Need suggestions for paintball gun

Starfish

Starfish

Joined
Jun 14, 2001
Messages
1,256
Hi all,

My son's birthday is coming up soon, and he has asked for a paintball gun. He is just starting out in this sport. He also does not have a tendency to care for/maintain his tools. So, I'm looking for suggestions for a paintball gun that fills as many of the following criteria as possible:

1) Relatively inexpensive - say, $100 or less.

2) Requires little/no maintenance (not sure how much paintball guns require in general).

3) Has the "cool" factor (as seen through the eyes of an early teenager).

4) Durable.

Any other things I haven't thought of, please note that as well :)

Thanks for all your help - I started googling, but was quickly swamped with information. I'm relying on the collective expertise to give me the quick and dirty of what I need to know to make a relatively informed purchase :)

Matthew
 
I have found that a inexpensive reliable company that makes pb guns is spyder.
Make sure he has a head gear, gloves are good to have as well.

Roger
 
Most Paintballers won't talk guns without mentioning the Tippman 98 custom. It truly is a versitle gun and can be modified or played with as is. I have two guns a Spyder Victor that I bought on closeout for $40.00 and a 98 custom. I let my 8 year old use the Spyder. Both function well, the 98 is a much more durable gun. It shoots Paint that seem to break in the Spyder.

I say check e-bay. I was there last night looking at 98's and found a few under $100. Most are used but that shouldn't stop you. You may find some reconditioned ones. The 98 is so robust that there aren't a lot of things that can go wrong with it.

Get him the right protection with a mask that covers the side of the temples. Also get a neck protector and some gloves. I almost didn't get this piece but was glad I did. The very firsttime my son was hit with paint was square in the adams apple. He laughed it off and played all day. You don't mention how old he is. If he is young and intimidated by the paint put him in a denim coat or sturdy jacket that will absorb the paint.

Better yet buy two and go play with him. You'll have blast.

Badge54
 
I know you are asking about paintball, but I would like to make a suggestion you might consider. It's little-known sport called airsoft. In the end it is much cheaper than paintball (bb's cost around $6 for 2000 of the decent ones. Paintballs are about $50 for the same amount.) and you get get a decent starter gas blowback pistol for under $100.

This brings me to yet another good point of airsoft: realism. All guns are modeled after a real-world firearm counterpart. For the greatest realism, gas blow back is the way to go. It uses a gas power scource(they gas will usually cost more less than C02) to proppel the bb, and blow back the slide, creating recoil. This definately has a coolness factor for an early teen (trust me, I know, I'm fourteen myself.)

Now on to maintanence. As long as he isn't dropping it in two feet of mud or in the pool, he'll be fine. Even if he does drop it in the pool, all he has to do is dry everything off to keep it from rusting. Regular maintanence consists of spraying a bit of 100% silicone lube down the barrel and on the moving parts. And the guns themselves are generally quite durable, as long as you buy a good gun from a good company.

Airsoft generally hurts less than paintball, which is generally a plus. The sport is generally not held in high standards, though, and as the sport is less popular, finding people to play with may be a little hard without bringing friends into the sport.

As said earlier, airsoft is about realism. If he's looking for speedball, indoor batles are the closest he will get. Airsoft is more Military Simulation (MilSim) and many games here on the east cost are held in the woods, many times in full camo. You don't need camo, though, not as a beginner.

Anyways, it's something to look into. I've rambled enough, if you (or anyone else) would care to learn more, email me at admiralstubby@gmail.com
 
Its been a few years since I really looked at buying paintball guns, so I don't know exactly what models are available. But I would suggest you stick with one of the main 3 brands: Tippman, PMI/Pyranha, and Kingman/Spyder. These are doing to be good quality guns, and you will be able to find parts for them. No matter how good of care you take of them, they have stuff wear out. Mainly O-rings, once in awhile a little rubber detent on the feeding,etc. Little things that don't cost a lot but are necessary to keep the gun running.
I started out with a cheap brass eagle gun. It worked good for a few games, maybe 500 rounds through it and then it went to ****. Replacing O-rings required going to the hardware store and guessing what size. Other parts couldn't be found. Got rid of the thing quick and got myself a PMI pyranha G2. It's lasted for several years and probably 10,000 rounds without too much maintenance. I think I put one sear in it(they covered that with the warranty), and maybe went through 3 or 4 maintenance kits with O-rings and all that. Great performing gun, and its still like new, could take it out tomorrow and play a game.
My brother did the same routine but switched over to a Tippman 98. This is also a very reliable gun, and you can find any parts or accessories for it you could ever dream of. Its a much more difficult/time consuming gun to work on though and may not be best for a young kid. Lots of small parts to keep track of.
In the end I put some accessories on my gun. Had an expansion chamber on it since we were playing in the winter, and I put a 14" di excel barrel on. The barrel wasn't really necessary as I think the quality of the stock barrel was every bit as good, just not as long and less porting (a little bit louder). I don't know that the expansion chamber made a huge difference either, other than giving you a nice grip on the front of the gun. I think the internal o-rings and stuff may have lasted a little longer also since there was less liquid CO2 going through the gun. Mainly just fun stuff to tinker with, the stock gun was very good. You don't have to spend all that much to have a good paintball rig. Me and my redneck buddies painted up more than one speedball guy with a $1000 rig who tried to come out to the woods with us. You don't even have to get one of the brands I listed, but be sure you can find parts for it easily.

