Paintball Tips - Paintball - http://maxpages.com/paintbrawler/Paintball

GUNS
If you have never played paintball before I would recommend
renting your gun from the field that you play at before you go out and buy one.
It's usually a small fee,[10 to 15 dollars],and beats having a gun collecting dust in your closet if you decide that paintball isn't your cup of tea.
If you occasionally play but not that often I would go somewhere like K-mart or Wal-mart.
You can pick up a descent semi-automatic for under a 100 dollars,[only for occasional play].
If you plan on playing alot I would'nt recommend going the cheap route,they're fine for occasional use but I've known guys that have had problems with them after alot of use.
For frequent play I recommend something like an Illustrator or a Tippman Pro-Lite.
You'll probably have to go to an actual paintball store to buy one of these[although some paintball fields sell new guns].
You just can't beat the value for the money with one of these,[considering that some guns easily run 1000 to 1500 dollars!!].
For around a couple hundred dollars,[before upgrades,I'll explain in a minute],you can purchase a Tippman Pro-Lite.
I own the older version,[Pro-Am],and I can tell you it's a really nice weapon!!
It's sturdy,reliable,and easy to maintain.
The upgrades I mentioned are the barrel and the ammo hopper.
The factory barrels are generally not that good.
It'll shoot fine and you'll have no problems but for better accuracy and a more consistent muzzle velocity you'll want to upgrade your barrel.
One of the best barrels on the market is Armson,for just under a hundred dollars you can upgrade to this.
It's a little expensive but a good investment.

The ammo hoppers that are packed in with new guns usually only hold 40 rounds,[paintballs].
I can tell you right now that's not enough!!!
For about 15 to 20 dollars you can upgrade to one that holds 200 rounds.
I strongly recommend this upgrade because you'll need it!!!
Of course you can carry more rounds than your hopper will hold,[with a back pack,which I also strongly recommend],but having to frequently stop and reload during a fire fight because your hopper only holds 40 rounds is not a pretty
picture!!

A pair of goggles and a mask is absolutely a MUST to play paintball!
You would'nt want to play without them because a .68 caliber paintball hitting you in the eye at 300 fps[feet per second]will take your eye COMPLETELY OUT!!!
So it is imperative that you never take off your mask&goggles[headgear],for any reason while you're playing,[at least untill you get safely off the field].
Don't let that intimidate you,as long as you follow the rules you won't get hurt.
Fortunately headgear has become alot more comfortable since the old days[1990-91].
Those old masks would press against your face and were generally quite uncomfortable.
The goggles were no picnic either,not only did they give you "tunnel"vision,but they were prone to fogging up.
Nowadays you can have comfortable,fog-free vision.

The brand of mask I personally use is a JT X-FIRE with the JT Deadboltz goggles.
I really like this mask because it protects your whole face including your ears.
I also use a miniature vent fan to take care of fogging,It's a very comfortable set up that can be worn for long periods of time without irritation.
I strongly recommend the fan!!!
Let me repeat that,I STRONGLY RECOMMEND THE FAN!!!,[I would'nt play without one!].
Another piece of equipment you'll need is a back pack.
It's basic purpose is to allow you to carry alot more paintballs than what your ammo hopper will hold.
You actually carry the paintballs in 100 round bulk loaders,which in turn are carried in the back pack.

You can get quite a variety of these from black,to green,to all types of camoflage patterns.

What works best for me is a woodland pattern camoflage with a 600 round capacity.
First of all,the woodland pattern matches my camoflage clothing,[which is also woodland pattern], and second,carrying more than 600 rounds on your back gets to be a little uncomfortable.

I find that using a 12 oz.CO2 tank works pretty well too,[even though you can buy a much larger one,you don't really need it].
Because after 800 shots,[600 in backpack+200 in ammo hopper],a 12 oz.tank will be about empty anyway so you can refill it when you refill your ammo!
Another piece of equipment you'll need is a squeegee.
A squeegee is for cleaning your barrel if a ball breaks inside your gun,[which happens occasionally].
On my particular gun,I just thread it through the breach and
pull it out through the end of the barrel.
But you can't do that on all paintball guns,some guns require you to insert it from the end of the barrel and
then retract it back out.
There are a few varieties to choose from,[I recommend having a"wool swab"to buff the barrel after you squeegee it].
Beleive me,if you don't run a squeegee through your barrel
after a ball breaks you will NOT hit anything you shoot at.
You'll want to carry a couple clean rags too,{paint can get
pretty messy!]

To all Tippmann haters: It's probably been a couple years since my Pro-Am has broken a ball!!!
How long has it been since your $1200 dollar Auto-Mag broke a ball?

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Chaz and Jon

chazcole@hotmail.com or paintbrawler_2000@hotmail.com

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Page Updated Sun Mar 12, 2000 9:10am EST