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The Tippmann Pro/Carbine is a pretty interesting gun. Its no longer available for sale by tippmann, but you can still find it on ebay or at a few paintball stores for around $120.00.
The Pro/Carbine has some pretty obvious strengths. First of all, its a tippmann, so we knows its durable. In fact, I would wager to say that the pro/carbine is the most durable of all tippmann's. Simply put, this thing will not break whether you take care of it or not. I owned my Pro/Carbine for almost 2 years before it started giving my problems, and even then I sent it to Blake for repair and he was able to rectify the problem in less than an hour or two. So if you're looking for a tough gun, the pro carbine is definately a good choice.
Accuracy
On top of that, the gun is really accurate. Considering its a low-end semiautomatic gun, this thing fires incredibly straight, especially once you upgrade the barrel. I've found myself firing several shots and nailing within several inches of it every time from long-range. Of course there are more accurate markers out there, but in comparison to most other cheap guns like Spyders, the 98 custom, and even the A-5, the carbine is usually more accurate.
Sound
Its also a pretty quiet gun as well. You can always buy a silencer for about $40 which really quiets it down, but even without that people often have a hard time hearing the pro/carbine unless they're listening. It has a pretty funny sound to it though. Its not like most paintball guns which go BANG! BANG! Instead, its more like a FING! FING! Hard to describe. I'm not sure if thats a strength or weakness, so take it as you will.
The Feel
The gun also holds like a rifle and has a really comfertable grip. Most paintball guns are short and awkward to hold for people used to shooting real guns, but this one fits comfortably in your hands. Instead of gripping a regulator or around the barrel, it has a nice barrel grip. This can serve as both a disadvantage and advantage. It makes it easy to "snipe" with ( i.e. if you're a back player or in the woods) but if you're up in the front, the way you hold it can be a real pain in the ass because its more difficult to be mobile with, mostly because the barrel grip really lengthens the gun.
The pro/carbine is significantly longer than most other paintball guns, so especially in speedball its awkward to handle because its hard to turn around corners or tuck in. This isn't a significant setback, but it can be sort of a pain in the ass.
Disassembly
It also can be a pain in the bum to take apart. Its design prevents easy field disassembly. Its a little more complex than just removing a push pin and having all the internals slide out the back, like in a spyder. You shouldn't need to take it apart often, but when you do, it can be sort of a bitch with all the disattaching and unscrewing stuff. Again, this won't happen to often, so I wouldn't consider it a large deterrent when buying the gun.
Trigger
Without a doubt, the biggest weakness is the trigger pull. The trigger pull is EXTREMELY tough, by fair the HARDEST triggerpull of any paintball gun I have fired. You really have to pull this bitch to get it to fire off. This makes the gun very hard to paintball with for long periods of time. In especially long matches where I am forced to use alot of paint, I usually have to switch from my index finger to my middle finger just so I can still pull the trigger (my index finger usually gets so tired I cant even pull it back). The fact that its a single trigger (only one finger can be on the trigger at a time, as opposed to most guns that have a double trigger) doesn't help. If you plan on speedballing alot, DO NOT buy this gun unless you plan on upgrading the trigger because other people will get off about 5 balls for every one you get off. This makes run-byes and bunkering virtually impossible.
Upgrades
If you plan on buying the gun, I would recommend a couple of upgrades. Like I just said, the trigger. You can do a self upgrade (replace the trigger spring with a lighter one) or buy a new trigger (there are some good ones on the market that can increase your rate of fire to about 10bps). Also, the stock barrel sucks. I recommend a J and J ceramic, which works excellently for the pro/carbine, makes it ultra durable (it will never EVER chop a ball) and very accurate.
Conclusion
Basically what its going to come down to is are you willing to trade rate of fire for accuracy, because performance wise those are what really make the difference as far as this gun goes. Speedballers, do not buy this gun. Woodsballers, I would definately go for it.
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