I used to play paint ball competively. My primary marker is an angel. I played in the NEPL. When money and time allows I'm going to start playing tournies again. Here are my thoughts:
-That is a lot of gun you have there. You should consider finding a team and playing tournaments. They are a blast. What a great excuse to take weekend trips with buddies!
-FA and 3 round burst are fun, but not useful. Most fields won't allow them and no tournaments will.
-Getting a 12v hopper is not a bad idea. You will want to adjust down your max rate of fire just enough to match your hopper. When people first get a fast shooting marker, they want to crank the ROF all the way up. Fast ROF is only half the benefit of an electro marker, the other half is not breaking balls. Once you break a ball, accuracy is shot for the rest of the game even with a squeegie.
Upgrades:
-Forget sights or scopes, practice what is known as snap shooting. You want to be able to pop out and shoot at your target accurately simply by pointing. In the heat of the game if you hang out and look down your sights you will catch one in the goggles. Practice is the way to go. You've probably had a favorite handgun that is like an extension of your arm. One you simply point and hit things without using the sights. You want to get like that with your marker too.
-Barrels are a must. Long barrels are NOT more accurate in paintball though they are easier to sight down and quieter. They also can get in the way. I'd suggest getting a few barrels so you can match paint size to barrel. This is key for accuracy. It varies from season to season, but a nice assortment might be 0.683, 0.687, 0.690 or something along those lines. At touraments you use the paint they give you. Then again if you only shoot one kind of paint simply get a good barrel for it. Regarding length, 12-14" is best in my opinion. Shorter is loud and inefficient, longer snags on stuff. I like 12" barrel because I used to play forward a lot.
-A good investment would be a device called a drop forward craddle. This basically moves your tank so that you can hold your gun closer in to your body. When the fire fight is close range making yourself a small target is key. If you are a very big fellow, this is less desirable because you are already a large target you may find this set up less comfortable. Experiment and see what you think after trying other people's markers.
-A nice set of knee/shin guards will make playing much more comfortable. Also, shockers go through paint fast. A comfortable pack to carry paint is a must. Get an appropriate size for how much paint you shoot (ie if you shoot 500 rounds a game, don't get a 300 round pack and don't get a 1200 round pack either).
Feel free to email me about anything:
[email protected]Have fun...