Getting started on paintball

[chainsaw]

My kid (age 10) wants to play paintball. Probably not in formal paintball fields, just in the forest with neighbors kids and friends (we live in a rural, forested area). What is the easiest way to get started with the equipment?

Here was my thinking. Go to some sporting goods store, and get a Spyder or Tippmann marker kit. Looking at Amazon, they should run about $100 to $150. I was thinking of the simple semi-auto markers that look like oversize pistols, not a wannabe M4 lookalike.

Get a box of paintballs (they seem to come in boxes of a thousand or so). For now, let's stick to CO2 instead of compressed air - that's probably easier. Do the kits come with full CO2 tanks, or do you have to go have them filled?

The kits all come with a mask. For the rest of the outfit, use long-sleeve sturdy clothes and gloves, and maybe his dirtbiking chest protector. Is that enough protection?

Are there good paintball supply stores in the southern part of the SF bay area (San Jose, Campbell, Los Gatos, Sunnyvale)? Or do regular sporting goods stores (Big 5 etc.) have everything you need?

Now a question from the gunnies perspective: How accurate are paintball guns actually? I know they're not going to be sub-MOA, but can you hit say a 6" target at 25 yards with a cheapo marker?

School me, please.

[Rekrab]

6" target at 25 yards is going to be asking a bit much from a cheap marker in my experience. But I haven't played Paintball since the Tippman 98 was the hottest entry marker on the market. I do know that longer barrels helped immensely with accuracy as my Pro-lite had an 14" barrel that made a huge difference.

When I played I wore salvation army fatigues. They were nice and thick and cushioned the impact enough that getting hit stung, but would rarely break skin (I played on a field that allowed you to shoot at 320fps). Plus, up in the forests of Washington, they worked decently enough as camouflage. A chest protector is a bit extreme in my opinion, a few welts wont hurt him, plus it puts hair on your chest.

CO2 tanks will need to be filled somewhere. They can't be shipped by regular mail full if I recall correctly. Depending on your marker and your tank size, you'll need a few of them throughout the day.

Man, this post brings back memories of fun times out in the woods with friends. I still have my old pro-lite kicking around in a closet. I'd love to dust it off one of these days, it's been ten years since I last played and it seems like the game has changed a lot since then. Everyone is playing speedball and such nonsense.

[jchen76@gmail.com]

Craigslist is your friend. You may find a used high end package cheaper than in store.
Co2 tanks new, comes unfilled and need to be charged at a paintball store or field.
For protection, more padding the better and an athletic cup is a must.
As for accuracy, depends on barrel quality, rate of fire, paintball quality and paintball to barrel match. Typically if all is good, 6 inch groups at 25 yards is good.

[Ricky-Ray]

In the beginning I just wore old clothes that I wouldn't mind getting dirty or throw away at the end of the day. Later on as I got into it I switched over to Army Style BDU's and added kneepad's from surplus stores. Don't expect alot of accuracy from 25yds and beyond. Think shooting civil war era stuff. Round (and not always perfectly round) balls, and most barrels are smooth bore. I've watched paintballs leaving my barrel go left and right and all over the place.

If your interested I still have my gear that I would sell VERY cheap to you. Paintball marker would be an automag with electronic trigger (manufacturer has gone out of business, but there's almost nothing on this gun that can break) with electronic hopper, compressed air tank, mask and other stuff. PM me your interested.

[faust858]

If your kid wants to play in the woods, I would find out if the people he is playing with has a handheld chronograph. This is important to make sure nobody is shooting "hot" or at unsafe velocities, and it helps level the playing field some. Most fields that I have been to restrict the velocity to 300fps or less. As for paint, make sure it is fresh, old paint will leave monster welts as they wont break as easily. Trust me, the paintballs that break on you dont hurt as bad as the ones that bounces off.

If you have scuba tanks handy, you can get a fill adapter to fill the Compressed Air tanks, otherwise I would go CO2. A 20oz CO2 bottle should last a long time but will be a little bulky, they also make smaller bottles which might fit your child better.

When I first started playing, I just wore Jeans a Tshirt and a Sweat shirt over.

[mif_slim]

You have to fill te tanks up with co2 when you buy them. If all else fails you can always trade walmart for ready tanks. I think you can just bring the empty co2 and they will give you a filled one.

