[Ichalvl]

I'm brand new to paintball. I'm interested in purchasing a good gun, and also in finding a good place. I live near a military base, and half of the people there are ex-marines who can hit me from 300 feet away. What's a good way to form "groups" (if that's necessary) and a good way to get to where I need (can't drive yet)? Is there a good place to search for paintball areas? Google just brings up stores and distant areas.

Next up, prices. I've got around 250 dollars, what's a good method to get a nice gun and other supplies? (A good place to find all this would be nice)
If that isn't a good option, what's the best way to buy used guns?

[tallsmallboy44]

1. Have your parents drive you
2. Try the Tippmann paintball locator app, it helped me find some new fields.
3. Go play, and rent a few times before buying. The bst on this forum is a good place to buy used.

Buy gear in in this order:

Good mask (E-Flex, Pro-Flex, I4, ProAxis, Grillz, Profiler, ect.)> 4500psi HPA tank (preferably a Ninja adjustable reg)> good loader (Fasta 18V, Halo TOO, Prophecy V/Z2, Rotor, Spire, Pinokio) > then marker of choice

I suggest finding a proshop and trying on masks.

[obft]

Ichalvl, on 11 October 2012 - 08:36 PM, said:

I'm brand new to paintball. I'm interested in purchasing a good gun, and also in finding a good place. I live near a military base, and half of the people there are ex-marines who can hit me from 300 feet away. What's a good way to form "groups" (if that's necessary) and a good way to get to where I need (can't drive yet)? Is there a good place to search for paintball areas? Google just brings up stores and distant areas.

Next up, prices. I've got around 250 dollars, what's a good method to get a nice gun and other supplies? (A good place to find all this would be nice)
If that isn't a good option, what's the best way to buy used guns?

The red text: Paintball guns =/= real guns. With real guns, you point the gun, the bullet will go in the same place every time. With paintball guns, two shots will almost never go in the same place, mainly due to wind and inconsistencies in the paint and the velocity of the marker.

The definition of "group" sort of varies. If you want a group of friends you can call up and play with at a scheduled time, then just make friends who play paintball or get your current friends into paintball. If you want to form like a walk-on team for that day, then usually the refs will handle that. As for transportation, if your parents support you and everything, they should be willing to drive you, if not you could probably car pool.

To find good paintball fields and shops, check out the regional forums. If you also post your location here, some of us may be able to help you. Also if ordering online is a possibility, then try ansgear.com and paintballgateway.com. There are LOTS more good ones, but those are the ones I use.

With $250, you won't be able to get a full setup that's decent. First, buy a mask that's at least $60, the JT Proflex is a good cheap mask. But ALWAYS try on a mask before you buy it(if there's a shop that has in stock near you, or if a friend owns it or something). Other masks to take a look at: Empire E-vents(my personal mask, I love them), Dye I4, Empire E-flex, and the Sly Profit. Take a look at those sites I gave you for more masks as well. If you're looking to get a really cheap but still good(for the price) mask, get the JT Pro-Vantage. That was my first mask, and it didn't fog and was pretty breathable with the great JT foam, for just $35.

What you should buy second depends on your field. My fields don't allow you to use your own tank/hopper on their rental guns. If that is the case with you, buy a pod pack first. There are lots of em, NXe has great lowend and high end packs, Dye, and Empire also make good ones.
If the above is NOT your situation, buy a tank, then a hopper. With tanks, Ninja is the best one on the market. The philosophy with buying paintball gear is to spend more now on a high end thing, so you won't have to take all the little expensive steps in between. So get a carbon fiber Ninja tank, preferably the best Ninja regulator you can afford(the best is the Ninja Pro reg at about $180).
For the hopper, great budget loaders are the Kingman Fasta and the Invert Too. The Invert Too is my personal loader(and has been for over 1 year), and I have no complaints at $80. I can only recommend the Fasta based on the fact that a lot of people on this forum like it. For high end loaders, the Dye Rotor, the Empire Prophecy Z2, the Pinokio, and the Virtue Spire are the top dogs. The Rotor is a great all-around loader(and the most popular one), but the other ones are also great. They all have different features and such that make them great, both of those websites above do a great job listing them.

[SamBo]

Welcome to Techpb!

[Ichalvl]

Why is the marker last? Just windering

[SamBo]

You can't use your gun without air or paint. All markers shoot a ball 300fps and thats what you need to get people out.

[kingJurzy]

Ichalvl, on 11 October 2012 - 11:07 PM, said:

Why is the marker last? Just windering

Why get a $1400 gun when you cannot see what you shoot?


Cheap masks fog up and are uncomfortable, gear should be next because shooting a mid end to a high end marker is embarrassing if you have a 3000 psi tank and a gravity hopper.

