[chay03]

My son has played twice now and loves it. He's 14 and hardcore online gamer of COD. I bought him the Tippman 98C combo set from Sports Authority last xmas, standard mask, tank, gun, hopper.

I've read the newbie and agree to upgrade especially on the mask, i don't want to see him screaming on the floor like the kid i saw last weekend that got lit up and hit in the neck.

He's telling me that his gun doesn't always shoot at what he's aiming for, I'm assuming its the shorter barrel, the balls, and the gun, reason being that its inaccurate. So my question is, what do you all recommend for lets say a budget of $300. Is there a descent upgrade of a gun and gear for that budget that will actually make a difference in his performance? This is something he wants to do at least once a month if it doesnt get too expensive. We play at Camp Pendleton but planning to roam around all the other fields here in san diego.

Thanks,

[CPS]

yes make sure you take him to a proshop to try on masks, expect to spend $70+ on a good mask. all markers and barrels have the same accuracy,buying higher quality paint will improve his accuracy

[kingJurzy]

chay03, on 03 October 2012 - 08:57 AM, said:

My son has played twice now and loves it. He's 14 and hardcore online gamer of COD. I bought him the Tippman 98C combo set from Sports Authority last xmas, standard mask, tank, gun, hopper.

I've read the newbie and agree to upgrade especially on the mask, i don't want to see him screaming on the floor like the kid i saw last weekend that got lit up and hit in the neck.

He's telling me that his gun doesn't always shoot at what he's aiming for, I'm assuming its the shorter barrel, the balls, and the gun, reason being that its inaccurate. So my question is, what do you all recommend for lets say a budget of $300. Is there a descent upgrade of a gun and gear for that budget that will actually make a difference in his performance? This is something he wants to do at least once a month if it doesnt get too expensive. We play at Camp Pendleton but planning to roam around all the other fields here in san diego.

Thanks,

You will not get much for $300.



The reason that the marker is inaccurate is because Tippmann barrels are not honed the best inside, and I am assuming that you are buying the cheapest paint. The marker itself does not make the gun inaccurate.

Paint quality and cleanliness of gear determines accuracy in paintball, not barrels (although the rough inside of the stock tippmann barrels are no match to their really cheap barrel brothers. )




In my personal opinion, if you really like saving money, I suggest you sell his Tippmann and but a Tippmann TiPX, a Tiberius T8.1 or an open class pump (google it because others can explain this better.) This is limited ammo type play and being a good player does not mean that you have to lay down loads of paint.




I would sell all the current gear and add the money to buy a new set up.

[LUXOR54]

well his first problem is that he's probably comparing paintball physics to COD physics. unlike COD's bullets, paintballs don't travel at the speed of light, in a perfectly straight line. it's normal for them to be slightly "inaccurate" just buy better quality paint. and make sure the barrel/breech of the marker is completely clean

[sagestylerpb]

Dont be afraid to buy used. Also shop around. For 325 you can get him this setup HERE.

That would be perfect for him!

Welcome! Feel free to PM me with any questions. Thanks!

The SP1 is also electric so it will shoot a little faster than his 98. Something to keep in mind.

This post has been edited by sagestylerpb: 03 October 2012 - 09:35 AM

[The Inflicted]

chay03, on 03 October 2012 - 08:57 AM, said:

He's telling me that his gun doesn't always shoot at what he's aiming for,

Like Luxor said, one of the biggest reasons here is, "it's a paintball gun." At the extreme end of their range, even the most expensive paintball guns aren't accurate at all compared to real firearms, let alone video game guns. Shooting paintballs is more like lobbing water balloons at high speed than doing anything with bullets.

Also, a lot of it may be user error/inexperience. If your son doesn't have much of a background with shooting sports it may simply take a while to learn to aim accurately and precisely.

Finally, I assume the manual already tells you this, but in order to be accurate a paintball barrel has to be very clean. If even a single paintball breaks in the barrel it will leave enough slime in the tube to foul up your accuracy royally until it's cleaned out. Your son's Tippmann should have come with a black, flexible silicon squeegee that's perfectly capable of getting the job done. He should be carrying this with him on the field at all time and use it as soon as necessary. Also, it's a good idea to take the gun's barrel off after each day of play and flush it with hot water.

Also take a look at the inside of the hopper. Running around or shaking the gun can sometimes cause paint to break in here, which will repeatedly foul any ball loaded into the gun. Clean that thoroughly, and make sure the paint he's using is totally dry.

