ok, here’s the scoop. I went paintballing today, and i love it. I was thinking about getting more involved, and buying my own gear. Does anyone have any good tips, and or referances to good equipment? If you did, i would greatly appreciate it! 
I moderate two Paintball bulletin boards. www.paintballcity.com and www.paintballresource.com both offer lots of information.
I can probably help start you in the right direction.
How much are you willing to spend?
Do you want a semi-auto or pump?
Is durability important?
Is weight important?
I’d also suggest that you play again before buying anything, just to make sure that your first time wasn’t a fluke.
How much are you willing to spend?
Around $500, maybe more or less
Do you want a semi-auto or pump?
semi-auto
Is durability important?
VERY IMPORTANT! i am rough on things
Is weight important?
a little but not really, not to brag or nothing, i am a strong guy and weight doesn’t bother me.
Fell like cutting me a deal on some gear? 
500 puts several guns in your price range:
Autococker by Worrgames-very popular among pros, heavy, complicated, very accurate, can take CO2
Automag by Airgun Designs-light, simple, very durable, needs HPA, becoming outdated, very small
Nova by Airstar-new design, very quiet, simple design, small aftermarket
Blazer by Palmer-small version of an autococker, can be custom built, relatively rare
These all fall well under 500.
You’d probably be able to get an Automag classic for around 250 new. However, you’d shell out at least another $100 on a compressed air system. Most Automag users are switching to the Angel, which is about $1000.
I’d recommend the Blazer or Autococker, but only if you don’t mind fixing something once in a while. A huge aftermarket exists for these, you could build a whole gun from scratch.
The Nova is very new and you’ll have trouble finding many acessories for it. It’s very big and looks a little strange too.
I’d recommend a JT Spectra or Flex-7 mask. If you shoot fast, you’ll want an agitated loader. Viewloader seems to have almost a monopoly, and any of their products should get the job done.
You’re only hearing my opinion though. You’d get more information if you asked this section in a paintball BB.
I have a Spyder Compact. It is a pretty good gun out of the box, but I bought a new bolt, barrel and firing assembly. The Spyder is much cheaper than any of the Mags or Autocockers, and probably a better choice for a first gun. Some people look down on Spyders, but mine has never given me a problem.
painting is a lot of fun . Yip : If your going to do any running or a lot of moving that will make you sweat while you play, get a mask that won’t fog on you . when you can’t see you don’t play .
Thanks for the tips everyone. I have been doing a lot of reading online, and asking some pros questions, but i haven’t got any answeres yet
The problem is, the only paintball feild in my area is really friggin expensive. $12.50 for rental (gear), which isn;t too bad in my opinion, but the thing that kills you is the paint. My first time out, i went through 1000 balls in under 2 hours, because i was just shooting at anything, and about 10 shots each time, so i was wating alot of paint. I read some stuff on the net, and i realized that wasting paint is really friggin stupid. So i was gong to buy a gun, and my own gear, so i would only have to spend $25 on paint at the field. The don;t let you use your own paint either (bastards).
Anyways, i was looking at some online paintball stores, and the thing is, it’s all american! I am Canadian and living in Canada still, so the exchnage rate is killing me! I was think of buying a spyder, but then i found lots of other brands, DAMMIT I AM SO CONFUSED!!!
kaos,
Although I am now too physically ill to play, and haven’t done so in some time, I was an avid paintballer for almost a decade.
With all due respect, you need to learn a little fire discipline.
Do not adopt a “spray and pray” playing style. As you note, this gets quite expensive. Pick your targets. You may want to spend a little time on the practice range.
There’s no real reason why you should be firing 10 shots per target. Even with a semi-auto, this is wasteful and suggestive of an inability to aim. With a single-action gun (which I often played with), it is madness.
Locate your target. Point your gun (if you’re firing one-handed, this is almost automatic: put anything vaguely gun-shaped in your shooting hand, point your hand at the target, and see how it lines up). Squeeze off a shot. If you’re playing with a rental gun, which often don’t receive the best of maintenance, note the characteristics of the gun that you have that day. If you buy your own gun, get accustomed to its peculiarities (and maintain it; my guns – which I still have – have polished barrels, which I never let rust, either between games or when I was storing them for the winter). Unless you are playing a suppresive role, only fire if you think you can hit the target.
A good mask/set of goggles is the first thing that you should get. JT Racing used to make an excellent mask, although, as I note, it’s been some years since I played, and that information may be obsolete. A new gun can always be purchased; new eyes are a bit harder to come by. There are some excellent anti-fog chemicals to be sprayed on the inside of your goggle lenses (if you wear spectacles, spray them, too). As a last resort, you can get a small battery-powered goggle fan (yes, really!) that will keep your goggles fog-free.
A suitable gun should be your second purchase. Lots of good advice here already, and much more current than any I could give you.
