US Army Carver One Review

Back when I first started really getting into paintball, I only rented guns or borrowed from a friend. Eventually, when I figured out that I wanted to do this every weekend, I decided to buy my own gun so I won't have to rent one. I looked for a cheap and reliable gun and I found the US Army Carver One.

The first thing I liked about the gun us the fact that it's simple. The body of the gun isn't bulky and it's easy to carry around. While most people have elaborate setups that include bi-pods, flashlights, laser pointers, etc., this gun served its purpose without the fancy upgrades.

One thing that paintball players look for is accuracy. Of course, in paintball, accuracy is affected by different things like the type of paint you buy, the time of day, the bore size of the barrel, wind, etc. Sadly, the Carver One is disappointing in terms of accuracy. The stock barrel is a .690 bore barrel. Needless to say, it's too wide and causes are to go past your paint before it shoots it out of the barrel, affecting accuracy and air efficiency.

It's also good to remember that this gun is e-grip ready. Meaning, you can install an electronic trigger on it to make it fire 3-round bursts, 10 balls per second or 15 balls per second. Another disappointment for me though is that this gun is not able to take the cyclone feed system upgrade. It would have been much cheaper if it was able to, but I guess that's what you get for the price.

I went out with this gun at my local field and I had to unload almost 10 rounds at a target that was exposed before I hit him with even one round. I was using Empire Premium paintballs at around 12 noon. In a situation where I move fast and am able to get behind enemy lines and strike them from behind, I want to be able to unload no more than three shots and be able to hit the enemy. This gun, although reliable in most cases, just does not do well for me with its stock barrel.

But all in all, this gun does its job well. It's light, its accuracy is tolerable, and it's durable. I've done rolls and dives with this gun and I have yet to have any problems with it. I maintain it after day of use to make sure the parts are clean and well lubed. While it can't compete in terms of design and technological advancement with other guns out in the market, the Carver One performs well.

Since I bought it, I have made a few upgrades to it that made it a little more fun to use and looks more like an actual military issued weapon.

This is the end result:

I've added a CP 14" barrel with a .689 bore, a folding foregrip, a red dot sight, a collapsible buttstock, and installed the e-grip upgrade on it. Since then, I've used this gun only in games where there are big groups. I normally go out with just my pistol.

I'll do a little review on the things I put on it later on.

So if you're looking for something to start out with, I suggest getting the Carver One. Sure, there are cheaper options out there, but this gun will last you a longer time than conventional looking and cheap paintball markers. The inner mechanisms are simple, the gun is easy to maintain, it's durable and, of course, it looks like you're ready to do some damage on a beginner level when you go out with it even with the stock parts.

I'm done.

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