[tippofthehat]

I've posted alot today.... One more question- why pump? I've read posts about the "challenge," saves paint and gas, and stuff like "how its meant to be."

I play woodsball with anywhere from 3 to 11 other people on private property. Any advantage in this type of setting?

I'm sure this will ruffle some feathers, but why pump and not electro?

This may be better in 101, but I figure I'll get passionate responses.

Thanks so much.

[Tor]

Here is something I wrote for an essay contest on 68Caliber.com
Why I play pump


First you step out of that car and pull out your phantom, sniper, or Sheridan pump marker. Then you see everyone else filling up their 140 round pods, filling up their 68/45 tanks, and there is some guy crying about how he busted is solenoid. You just sit back and laugh while your polishing a 12 gram.

Pump can be a number of things, a challenge or just a way to embarrass somebody. Or you could just like the attention. But if your really a pumper, not just an 'agg' tournament player showing off to his friends, you will know it is a truly spiritual experience. Sure you get the, "you must suck you have a pump gun" or the "hey why can't you afford a regular gun" and can't forget the "dude you can only shoot like one BPS" But after you get past the smirks, gestures, and giggles, you know that you can show them who's better on the field. Pumpers don't show their skill in their gear or appearance. They show their skill when a few people with embarrassed looks on their faces go to the dead box.


Using a pump gun now days is like using a hand crank radio. It's old school. How many people do you see using hand crank radios? Nearly none. It's unique. A pumper is unique. That's what we live for. We don't live for shooting the fastest, laying down the most paint at the chrono, or spending the most money. We live for something very simple. Fun. Yeah that's right fun. F-U-N. Remember your first time playing paintball? Remember how much fun you had, remember how it was a challenge, remember what it was like to get your first kill? Imagine having that experience every time you step on that field. It's unbelievable. It's spiritual. It's pump. That's what it is, pump paintball.

Edit:
[url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zpKtMM4RY5g"]http://www.youtube.c...h?v=zpKtMM4RY5g[/url]

This post has been edited by Tor: 28 December 2009 - 08:12 PM

[tippofthehat]

Very cool video. Thanks for sharing.

toth

[Sasquatch]

Tor explained it pretty well, I think, but Ill add my 2 cents.

Pump and mechanical play is all about having fun. Putting yourself at a disadvantage to other players will not only make you play better to make up for the gap, but it will show you that you dont need the newest battery eater on the market to play paintball with.

Regardless of how "good" you are with an electro, the instant you take the battery away, you will realize that skill isnt just about flicking your fingers really fast. Pump and mechanical force you to aim more, forces you to move smarter, and keeps you on edge more than electros do, because you dont have the 10bps to shoot out of a corner with.

When you shoot 3 guys out of a 5v5 with a DM9, you feel happy. You helped tear the other team apart, and you got the flag hang, etc, etc. Its all just a bland stepping through the motions game. You have a world class tourney marker, youre expected to shoot out more than one person.

Now, when you shoot 3 guys out of a 5v5 with a Phantom, not only do you feel happy that you eliminated 3 of 5 people with only 3 balls, rather than 3 pods, you can remember everything about those 3 shots. The angle you carefully set up across field, waiting for that player to show just enough of his arm, his leg, and taking the shot, watching that ball hit and break on your target, then seeing his hand go up in the air as he walks off the field as you pump your gun and get ready for a shot on someone else, and having the whole experience replay itself later on as you talk about the game.

Try and remember 10 eliminations to that detail that you got with an electro, and Im willing to bet that it would be difficult.

The satisfaction that you get with an electro is that you won. The satisfaction you get with a pump is how you won.

[Tribs]

If you go stock-class, you can get all you need to play outlaw with $25 from a quick trip to Walmart.

[jderrill]

wheres the fun in hosing down 25 balls per second from the back right? wheres the fun in relying on a gun to make you the player you are? take the crutch away and walking is much better.

[Watcher]

tippofthehat, on 28 December 2009 - 07:34 PM, said:

I play woodsball with anywhere from 3 to 11 other people on private property. Any advantage in this type of setting?

It's cheaper, plain and simple.



What is pump? There are a lot of answers to that question, but to really understand what is pump you need to play it. I'll leave it at "pump is" and call it a complete sentance. It works similarly to the phrase "Friendly fire isn't", but the other way around and with pump...


But, since we all need specific clarification, pump play is many things. It is cheaper, it is a bigger thrill, it is more challenging, it requires better skill, it makes better players, it brings like players together in a way no other like players are (save for maybe Automag owners), it intimidates the meek, it intrigues the intermediates, it impresses the vets, it embarrasses the "aggs", it gets nods from the old school and the new school, it broadens the equipment differences, it expands the mind, it renews interest in the game, it sharpens the senses, it is a way of life, it is zen, it is the anti-semi, it is win, it is ninja, it is balls-out berserker, it is rewarding, it is humbling, it is a rush, it is calming, it is fun, and it is, simply, paintball... it is many things, many of which you need to discover for yourself, only some of which can be described by me.
Pump is all this and more, and to save myself having to type this or say all of this over and over to people I will reiterate: "Pump is".


"Pump is"... remember that, go buy a $40 PMI Trracer, a $5 shake and shoot, and $10 worth of paintballs, and add on to my statement. I'll wonder if you can, or if you will also just leave it at "pump is".


Many people try a pump gun and dislike it, thus dislike pump play. That is the problem, it isn't the gun so much as the play experience. Any cheapo pump will work, and a good gun can come later when you truly enjoy the game. You need to play not a game, not an hour, but a whole day or more with a pump gun. You need to know that you can't play as if you were using a semi, it is a whole different approach to play.
Only after you experience this will you know yes or no.