Various paraphernalia, such as loaders, a barrel squeegee (you will break balls in the barrel, and even an internally-rifled barrel won’t shoot straight if it’s full of paint), web gear to carry the other paraphernalia in the field, and cases to carry them off the field (the cops get soggy and hard to light when they pull you over for speeding and see your gun lying on the seat next to you) are next, but they can be purchased a bit at a time.
Fatigues are last. There’s a good deal more to camouflage than putting on a set of woodland-pattern fatigues. I used to wear black SWAT fatigues (they looked damned initimidating, and gave me a psychological advantage over the other players), another guy who used to frequent my field wore urban camouflage dyed pink, and, as you may well know already, one of the greatest paintballers of all, Dave Youngblood, used to play wearing a double-breasted polyester suit and carrying a chromed gun (on the theory, I suppose, that if you could see him, he’d already shot you).
“I don’t just want you to feel envy. I want you to suffer, I want you to bleed, I want you to die a little bit each day. And I want you to thank me for it.” – What “Let’s just be friends” really means
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- A few years back I played for about a year or so. We were limited to Splatmaster pistols to keep things even, but even then some people had an advantage: they were in better shape than the rest of us. During a game, there was lots of running involved, wearing full camos. Once we even tried playing in a hilly area which was real punishment, but it would have been fun had I been in better shape. - The next year, the summertime temps swelled into the high 90’s and most everybody just kinda lost interest. - MC
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My tip? Freeze the paintballs first… EEEOOOWWW
I 'm also intreested in paintball… I was wondering if Brass Eagle is any good…
Canadian Tire has a kit that includes the Stingray II Ice gun (semi-auto), the hopper, the mask, squeegee, among other things… for $199.99 Canadian.
This gun is a ‘frosty’ clear plastic, so I’m a little iffy about it… (metal barrel, of course)
I don’t suffer from insanity…
I enjoy every minute of it!
Stay away from Brass Eagle! They’re notorious for poor quality. You’d be better off buying a Spyder 2000 for $99 or getting a pump.
If paint is your main expense, you might want to consider a pump marker. I get more eliminations with my Phantom VSC than with my Model 98. You’ll also improve your aim, tactics, and mobility; because you can’t rely on firepower as a crutch.
I never understood the logic of this. It may hurt more, but the ball won’t break, so you stay in the game.
I’ll take that trade in a game.
yeah but… like… it… hurts… and … stuff… ?.. soooo… AH BLOWME!
I suggest the F4 Illustrator. It’s an excellent gun at a very good price. I would recommend a barrel upgrade if you do get it, though. The F4 is an intermediate marker that can easily complete with Autocockers and Automags, IMO.
Oh, and the best paintball website I’ve found is Warpig.
Well, i am going to buy a gun tomorrow from Canadian tire, a Brass Eagle Raptor. Wutie nice, and i heard some REALLY good things about it. Goggles, gloves, barrel plug, 9 oz. co2 catridge (refillable), shoulder but thingy, and a hopper as well as the wlbow for it, squeegee, and 25000 balls… So yeah.
Paintball in the winter?!?!?? Is it safe to play outdoors? What temp should i keep my paint at? Is there a maunal with the gun?
Just some stuff i was worrying about!
oh yeah, and one more thing…
HOW THE HELL DO I CLEAN IT?!??!?!??!?
Field cleaning: use your barrel squeegee to remove any paint and other accumulated schmutz from inside the barrel. Wipe any paint off of the outside of the gun. Do this at least between games. If a ball breaks in the barrel, do it immediately.
Serious cleaning: break the gun down (if you don’t know how to do this, get instructions from the seller. If he can’t or won’t tell you, buy from someone else). Carefully wipe the schmutz off each part, including the hammer spring, sear spring, sear, and sear pin; dry is usually OK, but a little cleaning oil may be needed. Depending on what your gun is made from, and how long it’s going to be until you next play, a little WD-40 or equivalent in the barrel may help. Don’t use graphite as a lubricant; it’s toxic when it enters the body through, say, a paintball abrasion. A silicone vacuum grease is good on metal parts (don’t know about plastic, though; it may cause them to seize up).
And don’t freeze your paintballs! This trick will get you thrown off of any reputable field for a few weeks to a few months; twice will almost certainly get you permanently banned (how to tell a disreputable field; if they don’t require safety goggles or chronograph personal guns, it’s disreputable; don’t play there).
Paintballs will not freeze, however, in a reasonable amount of winter play time (if they do, it’s too cold to play anyhow). Winter play is safe (or at least no more dangerous than running through snow-covered woodland inherently is, anyway).
“I don’t just want you to feel envy. I want you to suffer, I want you to bleed, I want you to die a little bit each day. And I want you to thank me for it.” – What “Let’s just be friends” really means
Outdoors is the only place to play! Indoors seems boring to me. Paint should be kept at room temp., I think. If you are getting the Raptor new, then it should come with a manual.