Paintball Guns – A Paintball Gun Blog

Proto Matrix Rail – Paintball Marker Review

It can be quite a task to find a high-speed paintball marker on a budget. Players are generally forced to go into the $500 range to get a gun that can exceed 15 BPS without dropping to a spray and pray level of inaccuracy, and this can be a problem when your budget for a marker is half of that. Luckily for us, Proto saves the day with the Matrix Rail aka PMR. (Buy the PMR here.)

Features

• Black single piece Proto barrel
• Hyper2™ in-line air regulator
• Anti-chop eye system
• Composite eyeplate
• 150 psi operating pressure with Boost Forward™ technology
• Continuous three-dimensional contoured body design
• Compact and light weight body styling
• Proto dual-durometer sticky grip
• LED program control
• Dual-durometer composite ergonomic 45 grip frame
• Re-engineered 1 piece bolt system
• Adjustable dual-durometer trigger sensitivity and rate of fire
• Stamped metal insert logo
• New PMR airport
• Adjustable locking dual-durometer feed neck
• Operates on Compressed Air only

Comfort

The PMR is a surprisingly light marker. The milling is clean and attractive, and the fit and finish are great for a marker at this price point. The marker balances nicely and shows high standards of construction. Despite it’s light weight, this marker feels like it could stand up to some abuse.

The PMR’s grips fill the hand nicely, and feel like they would work equally well for small and large pawed players. The trigger is above average for the sub-$300 market, hitting its sweet spot with a satisfying click and smoothly returning home. Walking the trigger takes a little bit of practice, but keeping it going once you’ve got the feel for it is a breeze.

Performance

The performance on the PMR is superb, exactly what you would expect from a Dye-designed marker. It’s sniper accurate, able to lay paint on paint, but what is really impressive about this marker is the speed. The PMR can easily hit 30 BPS out of the box. That’s without chopping, without misfires, and hitting the target as often as you’re aiming at it. How many sub-$300 markers do you know of that can shoot perfect ropes all day without an issue? Aside from this one, I’m drawing a blank. The gun performs phenomenally given its price point.

Of course, no marker is perfect. Thankfully, the PMR’s most noticeable flaw is fairly minor; It’s a bit of an air hog. I found myself replacing the air every other game. It’s far from a deal breaker, and it’s an issue I’m more than willing to live with given the speed and accuracy of this marker. When a $250 marker hits 30 BPS without chopping or losing accuracy, an extra can of air every now and then doesn’t feel like a huge sacrifice. With that in mind, let’s weigh in:

Pros:

• Lightning fast
• Deadly accurate
• Lightweight
• Dye quality at a bargain price

Cons:

• Bit of an air guzzler
• Trigger walking takes some adjusting to

Overall, I’d rate the PMR at 9.5 out of 10, docking half a mark for the slightly below-par air efficiency. It’s impressively accurate out of the box, it can shoot ropes all day without breaking a sweat, and the PMR leaves you with a lightweight, solidly constructed marker for under 300 bones. It’s pretty hard to argue with a deal like that. If you’re still having doubts, ask yourself this: At 30 BPS would you rather be pulling the trigger on this bad boy, or running for cover?

Proto Matrix Rail Explained by Proto

Here is proto’s video explaining how the PMR works:

Proto Matrix Rail Video Review

Here are two video reviews of the PMR. It gives you two perspectives from others who have used the PMR.

Buy the Proto Matrix Rail (PMR)

If you are ready to check out the PMR, you can buy it here.

About the author

Niko Brain is a freelance writer and offers sound advice on the sport of Paintball. He runs his own personal paintball site and enjoys writing reviews on Paintball Guns, Paintball Gear and Dye Paintball guns. He’s your “average Joe” paintball player and is an up and coming industry resource that loves to help newcomers to the sport.