So you want to get a gel blaster gun, huh? If you’re here, that means you’ve probably figured out just how complex and overwhelming this entire hobby can be. Don’t worry, though — finding the right gel blaster gun to meet your beginner needs isn’t that hard. Join us as we cover the basics of gel blaster selection and give you some pointers on what to look for.
What Type of Gel Blaster Should You Get?
The typical gel blaster gun is designed to mimic real guns in terms of looks and aesthetics. Because of that, there are different classes of gel blasters. You have pistols, SMGs, rifles, shotguns, and even light machine guns. Each of these classes of gel blasters has its pros and cons that are often very similar to the pros and cons of their real-world counterparts.
For instance, a pistol is a short-range weapon that is often used as a secondary blaster. Shoguns are situational weapons that place you at a disadvantage as far as the rate of fire goes. Overall, it’s a good idea to start with a rifle. Something like an M4 variant offers a great balance between mobility and performance. Once you get some experience under your belt, you might choose to get an SMG instead or build different kits to fit different applications. Getting some experience will certainly be a gamechanger, as then you will know what you prefer.
Budget
Budget is the next big factor that you need to define. Contrary to popular belief, gel blasters aren’t a ‘buy once, cry once’ type of product. Your first blaster will get your feet wet and give you a general idea of what you like and what you don’t like. Then, you’ll start looking at different options that are perhaps more aligned with your play style.
With all that said, we recommend spending up to $200 or $300 on your first blaster. There is an abundance of models in this price range, going from pistols to SMGs and rifles. Your choices are anything but limited.
Modding
By now you’ve probably heard that gel guns can be modded. However, this doesn’t apply to all blasters out there. There are models that are suitable for modding, and those that are far less lenient towards upgrades.
Why would you want to mod a blaster? To boost performance, of course. Different parts of your blaster affect its performance in different ways. For example, a quality set of gears will ensure a much more reliable service, all the while allowing you to bump the FPS without breaking anything. Similarly, a stronger motor will facilitate more FPS and a higher rate of fire. Larger batteries offer more power, and so on. It’s on you to determine whether modding is something you’ll want to do in the near future, or not.
Accessories
Since gel blasters generally look like real firearms, they will accept all kinds of accessories, just like real guns would. Running irons on your blaster is perfectly fine if you’re comfortable with this form of aiming.
There are those who argue that gel blasters are simply not accurate enough to require anything more than iron sights, but then again it’s not always a matter of practicality. Some people simply want to have that red dot on their rifle or an ACOG on their DMR. If you decide that your gel blaster will be fully decked out in accessories, you need to make sure that it comes with enough Picatinny rails to accommodate everything.
Let’s take an AR-pattern blaster as an example. There are AR-pattern rifles that are wrapped in Picatinny rails, but there are also old-school AR-pattern blasters that feature a carry handle and a round handguard. Therefore, you need to choose your blaster model wisely.
Brands
Last but not least, try to stick with proven brands for your first blaster. It’s easy to get lost in affordable brands that offer attractive-looking blasters for cheap, but the only thing that will do for you is set you up for a failure in the near future when your cheap gun decides to give up mid-game.
As far as decent beginner brands go, you can’t go wrong with Jin Ming. Their Gen 9. J10 ACR is about as solid as beginner blasters go.
Give Yourself Room for Growth
As you play, you’ll learn what works for you and what doesn’t. It’s okay if your first gel blaster isn’t ticking all the boxes for you. You can always get something that is better suited for your play style. What matters the most is getting out there and gaining some experience. Everything else will fall in place.