[newwestswag]

for $300 I recommend a high end mask it will cost you around $100 and then a tank and a loader.
Tell him to to save up and buy himself a new gun.
This loader - http://www.ansgear.c...ooloaderblk.htm
This tank - http://www.ansgear.c...nk-ghost-68.htm
And make sure you try on masks to see which one fits best

This post has been edited by newwestswag: 03 October 2012 - 09:54 AM

[Old Dude PB]

chay03, on 03 October 2012 - 08:57 AM, said:

My son has played twice now and loves it. He's 14 and hardcore online gamer of COD. I bought him the Tippman 98C combo set from Sports Authority last xmas, standard mask, tank, gun, hopper.

I've read the newbie and agree to upgrade especially on the mask, i don't want to see him screaming on the floor like the kid i saw last weekend that got lit up and hit in the neck.

He's telling me that his gun doesn't always shoot at what he's aiming for, I'm assuming its the shorter barrel, the balls, and the gun, reason being that its inaccurate. So my question is, what do you all recommend for lets say a budget of $300. Is there a descent upgrade of a gun and gear for that budget that will actually make a difference in his performance? This is something he wants to do at least once a month if it doesnt get too expensive. We play at Camp Pendleton but planning to roam around all the other fields here in san diego.

Thanks,

It's great to see you supporting your son's interest in paintball. I hope you're getting out there to play too. I play with my kids and it's a blast. As far as accuracy goes, the advice above about keeping your gear clean and shooting good paint is spot on. Also, form matters a lot, especially for new players. There are plenty of Youtube vids about the best way to hold and aim a marker.

This post has been edited by Old Dude PB: 03 October 2012 - 10:40 AM

[chay03]

Yep, I've been using the cheap paint. I will try the good paint next time from a shop. Will get the mask this weekend and just practice in the backyard.

He understands this is nothing like the game. He likes the sport though and is actually trying to get a paintball club started at the high school. I hope it works out.

His gun will be handed down to me after I get him all setup. I plan on going out there to support him, and the other kids, Im a bigger target if you know what I mean.

[CPS]

chay03, on 03 October 2012 - 10:18 AM, said:

Yep, I've been using the cheap paint. I will try the good paint next time from a shop. Will get the mask this weekend and just practice in the backyard.

He understands this is nothing like the game. He likes the sport though and is actually trying to get a paintball club started at the high school. I hope it works out.

His gun will be handed down to me after I get him all setup. I plan on going out there to support him, and the other kids, Im a bigger target if you know what I mean.

i wouldnt start a highschool club, especially since he just started.

[sagestylerpb]

I think youll like paintball too. My dad plays regularly, and Im the one that got him into it lol.

[Mzee]

Getting a new mask is a good first step. As someone pointed out, go to a pro shop and try on several different masks to see which ones fit best. Invest money in a good mask.

As far at the Tippman 98C goes, it is a great starter marker. It's reliable and solid. It will take a beating that some other markers won't. I'm not sure I'd recommend upgrading just yet. He's only 14. Let him play and get more experience before upgrading to a new marker. At 14, he may lose interest in paintball or go off on some other tangent. If he sticks with it for a couple of years and gets some experience, he will be in a much better place to select his next marker.

As others have said, paint balls do not fly straight and true like bullets in real life or video games. Good paint and a good barrel will help, but there will always be inaccuracy issues. It's the nature of paint balls. Also, short barrels can throw off your aim unless you are used to it. Barrels in the 12-16 inch range may help with aiming.

If you want to improve accuracy, my advice would be to get a new after market barrel for the 98C. My son used a Lapco Bigshot barrel on his 98 and he was quite happy with it. I'm sure there are other barrels that will work well on the 98. Just check around on some Tippman forums and see what people seem to like. I don't use a Tippman so I can't recommend a barrel other than what my son used.

And yes, I can recommend getting out there and playing with your son. It's a great father / son activity. My boys got me started when they were about 12-14 years old and we've been at it ever since. My youngest is 24 now. Get out there and have some fun!!

[chay03]

I was looking into the flatline barrel for now or J&J Ceramic 14". Don't know. But ya, I agree about wating awhile before doing a marker upgrade.

[Cookybiscuit]

I'm going to have to disagree with the opinion that a 'better' barrel will help. Tests by Punkworks (OP, if you haven't heard of them they're the science-y section of this forum, like Mythbusters for paintball) show on multiple occasions that a barrel has to have been damaged to effect accuracy, no amount of mirror honing or rifling works.

I'd advise to leave the gun stock (now and in the future, changing a low end gun is NEVER a good idea) and let him play with it. People usually grow out of Tippmanns, but dropping it after using it for such a short time isn't the way to do it in my opinion. For now it should be a much bigger focus on going out and enjoying the game, rather than whats being used to shoot the other team.

