Chic, IL Official Chicago Force Fall Paintball trip! Contact info added!

You can't forget my suicide charge during the failed lighsaber battle.

 

Goat--our double or triple duel last year in that new game we played didn't make your list??

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DrJawa. . . the rental guns are pretty good--using them definitely won't hurt you. Sithy and I have had our moments where we cleaned house with them! Like always, it's the person behind the gun that counts, not the gun (to a certain point). Right, Peaches?

Actually, after paintball last year I wound up buying a Tippman A5, becoming familiar with it, and customizing it. If there's any advantage in having your own gun, it's probably in knowing exactly how to get it to do what you want it to do. I'm itching to use it!

On the other hand, a great investment is a face mask of your own, since the rental ones are pretty hit-and-miss as far as visual clarity is concerned. I had to go through at least four or five of them last year before I found one that wasn't completely covered in scratches.

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By the way, does anyone else think that bringing a hand-cart to carry water and ammo out onto the field is a good idea? Every year, we seem to spend a heck of lot of time just sitting around, and while it's definitely not up to me, I just wanted to throw that idea out there in case someone else liked it too.

 

I totally forgot about the duels! That was some good stuff as well!

Yeah the rental guns are not that bad. They are Tippmann 98s. To put it into perspective, Peaches has a super fancy setup and always has some issue with it where he ends up sitting out a game or two to fix it. The rental folks rarely have issues like that.

I recently got an A-5 as well and am still learning/customizing it.

I don't know about the hand cart thing. I'm not sure they would let you do that. I kinda like the breaks in between matches. Sometimes you really need them.

PS-Don't waste money on paintball grenades. In theory they are cool but in practice they are useless.

 

Autocockers - some people swear by them, some people swear at them.

And it's true, you can have a $3000 marker, but it only takes one hit and you're out of the game.

I also have concerns about the cart-on-the-field idea. Most of the time, having a few minutes to catch your breath between games is a good thing. Now, a cart to get things from the parking lot to the staging area I can get behind, because I am fat and lazy.

If you are new to paintball, and are thinking about buying equipment, there is no argument that your first purchase should be headgear. Everything that has been said about the lenses being scratched is probably an understatement. Also think about ALL the sweaty people that have used it before, and you are straping it to your face. A good mask can be had for $30.

If you are planning on buying your own gun, your options are many. You can spend anywhere from $150 to $4000, but they all have the same basic function. I will say this: EVERY paintball field I have been to in...jeez, has it been that long...in 20 years has used Tippmanns as their rental guns. A commercial field can't afford to have guns breaking and spend a lot of time fixing stuff. A Tippmann is rugged and reliable. I was playing a 3-man tournament with mine when I tripped and fell barrel first into the dirt. I planted my marker muzzle first like a little aluminum flag. When I pulled it out, I had taken a core sample of southern Utah with my barrel. I jammed my squeegee down the barrel to break up the dirt, fired a few rounds to clear things out, and I was back in business. Try THAT with an Angel.

That being said, what gun would I like to buy next? E-mag with a Warpfeed, and a Sydarm on each hip.

Finally, two things cannot be said enough:

1) Bring water, in something that will keep it cool, if you can. Some high-carb snacks would not be amiss, either.

2) You WILL have fun. You will be tired and in pain, but you will have fun.

 

and for the fellas, WEAR A CUP!!!!!

Nothing is worse than a shot in the pills at 280 fps. That ain't frames per second either! You're grapes will be crushed.

 

I think that we should all get masks like this (this is a Psycho Scenario mask add-on kit):

[image=http://www.psychoscenario.com/ebaypics/skullblackf.jpg]

[image=http://www.psychoscenario.com/ebaypics/skullblackr.jpg]

 

Nothing is worse than a shot in the pills at 280 fps

Yes, I was very glad I was wearing a cup when Mark bagged me in the berries (orange shirt. Orange shirt!). It is a very good idea. Girls might want to consider a fleece tube top or something they could wear underneath as well.