For starts your lost is all good. Just make sure your not shooting hot and you should be fine. Also, the most accurate you can get is not the lenght of the barrel but the roundness of the paintball and bore match with it. That will help you most with accuracy. We have barrel kits with inserts toatch the paintball we will be using that day, those help greatly but you don't need those until you get into paintball and enter tournemts.

[Never Convicted]

Dont waste your time and money on cheap, no name gear, stick with a tippmann for a first time purchase, they have been around a while, relatively easy to work on and once you buy one youll probably hang on to one forever. Tried and true. Spyders are just ok, but thats it, just ok, bring your tools, youll need them, and they will need work right out of the box. And if that is the case get extra o rings, all though spyders can use co2 they can eat o rings and teaching a 10 year old about the mechanics of all this will be confusing, they want to do one thing and that is shoot their guns. Read and completely understand the owners manual.

Co2 isnt really your true friend though but if you are on a budget go with it, just know you should by an air tank sooner or later, more consistent and most fields now are running their own compressors so fills arent so hard to come by.

Good idea with the hand chrono. 280 FPS is your goal.

The main thing for little ones is to get them over the scary part of the noise and " is it gonna hurt " worry. Put on a mask, walk 20 paces and let them shoot you 20 times. Show them how it isnt too bad. yes wear a cup or double layer a golf towel and wear it flapping over the crotch. Dont wear too many clothes or they will start to sweat and fog up their goggles and then they cant see, making it miserable for them.

Rule # 1, Goggles on, on the field at all times.

Rule # 2, Barrel Plug in until its time to play.

Most important is to have fun. Its awesome to see fathers and sons on the field. Enjoy !

what part of town are you in ?

And as far as paintballs being accurate, they arent. Guns and barrels do help but accuracy with such an object comes with talent, experience, and upper end gear. But you arent threading a needle, you are trying to put a quarter size hit anywhere on a body.

[supertrooper]

the only shop i can think of near you is RAP4. i switched to HPA and have some CO2 tanks you can have for free + shipping. one isnt enough for playing in the woods especialy the smaller tanks, look for 20oz tanks.

i use a tippmann and have a spyder for a backup and think a spyder will be easyer for your son to learn to maintain. when buying a case of paintballs ask for paint with a thick shell so ball breaks wont be as common if you dont have electronic hopper.

[himurax13]

What is the easiest way to get started with the equipment?
In the past, I would say dealing with a local paintball store would be the best so that they could assist you with any problems you may have. Buying equipment from a sporting goods store or online is cheaper but if something goes wrong, you will have very limited support. I would say just stick with a Tippmann but as with all paintball companies, quality has been questionable for a few years now. Spyders, and Spyder Clones,have become junk ever since they were turned into electronic markers.



Get a box of paintballs (they seem to come in boxes of a thousand or so). For now, let's stick to CO2 instead of compressed air - that's probably easier. Do the kits come with full CO2 tanks, or do you have to go have them filled?

The price of paintballs, as well as their quality has also gone downhill. The only thing you can hope for is that most of the paint isn't broken when you buy it and they are mostly round with little to no dimpling. You also have to keep them in a cool dry place and rotate them once a week.

What type of gas you will use will depend on how you will get them refilled. Most rural places will not have access to compressed air so C02 will be your only choice. If you will be using C02, then stick to the non-electronic markers. C02 is basically worthless in cold weather and if you shoot long strings, the pressure will drop in your marker, and so will the range of your paintballs. I could write a book about this, but lest just stick to non electronic markers an C02. Remember that metal tanks only have a 5 year hydrotest date and some carbon fiber/fiberglass tanks only have a 3 year hydrotest date. So be wary about buying used tanks, check the most recent hydrotest date on the cylinder before you purchase.

The kits all come with a mask. For the rest of the outfit, use long-sleeve sturdy clothes and gloves, and maybe his dirtbiking chest protector. Is that enough protection?

