[billski]

Hi,
I am getting pretty big into paintball and i am starting to realize my marker isnt up to par with how i want to play. I normally play on a field that has every type of course. I am planning on upgrading my carver one with apex to something with a higher rate of fire. I have come down to the 2 options that would suite me best.

I prefer to play woodsball so i like the range the apex gives, but i like to be agressive as well. I dont play in tournaments, just as a hobby on the weekends. paintball in wisconsin is seasonal as well


An Empire mini with night stick or a5 with he trigger and a flatline. Cost and weight really arent a factor for me, but reliablilty and maintnenace are. . Can an expert perhaps point be in the right direction?

This post has been edited by billski: 12 December 2012 - 12:46 PM

[Soldier of Fortune]

Maybe look at the gog extcy better performer than both easier to maintain and very reliable

[Cookybiscuit]

An Extcy or Rail would be a much better choice, forget the Mini, and if you get an A5, well...

[Woodyballer29]

Oh and barrels won't do anything to help accuracy if you decide to get the Nightstick for the Mini.

This post has been edited by Woodyballer29: 12 December 2012 - 02:28 PM

[tallsmallboy44]

Out of the two, I would get a Mini, but I would rather get an eXTCy, or a Rail.

[Lotus]

If you get the eXTCy, you can still buy an apex ready barrel, or entire apex kit that includes the tip for it. There is no downside to going with a speedball style marker. They're more reliable, they're lighter, they make it easier to switch hands, easier to run, easier to shoot, more consistent over the chronograph, never chop, easier on paint, and so many other things. A5 is for looks, a speedball marker is for function.

[Woodyballer29]

Lotus, on 12 December 2012 - 03:39 PM, said:

They're more reliable, easier to shoot, more consistent over the chronograph, never chop. A5 is for looks, a speedball marker is for function.

No totally, tippmann's require VERY little maintenance if any. An a5 you just point and shoot, a speedball marker requires a bit more to operate. Really it depends on the paint you are using for it to be consistent. My tippmann can chrono + or - 5 with c02 sometimes. I just recently watched a video with a g5 shooting + or - like 15 lol, with hpa. I was using better paint then them when they did the video. Also it depends on what kind of a bore to barrel match you have. I've seen many speedball guns chop, depends on what paint you are using. They both are for function.

This post has been edited by Woodyballer29: 12 December 2012 - 03:58 PM

[billski]

I would be using hpa. What about range? I'd be using 50$ paint.

[Pump Player]

get a proto rail. dominates all the tippmann guys at my field

[Cookybiscuit]

billski, on 12 December 2012 - 04:10 PM, said:

I would be using hpa. What about range? I'd be using 50$ paint.

HPA is better again for a speedball style gun, sometimes you can get issues with Tippmanns in the cold where they sputter rather than fully recock, something like a Rail runs at a 1/4th the pressure so theres no chance of that happening.

Range is identical between any gun, 300FPS on a speedball gun is 300FPS on a woodsball gun.

[tallsmallboy44]

billski, on 12 December 2012 - 04:10 PM, said:

I would be using hpa. What about range? I'd be using 50$ paint.

Range is purely dependent on the velocity at which you are shooting. The only exception to this would be an Apex, or Flatline barrel, they add backspin allowing the ball to go farther.

[PREDATOR 47]

between the a5 and the mini, I would opt for the mini. But if I were actually picking one out, I would go with the eXTCy or the rail. Or maybe a new or used Axe if you were willing to go that far in terms of price.

[Lotus]

I would call having to take apart the marker to clean a chop, something very common with A5s, as maintenance. Doing that is a bitch if you actually want to get your marker clean again. Yes it can run dirty, but that just ruins accuracy and increases the risks of chopping in the future. Maintenance is significantly better on most speedball markers, Ions not withstanding.

[billski]

Would I be able to shoot farther with a flatline then a proto or extcy with a 100 barrel?

[Lotus]

A flatline versus a regular barrel? Yes, the flatline will shoot farther. But you can do the same thing with an eXTCy by putting an Apex barrel on it. Plus with the Apex you can adjust the direction of spin and degree of spin which can be very useful on the field.

This post has been edited by Lotus: 12 December 2012 - 04:51 PM

[Cheeks]

I love my mini. I also use the apex on occasion. I might be the only person here who thinks its great but I love it. I also own an upped ion. Which is very similar to an extcy. To me its mini hands down. Find what's CHEAPEST because if its just a weekend thing. Anything is an upgrade from a carver one. My vote however goes to the mini by a long shot.

[Orange Chicken]

But when something goes wrong with the tippmann, its a pain to take apart and fix. With the eXTCy, its normally just: take out back cap. Pull out bolt. Clean bolt. Relube bolt. Put bolt back in. Done.
Plus, speedball type markers are so much better than any tippmann or the like, in every way. I would go with the eXTCy since it has those basic modes plus the fun ones such as full auto and what not, thanks to the Blackheart board already inside of it. HPA is the way to go too, which you already do, which is great.

[billski]

Would there be any possibility to find a marker that doesn't look like the proto or extcy. They are both god awful ugly

[Woodyballer29]

The exception to added range both guns shooting at 300 fps is that if you shoot paint that's heavier it will hold it's fps longer than a lighter ball, which thereby gives you extra range.

[G4paintballer]

Out of the two, the Mini is my choice. But try and hold one, going from a carver one to a mini would be VERY cramped feeling, since they are small guns.