I just got a new paintball ‘marker’ (I hate to call it a ‘gun’ here because it is such a politically incorrect term! LOL) for my birthday. It is a Brass Eagle Stingray II. I have used it a little and it seems to be okay.
I have been told by several ‘experts’ that I need to upgrade my marker or buy a complete new system! Dang! I’m not prepared to spend several hundred dollars right now on new stuff.
Does anyone know if this marker can be upgraded to ‘tournament’ level? What kind of cash would be involved if I wanted to really trick it out? Or are these guys & gals right - I need to buy a new rig…
In my mind, there’re three main reasons that you’d want to upgrade your current marker:
A-You want a “tourney level” gun because you actually plan on playing tournaments in the future. If this is the case then you’d definitely need to upgrade. The SR doesn’t come close to meeting the levels of firepower and accuracy that are present in most tournaments. You’d be better off buying a stock Autococker or Automag and playing with that. Their designs are fundamentally better than that of the Stingray.
B-You think you’re outgunned in your local backyard or recball games and you’d like to even the playing field. A hundred dollars in upgrades would dramatically improve the SR’s firepower. An agitated loader($50+) and decent barrel(also $50+) would improve rof and accuracy. However, your upgraded marker would still be a Stingray. Many players would either not take you seriously or outright laugh at you if you’re using a Brass Eagle Brand marker. I’d still recommend a $100-$200 semi. It has a much longer upgrade path as well as a much higher performance potential.
C-You have plenty of firepower and just want to upgrade, either for performance or personal taste. If you really want to personalize the gun, a slightly more expensive marker might be a better choice. A Kingman Spyder or Tippmann Model 98 would probably be the best route to take. They both have a wide variety of aftermarket parts, are easy to fix, good values, and common enough that someone at your field will probably be knowledgable to help you fix yours should disaster strike.
All that said, the best thing to do is spend that upgrade money on paint and field fees. You’ll be a better player, and have more appreciation for any upgrades you might decide to get down the road.
Ah, a new Stingray owner. You’re in for a lot of hazing at the field, friend–ignore it all. The Stingray is one of the most versatile and upgradeable markers on the market, though the upgrade path is a little unorthodox.
Very few aftermarket parts are available for the Stingray. The few that are, in a word, suck. They’re terrible, and overpriced. Agitated loaders do little when used in conjunction with a marker that has the kick of a Stingray. Aftermarket barrels are a good way to get rid of any extra cash you have on hand, but won’t increase performance much in the case of the Stingray.
You’re a Stingray owner, though. You don’t need aftermarket parts. If you’ve got a little bit of free time and any semblance of technical know-how, you can see substantial increases in performance by performing a few simple modifications to the marker yourself.
The Stingray Toter’s Internet Group (STING, for short) is a great place to start. They’ve all the information you need to learn how to squeeze every last drop of performance out of your 'ray. Check them out here
Don’t worry too much about screwing anything up. As you may have noticed from your Stingray Manual, replacement parts for the gun are extremely cheap. IIRC, the entire valve assembly runs around $50, and you would need to do something extremely bad to need to replace all of that. So go nuts, and have fun.
A well-tweaked 'Ray will serve you well in any recreational situation you’ll encounter, but if you are planning on becoming a tournament player, here are two pieces of advice:
- Don’t.
- If you really think you want to, definitely consider upgrading to a mid-to-high end semi. If you’d like to suggest a price range, I’d be happy to suggest a set up.
Before upgrading, play in at least one tournament. Borrow a marker from someone else if you feel you’d be undergunned with the 'ray. Tournament play isn’t for everyone.
Lawmill and Pantology: Wow! Thanks a lot for the info! I was beginnig to think I would get no response on this thread. As a rank beginner, I will take the advice of both of you - trying a game or two with my new marker. (It’s the Ice version) I have already been told that I should move up to a more expensive marker, but as an entry-level player, I’ll probably have all the technology I can handle at first.
Thanks again - check your six -