This weekend this 43 year old went paintballing for the 1st time ever. Took my son and 3 friends for my boy’s 14th birthday.
What a riot!
Any paintballers out there?
It is hard to imagine why anyone would not enjoy it. Well - guys at least (at the risk of being sexist!) But it was like being inside of a video game. Or a grown-up version of war games or cowboys and indians. I’ll never forget the image of my son diving for cover, getting lit up and screaming “I’m hit!” while in mid air.
Shoot or be shot. About as basic as it gets. I just wish I knew what I did to my left shoulder…
And EVERYONE was having a great time. One game you’d be trying to shoot some guy, the next game he’d be your teammate. Everyone was glad to swap war-stories, whether they were old friends or had just met. (Yes, I am aware that paintball is also done at a much higher level. But at the recreational level, it is hard to beat.)
And it wasn’t too pricey compared to other recreation alternatives. Probably $45 per person for about 3 hours of pretty constant play. Bout the same as a round of golf.
This time was at an indoor range, cause it was close and easy. But next time, I’m heading to one of the outdoor ranges. Maybe we should have a Dopeball fest!
I told the boys, anytime they get the money together, I’ll do the driving!
You’ll love the outdoor range. Nothing better than playing over a couple of acres in the forest. Down the road from me there is a large field that holds scenario games, absolutely fabulous.
Oh yeah, Magayuk are you talking about RLD Fields out in ajax?
Dinsdale, welcome to the club. Paintball is really fun and a great workout (although I end up paying for it with interest).
Out door games involve more running (so ask your knees if that’s ok with them) and is much more involved. It almost feels like one of them old war movies.
But watch out, it can be an expensive hobby. I’ve spent over $1000 just on my gun and various other toys
I have been playing for ten years now, both recreationally and on the tournament level. I am a certified gun tech and a manager of a paintball store as well
I’m glad you had a good time! So many people think the sport is all about wargames, but in most cases the fields are designed for fast, fun play that can be enjoyed by anyone willing to go home with a welt.
If you are ever anywhere near Richmond, Virginia, or if you ever need any advice on guns or gear, drop me a line!
My only advice, if you decide to shell out the $5-$10 for one of the paint grenades, do not be in an enclosed space with it when you pull the pin. This is very important.
Dinsdale, I’m about your age and I too took my 15 year old out here for his birthday last April and I had a blast - a little sore here and there - but quite the blast…
TheOtherOne I have a question if you don’t mind. I have a Maverick (which is my most favorite gun ever) but people are laughing at me for having a pump gun so…I have been a semi auto. What do you think of the autocockers? badmana it’s actually Bunkers off Highway 7. Nice, new field.
I’ve been playing for the past three years, and am a bench warmer for Silent Thunder (based out of Triggertyme Paintball in Columbia, SC,) and it’s great. Expensive as hell, though, unless you want to keep out of the tourney and scenario scene. A normal saturday of play used to run me about $50 or so, for paint/air and field fees. I finally got used to the vertical trigger on my Angel IR3, and my GOD do I burn paint now. Anyway…
Magayuk, I’d recommend you stay away from 'Cockers if it’s going to be your first semi. 'Cockers tend to be fickle, and if you tinker with 'em, you might catch hell with timing and such. You can find a good used Automag (get one with a powerfeed) on eBay for under $200. If you want a 'Cocker later on, go for it, but the 'Mag is simpler to operate and maintain. If you want a brand new marker, go for anything made by Tippmann. The Custom '98 is one of the most rugged designs out there. I knew a guy who put the trigger spring in the valve assembly, and went on to shoot two cases of paint through it. When he took it apart for maintenance, the spring was wedged INSIDE the valve, but he yanked it and the marker was ok (hell, it was ok with this foreign piece of metal in it.)
My son just got his first gun, a Tippman 98 custom. At the indoor range, gus were supponse to shoot no faster than 270. is registered at 350. Loosening the set screw all the way took it down around 300. So he played with a rental gun.
The guys there said a tech would have to “cut a spring.” Understandably, I am reluctant to have significant work done on a brandnew gun. Moreover, I wish him to retain maximum flexibility with this gun - he may want the higher power for outside use.
On the issue of power, it seemed like a few of the shots hit considerably harder than others. For example, tho I got hit several times, I only have one significant bruise. And tho it is no big deal, it is nasty looking. My son got really pissed about one particular shot that hit him in the (ungloved) hand (after he called himself out and was heading to the deadzone. Broke the skin slightly and grew into a real pretty muticolored bruise - right on the side of his thumb.
In your opinions/experience, how cooperative are folk in complying with posted limits? Or is it most likely that an occasional shot hit in a manner that it seemed to have greater impact.
My niece has an old Piranha she is going to lend/sell me so we will be able to hunt each other when we go up to our vacation place in Michigan. Good clean fun!
270? Wow, that’s pretty high for indoors. I’m used to seeing 250 or less.
People are pretty decent about the speed thing around here. No one wants a huge welt. I’ve been spot checked once and never had any problems (and I always check every hour between games just in case). I’ve never heard of any field, in or out, that has a limit higher than 300 fps.
The 98 is a great tough gun. I’m surprised it’s firing so fast, never heard of any issues with it (I own the sister gun, the pro/carbine with mods).
If you actually notice a few shots firing at different speeds it could be several things. You’re probably talking about why some shots hurt more than others? I’ve noticed that if I know I’m going to get hit (like when I’m defending a position and cannot back off) I take the hits better than ones on my back that are “out of the blue”. I suppose straining your muscles helps.
