You forgot neck cover and a guard for your "nads". It only took me once
(getting hit in either spot) and then I grabbed the protection.
Hehehehe...."Autocockers" - aka: "Auto-Leakers" (man those guns are poop
(leak too much).
On setting the FPS, we NEVER have run anything above 280FPS (we check and
adjust them with a Chrono at the field). Even the guys playing with their
$1200+ Bob Long "Intimidators" set them down. No need to go any higher
anyway as you'll break the balls with too much pressure.
Best bet is to go to your Academy or Oshmans Sporting Goods store and pick
up a kit for about $80-$120 (Kingman makes a inexpensive "starter" kit with
just about everything you need - Marker, CO2 Canister (small...but it's
effective), Face Mask, Barrel Squeegee (required with cheap paintball
markers, balls, or cheap hoppers), and barrel cap. Make sure you get an
extra CO2 can as the 9oz models don't last very long with the burst mode
(3-shots at a time) or full-auto (hehehe...that's FUN). A 20oz can will
last almost all day if you aim and shoot properly. Have a few buddies go in
on a 5000 round bucket of paintballs ($40 for the quality ones) and that
will also last all day.
- Bernd
-----Original Message-----
From: owner-dakota-truck@bent.twistedbits.net
[mailto:owner-dakota-truck@bent.twistedbits.net] On Behalf Of Josh Battles
Sent: Thursday, May 05, 2005 6:16 PM
To: dakota-truck-moderator@bent.twistedbits.net
Subject: Re: DML: DML BBQ Paintball
Here's a FAQ that I pulled off of an forum I participate in regularly.
Paintball is a fast paced sport that started in the 1980’s. I don‘t feel
like giving you the complete history from green gas all the way up to
Constant Air and Electro Markers. Suffice it to say that paintball is played
in countries around the world: United States, Russia, Australia, Mexico, and
England to name a few.
What do I need to play Paintball?
First and foremost is a FACE MASK!!! I can’t stress safety enough. It’s
important to have eye protection. Why you ask? A paintball ideally travels
between 280 and 300FPS (feet/second) on regulated fields. When players get
together and play outlaw ball (No sanctioned field with refs and chronos)
it’s possible for them to travel in excess of 450FPS. So please protect your
eyes and the reputation of our sport. Another piece of safety equipment
would be the barrel sock or barrel plug. These are to avoid any physical or
property damage from an accidental discharge outside of the playing area.
Secondly you’ll need a Marker (paintball gun) these can range anywhere from
mild to wild. The old adage holds true to paintball as with any other hobby.
“You wanna play you gotta pay.” Markers start as low as $50(check EBay and
www.actionvillage.com to name a few) and go all the way up into the
thousands.
You’re going to need something to hold your paintball in, 140 round pods
(tubes) and some sort of harness you can see what they look like at
www.redzcomfort.com
You’ll need some form of air to charge the marker either CO2 for those on a
budget, or H.P.A. (high pressure air) for those who want the finer things in
paintball.
You’ll also need something to hold your paintballs in its called a Hopper,
Loader but it sits on top of your paintball and uses gravity (not true in
all cases) in most cases to keep your paintball gun loaded with ammunition.
Also bring with you some comfortable shoes with ankle support as most fields
are rough terrain it’s very easy to sprain or twist an ankle. You should
also bring pants and a long sleeve t-shirt that you won’t mind getting dirty
in.
Keep in mind these are just the very basics of what you’ll need.
What kind of Marker should I buy?
This is a question that’s always asked, and hardest to answer. There are
many aspects and a lot of research that must go into this question before a
solid answer can be given. You need to ask yourself several questions before
you can come up with the best answer for you.
• How often do I go to play?
• How much do I have to spend?
• Do I want mechanical or do I want electro?
• Do I want to use CO2 or N2?
• Do I want open or closed bolt?
• Am I mechanically inclined enough to get something that’s very
complex?
• Am I just a rec player or do I want to go up to a tournament level?
How often you play is a big determinant since if you only go once a month
there may not be a reason for you to buy a $1500 marker when you can get
away with a $300 marker. What does your budget look like? Do you have a good
paying job with disposable income or will you likely be begging, borrowing
or stealing to get this paintball gun? Do you want your gun to work on the
sear and spring principle, or do you want it to be like a giant switch?