[Northern paintballer]

The reasons I like pump are its' cheaper, improves your skill as a player, takes you back to the way the sport was started, Now you know how the first guys felt when they played the game. Well besides not wearing any masks ouch. I'm not saying I don't like shooting semi or auto I just love the feeling you get when you know your marker maybe the underdog but your skills are what's really going to win the match.

I quote Sasquatch the satisfaction that you get with an electro is that you won. The satisfaction you get with a pump is how you won.

This post has been edited by Northern paintballer: 29 December 2009 - 12:56 PM

[JJohnson]

All very good answers. As for me, I just started playing pump this past year. Otherwise during the 2007-early 2009 seasons I played with my PM6; got lots of eliminations during games and sure it was fun, but I became intrigued by the legendary Phantom over the 2008-2009 winter and bought one used in Feb of 09.

This year the only games I used my PM6 for were the "competitive games." One competitive scenario, one speedball tourney, and another tourney. Other than that I played with my VSC Phantom and had some of the most fun I've ever had playing paintball.

The going onto the field knowing that most of the people have more paint in their hopper than you carried onto the field with you; the looks/questions/comments you get from people before a game and then talking to those same people after you just eliminated half a dozen of them with your pump. The being chosen last during the first games of the day because you have a pump, then being among the first chosen in the later games of the day. The respect you get from newer players because you aren't just going out there and mowing them down at 10 bps. The fun from going 3 pumpers vs 15 renters and winning. The just plain old fun that the game of paintball is and how it is meant to be. The feeling of the "purity of pump" (especially stock class) because this was how paintball started, this was how our game was born 28 years ago.

Those are just a few of the reasons why I love pump

[The Desacrator]

Sasquatch, on 28 December 2009 - 09:09 PM, said:

Tor explained it pretty well, I think, but Ill add my 2 cents.

Pump and mechanical play is all about having fun. Putting yourself at a disadvantage to other players will not only make you play better to make up for the gap, but it will show you that you dont need the newest battery eater on the market to play paintball with.

Regardless of how "good" you are with an electro, the instant you take the battery away, you will realize that skill isnt just about flicking your fingers really fast. Pump and mechanical force you to aim more, forces you to move smarter, and keeps you on edge more than electros do, because you dont have the 10bps to shoot out of a corner with.

When you shoot 3 guys out of a 5v5 with a DM9, you feel happy. You helped tear the other team apart, and you got the flag hang, etc, etc. Its all just a bland stepping through the motions game. You have a world class tourney marker, youre expected to shoot out more than one person.

Now, when you shoot 3 guys out of a 5v5 with a Phantom, not only do you feel happy that you eliminated 3 of 5 people with only 3 balls, rather than 3 pods, you can remember everything about those 3 shots. The angle you carefully set up across field, waiting for that player to show just enough of his arm, his leg, and taking the shot, watching that ball hit and break on your target, then seeing his hand go up in the air as he walks off the field as you pump your gun and get ready for a shot on someone else, and having the whole experience replay itself later on as you talk about the game.

Try and remember 10 eliminations to that detail that you got with an electro, and Im willing to bet that it would be difficult.

The satisfaction that you get with an electro is that you won. The satisfaction you get with a pump is how you won.

Can I quote you on that buddy? 

I agree with just about everything said by everyone above me. You will probably never have advantage playing pump. Maybe because you shoot so much less they won't know where your coming from(happens to me and I play airball). I described it to my friend has a gift from god covered but in chocolate and hot naked women. Electro is just boring for me, plain and simple. The only reason I might buy another electro is to play in tournaments. But I mean, thats still a big IF.

[Sasquatch]

Go for it.

I see a lot of good descriptions of pump play in general in here. Highfive guys!

[green]

Why not both? it mixes things up. I play both pump and electro.

[OMGPaintball]

i play pump for the challenge, and the satisfaction of gogging someone who 10 minuets ago was talking sh** about my pump. (saving money doesnt hurt either )

[aquateenjunkie]

i got into pump for one main reason. improve my first shot accuracy, but the side effects like saved money doesnt hurt. i have played the past 2 games with my new azodin. i improved my kill ratio by about 25%. i played today and i lost track of how many people i raped. i couldnt be more happier.

[Watcher]

green, on 02 January 2010 - 01:29 AM, said:

Why not both? it mixes things up. I play both pump and electro.

Pump and Mech-Semi FTW. Electro is overrated, especially in todays world of 10BPS.


The only electro I even want is an E-mag, just because they are epic awesome. The only other electro that piqued my curiosity was a PlanetEclipse Etek. But only for a day or two, then I went back to E-mag only.



About to buy either another pump (OC/SC convertable), or another Automag. Leaning towards the pump, as I already have a paint-thirsty mech spooly, while I only have a right-feed pump and a SC pump, both of which are out of commission.

[De Blazer]

"I play pump because it hurts more feelings"-MCB'r at LL2

the only alectro I would ever want is a Rainmaker or a MQ pump. MQ pumps are only special if the parts are mixed/matched and you built it your self. other than that, it's just an Agg wannabe.

This post has been edited by De Blazer: 03 January 2010 - 08:50 AM

[sticktodrum]

Why pump? Wii pump!

[The-Phantom]

sticktodrum, on 03 January 2010 - 11:00 AM, said:

Why pump? Wii pump!

why pump? why not...?

[sticktodrum]

Someone should Photoshop a Phantom or sniper onto this, and make a pump card:

[Darrow]

I got into it for the simplicity, i stayed for the diferent playstyle...and the cookies.