HK Army SABR Review

The HK army SABR, released in August 2021, is one of the best beginner-level markers, almost similar to those double stack blowback guns like the Zodian or Kingman. Purple, black, blue, silver, and grey are among the many colors that are offered. It is so easy to use and maintain that makes it best for novices. With the help of this marker, many entry-level players have improved their skills on the pitch.

I personally used it when I was a beginner for almost a year. Following are some worth-mentioning salient features I found during my experience with this gun as a beginner. Let’s Dive In!

Unique Barrel

High-end paintball guns are now mostly equipped with autococker threaded barrels(freak kit, lurker, or the HK brand Lazer barrel). This advantage is available from HK Army SABR for less than $300. Even after a long search, I haven’t yet discovered a more budget-friendly marker with an Autococker thread barrel. 

It’s not difficult to find and switch this 12-inch barrel with another one from the market and it functions pretty well. The body of this marker is made out of aluminum while the lower trigger frame is of plastic.

Internally hosed design

The grip is not aluminum-machined to the marker to allow the air to pass. Instead, the gas hose of the gun passes through the frame and then to the grip through its front. Due to this internal connectivity, it lacks the steel braided wire. This hidden hose design is a unique feature of this gun making it more presentable. 

A compact paintball GUN

Thanks to this hoseless design, nothing stands in your way; you can comfortably and precisely handle this small gun. It is the reason it can be called a compact paintball marker and that too under 300 dollars.   

Reliable feedneck

The feedneck may be adjusted with a screw to match every sized hopper, either larger or smaller. It fits the loader so tightly that it would never slip off. The feedneck is not threaded in so you can easily replace it with some aftermarket feednecks just by undoing the two screws. You may try the gravity fed loader or any other pricey one. It securely attaches the hopper and maintains it in place. 

The velocity adjuster

The allen wrenches are used to change the SABRr’s velocity. At the back of the bolt, the marker is marked with the symbols + and -. Simply rotate the adjuster and change the velocity according to your needs. This is the best feature for beginners in my opinion. Every entry-level marker should have this feature.

Easy maintenance and cleaning

When I cleaned it for the first time, I really strived to take apart the rubber grips. This was only because they are really well-fitted. A delrin bolt used by SABR has a pin-based quick-release system. To clean and maintain the bolt, lift the pin up and take it out. Contrary to typical bolts that require regular lubrication, this one is self-lubricating. 

HK ARMY SABR Offers Quick Disassembling

The hoses are threaded with o-rings, not sealed, so they are simple to be disassembled. Being simple in design, you can easily remove the frame by just unscrewing its screws. This easy-to-disassemble feature made it simple as a pie to be cleaned and maintained during my games.

HK Army SABR vs Spyder Victor comparison

Having used both paintball guns for a number of my games as a beginner, I will give a brief comparison between their working based on my experience.

The most noticeable difference is the recent, improved upgraded 12-inch autococker barrel used in the HK SABR. While the Victor comes with the 10-inch spyder threaded barrel that has less accuracy comparitively. Talking about the price, the SABR is a bit more expensive than Victor, but the awesome features of this blowback setup fully justify the price.

A steel braided hose is used in Spyder Victor and there are chances of it bending or breaking in case you fall down. I experienced it too and then I had to spend extra money to get it fixed. On the other hand, the internal hose design of the SABR surpasses it in this regard and also gives a cleaner look. The velocity adjuster showing the plus and minus signs on the HK army SABR is a lot of help for beginners compared to the other one.

The internals of both the guns are almost the same, except that the Victor has the eco valve that allows up to 1600 shots of a 20-ounce co2 tank. Contrarily, the SABR has the drawback of giving only 500-600 shots. So it is surely not suitable for long games. Lastly, the Spyder Victor has rubber grips giving a more comfortable feel as compared to the plastic grips of the HK SABR.

HK Army SABR vs Tippmann Cronus

First, talking about the barrel, Cronus has an a5 barrel while SABR comes with a longer autococker one providing more accuracy. Their replacements can also be found easily in the market while a5 barrels are relatively harder to find. The grip of the SABR sets it apart from the Cronus. It is hand molded giving an excellent textured hold to your hand making you feel so comfortable in the field.

It doesn’t slip even if your hand is sweaty or full of paint or dirt. On the other side, I don’t like Cronus’s grip much as it has large grooves. Sometimes dirt used to go and stuck in there while I was playing, making my hand so uneasy to function.

HK SABR has dual ball detents which are simple to change as compared to the standard Tippmann ball detents of the Cronus. In the latter case, I had to take apart the whole gun by undoing a lot of screws just to take out the detents for replacement. 

One of the many advantages given by Cronus is the rails for putting go pros, lasers, flashlights, night vision scopes, range finders, etc, but there is nothing to put this stuff on in SABR. A double trigger is present in HK army SABR that allows you to shoot much faster contrary to the single-triggered Tippmann Cronus.

Both guns are the same price, you can go for SABR if you want something flashy and sleek, or either way, you can get the Cronus if you want something tactical.

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