Just got my 1st paintball marker.
Tippmann US Army Alpha Black

Picture with my SBR



I picked up a 24oz bottle along with the 9 oz that comes with the marker.

Any other gear that is must have?

Thanks

Facemask.  

Quoted: Facemask.

Got one, tho its the cheap one that came with the kit. Don't think it is going to do much. More then likly will end up looking like that .

It's amazing how far they've come with paintball guns in the last few years. I think I got mine back in around 2002 and it looks like a dinosaur compared to that.

Want!

How much that set you back?

Quoted: Want! How much that set you back?

I bought the kit for $169 at Sports Authority online. Got free shipping and no taxes.
Walmart has them also, but would have to pay shipping and taxes.

It comes in 4 diffrent models.
Basic should run around $100
One like mine but not in a kit is $139
Kit $169
Then you have a E trigger which I haven't seen for sale yet.

From what I read online its pretty much a Tippman Custom 98

It is a 98 custom. Great gun for the money,I was going to pick one up but then I got sponsored by tippman so I'm getting a X7.  

Quoted: I picked up a 24oz bottle along with the 9 oz that comes with the marker. Any other gear that is must have? Thanks

get a nitrogen tank

when i used to go out a few years ago, my buddies used to take a filled scuba tank with them.  there is an adapter you can get to refill your nitrogen tank from the scuba tank.

makes it a whole lot easier to play longer.  the only problem might be finding a place to refill the scuba tank for you.

Must have gear...

Ditch the mask that came with the gun and buy the most expensive, comfortable, breathable mask you can get. If one thing can really screw up your performance its a mask that fogs up on you and is uncomfortable.

Another nice peice of gear is a well made barrel to size your paint to the bore. Paint that rolls right of a naked barrel will give poor accuracy. Paint that is too big for the bore will result in breaks. You want the paintball to be hugged nicely by the bore, but not too tight and not too loose... that will make accuracy suffer. A nice barrel is a nice barrel though... most high end hollow tubes will fire exactly the same.

I use a palmers custom barrel made with 80s technology and this barrel will still run with the new barrels made by company x, y, and z provided my paint to bore match is good.  

Quoted: Quoted: Want! How much that set you back? I bought the kit for $169 at Sports Authority online. Got free shipping and no taxes. Walmart has them also, but would have to pay shipping and taxes. It comes in 4 diffrent models. Basic should run around $100 One like mine but not in a kit is $139 Kit $169 Then you have a E trigger which I haven't seen for sale yet. From what I read online its pretty much a Tippman Custom 98

I picked up 2 of the E-gripped guns from bass pro last weekend. Burst and auto function worked quite nicely, just not very easily selectable.

http://i128.photobucket.com/albums/p184/bean293/Picture012-1.jpg

i have spent over 5k in gear and guns alone....

trust me... i could care less if a paintball gun looked like an m60lightweight and speed and reliability is what i need lol

Quoted: i128.photobucket.com/albums/p184/bean293/Picture012-1.jpg i have spent over 5k in gear and guns alone.... trust me... i could care less if a paintball gun looked like an m60 lightweight and speed and reliability is what i need lol

I recognize the one on the right.  Bob Long Intimidator?  Texas Storm model?  I've got one myself.  

Don't skimp out on a mask, get as good a mask as you can afford.  You can't shoot what you can't see.

Get some gloves, maybe a cup or knee pads.

height=8

Quoted: Don't skimp out on a mask, get as good a mask as you can afford.  You can't shoot what you can't see. Get some gloves, maybe a cup or knee pads.

NO do not get a cup... totally impractical and not comfortable... in fact it can do more damage to wear a cup than to not wear one... buy a decent pair of paintball pants and it will protect them since they have lots of padding in that area. trust me on this

and to the person who quoted my post..

yup, its texas strom timmy 04 model with the LCD display.

its for sale too check the b/s/t

Is the m4 look a like as reliable as the Tipman 98?

Quoted: Quoted: Facemask.   Got one, tho its the cheap one that came with the kit. Don't think it is going to do much. More then likly will end up looking like that .

I ditched my old mask for this.  It's the most comfortable I've found.  It looks cool too, because that's what's important.

Dye Pro i3

If you want to have some more accuracy for cheap, I recommend a .687 ID barrel that would fit your gun.  I had one and most paint would fit it well, but if you come across some larger paint you can always go back to your larger diameter factory barrel.  Your factory barrel is probably something like .694 ID.

Like everyone has already mentioned, get the most comfortable mask you can afford and doesn't fog.  I have the V-Force Pro-Vantage goggles LINK with inter-changeable lenses (clear for night play, tinted mirror for day play).