I saw a guy take one to the happy sacs and, like an idiot, did a self-paintcheck and called "Didn't break!". After the second round to the nether regions, we left him curled up in the fetal position on the field.

Don't be a hero. Call yourself out.

 

I nearly spit out my water on that one.

 

i think i was the recipient of the close-range hand shot from...mary ambereyes' son, right? or was it mark?

i tend to blame everything that goes wrong on mark.

 

I take full responsibility on shooting both Matt's. It may just be a Matt thing. And with Hazzy, my goggles were fogged and all I saw was a shape. With Dartha, I admit I got carried away and executed him.

I suck.

 

I 2nd the ROFL on "happy sacs".

Crap - Keagan and I better get shopping for camo. I thought those BlastCamp guns were decent. Hell - I took out a few people with them, as did Keagan. If it's good enough for an 11 yr old, should be good enough for you.

 

You really can't beat a tippman.

If you bang a tippman model 98 against a tree the tree most likely will break before the marker and it will still shoot fine.

 

and for me....the date conflicts continue....due to procrastination on the part of my family (who usually camps out in September)...the date of our family camp out is that weekend....

 

You really can't beat a tippman.

<grammer police>

Oh, you can beat them, they are just tough to break.

</grammer police>

 

I want to help out any woman or child who wants to borrow a protective vest and gloves. I made quite a few up in my spare time out of actual bulletproof vest covers, ranger vests, fishing and hunting vests. I also have some underjacket varieties made from hockey armor. I put 3/4 thick medium density upholstery foam in them and they will totally absorb even a hit at close range. I will bring the whole pile and it will be pretty much first come, first served. I also have some elbow and knee pads extra to loan out, and have an extensive camo selection to loan out in small, medium, and large sizes.
It bothered me that some of the women and children suffered wholly avoidable injuries the last times we were out, and so I would like to offer some advice.
If you have your old sports elbow and knee padding, you should bring them. If they are too colorful, they can be worn under your clothing. You can also wear padded clothing, or pad your clothing with foam ( will bring extra. Dark clothing with lots of big pockets are good as you can put the padding in the pockets and that will offer you some protection.
-Obi Wan Bottari

 

Check out this paintball video . . . I found it amusing, although it's hard to see what's happening.

Hit & Run shooting

 

Amusing, no. Stupid, yes.

I'm not even going to go into the unsafe aspects of this...shooting people with no head/eye protection (there was a distinct "I hit his face!" on the video). I'll just say that things like this and the incident in California years ago are the people we can thank when paintball get banned or placed under heavy restriction.

I know, I know, if they were throwing baseballs at people, they wouldn't ban baseball. But Joe Public is a complete moron and doesn't view baseball and paintball in the same light. We need to be aware of that. All they see is kids shooting guns at people.

I'd gladly take the "assualting a minor" conviction to be alone in a room with these kids for 5 minutes.

 

Preferrably with a paintball gun that can fire 30 bps at 350 fps? Well, I found it somewhat amusing, but it's probably because I'm still relatively young. Like I just hinted at in my opening remark, I share your desire to give these guys a taste of their own medicine (although I'm sure the police department did that already).

Anyway, I've got a question for you or anyone else that knows more than I do, which is practically anyone here. With paintball coming up, I need to finally buy the last essential bits of my equipment that I didn't buy when I originally got my A-5 last year (and since paintball was canceled, I procrastinated even further). Basically, I'm looking at two must-have items, and two things I'd really like, but I'm balking at the price.

