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Paintball! Shooting people is fun olol
spookymuffin
( ° ʖ ° )Puyallup WA Registered User regular
( ° ʖ ° )Puyallup WA Registered User regular
A couple years back, I went paintballing for the first time and enjoyed it quite a bit. I've been a few times since then, and it finally dawned on me that I could be doing this more often, and talked myself into investing some money into the sport. I'm looking at getting a marker and a mask, and some other equipment if recommended. I'd like to get a marker that doesn't cost too terribly much, but has the option of going from single to burst. A mask that doesn't fog up all to shit would be awesome as well. Most masks that I've used thus far get really bad when you're in the heat of the game, and being able to see is awesome. I'm not sure what to get in addition to a marker, I don't know the parts and what are good or bad. Anyone?
PSN: MegaSpooky // 3DS: 3797-6276-7138
Wii U NNID: MegaSpooky
Wii U NNID: MegaSpooky
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As far as "single to burst", most if not all public fields don't allow fully auto markers. Semi-auto single shot is usually all you're allowed. That being said, you can mod guns to fire really fast, and some people can shoot semi-auto markers faster than auto mechanisms are capable of.
Spyder and Tippmann are solid makers of markers. The Spyder compact and Tippmann 98 are extremely common markers that will be very reliable, and shouldn't set you back too much. If you look to spend more on them later, there are endless amounts of custom parts and kits for those two models, as they're so popular.
There are goggle liners and goggles with thermal layered lenses that will help with the fogging problem. Google turned up several very easily.
Are you planning on woodsball with a few friends or on an actual course?
this is one of the best FAQs on paintball I've seen
read it all and you'll have a good idea about many things paintball.
http://www.ottersccustoms.com/newbie.html
You should get a force feed hopper, something that pushes the paintballs into the chamber.
You need either a 10 or a 12 inch barrel. Anything more is wasteful, anything less is not enough.
If you play in low light, a yellow lense on the mask helps alot.
Nitrogen is more consistant than CO2, but the investment is considerably more.
The longer the barrel, the more suitable it is for close range combat. 14 inch barrels are generally a standard for most players. 16 inch are for assault people and 12 inch is for people who sit back and shoot from further distances.
You only need a force feed hopper if you are getting a fast gun. And if you are getting a fast gun, you're not only going to want a force feeder but a nitrogen tank.
I've seen some math behind 11 inches being the optimum length. Anything more will give more fricition to the ball, and therefor less accuracy. Anything less won't allow the gas to expand as needed, giving less performance. The only barrell that anyone who wants to sit back and shoot from further distances MAY use, is the longshot, which gives the paintball backspin. However, this kills accuracy.
How the hell are you going to bunker someone (come over the top of their bunker and shoot them damn near point blank) with a 16 inch barrell? That is retarded.
You don't need a nitrogen tank if you get a forcefeed hopper. I can't understand why you would. Forcefeed hopper is to help make sure you don't chop a ball (get it stuck in the chamber and have the bolt slide forward mushing it into pieces and making a mess). Nitrogen gas shoots with more consistency so that you speeds arent 210 280 320 275 (fps), which means you'll have greater accuracy. Also, any marker can be fired fast. Except for those with slide triggers and me. I hate those fucking things.
Most people will chop a ball in their chamber without a forcefeed hopper. Get one.
That being said, what kind of paintball do you want to play? Some quick speedball with inflatable bunkers? Long drawn out woods matches? Day long battles?
First off, Never skimp on the mask. If there's one thing you need to get that is quality, make it a mask. Not only will a high quality mask not fog up on you, but they are designed so that paintballs bounce off of them without bursting as easily.
Ok and before we start recommending stuff to you, we need to know a little bit about what type of paintball your going to be playing. If it's Speedball, (Which is usually indoors, but is generally played on small fields with inflatable bunkers and games last about 5 minutes.) then your going to be looking at getting an electronic marker, an electric hopper.
If it's speedball your going to be doing, and are going to be looking at entry-level tournament play, then I would recommend the Smart Parts Ion.
The Ion is an excellent beginners speedball gun, it allows you to get up to 17 balls per second unmodified. It has ramping features, burst and full automatic. It's fully electric and fairly simple to clean and maintain. It'll run you about 200$ depending on where you are.
Now if you are going to be playing mainly woodsball, which is just what it sounds like, paintball in the woods, usually for scenario play, then I would suggest any brand of Tippmann. The flatline I've heard is excellent for that. I have a friend who has a Tippmann A-5 and he loves it.
I'm not too sure of the specs on it, or how much it will run you, but it's probably a bit cheaper than the Ion.
It's pretty much all up to you, and it depends entirely on what type of paintball your going to be playing. If you specify what kind you dabble in, we can focus in and help you with all the equipment your going to need.
Also, Improv:
I personally run with a 14 inch barrel on my marker, but I know a lot of people who like to use 16. The advantage of using a longer barrel, (At least in speedball) is that you can "work the bunker" so to speak, using your barrel to push the inflatable slightly, allowing you to have a little bit more of a safe zone in which to work behind while firing.
if you are playing woodsball and need to get that barrel off asap for a clean, nothing beats a nice spyder.
plus they're cheap, efficient, durable, and easy to use especially for a beginner.
This is true, I used to own a Spyder Xtra, and it served me very well up until I started to get into tournament play.