I know it sounds crazy, but the mask is almost more important than the marker. I have paid up to $90 just for the mask alone. You need to get one that is comfortable for your child and I reccomend one with a no fog or dual lenses. A mask that is dirty or fogged up is not only useless, it is unsafe. If you have ever used a rental mask, you would understand what I am talking about. If you can't see, you cannot hit anything. I also reccomend getting amber or smoked lenses depending on how bright it maybe outside. 2 layers of clothing should be sufficient for anything else. I also reccomend gloves and neck protectors. I have shout countless amounts of people in both places.

Are there good paintball supply stores in the southern part of the SF bay area (San Jose, Campbell, Los Gatos, Sunnyvale)? Or do regular sporting goods stores (Big 5 etc.) have everything you need?

Online stores would be the best bang for your buck when it comes to gear, Unfortunately, you will not know what fits until you try them on. I used military fatigues when I started playing 20 years ago, and I still do today. Wearing paintball jerseys and pants just makes you stand out. Just go to a surplus store and get what you need. Make sure it fits a little loose because flexibility will be an important factor in some situations. Also, good footwear is a must. Running around the woods without good ankle support is an accident waiting to happen.

Now a question from the gunnies perspective: How accurate are paintball guns actually? I know they're not going to be sub-MOA, but can you hit say a 6" target at 25 yards with a cheapo marker?


Yes you can, however there are many factors to consider. The main factors of having an accurate paintball gun are the following:
1. Does the marker have a decent regulator ot a consistant valve.
2. How is the paint to barrel match.
3. The quality of the paintballs.

If you are using CO2, especially on a tippman, then you will probably not have a regulator. So you will basically be at the mercy of the high pressure valve design and the expansion rate of the C02 at the temperature you are at. I could also right another book about this, but for right now lets just say that a lot of money could be spent to address this issue.

Paint to Barrel Match also extremely important. This is why nearly every barrel manufacturer has made some sort of kit with multiple bores. If it is too tight or too loose, you will spend more gas and the shots will not be accurate. There are a few other factors, but I could also write another book about this subject as well.

The most important factor is the quality of the paint. If you have purchased paint from a Sporting goods store, there is a good chance that it has been sitting on the shelves for a while. If you look at the paint balls and they are the shapes of M&M's, I would just go ahead an throw them away. Paintballs need to be round, have few dimples, and need to be fresh enough so the paint has not settled to one side. Some batches of paint I have had have hooked at 90 degree angles, shot through hoppers, exploded halfway down the barrel, and have magically curved around everything I attempted to shoot. Don't skimp on the paint, buy it fresh and from a reputable dealer.


School me, please.[/QUOTE]


So other than following the safety rules, which must be heavily enforced since you are not at field, I would say that having a good mask and fresh quality paintballs are the most important thing.


There is a lot more things that I have not covered. I think the best place for you to get more information would be to go to www.mcarterbrown.com. They are good people and have a wealth of knowledge.

[not-fishing]

Starting kids in paintball & it ain't a cheap hobby

This year I started about 5 boys in paintball.

I hadn't played in about 15 years and then it was Boy Scouts (I was the Assistant Scout Master who equiped & organized the paintball days for the troop)

I wouldn't buy anything.

Get a few "Battle Midgets" (your son and his friends) together (3 to 5 would be best) and find a good Family Park - Here in Sacramento I like Nfinet Edge. Rent the equipment for everyone and you should also play also. Dad's job but I've seen mom's do it Form a squad. Wear clothes that match the terrain you don't care about (meaining tan - grey right now and dark when everything is green), decent shoes, hats or wraps and gloves. Bring plenty of water, windex & rags for cleaning guns and masks.

Remember everything will get painted.

Expect to get shot out every game. Focus the boys on the good kill, good move for the day or the one game you survived to the end. You will not win every game and you will get shot out alot at first.

Stay away from the better players think of as strategic advoidence Some of the better players you can hear hundred yards away
Some you'll never hear

Shoot only to hit or supress. Misses tell everyone where you are and waste paint.

After you've played one day buy a decent mask and rent the rest of the equipment.

After you've played a few days buy an inexpensive mechanical marker or better yet a pump marker. at 56 & busted up I play with a 10 shot pump marker

Purchase equipment slowly because it will cut down on the buyers remorse.

Now I buy paint a couple of cases at a time and make it last. Being the oldest guy on the field by more than a decade I shoot little and crawl a lot.