CO2 and N2 are a big part of the paintball gun so I’ll talk about those
separately from the rest. CO2 stands for Carbon Dioxide (Sometimes called
dirty gas) CO2 is an inexpensive way of getting a lot of air for your
paintball gun. The typical paintball gun can go a whole day on only 20oz of
CO2 (over 1000 shots). This gas is cost effective and easily accessible at
most major fields and works on almost any low end and most mid range
paintball guns. Now for the downside to CO2, CO2 is actually a liquid that
needs to be charged into gas in order to go through a paintball gun. This
being the case, the temperature plays a major part in how CO2 works. The
colder the tank gets the less efficient your marker will be. Once your tank
gets cold enough your gun will take in liquid CO2 and jam up until it warms
up again. So if you live in a cold area 50* and bellow you probably don’t
want CO2. Though they’ve taken steps to prevent this with Anti-Siphon tanks
no plan is full proof. With
CO2 you’ll notice erratic shot drop off and poor accuracy. HPA is a more
consistent type of gas, since its composed of roughly 80% nitrogen there’s
no need to worry about it freezing the internals of your marker and freezing
it up. Most HPA tanks are regulated to somewhere between 400psi and 850psi.
This means that no matter what your gun will ideally put out that much
pressure with only a small ± factor. This creates more consistency shot to
shot. The downside to HPA is that is very expensive tanks start at $100 and
go upwards of $400.
The difference between an open bolt marker and closed bolt marker is simple.
Think of a semi-auto pistol. Regularly it cycle starts with the slide
forward, you pull the trigger the slide goes back and then slides forward
again, that is the action of a closed bolt marker. Start forward, slide back
(load ammunition), slide forward (fire round). An open bolt marker is the
exact opposite. Start back (load ammunition), slide forward (fire round),
slide back (reload). Some would argue that a closed bolt style marker (i.e.
Autocockers) is far more accurate than open bolt markers (most other
markers) but I’ve not done any tests myself.
Autocockers for example need to be mechanically timed in order to fire
properly. Other markers require that you take them apart every so many shots
and after each time you play in order to clean and in some cases lubricate
the moving parts. Are you confident with your skills of taking apart and
putting back together things that have springs, screws, sears, bearings in
some cases, and triggers?
Once you’ve answered these questions you can start to make a decision as to
which way you want to spend your money. Once you’ve decided which way to go
its time to start researching the markers in your given range. You can check
out www.pbreview.com to get reviews from people who actually use the
products and get an idea of how much it costs. The biggest suggestions I can
give once you’ve narrowed down your choices go to your local field and see
if someone has the gun you want, ask them if they’d be willing to let you
put a few rounds through it to see how it shoots.
Also make a trip to the local paintball shop and see if they have one so you
can hold it and feel how it sits in your hands.
So these things shoot paintballs right, well what exactly is a ‘paintball’?
Those little roundish balls your shooting don’t actually contain paint.
That nasty tasting substance (Yes I have unfortunately tasted a paintball
before) is actually vegetable syrup and dye mixed together and sealed in a
gelatin capsule. The original paintball was first made by RP Schere. They
were (or still are I’m not quite sure on that) originally a pharmaceutical
company. The contents of a paintball are non-toxic, though their taste would
make you think otherwise. Its also washable though sometimes it does stain.
Some paints actually contain a little bit of iodine in them to make wiping,
a form of cheating by which a player wipes paint off themselves to make it
look like they were never hit, more difficult.
How dangerous is paintball?
Paintball is as dangerous as any other sport, if not played within the rules
it’s very easy for someone to get injured. This is why all professional
fields require you to wear a face mask. Again I can’t stress enough that a
mask is probably the most important part of any paintballer’s gear. Outside
of that the most common injuries seen on paintball fields end up being
sprained or twisted ankles and knees.
Though just as in any other sports it is possible to break bones or tear
things that your body needs. Please consult a physician before undertaking a
strenuous activity such as paintball.
Does it hurt to get shot with a paintball?
I can tell you “no it doesn’t hurt that bad” till I’m blue in the face but
nothing will make up for the actual experience of being shot with one for
the first time. It’s kind of startling at first, and it smarts for a few
seconds then you realize its not that bad to get shot with a paintball
unless you’re a complete sissy.