I thought the A-5 had one of the better breakdown times, with less tools invovled?
You can disagree all you want. 14 inch is a good length.
And no, you are not going to be fucking come up so close to someone that the extra 4 inches on your barrel is going to somehow get in the way of you shooting them. First off that is illegal in most fields. Second, someone will probably take a fucking CO2 tank to your nose. I punched a faggot who shot me that close once. A 16 inch is not that long, it's 2 inches more than a 14 inch. It's also quieter than a 14 inch. An 11 inch barrel is SUPER loud, louder than it has to be. 16 inch wastes a little bit extra gas but the performance isn't affected and you have better accuracy at close range, but it starts to stray at further distances, because 16 inch has a slightly shorter range. This is because the paintball stays in the barrel for a lot longer and the air pressure escapes more as it passes through the porting holes.
Flatlines are garbage. Games aren't won by sitting in the back shooting guys from a distance. They are won by going up close to the front lines.
A force feeder isn't super essential for the amount it's worth on a cheaper gun. If the gun has a mechanical trigger you probably won't be going faster than 6 balls a second, which generally isn't fast enough to cause a lot of breaks.
Any gun can fire fast but thats if you have a good air supply. The recharge rate on CO2 is slower than Nitrogen. If you fire too quickly you will suffocate the gun and it will not get enough air to fire and you will have to recock it. On cheap Nitrogen tanks if you shoot very fast you will see the pressure gauge drop and you may have to wait for it to fill up a bit again before you fire.
Get a thermal lens.
I see you failed to notice the enormous picture of one in my post.
This is a problem that is not experience when you are using a compressed air tank, which is the standard in tournament play.
I played mostly in wood fields, so valid points.
You're an angry little bitch, arentchya?
Seriously. I've bunkered people, and been bunkered, so many times that if anybody got actually angry about it I would consider it to be extremely rude.
The course I go to has a woodland course, and a speedball course. Usually, we spend half the day at each section, so it's going to be a 50/50 between the two. I'm going to have about $250 or so for the marker and mask, but a little over isn't going to kill my account for a decent combo. I was also wondering about the type of air that moves the balls. A few markers I've seen are only for O2 or CO2, and I don't know what kind of air my usual course uses. Other than that, I'm really appreciative for the info I'm getting from you guys. I just wish I had some way of testing out these markers in reality. I was looking at the Spyder VS2 or VS3, are these any good?
Wii U NNID: MegaSpooky
you'll probably be using CO2 at the course as an Oxygen or Nitrogen system would cost about 1/3 of your budget +/-.
I'd spend at least 60.00 on your mask (maybe a good JT or something) and the rest on a good spyder.
and seriously, read that beginner link I put up. It has a wealth of information (If you already read it, awesome).
If you want to play competitively in tournaments or whatever, then you start looking into higher end guns, nitrogen, etc.
Also, buy some heavy duty kneepads. They're tremendous.
Shooting a guy from 1 foot away is not bunkering. That's call being a fucking douche. There is no need to shoot someone that close.
What I think you should buy, in general...
Marker
Hopper
Pack w/pods
Regulator/Expansion chamber
Tank
Tank cover
Mask
Barrel condom, not plug
12 inch barrel
Talk to your friends who play, see if they have any spares of anything. Most players do.
If you want to try some markers out first, head to the field. Most people are willing to let you test their marker on a range to see how it handles.
Tippmann's are great for beginners and woodsball players. Inexpensive and indestructible. The AK-47 of paintball markers. Stock barrels on the 98 and A-5 are crap, though, so budget for an upgrade if you go that route. I have a 98 w/ a 12" J&J ceramic barrel that made a huge difference in accuracy (relatively speaking, of course. It's still a 98.) I added a 3000psi compressed air tank last year, and that made a huge difference too.
If you are looking more at speedball or tournament play, Tippmann's probably not your best first foray into your own gear.
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I've heard decent things about them, but really, if your going to start to look at beginner tournament level guns, you'd be better off with the Ion. If your just going to be going once every few months with your friends and what not to play in the woods, a Tippmann or a cheaper spyder would probably be your best bet.
As for gas types, It, again, all depends what your going to be doing with it. The thing about CO2 is that you can store a hell of a lot of shots in a good sized tank. This makes it excellent for long woodsball excursions or scenario games. However the problem with CO2 is that it's inconsistent, and will come out in slightly different quantities every time you shoot. This can add funny spins and dips to your shot. This problem becomes even worse in the cold, where it can become almost unplayable.
Another problem with C02 is that once you start firing quickly, it causes a build up of cold condensation along the inside of your parts. Now, with a mechanical gun, like a tippmann, this isn't a problem at all. With an electric marker, this can cause damage to the circuit boards. So, with an electric gun, your pretty much restricted to using the next option, Compressed Air.
With a compressed air tank, you get a far more consistent shot, but significantly less shots. With a good sized steel tank, that means you can get off about 400-500 shots before you'll need air. Of course, if you want to get more pricey, there are carbon fiber tanks, which hold rediculous quantities of air, but I wouldn't reccomend that to a beginner player. Basically, compressed air will give you a more consistent and accurate shot.
Well yeah, It's a dog eat dog world out there man. And besides, do you think refs recognize any sort of "mercy" rule? Pffft.