Second, I recommend dumping the CO2 and going nitrogen.  Much cleaner, reliable and it will also shoot consistent.

Enjoy.

does the fake mag store tools like on the x7

Quoted: Quoted: Don't skimp out on a mask, get as good a mask as you can afford.  You can't shoot what you can't see. Get some gloves, maybe a cup or knee pads. NO do not get a cup... totally impractical and not comfortable... in fact it can do more damage to wear a cup than to not wear one... buy a decent pair of paintball pants and it will protect them since they have lots of padding in that area. trust me on this and to the person who quoted my post.. yup, its texas strom timmy 04 model with the LCD display. its for sale too check the b/s/t

I am going to disagree with that, after having taken one straight to the buttons I started playing with a cup. It is distracting at times but it has already saved me once or twice and it hasn't affected how I play.

That said I don't wear padding anywhere else and am usually just wearing BDU's.

ed. for grammar

Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: Don't skimp out on a mask, get as good a mask as you can afford.  You can't shoot what you can't see. Get some gloves, maybe a cup or knee pads. NO do not get a cup... totally impractical and not comfortable... in fact it can do more damage to wear a cup than to not wear one... buy a decent pair of paintball pants and it will protect them since they have lots of padding in that area. trust me on this and to the person who quoted my post.. yup, its texas strom timmy 04 model with the LCD display. its for sale too check the b/s/t I am going to disagree with that, after having taken one straight to the buttons I started playing with a cup. It is distracting at times but it has already saved me once or twice and it hasn't affected how I play. That said I don't wear padding anywhere else and am usually just wearing BDU's. ed. for grammar

Maybe you have a larger target.  

I learned the hard way to wear a cup.  Taking one in the nads ain't no fun.  

Quoted: img.photobucket.com/albums/v738/Lothen/P3100172.jpg img.photobucket.com/albums/v738/Lothen/P3100173.jpg Must have gear... Ditch the mask that came with the gun and buy the most expensive, comfortable, breathable mask you can get. If one thing can really screw up your performance its a mask that fogs up on you and is uncomfortable. Another nice peice of gear is a well made barrel to size your paint to the bore. Paint that rolls right of a naked barrel will give poor accuracy. Paint that is too big for the bore will result in breaks. You want the paintball to be hugged nicely by the bore, but not too tight and not too loose... that will make accuracy suffer. A nice barrel is a nice barrel though... most high end hollow tubes will fire exactly the same. I use a palmers custom barrel made with 80s technology and this barrel will still run with the new barrels made by company x, y, and z provided my paint to bore match is good.

How did you talk Glenn into making a Phantom barrel??? I'm a big PPS fan as well as Phantom.

Is that a Punisher pump added to your Phantom?

NICE!!
BK

Palmer has offered the phantom barrel as a current production barrel for some time, so a simple trip to his website can hook you up fairly quickly. The phantom barrel is the most expensive one I have seen so far due to the copper ring around it.

The pump is made by Wevo paintball and it is supposedly a copy of some of Punishers undercocking kits. I do have, however, a genuine Punisher made weaver rail on top of my phantom. :)  

Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: Don't skimp out on a mask, get as good a mask as you can afford.  You can't shoot what you can't see. Get some gloves, maybe a cup or knee pads. NO do not get a cup... totally impractical and not comfortable... in fact it can do more damage to wear a cup than to not wear one... buy a decent pair of paintball pants and it will protect them since they have lots of padding in that area. trust me on this and to the person who quoted my post.. yup, its texas strom timmy 04 model with the LCD display. its for sale too check the b/s/t I am going to disagree with that, after having taken one straight to the buttons I started playing with a cup. It is distracting at times but it has already saved me once or twice and it hasn't affected how I play. That said I don't wear padding anywhere else and am usually just wearing BDU's. ed. for grammar

do you play woodsball?

if you do... then i guess it helps since you dont need the paintball pants specifically and arent sliding or doing anything of that nature much

but i play speed (airball, hyperball, etc..) and those pants have helped alot but in my years of playing, i have never taken one to the nuts, close but not quite there.. mainly because i have that area covered by a bunker of some sort .


heres a pic of me playin a tourny sept. 07



some of my gear has changed since then, i have gotten a vlocity, new mask ( grillz), new clothing and longer hair

I only play woodball and will try and use anything that gives me an advantage.  Tons of pods, full auto (accuracy through quantity) radios and now ACU uniforms instead of woodland.  I also added the MP5 mods just to vamp up the looks....

Woods ball is for newbs.  Once you go airball there is no going back.

