Posted: 4/8/2003 4:23:10 PM EDT
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My 13 yr old nephew wants to get into paint ball with some of his buds.. His birthday is this week... What are some good brands to look for best value..for a first gun? TIA |
| i am in the process of finding a first gun for myself. me and some guys from work have started a bi-weekly game. they all have their own stuff, right now i am borrowing from them. every one of them has said to go with a tippman 98. one of my buddies described it as the AK-47 of paintball markers. reliable as hell. i've shot them and they are pretty decent. i've done alot of looking at the spyders though. they look very nice also. haven't shot one yet though, so i can't say much about them. i think you would be ok either way. |
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I will have been playing for 5 years next month. My first gun was a model 98, and it is still working, never had any problems. They are reliable, inexpensive, and have what I think is the best stock trigger on a mechanical gun out of the box. Plus they aren't pink. Make sure you get a mask with a thermal lens too, as that's more important than any gun could ever be. It's possible to eliminate people without a gun :) I tend to lean toward the Tippmann's more than the spyders, they seem a bit more reliable than spyders, and they are all made in the US too. |
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Spyder all the way. Tippman's are decent, but they have no where near the upgradability of Spyders. Spyders are the most imitated paintball gun EVER, there's a reason why. A spyder equivalent to the Honda civic when it comes to upgrades. There are thousands of aftermarket parts, easily more than any other gun out there. |
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Quoted: Spyder all the way. Tippman's are decent, but they have no where near the upgradability of Spyders. Spyders are the most imitated paintball gun EVER, there's a reason why. A spyder equivalent to the Honda civic when it comes to upgrades. There are thousands of aftermarket parts, easily more than any other gun out there. The spyder is limited by its shitty valve design. The tippmans valve is far superior which allows it to run off liquid co2 if necessary. THe tippman is built like a tank and is a great gun from a reliability standpoint. I have owned a spyder and a tippman 68 carbine and the tippman is the better one of the two. go with a model 98 or a tipman a5 |
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Tippmans are air hogs and have little or no accuarcy. And no amount of upgrades changes that. Now don't get me wrong if you have the money and are a spray and prayer that doesn't take care of your equipment it is probably the most reliable cheap gun you can get. Now the vm-68 was a work horse gun that could be upgraded. check these out. http://www.vm68.com/vm68/customvms.html I don't think they sell them anymore but if you can find one it should be cheap. I think I saw one for around 125 or so. The two high end types would be the autococker and the automag. But it depends on if you want to spend 350-700 on a base gun. These are the ones the tourney players used to/still use, but with more do dads and stuff built onto them now. You could check around the local paintball shops if you don't mind used and see what the people are letting their old stuff go for. Look here for more info http://www.warpig.com here are some used price ranges http://www.justshowit.com/guns.html |
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Quoted: Tippmans are air hogs and have little or no accuarcy. And no amount of upgrades changes that. Now don't get me wrong if you have the money and are a spray and prayer that doesn't take care of your equipment it is probably the most reliable cheap gun you can get. Now the vm-68 was a work horse gun that could be upgraded. check these out. http://www.vm68.com/vm68/customvms.html I don't think they sell them anymore but if you can find one it should be cheap. I think I saw one for around 125 or so. The two high end types would be the autococker and the automag. But it depends on if you want to spend 350-700 on a base gun. These are the ones the tourney players used to/still use, but with more do dads and stuff built onto them now. You could check around the local paintball shops if you don't mind used and see what the people are letting their old stuff go for. Look here for more info http://www.warpig.com here are some used price ranges http://www.justshowit.com/guns.html I can tell you havent played in a few years |
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I will throw my .02 into the heap: 9divdoc: I have had a paintball team for 3 years now, and most all of my guys have Tippmann 98's. They are dead reliable, but not the most accurate with the stock barrel. In independent tests, the Smart Parts All American barrel is the most accurate for the 98. Several players on my team have them and I love mine. At only $75.00 for the barrel, it is WELL worth the investment. More paint will go where you want, so you don't waste expensive paintballs, spraying and praying. The barrels are now 2 piece. I can recommend the the spiral design (All American). Check them out at [url]http://www.smartparts.com/spaabarrel.htm[/url]. -White Horse p.s. Tell your nephew that if he wears boxer shorts and no shirt onto the playing field he will most likely get his picture in a national magazine. Not that I know about that or anything. [:D] March 2002 "Paintball 2 Xtremes", page 44 if you are wondering. [8)] |
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ACI F4 Illustrator and a "Smart Parts" barrel. Excellent starter setup. In fact, I'll give you a package deal if you're interested. My F4 has some goodies with it (expansion chamber, aftermarket barrel, drop forward, 2 tanks, mask, 2 hoppers, etc.) Only used a few times. |
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Bunghole, nice 2k3 LCD you have there. You might want to check out that new WDP SPEED too. A 'budget' IR3. :) Don't worry about barrels too much until you get serious into the sport. New players won't see that significant of an improvement from new barrels if they paint they shoot matches the bore of the barrel. Paint can range anywhere from .679cal to over .698cal so many companies sell multibore kits to improve consistancy. Make sure you get all the equipment and try to start him playing the 'right' way on a organized field. |
| i have had several of the newbie type guns. the only one i would reccomend is the tippman. its fairly upgradable (barrels and such) and pretty reliable. many diffrent brands of the "stack" designed gun (spyder,raptor,F4, ect) i have seen get messed up during use. i think its just a less reliable design. i have seen some nice spyders, but i wouldnt put one in the hands of a 13 year old. higher up markers are out of the question for a beginner of that age for many reasons. i think the tippman 98 customs are going for like $119 on the web sites these days. all of my friends that paintball started with something other than a tippman, but now all of use(with maybe one or 2 exceptions) has a tippman. |
