend at least buying a good Paintball mask.
You can read my article Best Paintball Mask for kids you can skip to the end for a very budget friendly Paintball Masks.
Or you can a buy a Combo Set which comes with a Mask and Paintball Gun JT Combo Set click to see.
The Combo Set is perfect if you are buying for more than one kids or if you are holding a paintball party.
If you are still worried you can buy an extra padded armored shirt for your kids as extra protection.
Types of Paintball Guns
Paintball Guns can be classified by the method that they are powered by (ie what propels the -paintball (Projectile).
Paintball Guns are powered by two main ways either By
1)Spring Powered these guns work with a simple mechanical spring action, which means as pull back the spring in the handle you add energy and then when you pull the trigger it releases the energy and propels the paintball.
Spring Powered Paintball guns are designed to get kids ages 12 and below safely into paintball.
2)Compressed Air/Liquid CO2:
- Uses either Normal Air that is pressurized or
- Air that is stored in the form of liquid CO2.
These guns use Compressed Air which is stored in a Gas Tank attached to the paintball gun.
When you pull the trigger air is released from the tank to propel the paintball. This is the most common type of paintball gun.
3- Tippmann Cronus Paintball Gun
I have an entire article on the Tippmann Cronus you can click here to read it.
JT definitely makes the best paintball guns for kids. Love the article and recommendations!