Paintball gun advice?

[Snert]

SO I am putting together a paintball skirmish for the kids her where I live. Basically it will be 12yrs old and up. Problem is I DONT HAVE A PAINTBALL GUN... I have No idea as to what is good and what is bad. I am not looking for a super expensive gun, but not a walfart piece of junk either.

I dont know if the semi or autos are better, I know nothing about them and need to learn somewhat fast..

Also what would you recomend for the paintballs?? This will be done either on our ballfields with temp walls (pallets) . And might also be done in some wooded land the community owns. So is there some enviromentally safe paintballs we should use.

I live in a private community, there is plenty to do for the little kids. BUT nothing really for the teens. Being one of the directors of or recreation department I figured I would give it a shot.

[biggs88]

When friends and I would paint ball, I used a WGP Autococker. Lots of $$$$

For you, I would just get a Tippman.
For paint, I liked Diablo and Marbalizers. Cheap paint will blow up in the gun and cause a mess. And they do not fly as strait.

Be safe!!!

[CommonHighrise]

I dont know you, you dont know me, but off the cuff, if you dont know the first thing about the guns and equipment used, you might not want to be the one in charge of a group of kids playing what is still a very dangerous game.

That being said, an excellent gun for a newbie would be a Tippman 98. It's a Glock in paintball gun terms, just keep it lubed and they run forever.


They can also be upgraded down to road;


Another favorite of mine, though slightly more complex, is the Tippmann A-5;


Many newcomers also start out on cheap Spyders from Walmart. These guns are usuaully what you pay for, and often have running issues, though I know people who have them and love them;


For paint, the cheap stuff will get you by, but again you get what you pay for, and Walmart case balls will curve, split, hook, drop, and not break often.

Keep it simple for air, the small tanks they sell at Walmart and sporting good stores will be fine to start out with.

One place you cannot skimp, however, is safety gear. Namely, goggles. Expect to pay $40 and up for a quality mask. JT is one of my favorite brands, but there are others.

[he11zna]

I agree with the above posters.
A Tippmann 98 would be the way to go if you want a ultra low maintenance gun that won't break the bank and will get you by.

http://www.actionvillage.com/010-187-0104

They are common rental guns because they are durable and simple.
They aren't super accurate and the rate of fire is considerably slower than most "modern" guns that are electro-pneumatic.

You can upgrade it with all these "tacticool" accessories, that while you may think they look neat, most of the time they do nothing but adding unnecessary weight.

If you wanted to step up a bit the Smart Parts Ion have become super popular for an entry level electro marker.

http://www.actionvillage.com/010-187-0037

As far as the semi/auto debate, most of the newer electro-pneumatic have the capability to shoot semi/burst/full auto and/or ramping (the balls per second increases as you increase the speed of the trigger)
With that said, I've never played on a field that allowed anything but semi auto fire. With the newer guns, it's not uncommon for people to be shoot 10-15 balls per second although it's technically still semi auto. (ultra sensitive triggers)

Depending on where you plan on getting your air filled, I would look into a compressed air/n2 tank over the old standard co2.
It has become the standard if you play on a real field and it is also a more consistent form of air that won't freeze in the colder weather.

As far as paint, there are so many choices and you generally get what you pay for. $60-80 cases are the standard for better paint (diablo/marbilizer etc) but I've had surprisingly good luck with Inertia paint that usually sells at Dick's for around $40/case. In the winter months I use specific cold weather paint and both have worked well with my setup.



Personally I play with a 1999 WGP Autococker that I've had, well since then. I just got back into it last year.

My gun is very similar to this:



It's old and heavy with a slow rate of fire, but it works for me!!

[JayBell]

moved to lounge, paint ball gun is NOT a firearm.

[CommonHighrise]

moved to lounge, paint ball gun is NOT a firearm.

In NJ it is.

[HalfaLehman]

Get a Tippmann 98 custom, its the last paintball gun you will ever need.

[son of the revolution]

In NJ it is.

ABSOLUTELY POSITIVELY NOT !!!!!!!

Paintball guns DO NOT meet the definition of "firearm " under NJS 2C:39-1f. Because they do not fire a projectile " smaller then three-eigths of an inch in diameter , with sufficient force to injure a person "

[wis bang]

ABSOLUTELY POSITIVELY NOT !!!!!!!

Paintball guns DO NOT meet the definition of "firearm " under NJS 2C:39-1f. Because they do not fire a projectile " smaller then three-eigths of an inch in diameter , with sufficient force to injure a person "

Walk down the street in NJ carrying one & see what happens!

[son of the revolution]

Walk down the street in NJ carrying one & see what happens!

And what does that have to do with the statement that paintball guns are considered to be firearms in NJ ?? NOTHING !

I LIVE in NJ , I helped derail the One Gun a Month bill , I've played paintball in NJ since the late 80's . I've also walked into plenty of public places with paintball gear , including a holster in plain view and never even gotten a side ways glance . I've recently taken to carrying an empty holster everywhere I go to symbolize the lack of right to carry in the PSRNJ and provoke commentary .

Im not saying that carrying a paintball gun in public wouldnt get you jacked up by the Cops , especially in the North half of the State , but the flip side to that is one would have effectively hit the lottery for false arrest , civil rights violations and official oppression , because paintball guns ARE NOT firearms under NJ Law , which is what Common High Rise claimed .