[Mzee]

I agree with Cookie in principle. An after market barrel may not help accuracy for the reasons he mentioned. A longer barrel may help just because it provides a longer sight plane. You might ask around to see if you could borrow a barrel and test fire the marker. I use after market barrels and have my reasons for doing so, but I've made those choices based on my experience. I tried a short barrel once and couldn't hit diddly with it, but that was human error, not equipment error. I couldn't hit clay birds with my nephew's 26 inch side by side 12 gauge, but I do just fine with my 28 inch o/u 12 gauge. Go figure. Certainly the Punkworks testing takes the human factor out of barrel accuracy and provides reliable data on paintball barrel accuracy.

But I would stay away from the Flatline for now. I stand by my recommendation that you check into other Tippmann centric forums to see what other Tippmann owners have to say about barrels. You could try the Tippmann 98 Operator Group forum.

Best wishes and have fun.

[slinkyaroo]

A good mask is always a welcomed thing.

As for accuracy. Well he's a newbie. Wind, velocity, ball quality, etc all comes into play. Look at how a pro player holds his mark and I bet your son is different. I can buy the best rifle in the world and have the same complaint as him if I'm holding it wrong.

[invert mini king]

wanted to say that your gun and gear wont make a huge difference in you performance you can have an invert mini for 350 dollars and play the exact same as you would with a luxe which you can get for a heafty +1000 dollars.What will make your son better is just to play more and practice drills and stuff.Snap shooting running to bunkers, suisides.Drills will help his proformance.And for his accuracy issue a better quiality barrel would help. is he going to be playing often or 1 a year? will he be playing speedball or wwodsball.If he is playing speedball than he should get an electric gun and if he will be playing woodsball then he could even keep his 98 and get a barrel upgrade or he could by an electronic gun.<br><br><br><br>And since he is a cod boy then tell him not to junk up his gun with red dot sights and scoes and lazers and silencers and all that stuff that people in cod fancy because that wont really do anything as far as proformance.The only way to get better in this sport is knowledge of the field and practice just like other sports<br><br>


edit: to actually answer the question look for used invert mini,gog envy,empire axe (maybe) or a dp g4 if you have the balls for dealing with it.my #1 tip is if it has the word spyder in front DONT BUY IT

This post has been edited by invert mini king: 03 October 2012 - 05:28 PM

[invert mini king]

Herbert, on 03 October 2012 - 10:19 AM, said:

chay03, on 03 October 2012 - 10:18 AM, said:

Yep, I've been using the cheap paint. I will try the good paint next time from a shop. Will get the mask this weekend and just practice in the backyard.

He understands this is nothing like the game. He likes the sport though and is actually trying to get a paintball club started at the high school. I hope it works out.

His gun will be handed down to me after I get him all setup. I plan on going out there to support him, and the other kids, Im a bigger target if you know what I mean.

i wouldnt start a highschool club, especially since he just started.

This post has been edited by invert mini king: 03 October 2012 - 05:36 PM

[kingJurzy]

invert mini king, on 03 October 2012 - 05:25 PM, said:

wanted to say that your gun and gear wont make a huge difference in you performance you can have an invert mini for 350 dollars and play the exact same as you would with a luxe which you can get for a heafty +1000 dollars.What will make your son better is just to play more and practice drills and stuff.Snap shooting running to bunkers, suisides.Drills will help his proformance.And for his accuracy issue a better quiality barrel would help. is he going to be playing often or 1 a year? will he be playing speedball or wwodsball.If he is playing speedball than he should get an electric gun and if he will be playing woodsball then he could even keep his 98 and get a barrel upgrade or he could by an electronic gun.<br><br><br><br>And since he is a cod boy then tell him not to junk up his gun with red dot sights and scoes and lazers and silencers and all that stuff that people in cod fancy because that wont really do anything as far as proformance.The only way to get better in this sport is knowledge of the field and practice just like other sports<br><br>


edit: to actually answer the question look for used invert mini,gog envy,empire axe (maybe) or a dp g4 if you have the balls for dealing with it.my #1 tip is if it has the word spyder in front DONT BUY IT

No because he needs a new mask.

[chay03]

The plan is to get the mask and better paint, then practice in the back with the old paint and then new paint. Let's see if he notices a difference.

The school actually approved the club. He said there is about 20-30 kids signed up, with first practice coming in a couple weeks. Its CampPendleton so I don't know how you would describe the type of game there.

We spoke about the gun upgrades. He is a COD boy, but is not trying to M16 is gun. His concern is accuracy and actually maybe getting a lighter gun. He doesn't care about the cosmetics and the laser sights. I think he will get into the sport and hopefully it doesn't break my wallet. I also mentioned, as far as gear is concerned and the mask being #1, why no mention of cup or anything like that? One of my buddies got hit when we went and he was in pain for awhile.

This post has been edited by chay03: 05 October 2012 - 03:07 PM