SamBo, on 11 October 2012 - 11:12 PM, said:

You can't use your gun without air or paint. All markers shoot a ball 300fps and thats what you need to get people out.

[tallsmallboy44]

You can't put a shake n' shoot and a CO2 tank on an Ego11 (I know you could put a shaknbake on any gun , but it won't be incredibly effective)

Mask is the most important, because it is what is protecting you, and you can't shoot what you can't see.

The hpa tank and hopper are interchangeable. A loader will make sure you always have a ball in the breech, and are ready to shoot. An hpa tank, because it will give you the most consistent shot possible, and can be used on any marker. (with the exception of pistols and and stock class pumps)

The gun being the least important because of the above.

This post has been edited by tallsmallboy44: 11 October 2012 - 11:24 PM

[Twistedfreak]

Listen to all these guys. Buy used on tech pb.
Dont worry about the military guys lol. Id be more scared of the every day paintball geek on a paintball field.

This post has been edited by Twistedfreak: 13 October 2012 - 01:30 AM

[epic woodsballer]

This is why I love techpb. Catering to all beginners with the expertise extensive knowledge you wouldn't get else where.

[Aulldeath]

You'd be surprised at how many military/marines get lit up playing paintball.

We had an entire group of 9 people in the army against me and 2 of my friends. They did not stand a chance, and we were using pistols/pumps.

Did a 1v1, me vs my marine brother. I used a pistol, he used my TM7. He lost 4/5 matches.

Just because they have military training, actually means that they usually are impeaded by their own training. They try and incorporate their training into the game, which usually does not work out for them.

They tend to aim like they would with real guns, or try and make stances when shooting that makes them very open and easy targets. When they are "sniping" they tend to lay down with their legs wide open, as they are trained when shooting a rifle, which makes them a larger target.

It usually takes a bit of playing paintball for them to actually get the mindset of the differences between shooting rifles and shooting paintball markers.

[Ichalvl]

Aulldeath, on 13 October 2012 - 05:07 PM, said:

You'd be surprised at how many military/marines get lit up playing paintball.

We had an entire group of 9 people in the army against me and 2 of my friends. They did not stand a chance, and we were using pistols/pumps.

Did a 1v1, me vs my marine brother. I used a pistol, he used my TM7. He lost 4/5 matches.

Just because they have military training, actually means that they usually are impeaded by their own training. They try and incorporate their training into the game, which usually does not work out for them.

They tend to aim like they would with real guns, or try and make stances when shooting that makes them very open and easy targets. When they are "sniping" they tend to lay down with their legs wide open, as they are trained when shooting a rifle, which makes them a larger target.

It usually takes a bit of playing paintball for them to actually get the mindset of the differences between shooting rifles and shooting paintball markers.

Wow, nice. I can see how there would definitely be a difference.

[Aulldeath]

Pissed my brother off when I kept beating him .

[AT3256]

The best thing is watching a soldier break an alpha black stock when he uses it to brace himself as he goes prone. Never gets old.

[HU Soldier]

Yeah, i prefer playing military guys. So much fun and usually easy pickings lol

[No Mercy Ever]

Not sure if I am adding anything to this, but, I agree with mask first. All paintball masks are going to protect you. But, if you have a mask that not only fogs up easily, but isn't comfortable for you to wear, then it is garbage. So get a thermal lens mask, that is comfortable for you to wear. Only you will know what mask is going to be most comfortable. So asking us isn't going to help you much. We can tell you what we have worn, and was comfortable and uncomfortable for us, but we can't tell you what is going to be comfortable for you.

As to the idea of buying the hopper and air tank before the marker, think about this: You just went out and bought a really nice and expensive marker. You did some research, checked some things out, and found exactly the one that you wanted. You saved up money for a while, and bought yourself exactly what you wanted. You get home, and there it is, that beautiful marker that you spent all of that money on. But you don't get to go and play with it, because you don't have an air tank for it, or a hopper to feed it. And most likely, you will need a HPA tank, and some kind of a forcefeed hopper. So how unhappy are you going to be, that you spent all of that money, got yourself your slick marker, and can't use it? And unlike markers, which used to come out with a new model every year, now seem to come out with a new model in some times less than that, hoppers come out with a new design around once a year, at best, and air tanks are made all of the time, with little differences between one that was made today, with one that was released five years ago.

Plus, in waiting, you can begin to develop your style of play. This will help you determine what kind of a marker you want,

[crich775]

AT3256, on 14 October 2012 - 12:21 AM, said:

The best thing is watching a soldier break an alpha black stock when he uses it to brace himself as he goes prone. Never gets old.

I'm in the military, and I usually take a few friends from post playing when I hit the field, long story short, they tried that with my 'mag. #notagoodday
However the old brace with the stock method is going away in the military for a "Point post sprawl" method that's a lot less ridiculous looking.