My equipment after one year consists of:

Steel Scuba tank (3400psi) with filler assembly to save on air refill (which my daughter who dives has right now)

probably 10 aluminum air bottles of various sizes and a couple of small 3.5oz, CO2's for one pump.

A mechanical Autococker, and three pump guns - one uses 12 g co2 cartridges

One decent helmet-mask.

Chest protector, slider shorts, knee pads, fore arm guards, paintball goves, tournament pants and jersey I'm suicidal and I slide a lot - it's easier for an old guy like me to get low behind a bunker

Light hiking boots that I'm going upgrade to 8" Danners this year because I've wrenched my bad ankle to many times.

A really full kit of tools for repairs.

Then there's my son's clothing, markers (3 also) mask and other gear.

After you've bought all the gear you still have other costs.

Range fee @ $10-$15/person per day

All day air fee @ $10/person some ranges allow SCUBA tanks and for one $4 fill I can field 5 players all day

Paint @ $50/2000 round case (scrimping here is worse than buying cheap ammo). I use around 100 - 150 rounds per day and my son uses about 600 rds / day. The boy has one of those hot-shot electro's so he misses a lot faster than me. I tend to Alamo a lot and that's why I shoot so much paint - for a pump.

PM me if you want to know more or what the boys and I've done wrong with equipment.

[audiopro74]

Check out santa clara paintball in san jose. Their field is at the fairgrounds. Tipman, spyder, or the likes to start as first gun. The better the barell the better the accuracy. I can generally hit you dead in the chest at 40-50 yds with one of my markers.

When I first started it was sweats under levis. Good uniform will run you 100-300.
Compressed air is better for the marker, and a must with any of the higher end guns. Co2 is fine for Tippys, ans spyders. co2 will also get more shots per fill. As was said you can swap them at wal-mart.

Check out www.pbnation.com for alot of really good info on geting into the sport. Just remember there are alot of kiddies, and trolls there. But a wealth of knowledge to be sifted through.

There is a small field in sunol that I used to regular, very good place for beginers. Stay off the speedball field if you hit SCP. there are alot of hard hitters there, that show no mercy for beginers. Stick with the walk-ons, and you should be good to go.

If your interested shoot me a pm and I can get you more info, and mabye make it out to a field and help.

Chris

[spddrcr]

I have a bunch of paintball guns and gear ive been trying to get rid of for awhile that im willing to give you a great deal on. guns, C02 tanks and pretty much everything you would need to play except the goggles.

[Chaparral]

If you're just out in the local forest or chaparral and you can control who joins your family, you can specify stock gun only/pump only/semi only and keep the hootchers who would show up with an electropneumatic and just sit on their asses hosing the place.

I started out with a Sheridan PGP back in the late '80s and graduated to a Carter Comp-Desert Duck was what they called the custom gun. Nelspot 007s were common then too. My tuned PGP could give me maybe 15 shots off of one 12g CO2. Those guns sort of forced you to use your head and have discipline and patience, kinda like a child's first gun being a bolt action .22 instead of a GSG-5 and Daddy's credit card for all the bricks of ammo. My first semi was a pre-owned VM-68 then 'cockers and 'mags.

It was hard for a team of players using only stock guns to compete against a group using semis but a few like the Kamikaze Shooters or Earon Carter's team(s) could do it. If I were to get back into paintball and could do it on what would be essentially, MY own private field, I'd equip everyone with stock guns only and the chrono limit would be 280 fps. Maybe the guy defending the flag could have a semi like a Tippman or autococker or 'mag or whatever it is that they sell these days. It would keep the kids from lighting each other up and that goes a long way towards cooling tempers and hard feelings AND it keeps the paint & air costs down and the place doesn't look so trashed afterwards. If you don't want to waste money on 12g CO2 cartridges, then an adapter hooked to a 3.5 to 7 oz CO2 bottle was what I used to use. Still have everything somewhere but the VM 68 which was stolen by tweakers.

[brassburnz]

If you are going to be playing on a private field and have complete control over who is playing and what kind of equipment is used, buy pump guns. With a good pump gun and good paint, hitting a 6 inch target at 25 yards is not too difficult.

http://www.phantomonline.com/paintballguns/paintballguns.htm

A Phantom would be a good investment. It's a little more than the $150 you want to spend, but you can't beat the customer service and they can help you get started in the right direction. Like Chaparral mentioned, get some 7oz. CO2 tanks and skip the 12 grams.