Quoted: Woods ball is for newbs.  Once you go airball there is no going back.

soooo true

who needs full auto when you have ramping? lol

i was supposed to play PSP events this year but after losing my stepdad my paintball career has diminished ALOT i havent even been out this summer and it kills me when i see pics or vids of people playing and i just get that bite to be out there playing

I might get mine up here soon enough, its a frankenstein autococker. Most consistent gun Ive ever used, or anybody I know has used.

I went paintballing for the first time in about 10 years on Saturday. Borrowed a friend's Ion to play with our private group of guys from the office.

I am now thinking of buying a marker and some gear so I can go play when I want instead of borrowing or renting.

Is the Ion a decent gun to buy for a person that might go paintballing 6-8 times a year? I'm not planning on doing any tourny's or speedball.

-d

Quoted: I went paintballing for the first time in about 10 years on Saturday. Borrowed a friend's Ion to play with our private group of guys from the office. I am now thinking of buying a marker and some gear so I can go play when I want instead of borrowing or renting. Is the Ion a decent gun to buy for a person that might go paintballing 6-8 times a year? I'm not planning on doing any tourny's or speedball. -d

The ion's are great guns for the money,just tweak your board settings and you can get 17 bps out of the stock board...you really dont need to do anything to them out of the box...just gogle ion calculator and you can find a calculator to enter differant settings on your board and it will give you the rof you will get,its really easy

height=8

Quoted: I went paintballing for the first time in about 10 years on Saturday. Borrowed a friend's Ion to play with our private group of guys from the office. I am now thinking of buying a marker and some gear so I can go play when I want instead of borrowing or renting. Is the Ion a decent gun to buy for a person that might go paintballing 6-8 times a year? I'm not planning on doing any tourny's or speedball. -d

if your going to play that little i would suggest a tippman 98/or a5,a smart parts vibe or a proto SLG if you want somthing fast,bps should be on the lower end of priority's,ease of use and long term reliability should be on the top,also were you play/live will be a consideration,is it easy to get HPA ?. were you are and are going to play,if not stick to the tippmans or the vibe and use anti-siphon tubed co2 tanks

the ion is an ok marker and made a huge impact on the industry,but it has some design flaws that can cause headaches,we recently picked up a SLG for our son and couldnt be happier,its much easyer to maintain/dissasemble,its cocker threaded out of the box wich gives you a wide range of barrel options



the only thing youll want to really spend $$ on is a proper mask,my current fave is the events,i also like the profiler

Quoted: Quoted: I went paintballing for the first time in about 10 years on Saturday. Borrowed a friend's Ion to play with our private group of guys from the office. I am now thinking of buying a marker and some gear so I can go play when I want instead of borrowing or renting. Is the Ion a decent gun to buy for a person that might go paintballing 6-8 times a year? I'm not planning on doing any tourny's or speedball. -d if your going to play that little i would suggest a tippman 98/or a5,a smart parts vibe or a proto SLG if you want somthing fast,bps should be on the lower end of priority's,ease of use and long term reliability should be on the top,also were you play/live will be a consideration,is it easy to get HPA ?. were you are and are going to play,if not stick to the tippmans or the vibe and use anti-siphon tubed co2 tanks the ion is an ok marker and made a huge impact on the industry,but it has some design flaws that can cause headaches,we recently picked up a SLG for our son and couldnt be happier,its much easyer to maintain/dissasemble,its cocker threaded out of the box wich gives you a wide range of barrel options the only thing youll want to really spend $$ on is a proper mask,my current fave is the events,i also like the profiler

You made some good points i diddnt even think about...but he can get an Ion for under $100 used these days....hell i bought mine & my girlfriends Brand new for $125 each

Quoted: I went paintballing for the first time in about 10 years on Saturday. Borrowed a friend's Ion to play with our private group of guys from the office. I am now thinking of buying a marker and some gear so I can go play when I want instead of borrowing or renting. Is the Ion a decent gun to buy for a person that might go paintballing 6-8 times a year? I'm not planning on doing any tourny's or speedball. -d

how much are looking to spend max?

i could hook you up with a whole set up if the price is right.

Quoted: Woods ball is for newbs.  Once you go airball there is no going back.

Wow. How insightful.

Woods ball player checking in. Tippman X7 w/MP5 air-through stock and carbon fiber remote.

Started playing in the late '80s with Splatmaster pistols.

My how equipment has changed.

