I've been playing paintball with a few of my friends lately and got really hooked on the sport (heh, sorry for the pun).

Although equipment rental is nice and cheap at the local paintball field (http://www.tactikpaintball.com/en), I feel it's time I get my own equipment. The Tippmann 98 Custom they rent are showing their age. Besides, I've seen some of the guys over there bring their own equipment and it looks awesome.

I've done a bit of searching on the 'net and really like the look of the Tippmann X7. It's a versatile marker with tons of upgrades. Then again, I love the sniper add-ons of the A-5. I'm torn! Both have great reviews!

Any suggestions for a decent marker in the sub-$400 range? What are your favorites?

 

Going for my 1st time on the 22nd!

 

I love paintball, but I've not had a chance to play in ages. I got my own gun too, I hated how inaccurate the rentals around here were, plus this sucker's got serious punch! I got it a couple years ago and it was just under $300 at the time, its a buizer outlaw.

 

I don't play paintball, I prefer airsoft.

 

I love the accuracy of my CCI phantom. As long as you don't mind using a pump it's a solid, tried and true marker.

http://www.phantomonline.com/

 

First time I fired my Bruizer, I realized right away I needed to turn down its pressure, as it shot HARD. from 40 ft it tore right through a big assed box, both sides, then splattered on the wall of the house about 10 feet behind it. I love it shooting a bit on the hard side though, as Sniping is my game. It works off both CO2 and Nitrogen.

 

I love it, but I've only played a few times. I don't own my own gear, so renting gets a bit expensive. I do play hardball very often - at least twice a month.

 

I tried it a few times a while back, and had absolutely no fun. Not that it's lame or anything, but I just couldn't get into it.

But I can imagine that if you'd played regularly, you'd wanna invest in some quality equipment, between the cost of renting and the real enthusiastic guys that show up looking like the damn Universal Soldier.

 

I prefer Airsoft - The guns look better (to me) and slapping in a new mag while 'under fire' is just so cool!

 

I never understood how you "play" Airsoft.

"I shot you!"

"NUHUH!"

"YUHUH!"

"NUHUH!"

etc.

 

I've wanted to try it but have never got round to it.

 

Trust! You soon weed out the lying ratbags....

It's more like:

"I shot you!"

"Indeed you did. Capitol shot sir and congratulations!"

"No no, congratulations to you for being a gentleman!"

You'd be surprised how many saucy ladies are into airsoft too!

 

Havn't played much but a tfw showdown sounds cool

BW would win since he has all those TT decoys

 

I asked one of my buds here at work for Paintball advice since he's the BIGGEST PB enthusiast I know by far.  

Here are his words of wisdom:

 

I used to play when I wasn't such a slug. I had a Tippman Carbine. Loved that gun. Had a larger CO2 tank w/ a nicer barrel.

We lived next door to a field... so we played.

 

Wow man, thanks a bunch for your friend's insight! MUCH appreciated!

I'm going to play next weekend. Can't wait  

 

Woah, two GD topics I like tonight, go Numlock post count, go!!

I love recreational paintball... go 2 or 3 times a year for the past 8 years, although now I've just recently been introduced to indoor paintball... totally different animal.

So that's the first question... indoor or outdoor?

Outdoor you want a durable gun... like a Tippmann or BT... metal frames... you can drop it on a rock or in mud, it's easy to field strip if need be, etc. These guns are just fine low tech (although an E-Trigger can get your shoot count up to like 15 balls per second or something) and you can usually Mil-Sim the balls out of them (add-ons like stocks and sight rails, don't essentially help your game but look cool... X-7 epitomizes custom looks... essentially it IS the A-5, just with more mod capability). Flat-Line or Apex Barrel systems are fun for extra range (range and accuracy are ALWAYS on opposite sides of the spectum so balance how you feel fits best). You usually get eatten alive playing indoor with a heavy souped to nuts outdoor gun.

Indoor you want something light so you can run around more since terrain isn't a problem... the sloshy floors are flat, you drop your Proto Matrix, it's not gonna shatter. These guns are hi-tech... you can shoot like 25+ balls a second with the right electronic pieces... that means HOPPER... 'cause if you can't feed the balls in fast enough, it doesn't matter what your fingers can do. The better ones shoot Nitro, it's cleaner and better for the gun. Bring one of these doors outside however and you're a tool... mud and debris bust them up good... I've seen a many $1000+ plastic/fiberglass guns jam or get damaged outdoors.

For either type of gun, the first upgrade you usually get is barrel... however, PLAY with the stock barrel first to get a feel for what you want in your upgraded barrel. Like I said above, your play style might be "long balling" and you might want to be in the back, get a barrel with better range (by the way, LONGER barrels like a 20" don't make your gun shoot further... it's a myth... after about 14" there is no difference, don't believe the hype... you want between say 12" and 16" and your set.) Or you might want a super accurate barrel 'cause your an upfront type of dude... or maybe a self-cleaning 'cause you feel you get jams and what not... feel out your stock barrel, upgrade once you know where you wanna go.

MOST IMPORTANT UPGRADE THOUGH... a mask. Seriously... get a good one. Some offer more protection, others over tinted lenses, others are fog resistant, others offer better fields of vision... same as the barrel, get a stock one and then upgrade to fit what your style of play requires. It doesn't matter how good your gun is, if you can't see the other player, you're toast.

Bleah, getting long... sorry. If any of the above ramble makes sense, awesome... if not, PM me and I'll answer what I can... if you want to get serious into it, check out pbNation.com and their forums. They're really helpful there and help with all questions from newbs to pros. I was a renter for a long time and had plenty of new owner questions just recently...

My gun is a Tippmann 98 Custom... since I intend on continuing my tri-yearly outdoor playing but wanna get a few indoor games in now. My first upgrades were my barrel, an APEX (flat line equivalent, plus does wacky stuff for fun, good for outdoors) and then later a J&J Ceramic 13"... accurate and self cleaning... for indoors where the extra 80 feet the Apex gives me are for naught. I upgraded my hopper to a Cyclone Feed (less ball breaks, used by the X-7 and A-5) and got an expansion chamber (it's "supposed" to regulate the air, give the Co2 more time to expand so you get more consistent shots but who knows if it's doing anything at all)... and then two fluff upgrades, an adjustable sight rail and a folding stock (so I can get more compact for my indoor games where I get dominated. They do nothing... just make my gun look cool. It's a paintball, not a bullet, it's NEVER going to fly perfectly straight and uneffected... My mask is a JT-Flex 8... superior field of vision, fog resistant (but they leave my ears open which worries me a bit 'cause I've earrings and that would suck to get zapped there.)

Good luck and have fun!
(p.s. again, A-5 and X-7 are like the same gun... main difference is X-7 is newer, built with custom looks in mind. Aka, more expensive just 'cause looks and possibilities. Right now (July '07)... more 3rd party mod-kits are for the A-5, but give the X-7 some time... the majority of upgrade parts are by Tippmann, but the other companies will roll around and make more zanny parts down the road... I honestly would assume they phase the A-5 out in favor of the X-7 in a few years... don't hold me to that though))

Appologies for Ultra-Length Post!!

 

ik used a stock tippman 98c and pirana r6 by pmi

 

I used to play a little about 5 years ago in high school. Unfortunately when my buddies and I parted for college we never picked it up again. I was the newbiest newb, so I just borrowed equipment but was planning on getting a gun or two if everyone stuck with it.

After hosting my website freely for 6 years, I'm obligated to plug my friends paintball site when I can: http://www.pbreview.com/