I used to tour with Carter Machine and played almost exclusively with a pump gun, either a Carter Comp (one of Earon's old guns) or a custom Phantom. Sometime's I'd pull my Bushmaster Pointman out of retirement and play with that.

Go buy a copy of Action Pursuit Games magazine and use the ads as a pricing guide. There's sure to be an ad from a store in your area.

Randy
NRA Life Member

If you're just out in the local forest or chaparral and you can control who joins your family, you can specify stock gun only/pump only/semi only and keep the hootchers who would show up with an electropneumatic and just sit on their asses hosing the place.

I started out with a Sheridan PGP back in the late '80s and graduated to a Carter Comp-Desert Duck was what they called the custom gun. Nelspot 007s were common then too. My tuned PGP could give me maybe 15 shots off of one 12g CO2. Those guns sort of forced you to use your head and have discipline and patience, kinda like a child's first gun being a bolt action .22 instead of a GSG-5 and Daddy's credit card for all the bricks of ammo. My first semi was a pre-owned VM-68 then 'cockers and 'mags.

It was hard for a team of players using only stock guns to compete against a group using semis but a few like the Kamikaze Shooters or Earon Carter's team(s) could do it. If I were to get back into paintball and could do it on what would be essentially, MY own private field, I'd equip everyone with stock guns only and the chrono limit would be 280 fps. Maybe the guy defending the flag could have a semi like a Tippman or autococker or 'mag or whatever it is that they sell these days. It would keep the kids from lighting each other up and that goes a long way towards cooling tempers and hard feelings AND it keeps the paint & air costs down and the place doesn't look so trashed afterwards. If you don't want to waste money on 12g CO2 cartridges, then an adapter hooked to a 3.5 to 7 oz CO2 bottle was what I used to use. Still have everything somewhere but the VM 68 which was stolen by tweakers.

[xibunkrlilkidsx]

My kid (age 10) wants to play paintball. Probably not in formal paintball fields, just in the forest with neighbors kids and friends (we live in a rural, forested area). What is the easiest way to get started with the equipment?

Here was my thinking. Go to some sporting goods store, and get a Spyder or Tippmann marker kit. Looking at Amazon, they should run about $100 to $150. I was thinking of the simple semi-auto markers that look like oversize pistols, not a wannabe M4 lookalike.

PSyder or Tippman or liek the 10/22 of the paintball world. Dont go total cheap on it buy a decent one and it will last a long time.

Get a box of paintballs (they seem to come in boxes of a thousand or so). For now, let's stick to CO2 instead of compressed air - that's probably easier. Do the kits come with full CO2 tanks, or do you have to go have them filled?

Some kits may have a Co2 tank already, but they can be filled at most welding supply stores, and paintball shops. but if you can compressed air tanks are much nicer.

The kits all come with a mask. For the rest of the outfit, use long-sleeve sturdy clothes and gloves, and maybe his dirtbiking chest protector. Is that enough protection?

I played in a shirt, long elbow pads(basically under armor with padding that ran from the elbow to your wrist helped when diving), loose fitting pants, bandanna, mask, and old base ball cleats. The paintballs will hurt but they shouldnt break the skin if the velocity is set right usually about 250-300feet per second


Are there good paintball supply stores in the southern part of the SF bay area (San Jose, Campbell, Los Gatos, Sunnyvale)? Or do regular sporting goods stores (Big 5 etc.) have everything you need?

no idea. PBNation is like what we ahve here you can find a lot of info. But there can be a ton of idiots.

Now a question from the gunnies perspective: How accurate are paintball guns actually? I know they're not going to be sub-MOA, but can you hit say a 6" target at 25 yards with a cheapo marker?

I used to be able to hit a 4x4 post from about 30 yds pretty consistent. Paintball can be more of an accuracy by volume sport at times, which is why you see some markers shooting 15+balls per second. but you usually see that on more tournament guns.

School me, please.

i played for over 6 years and miss it SOOOO much. have a bbuddy ont he look out for a new gun for me. sold mine to pay for college.