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Spyder is an outstanding first marker. As you can see, you have started an excellent "Ford vs Chevy" type arguement here. I am getting out of the sport, and I ahve a hardly-used Spyder shutter, thermal goggles, 20 oz tank, backpack, and remote. IM me if you want more info. All of it is going on eBay within 2 days... |
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Quoted: What is the range on one of these? It looks like fun. What can a 'starter' setup cost? effective range is up to 50m at the most. they can shoot further but who knows if the ball will break or not. starter setups have gone down and from the looks of it can be had for 150 and up including tank and mask (depending on the gun) |
| get him a customized e-mag with twin barrels and twin warp feeds. he'll be the most feared newb in town. if you're not familiar, think of this config as the "vulcan mini gun" of paintball markers. you can basically blow through both hoppers in just under 10 seconds. sure, it'll weigh a ton, and the paint will cost you a fortune, but that doesn't matter because with this baby your nephew's battles will be a lot shorter overall. hehehe. |
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Thanks everyone for all your replies.. The kid has gone through a messy divorce and both he and his older brother are hurtin units right now.. My wife and I have been trying to get them into something and since they expressed an interest in PaintBall we want to encourage them.. Again Thanks everyone..greatly appreciated |
| Tippmann 98's are no-brainers when it comes to troubleshooting, if you ever have a problem. The replacement rings and seals kit is a waste of money, because the rings and seals never seem to wear out. They're built in Fort Wayne, IN, and have very good factory service. |
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I have been in and out of the sport since '88 (the dinosaur age for paintball). Trust me when I say if you want a reliable, inexpensive, decent-performing paintball gun you have really only one choice; Tippman. Model 98, Pro-carbine, the new A5 (more expensive, though), it doesn't matter. Tippman is the AK47 of the paintball world. Always has been, always will be. Great value for the money. |
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Quoted: Spyder all the way. Tippman's are decent, but they have no where near the upgradability of Spyders. Spyders are the most imitated paintball gun EVER, there's a reason why. A spyder equivalent to the Honda civic when it comes to upgrades. There are thousands of aftermarket parts, easily more than any other gun out there. to second this opinion, let me give you my story... when i started playing, i bought a used spyder from a bud who wanted an automag. i spent $100 on it. after a few weekends, i got a decent $40 venturi bolt for it. when my friend saw how well it shot, he said 'had i known it would shoot like that, i would never have bought the mag!'. at that point, my $140 spyder was competitive with his $300 stock automag. when i bought a new barrel, i was outshooting automags consistently. when i added a regulator, i was outshooting stock ('97-'98) autocockers. when i added nitrogen, i was competitive with any gun on the range. and finally, when i went to a low-pressure valve and bolt, i had semi-pro guys walking up and asking 'what the hell is that, and can you set one up for me?'. in the end, i have less than $500 in my spyder, and that was spent over several years. the only guns that clearly outclass mine cost 3-4 times as much, and are about 5 years newer. nothing else has the scaleability of a spyder, which is why it is such an excellent starter gun. at first, your nephew will have to learn tactics and guile to succeed against the more heavily-armed players. (this is a good thing, as you can always tell who learned the game with a high-end gun. they use the gun's capability as a crutch) but with low-cost aftermarket parts, he can afford to upgrade in stages, as opposed to $300-$500 at a time. i apologize for the length of this post, but i hope it helps somewhat. the tippman is a fine starter, but i believe the spyder is better. in reality, as long as he has fun, any gun will do. |
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Quoted: Quoted: Spyder all the way. Tippman's are decent, but they have no where near the upgradability of Spyders. Spyders are the most imitated paintball gun EVER, there's a reason why. A spyder equivalent to the Honda civic when it comes to upgrades. There are thousands of aftermarket parts, easily more than any other gun out there. to second this opinion, let me give you my story... when i started playing, i bought a used spyder from a bud who wanted an automag. i spent $100 on it. after a few weekends, i got a decent $40 venturi bolt for it. when my friend saw how well it shot, he said 'had i known it would shoot like that, i would never have bought the mag!'. at that point, my $140 spyder was competitive with his $300 stock automag. when i bought a new barrel, i was outshooting automags consistently. when i added a regulator, i was outshooting stock ('97-'98) autocockers. when i added nitrogen, i was competitive with any gun on the range. and finally, when i went to a low-pressure valve and bolt, i had semi-pro guys walking up and asking 'what the hell is that, and can you set one up for me?'. in the end, i have less than $500 in my spyder, and that was spent over several years. the only guns that clearly outclass mine cost 3-4 times as much, and are about 5 years newer. nothing else has the scaleability of a spyder, which is why it is such an excellent starter gun. at first, your nephew will have to learn tactics and guile to succeed against the more heavily-armed players. (this is a good thing, as you can always tell who learned the game with a high-end gun. they use the gun's capability as a crutch) but with low-cost aftermarket parts, he can afford to upgrade in stages, as opposed to $300-$500 at a time. i apologize for the length of this post, but i hope it helps somewhat. the tippman is a fine starter, but i believe the spyder is better. in reality, as long as he has fun, any gun will do. Low pressure on blowback markers was the biggest scam out there. The only ones with real success were closed bolt guns like the cocker and angels |
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Quoted: Low pressure on blowback markers was the biggest scam out there. The only ones with real success were closed bolt guns like the cocker and angels tell that to the cocker/mag/nova/angel users who wore my paint. 20yd. groups were cut in half. trajectory was significantly flatter. fewer curveballs due to pressure-deformed balls. fewer chopped balls. more consistent chrono. all this for <$150. if this is a scam, i'd be glad to get scammed again. |