Ok, I’ve bought all my gear, I have a MASK, marker, and paintballs harness
and I want to go paintballing what do I do?
Ok, now you need to find your local field, and find out what it costs. I
won’t lie to it its not going to be cheap for a day of paintball. I’ve spent
as little $40 as much as $120(I had a break down and a repair).
The good fields will have more refs, smaller games and less wait time.
Find out if you can bring your own paint, or if you need to buy field paint.
If you need to buy field paint, watch out its going to be expensive as hell.
Now that you’ve got the costs settled, its time to look at what to take.
Keep in mind games last usually from 8am to 4pm so you’re going to be there
pretty much all day unless you leave early.
• Paintball Equipment (Mask, marker, barrel sock or barrel plug air
container, hopper, pods and harness)
• Paintballs if you can bring your own otherwise its field paint.
• Comfortable shoes with ankle support (or cleats depending on
terrain)
• ID for proof of age (If you’re under 18 you’ll need to have a parent
sign off for you.)
• A lunch if you don’t want to go buy your own from somewhere
• Plenty of water (paintball takes place mainly during the summer
months
where dehydration can become a real issue if you’re not careful)
• A change of clothes unless you like having paint and all over your
car
• Money and a cell phone for emergencies.
Common Problems you’ll run into at the field with your marker
Problem: Can’t get the FPS down to an acceptable level
Solutions:
• Turn your velocity screw all the way down.
• Get an inline regulator and use it
• Cut the velocity spring 1 ring at a time.
Becareful when turning your velocity screw, as not all models work the same
(i.e. Tippmann) when doing any adjustments on your marker make sure you read
the manufacturers instructions on how to do it.
Problem: Paint keeps breaking in my barrel
Solution: Get a larger bored barrel for a better paint match. Unscrew the
barrel and run your pull thru squeegee through the barrel (On field
fix) Once the game is over, take the barrel off and clean it completely with
water, run the squeege through and dry completely, then recheck chrono. Also
check to make sure the timing on your bolt is accurate that may be another
cause.
Problem: Paint keeps breaking in my breech
Solutions:
• Stop buying seconds at the shop
• Get a motorized hopper to keep up with your finger
• Check your gun’s eyes or anti-double feed system
Problem: My paint keeps hooking and I can’t shoot straight
Solution: Stop Using Rentals, Get better paint, get a better barrel, or get
a better marker (in that order.)
Problem: My gun isn’t shooting.
Solution: Turn it on, Un-safe it, Turn your air on if you're using N2 and an
on/off with it. If those don't work you'll need to step off the field and do
some further trouble shooting, something may have happened to your
trigger/sear mechanism, or your solenoid may have broken(on electros). Also
with electros check to make sure that your batter has a charge, it may be
that its discharged and you need to recharge it.
These are just some common problems you might run into on the field the
solutions I’ve given are from personal experience alone. If you are afraid
or unable to field strip your paintball gun, do not attempt it, you’ll end
up doing more harm than good. Take it to the field shop and tell them, or
leave for the day and go to your local pro-shop and have them trouble shoot
it.
Useful links:
www.warpig.com
www.actionvillage.com
www.generaljoes.com
www.pbreview.com
www.pbnation.com
www.automags.org/forums
Manufacturer links:
www.worrgames.com (Autocockers)
www.tippmann.com (Tippmann)
www.kingman.com (Spyder/Raven)
www.wdp.tv (Angel)
www.dyepaintball.com(Matrix, DM4, DM5(coming soon) and Proto)
www.boblong.com (Intimidator AKA Timmy) www.smartparts.com (Impulse/Shocker
attempted Monopoly shens) www.airgun.com (AutoMag, E-Mag)
http://www.icdpaintball.com (BKO, Bushmasters (B2Ks), and Freestyles)
www.redzcomfort.com (Redz Harness and Pods)
Thanks go out to Plazmattack for letting me steal this.
Here's a link to the FAQ thread:
http://www.genmay.com/showthread.php?t=463192
Granted, genmay is full of rifraf, but the subforums are actually very well
moderated and contain a great deal of excellent information and
knowledgeable people.
-- - Josh Lowered 2000 Dakota CC 3.9L Above Statement Not True ^^^^^ www.omg-stfu.com
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Wed Jun 01 2005 - 05:44:45 EDT