I’m 19, and have been playing for almost a quarter of my life. It’s great fun, I try to play at least once a month. About 2, maybe 3, years ago, my 56 year old stepdad started playing, he goes almost as often as I do. He does, however, seem to take a little longer to recover than I do.
I know what that’s like, fush. My advice to anyone getting in to the game is to be prepared to either spend huge amounts of money, or gradually get pissed off at your equipment. At a guess, I’ve got about $1700 in my gun, and that’s far from the most you can spend.
I’m going to go ahead and respectfully disagree with fush’s advice to stay away from Autocockers when you’re new. My second gun was a 'Cocker, and I never had any problems at all with it. Follow the instructions on maintainence, don’t start monkeying around with stuff, and it will reward you handsomly. Also, I’m not a big fan of Automags. There’s nothing wrong with them, they just never did it for me. 'Cocker’s are just cooler, IMO.
Any southern CA dopers up for a paint-fest? I’m in Santa Barbara, and can probably rally up another 1 to 3 people for a trip to…pretty much anywhere within a hundred or so miles, maybe farther.
Most places I’ve played require you to dial down the speed on your gun to their posted limits if you bring your own gun. If you rent a gun from them, they’re generally already in compliance. (And I’m with badmana, most limits I’ve seen are between 200 and 250 fps.) And how much the ball hurts depends on where you get hit and how much padding you’ve got over the area – I’ve been shot in the butt (long story) and it didn’t hurt that much, but got hit right on the nipple once and it hurt like the blazes. Get a good pair of gloves (tough suede work gloves are the best) just in case you get shot in the hand. (THAT hurts.)
And Dinsdale, if you ever feel like organizing a PaintChiDope, lemme know – I’m going paintballing in a couple of weeks and can’t wait. A great place in the Chicago area is down in Joliet, called Challenge Park (www.challengepark.com). They’ve got all outdoor fields, some in woods, some in old burned-out junkyards, a post-apocalyptic field with shattered buildings, and even a mock town! That place rocks.
I’ve been playing, outdoors and in, for about 18 years now. I remember the first time chronos started showing up at some ranges, and the foofarol that resulted. There was some serious resentment from the bozos that were shooting in the 330+ fps ranges… They thought it wasn’t fair they had to dial down to under 300 fps (270 fps at the indoor place I used to frequent).
Weenies.
As it turned out, the hotshot that complained about being required to play safe tended to also be the dirtiest players, and I was perfectly happy to see them take a hike.
I was greatly pleased to see the Tipman SMG go away… The .62 cal balls tended not to break as readily, and left more painful welts. Often LOTS of them!
Great sport, great fun! Where else can you reach 70% max pulse rate sitting absolutely still, waiting for something to happen?! Ambush!
Let the tech cut the spring. It is not hard to do. ** Never ** play with a gun that shoots over 300fps, that is all that most goggle lenses are rated too.
Autocockers are great guns depending on who is maintaining them. Most people who have problems with them, due so because they do not learn how to work on and time the gun. One of my friends claims he can fix 90% of broken cockers in ten minutes, and I believe him. They are efficient and can be made so that the bolt stops on a paintball rather then chopping it with stock parts. Another cool thing about them is that you decide how much to put in them. You can buy a basic but functional gun for cheap and upgrade it to your hearts desire.
Somebody mentioned an automag and those are also very nice guns. They are extremely reliable and any problem can be fixed very quickly. An automag was my first gun, and a e-mag was my second, so I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend it.
Sadly, I haven’t been able to go paintballing in a couple of years, but I love it. There’s a big outdoor place up in New Hampshire that basically divides you into a couple teams, puts you on the field with an objective, and off you go. It’s pretty much all in the woods, but there are a couple castles and a village to defend, trails, hills, you name it. I still remember one time we went that there was a small enough total of players for us to play a large team, all-field game. Now THAT was cool.
When it comes to the actual paintballs, my observation has been that generally, if the ball breaks, it doesn’t hurt, if it bounces, it stings. I’m not sure what causes some to bounce and some to break, but I remember getting nailed in the shoulder at damn near point blank range once (perhaps 30-50 feet) and it bouncing right off. Now THAT hurt!
Zanshin - that Challenge Park looks neat. i figger that will be the next place I take my posse!
When my boy first got his gun, I had him shoot me in my bare back from about 50 feet, just to feel what it was like. (Yeah, stupid, I know!) It stung a bit and left a mark, but nothing longterm or even painful after the immediate sting.
But from the other day, I have one on my side/low back just above my hip that is a good-sized, nasty multicolored bruise five days later. I have a couple of other dings which are just really faint bruises. So I wonder why the one on my hip bruised so much worse.
Milton - NE of Muskegon. Twin Lake is the nearest town.
We just got a new Tippman 98 (early christmas present for my son) and haven’t played with it yet. Is it easy to use? Do you ever have to field dress it? It has a LOT of parts!
Ok, this is a stupid question but in what order do you put it together? The directions tell you to put on the CO2 tank first and then to put on the hopper etc but it also said that you need to put the CO2 tank last… ??? When do you put in the paintballs? What brand of paint ball is the best to buy?
I’ve never actually played, but I’ve been in the middle of a game unarmed – I’m newspaper photographer with sadistic editors. Hid in a pipe (they have corrugated plastic sewer pipe sticking out of the ground to use as cover) in the middle of the field, and amazingly didn’t get hit, although there was at least one colse miss – my camera was misted with paint.