Quoted: Quoted: I went paintballing for the first time in about 10 years on Saturday. Borrowed a friend's Ion to play with our private group of guys from the office. I am now thinking of buying a marker and some gear so I can go play when I want instead of borrowing or renting. Is the Ion a decent gun to buy for a person that might go paintballing 6-8 times a year? I'm not planning on doing any tourny's or speedball. -d how much are looking to spend max? i could hook you up with a whole set up if the price is right.

Sorry didn't notice that anyone had replied.

I was looking to spend around $350-450. I did some pricing on a paintball site and got the shopping cart to $435 for the marker, mask, tank, hopper, barrel kit, and some misc items.

-d

Ariakon Sim-4 (before and after):



woodball only, thank you

i just got a pretty much stock tippman 98 with a jt air tank instead of c02.

ended up going with a response trigger over the egrip since the field i play at allows those but not egrips.

The ion was the last gun I owned before I got out.  It costed a fraction of the other guns Id had (timmys, impulse) and shot better by far.  I had a .687 16" Stiffi barrel and it was accurate as hell.  The velocity regulation on it was amazing, like +/- 3-4 fps.  I had the q-valve on it, turned down the dwell time and it spewed paint like nobodys business.

ahhh good old paintball, something I'd love to get back into later in my life. I was big into speedball, and owned plenty of markers. I'm gonna have to look through my old PBN account and find some pictures .

Quoted: Quoted: Woods ball is for newbs.  Once you go airball there is no going back. Wow. How insightful. Woods ball player checking in. Tippman X7 w/MP5 air-through stock and carbon fiber remote. Started playing in the late '80s with Splatmaster pistols. My how equipment has changed.

Started in the early 90s with Pro-Lites and VM-68s.  Progressed through the Spyder days, and then on to tournament paintball and autocockers.

Hung it all up after the Chicago Open 2001.  Packed my Dark and CL*SS Angels with my jerseys and gear and haven't looked at them since.  I still wish we never had come out of the woods.  

This one below is a Rhythm E-cocker that I cut to a mini and hand fitted at the freeflow shop in Rochester.  Ethan is one of my best friends and he an I (and a guy named Mitch Carnes) threw it together in less than an hour.  

Second one below that is a spool valve Matrix. Custom annoed by the old current freeflow contractor that was doing all of Ethans guns at the time.

I've taken both of them around the country playing both leagues from 2000 to 2004.  Played for Doc Draper when his team were only known as Docs Raiders.   Among my friends and associates are members of Team Strange, Jax Warriors, Kenny and Travis from Aftershock, Miami Rage.    And from the Old School Woods Ball days, yeah I was playing in those days too..... DOOMTROOPERS! and the  WARDOGS!

Forget the cup, if you're playing right you should mainly receive hits in your upper torso, mainly your face, arms and hits on the gun.

I miss playing paintball, but i've got to run my business now, no time to travel all over the country every other month.

If anyone as any questions, please ask.  I captained East Coast Fury in 2002 and we formed a rookie Xball team in 3 months that went all the way to 2nd place in our first national tournament (Los Angeles).  2nd place out of over 135 teams is not bad for a bunch of "bad news bears" types

nice matrix!,i always liked the bricks, im partial to the aardvark ironmen series because i was surrounded by them around here.

this is the kinda stuff i build and shoot now when freeflow crashed,and the stock went to ken i got about 45 bodys from him and built them into OSC  monsters, for my gf's team


http://i106.photobucket.com/albums/m269/DeviantsWebsite/ffff.jpg


http://i106.photobucket.com/albums/m269/DeviantsWebsite/BL32.jpg

cheers

Are those CCM (chipley machine)  pump kits, or have you pump guys gone way beyond that these days?

I played SC village with a Phantom pump (most accurate p gun in the world imo), back when it was still called SAT CONG VILLAGE.   (circa 1989)

Also met Glen Palmer at his shop in CA about 4 years ago.  Pump guns are the sht!

YOU KNOW, I still have some roller bearing titanium trigger sets for the autocockers that would be the shit on a pump

Could someone explain Airball to this old geezer?  

Sure.  

It all started at a place called SC Village in Corona, CA.   Previously known as Sat Cong Village.   This was somewhere around 1990.

The goal was to take paintball out of the woods to make it a more spectator friendly sport and put the game in a "arena" type format.  

SC started by using large cable spools, pallets, and 55gal size drums as bunkers.  

Then.  a company out of Canada or something like that (Sup Air Ball), made "air" bunkers simply because hauling pallets,spools and 55gal drums was impractical for tournament promoters and local paintball field owners to move around the state or country, even overseas.  

The birth of the air filled bunker.   After all they only need to stop paintballs.  SC village called it "speedball".   We currently call it "airball".