I'd also recommend you get the best mask you can. I know they all meet the safety requirements but some can be pretty uncomfortable and don't offer much protection for anything but your eyes. And once again, make sure you pick one that you can get parts for. Lenses will get scratched, or sometimes go bad after being shot too many times. Its a lot cheaper to just get a new lense insert, than to go buying a whole new mask. I went pretty well went through a a lense a year when we were playing a lot.
If its not hot out, then plain old winter gloves offer plenty of padding, and I always found a cheap pair of coveralls to be the best thing to wear. A little padding to keep you from getting stung too bad, and when the game is over you take off the coveralls and your clean. Wouldn't ever spend the money on all the fancy clothes they sell at the PB shops.
 
GarageBoy said:
How do you register hits on airsoft?
Click to expand...

generally by the screams and yelps of the target. Airsoft does hurt, not bad, but it does sting for a few minutes. I got drunk and shot my friend in the ass on her birthday, she hit me.

That said... airsoft is more realistic than paintball and the guns themselves are pretty cool, assuming they're well made and not the $5 ebay special. I've been looking into getting a few more airsoft guns... an AK-47 and M4 would be spiffy to go along with my M1911A1.

Drawback to airsoft... accuracy isn't as good as with paintball because the BBs are plastic and have rather odd flight paths depending on wind or just imperfections in the pellet itself.

I plink paper cups and paper towell rolls inside with my airsoft guns (I live alone, I can do what I damn well please). Everytime I sweep I have several hundred rounds of ammo ready to shoot again.
 
In the realm of paintball the best starter i have found is a tippman 98 custom. You can usually find them in sets(mask,hopper,gun,&plug) for around $200. I know that is a little higher than you might want to pay, but they are damn near indestructable. They require very little cleaning in comparison to say a Spyder, and can be upgraded easily. The only think they lack in is the 'cool' factor. They come in silver and black, thats it, no shiny metallic paint. Of course I found that I didnt mind the paint as long as it didnt chop balls or jam after 10 rounds.

If he gets serious the best tournment level entry gun Ive played with is Smart Parts Impluse. It retails around $400 and will last him a long, long time.
 
Actually the 98 is now in Silver and Realtree camoflage. Many of the kids mask off the gun and paint it themselves what ever color they want.

Badge54
 
Hi all,

Thanks for the pointers to manufacturers with good reps, and also for the tips on what to look for - this is exactly what I needed!

Regarding airsoft: my son just started playing paintball, and has since discovered that there is a paintball club at his high school. I'm happy to encourage this, as this is the first time in a loooong while that he has shown interest in participating in a social group :)

And yeah, dad's planning on clearing some time out of his schedule for a little father-son paintball :D

Thanks again - I plan on doing some research this week, and I'll post here with any follow-up questions!

Matthew
 
Are there any paintball fields in your area that you can rent for the day? Maybe try a few out. If you get some of the bigger dealers on the phone they may cut you a deal to go with two.

The 98 will be a great platform for him to start with. He will undoubtedly modify it when he gets into it more. He will then decide what type of player he wants to be a Speedballer that fires blindly down range while running to cover or adds a longer smoother barrel and takes carefulll aim picking the others off. Or puts the Response trigger on it and gets essentialy full auto fire rate while balsting away in a game of woodsball. With the 98 he will be able to mow the grass and add pieces by the yard that he mows.

Try a few of the links to paintball sites and look at whats available.
Tips and tricks
Spec ops paintball

Badge54
 
I just bid for and won the following package off of eBay:

Tippmann 98 Custom w/ Owner's manual, Allen wrenches, CO2 tank (9 oz), Spare tank O-ring, gun lubricant, cleaning cable, hopper, extreme rage goggles w/ mask, neck protector, and spare full tube of paintballs.

Reputable seller claims excellent condition, and I got it all for $118 shipped. That seems like a pretty good deal to me based on comparison against similar packages new, but I'd like to hear your opinions.

Matthew
 
Sounds like it's plug and play at a great price. Now a trip to the surplus store for some BDU's and he's off to the big time.

He will probably want to get larger Co2 tank so that he will get more shots between fills unless there is a fill station at the field where the club plays. Then again that may motivate him to mow the lawn for some extra cash.

The first time I played was against a church youth group team (teenagers). They challenged us (Swat team) to play them. It was 7 (them) against 5(us). They were loading up with full camo, full auto, full tactical gear and full of courage talking about taking us out and hiding in trees with FRs radios and the works... After the first two rounds we were 2-0 with no casualties that's when they chose to shake up the sides. MAYBE it was a little unfair but 3 of us bought our guns on the way to the field that day. We had a blast. My son and I shot at least 1000 rds that day. If you don't get your gun before he starts maybe you can ref for them. We got a great picture of the teams too for the scrap book.


Badge54
 
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