Zensin's New Player Guide

[zensins]

I've put this guide together to try to help new players get ready for a day at BWR and help them eventually pick out their gear. I've provided links for some of the more controversial info, and frankly I'm sure that plenty of equally experienced players will disagree strongly with at least some things here. This is just the best info I could find on the subject or based on personal experience. Feel free to reply with opinions, corrections, or questions.

FIRST TIMERS

The BASICS

1. Mask on at all times on the field. No exceptions. No warnings.
2. Barrel sock on at all times off the field. No exceptions. No warnings.
3. If a paintball hits any part of you, your gun, or anything you're carrying or wearing, and breaks, you're out. That includes shots from friends. That includes your hopper and marker and everything else.
4. If you are out, raise your marker in the air and YELL "HIT! OUT!!!"
5. Bounces don't count. "Splatter/spray" doesn't count.
6. If you call yourself out, you're out. If you raise your gun, or call yourself out, and find out right after that it bounced, you're still out.
7. If you feel a hit, and you're not 100% sure it broke, get behind cover and check yourself. If you can't check yourself, or you're not sure, ask a nearby teammate or referee for a paint-check.
8. Don't come out from cover when you're out until they stop shooting at you. Poke your gun up over the bunker, and keeping yelling OUT OUT OUT until they stop firing at you. THEN come out and get off the field ASAP while trying to avoid crossfire.
9. We have a 20 foot gentleman's rule. If you are within 20' of a player, and they don't know you're there, you are obliged to say "Take the hit" instead of shooting. Your opponent is obliged to call themselves out if they were unaware of your presence. I've never met anyone on our field that did not gratefully call themselves out. There's one exception.
10. If you play in the snake (a long, low bunker that runs the length of each side of the field...check the gallery) you might get shot at point blank range because of the "close up" nature of this bunker. If you can't handle this, don't play in the snake.
11. The speed limit it 280 FPS (feet per second). EVERYONE must check their marker at the chrono station before EVERY game day. If you're shooting CO2, you MUST re-check it mid-day.
12. Everyone must sign a liability release before playing. Minors must have a signed release from their parents/legal guardian. Click here for the release.

FAQ

Q: Does it hurt to get shot with a paintball?
A: Yeah, a bit, for a second. It's a little like getting slapped in terms of pain level.

Q: What should I wear?
A: Dress for the weather and terrain, not to avoid pain from getting hit. Camo is good. Bright clothes are bad. Don't bother buying a full set of BDUs for your first time out. Earth-tone clothing and hiking boots or tennis shoes will do fine.

Q: What should I wear to avoid pain?
A: A cup if you're a guy. Chest protection if you're not. Armored gloves if you have them. If you don't have a cup, closed-cell foam cut to shape is better than nothing.

Q: Does the paint stain your clothes?
A: No. The paint is water/Sorbitol based with food coloring that does not stain. (That said, in over 10 years of playing I've run across paint that stains twice. It's very rare.)

Q: What should I bring?
A: Your own gear if you have it. Water. A portable toilet for #2 if you think it'll be necessary. Bug spray if it's not winter. Hotdogs or other grill food to put on the grill for lunch. Some kind of shelter if it looks rainy.

Q: What should I not bring?
A: Paint you didn't buy at our field. Hot tempers. Bad safety habits. Alcohol.

Q: What are the prices?
A: It varies, mainly due to paint prices and what equipment you need. Contact Rod at BWRPaintball@yahoo.com or 850-422-1757 or PM "BWRPaintball" on the forum.

Q: Are there other things I should know?
A: Low clearance vehicles are not recommended, especially if the weather is wet. The burn barrel isn't for trash that doesn't burn. Cigarette butts go in ash trays, not on the ground.

Q: Are groups okay? What if we don't have equipment?
A: We can handle groups up to 10 or so people without gear, but call ahead. We might be able to do more.

Q: I'm a new player. Am I going to get "run over" by experienced players?
A: We divide up teams in an attempt to keep things fair. Groups are free to play at least a few games on their own, just with their group.

Q: I just dumped my paint out of my hopper and onto the ground because the top came loose! What do I do?
A: That paint is gone. As soon as it touches the ground it has bits of sand and trash that will mess up your marker. Don't cry over spilt paint. Always make sure your hopper lid is closed TIGHT with a *pop* sound, and check it around all the edges so it doesn't happen again.

Q: The game's about to start and my marker won't fire!
A: Check the safety in front of the trigger and pull back hard on the cocking rod on the side (if it's mechanical).

Q: My marker just made a long *FRAPPPP* sound kinda like full-auto flatulence, and now it won't fire. What's wrong?
A: You're out of air/CO2. Pull back your cocking rod and you might get one or two more shots. Use them wisely.

Q: What happens if I run out of air or paint in the middle of a game or my marker stops working? Am I out?
A: Only if you call yourself out. Some people choose to stay in to try to draw enemy fire, distract opponents, pretending to still have a functioning marker. This can be effective if you're not hopelessly outnumbered and works better when out of paint than air. Someone shooting at you might run out of paint or air THEMSELVES and call themselves out! Even with no air or paint you can help a LOT by just telling your team what you can see. You can always decide to call yourself out, so what's the rush?

Q: My friends are on the field, and I was shot out or didn't play. Can I help them by telling them where people are?
A: Well, no, it's not very fair to do this. It still happens, and it's not a big deal, but how would you feel if you spent a lot of effort to sneak up on someone only to have someone off the field blow your cover? Dead men tell no tales!

Q: What's a "chrono?"
A: A chronograph (chrono) lets you measure how fast the paintballs are moving when they leave your marker.