HOWEVER, there is hardly anything more fun than taking a minimum of 4 friends with basic paintball gear out into the woods, and making your own "fire bases" out of scrap tires, pallets, drums and spools.   And having at it.  

What makes paintball superior to Airsoft is the fact that you have to be more of a man to play,  yes it hurts alot more, hence the adrenaline.    

Hardly any training compares to the genuine adrenaline rush paintball brings.  You've got to be on top of your gear, ammo, and guts to compete and win.

Airball is big, Here, South America, Russia, Canada, Swiss, Japan etc.  This is usually a 5 to 10 man team sport requiring complete dedication, willingness and ability to travel, which is why you usually see teams of younger players.  More time, more disposable income, err allowance.

FOR YOU WOODS BALL LOVERS.   Dont forget with woods ball many events are put on all year, including the infamous "Big Games".   Think 500 vs. 500 holding a "castle" under siege for 24hours. (i've heard of 1800 vs 1800 also)  Yes at night too.   I've seen guys using night vision and throat mic radios.    You camp, you fight, you eat.  Then do it all over again.  Its addictive.   Father and son pairs really love this sport.  

Id put money if you take a seasoned paintball player and put him through a tactical pistol or carbine course focusing on indoor combat, you'll end up with something very dangerous.    In paintball weve learned to "trick" the enemy into "dying", i've trained guys to loudly fake an "out of ammo" or "gun down" situations, and when his opponent pokes his head out to take his shot.  BOOM.   You also learn to tuck your elbows, feet, hips and heads behind your cover.   I see people at the range all the time shooting with high elbows out.  If you go up against a paintball player in a gunfight, he's gonna be shooting for your elbows, knees and feet.   Whatever target  you present is fair game.  Keep in mind this is practiced day in and day out UNDER SEVER ADRENALINE.  

You dont get adrenaline running around in a carbine class with your leg holster shooting cardboard like this.  In paintball you've got another human hunting you with something that actually hurts you physically, its a whole nother world.

height=8

Quoted: Are those CCM (chipley machine)  pump kits, or have you pump guys gone way beyond that these days? I played SC village with a Phantom pump (most accurate p gun in the world imo), back when it was still called SAT CONG VILLAGE.   (circa 1989) Also met Glen Palmer at his shop in CA about 4 years ago.  Pump guns are the sht! YOU KNOW, I still have some roller bearing titanium trigger sets for the autocockers that would be the shit on a pumphipley my girlfriend burned out of the tourny scene so i got a pump gun in her hands to keep her playing,then it spread like wildfire and we got tons of people playing pump here now http://www.myspace.com/deviantspaintball its cheap and fun

You guys are making me want to go to the garage and dig out the cocker.

What I dont like about airball:  Spray and pray, just dumping paint downrange can get really expensive with no sponsors.

What I like about airball:  CQB distances

As I said, I first got into paintball back in '88 when rental units were Splatmaster pistols with 10 shot mag tubes and hardcore guys with money to burn had pumps. I remember the first semi-auto I ever saw. It was a Tippman that had a mag feed device and I believe it was horizontal feed. Virtually nobody had semis due to cost and terrible reliability.

I did 5 man woods tournaments and big "North vs. South" games back then but got out of the sport in the early '90s to focus on semi-pro football and racing off-road motorcycles.

Interestingly, I just found a 1/2 case of paintballs from '88. Wow. Memories.

In '99 I got back into paintball with a Tippman Pro-Carbine and then a 98. Was pretty active for a couple years and then gave it up to race again. A month ago a few cousins and friends of mine coaxed me out of retirement to play outlaw woodsball with them and after one weekend I went out and dropped some serious coin on a new X7 and all the necessary mods and gear. For the first time I am running a remote and I like it quite a bit.

Back in the day I used to be a flier, especially in single flag games, but also in regular team matches. Now that I'm nearing the end of my '30s I'm not nearly as fast or active, but am finding that balls-to-the-wall speed isn't a prerequisite for successful woods play. It's a little different for me, but some of the guys I am playing with understand movement and flanking maneuvers which takes some of the pressure off for needing speed.

I like this X7 (with a 16" Striker bbl), but am still trying to get better accuracy out of it. Range is pretty impressive, but I'd rather it be more accurate.

Anyway, just thought I'd share my history with you guys and take a trip down memory lane. I really like having got back into this sport as it's given me something to do other than work.

Did you play in final "North vs South" game in Coram around '88?

Quoted: Did you play in final "North vs South" game in Coram around '88?

Nope. First NvS was in '90 or '91 in SC at Red Fox.