-The first item is a helmet . . . for obvious reasons. The two I'm looking at are the JT Elite Headshield and the Dye Proto Switch EL (the names aren't that important). Basically, they're both about the same price ($35), but the first one is a full helmet (in fact, it's exactly the same mask as the QC guys'), and the second one is the normal style. My question is: with everything else being equal, is the full helmet going to kill my hearing ability? I'd hate to be stuck in some sort of cap where I can't tell what's going on. If you (or anyone else) can't really answer this, then I'll just figure it out by going to Galyan's, putting the helmet on, and seeing if I can hear a friend sneaking up on me. I'd just rather skip all that work if someone out there has actual experience.

-The second thing I need to get is a remote. Is a coiled remote a lot better than a non-coiled remote since it takes up slack? I happen to have a 3000 psi NO2 (air) system--am I safe buying any remote, or do I need to buy one that's specifically says it's rated for 3000 psi?

-The first optional purchase I'd like to make is a TAC Cap hopper so that I can see through my entire red dot sight. Unfortunately, this means I'll have a 30-50 shot hopper, and while I have pods to bring out on the field, does anyone think that a) I'll get creamed reloading, and b) that I'll be using my red dot sight that much?

-The last thing is a double trigger. I *can* fire 5-8 shots per second with the single trigger, and I see no need to fire any faster. However, I'm open to suggestions if you've got 'em!

Anyway, if you have any suggestions for me, thanks in advance!

 

Any deadline for sign up?
Still wrangling schedules...

 

Trying on a helmet before buying is never a bad idea. Unless metal spikes shoot out and pierce your forehead, then it's a "you break it, you buy it" situation.

The main benefit (I see) of a coiled remote over a straight-line remote is that it helps the CO2 phase-change from liquid to gas. Since you are running compressed air, this is not an issue, and the coiled remote is more likely to snag on branches and stuff.

 

Ah ha! Now that's what I was talking about when I said "actual experience!" I appreciate the help, and btw--didn't Blastcamp outlaw barrel plugs last year? I think I remember the ref telling us that, because it's possible to shoot out the plugs.

 

I'm passing on the remote and likely passing on the E-Grip. I figure

1-I don't play that much to neccesitate the need for a super complicated paintball gun.

2-I'm taking the Kalishikov stance. The more complicated something is, the more likely it is to break or malfunction. Take Peaches for example, not to keep harping on his weapon choice. I don't want to spend the day tweaking my gun. I want to spend it shooting at you.

3-It only takes one shot to take someone out. That is all I need.

Edit(because I have helmet info for you):

I own a Headshield. I love it. It protects your whole head which is a big plus. All it takes is that one time to get hit in the top or back of the head. This takes away any of that fear. My only complaint is with the foam that is on the goggles. It gets a little itchy after a while.

For 30 bucks you can go wrong. I've already customized mine.

 

Hey, where'd you get your headshield for $30? Everywhere I've looked it's $35. Also, how have you customized your helmet?

I think that Peaches' gun just doesn't like him . . . it's not that it's that complicated--heck, I think I've got a lot more stuff on my A5 that can go wrong. Not that my A5 is incredibly upgraded--all it has is a ceramic 14" barrel and an A5 stock added to the stock package, but that's all you need to hit targets from long range.

Pet peeve: why do hand guards and stocks for Tippmann markers cost in the $50-100 range? I mean, c'mon, it's a piece of plastic (or metal)! Seriously, I can buy an entry level Autococker for the price of a plastic muzzle shroud and a rail sight (which is why I don't have them).

As far as the remote goes, I suppose if I didn't have the M4 stock on my A5, then I could eschew the remote, but the stock demands it.

 

Hey you never even see my autococker i have always had my spyder with me so yes its a POS.

 

I got it in Wisconsin. I added some paint of my own. I changed the mouth color a bit and added Warhammer Ultramarines symbols. I also took off the bill thing on the top. I want to upgrade the goggles to something a little more comfortable.

It is highly specialized stuff. I'm guessing a fair amount of R&D went into creating them while remaining semi-accurate to the real weapons they are meant to emulate. Precision engineering costs money.

Probably. Like I said though I want my gear to be simple so I'm skipping it.