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Paintball Resources Online?

I feel weird posting anything else today after my last post… but what's the point of having your organs if you aren't really using 'em?

I'm considering getting into paintball. It seems like something I can do not only during the summer but during the winter, too. I'm pretty new to it all, so I'm going to ask: does anyone know any good paintball sites? Right now I'm not looking to join a forum (too much time), buy things (a friend of mine knows "a guy"), etc. I'm just looking to get up to speed on the technology, the gear, etc.

6 Responses to "Paintball Resources Online?"

  1. http://www.warpig.com/

    The design is ugly, but it's about the best out there right now.

  2. I know no sites, but I have to comment.

    I'd recommend reading a few months worth of paintball magazines. It's not rocket science, and someone with an interest in firearms (like yourself) should be able to pick up the basics in a few articles.

    After you get a bit up to speed, I recommend you buy yourself a case of paint (yes a case, and not the cheapest paint), and find one of the MEGA paintball competitions or a local paintball spot. (They tend to have MEGA's every 3-4 months near me. Find 'em in magazines and online. You should be able to find a local paintball place as well. They're pretty common now-a-days, and they can tell you where to go try the game.) Go rent a gun, air, and a mask, and learn a little about the game. Take some friends, blow all your paint. Figure out if you like the game. (Will cost /leq $100 a person if you bring your own paint for a FULL day. Will help you decide what type of gun to buy as well.)

    Then, if all is still cool, buy a gun you like. The cost of entry for paintball equipment is low, so it's REALLY not worth buying used gear. Find a gun that's well recommended, that doesn't break too much paint, and splurge on it ($200-300). I recommend a semi-auto gun. People that try to tell you that pump sniper rifles are good are lying. (at least when I used to play that was the case.) Buy the BEST MASK you can afford. Buy a large hopper (you'll easily use 150 balls in a friendly match). Get multiple air cylinders (2-5, depending on size). Get a squeege and a muzzle plug. Carry the squeege while playing. If you get really into it, post another article, and I'll tell you how to save on air, and other neat ways of making a weekend of paintballing cost just for the paint.

    I stopped playing paintball after high school. I stopped because the people you meet playing aren't the kind I like to spend time with. I hate to categorize, but the majority of them are not "the thinking type". (Again, apologies because I understand there are exceptions to every rule, but it has been my experience.) If you can get enough friends to play (pretty easy), who have/buy the equipment (again, not to hard) and have a place to play (the hardest part), then it is REALLY a lot of fun. I found all of my friends who I took loved the game, but hated most of the players.

    Have you heard of Airsoft? I'd like to try it, but it seems pretty new, and possibly has the same problems I had with paintball.

    Good luck.

  3. Thanks. The reason I may get into it is because a few friends (including my brother-in-law) are into it. Truth be told, I may simply not have the time to get into it... but your advice to just do the rental thing may work in the end. Only reason I'm really thinking about it now is that a guy used to own a business and is selling off all of his gear at 75% off or so. So it may be a good time to get set up VERY inexpensively, even if I don't like getting into it.

  4. If you ever do get into it, let me know. I occasionally find myself up near Pittsburgh and just like I have my winter gear and skis packed at 5 minutes ready notice to ski, I have my paint-ball gear (gas and a case o' paint) packed and always ready to go too. 🙂

    I'm not too much of a gear nut. I have a Tippman Pro Carbine that I've lightened the trigger on a little. I also have a Spider which is nice and compact and good for playing in really enclosed spaces like houses[0]. I generally play with the Pro Carbine though.

    The only advice I will offer is protection related. Buy a mask that covers the ears (amazingly I've seen masks that don't...). Get a throat protector (they're usually neoprene and just wrap around your neck). Get a cup (stuffing a dishtowel down the front of your pants works too, just make sure to keep the dishes dishtowel and family jewels dishtowels separate after that 🙂 ).

    [0] - If you're ever near Naticoke, PA there is an old mining village called Concrete City that we used to play outlaw in. They had twenty two two-story duplex houses with basements. Each side had four rooms on the top, two rooms in the main floor and its own basement. Top floor rooms even had little closet nooks. We generally would have about five guys, two guys would go hide in a building and the other three would have to "clear" all the buildings. You'd clear dozens of rooms, heart pounding, as you except a guy to be waiting to nail you from five feet away each time you rush a room. Beats playing in the woods any day (not that I mind playing in the woods, it's just I prefer urban style, it's more intense 🙂 )

  5. Hey Erik,

    I just wanted to mention that my dad puts on crazy 'scenario' games that last 24 hours (sometimes longer) where every player takes on a role, such as a General, a Spy, Recon, etc. He produces them around the country and at his field Waynes' World in Florida. He's known to many in paintball as the Godfather of Scenario Paintball. The games are a lot of fun, and sometimes draw 2,000+ players.

    He's done games at Skirmish in PA in the past. If you get a chance, play one. It's like nothing else out there.

  6. i am from mountain top pa and i use a tippmann a-5 with upgrades and i like to play in the woods but there is a field around her called commandpost and it is a very good field. there also is a place called concrete city. it is a bunch of old concrete mining buildings(google it). i buy the majority of my paintball stuff off of eba because it is so cheap but i buy my paint from command post.......its a good game you should def start and play......if u start i sugest woodsball and buying a tippmann