Q: What's splatter/spray?
A: When a paintball breaks on something OTHER than you or your equipment, like the edge of your bunker, and the paint gets all over you, you're still in. It's just "splatter" or "spray". However, if you get paint-checked and you have splatter that LOOKS like a hit (single splash of paint you can't cover with a quarter) you may be called out by the ref. This is rare.

Q: The faster your paintballs travel the better, right?
A: Yes and no. More speed means more range, but we have a strict speed limit on the field of 280 FPS (feet per second). You MUST adjust your marker in our chrono station to make sure it's below the speed limit. ALL paintball markers are capable of shooting 280+ FPS. Shooting over this is called "shooting hot". This is bad, and easy for experienced players to spot.

EQUIPMENT

Everything above is all you need to know to come out and play. If you haven't really played paintball, but are looking into getting into the sport for more than 1 or 2 outtings, hopefully this guide will help you avoid some of the common and pricey mistakes most of us have made.



First, try before you buy. It's easy to fall in love with a piece of equipment based on advertising or a friend swearing how great it is. But it's better to TRY equipment at your field before buying. Ask someone if you can try on their mask if you like the looks of it. Ask to borrow as many markers and masks as you can. People are always very happy to let you try on a mask (off field) or take a few shots with their gun (on field).

The best advice I've ever read on buying paintball gear suggests buying your marker LAST. We've got rentals/loaner markers, masks, air tanks, hoppers, and even a few packs. Many people try to go cheap on their equipment, because they're unsure if they'll be in the sport long. A better alternative is to rely on loaner eq for a while and upgrade to good equipment as you can afford it. If you decide you don't like it, and sell your equipment as "like new" on eBay or at the field, you won't lose a lot of money. If you decide you like paintball, you save yourself the expense of upgrading from "entry level" gear (crap).

MASK

Your first purchase should be your mask. Having a good mask with a thermal (anti-fog) lens that fits you well and comfortably makes the game a lot more enjoyable. Try some masks out and see what you like. If you plan on playing in the summer, I would suggest a mask with a FAN. Many people say it's not necessary, but I disagree. Most rental/loaner masks do not have thermal lenses or fans.

HOPPER/LOADER

Your second purchase should probably be a good hopper. A Halo or Vlocity/Vlocity Jr. are the standard force-fed hoppers and will feed the fastest guns on the market. They run about $100 new, but you won't need to upgrade your hopper later. This will help eliminate paintball breaks in your marker which throws all your shots off. The most accurate marker in the world won't shoot straight with wet paint in the barrel. Put your new hopper on a rental/loaner marker and you will increase your reliability by a LOT. You can buy an agitated hopper if you aren't ready for the expense of a Halo or Vlocity/Vlocity Jr. or other high-end hopper. Even an agitated hopper like the Viewloader Revolution is a LOT better than this gravity-fed hopper, which is standard with rentals.



Don't spend more than $20 on an agitated hopper though. Agitated hoppers can feed balls to your marker at a rate of about 12 balls per second. Halos run at around 22 bps. If you invest in a good quality modern electropneumatic marker, it's likely capable of 20+ bps and you will probably want to run it at more than 12 bps. Tip: Buy a neoprene hopper cover. They're cheap and weigh nothing. They protect the shell of your hopper (in your gear bag, on the field, and from direct shots) and last forever. Buy one in camo if you can, or paint it camo if you plan on playing woodsball. Your hopper is one of the most often seen and hit targets in woodsball and speedball. It doesn't hurt that once in a while a shot will bounce off the neoprene. The Revolution covers sorta fit the Vlocity Jr.

TANK/AIR

CO2 heats up as the day warms up, increasing your velocity (FPS) past legal, making you have to go re-chrono. Also, since CO2 is in both liquid and gas form in the tank, it can be erratic, throwing off your accuracy. Lastly, you can't tell how much CO2 you have left, unlike on an air tank, so you'll run out of CO2 mid-game or spend too much time off-field missing games topping it off to avoid this. Therefore, your third purchase should be a fiber wrapped 68 cubic inch 4500 PSI tank with a good tank regulator and a tank cover. Guerilla Air puts out a good one with a Myth regulator that is light, reliable, and consistent. Switching from CO2 to compressed air will make your rental/loaner gun far more accurate and you won't have to worry about it heating up in the sun and making your shots too "hot" or fast. You need the tank cover to protect the fiber-wrapped tank so that its varnish finish doesn't get damaged, exposing and damaging the fibers next, which destroys your tank. (No one will fill it.)

Don't buy a used tank unless you know what you're doing. They usually need to be hydro-tested, or will need it soon, which is a pain and expensive. Once they're past their hydro date, no one will fill it. Steel tanks are cheaper than fiber wrapped tanks but a lot heavier. For recognition purposes, all fiber wrapped tanks have round butts, and all steel tanks have flat butts. A lot of people buy Crossfire fiber tanks because they're the cheapest. They're also heavy and a lot of people complain about them later.

Advanced: To learn more about tanks and hydro dates look here. I recommend Crossfire's hydro testing mail-in service, but not their tanks.

"High pressure" or "low pressure" tanks refer to the pressure of the air leaving the tank's regulator. Most modern markers function equally with either type, but verify before you buy. While most modern guns run fine on either, I suggest buying a "high pressure" tank/tank reg because you are less likely to find a gun that won't run well with it than a "low pressure" tank. They're also easier to sell later.

PACK/HARNESS

Somewhere along the line you'll need a way to carry more than the 200 balls in your hopper. The usual method is a "pack/harness" for carrying "pods/tubes" of paint. Buy a pack for large pods (120 balls+) and buy large pods. Do not buy a pack or "two pod pouch" for 100 ball pods. No one uses them so it makes swapping/lending/borrowing pods with teammates a pain. Besides, more is better.



I use a pack that holds 3 pods. Having more pods than your pack carries is good because they're cheap, you lose 'em sometimes on the field, and you can reload them all before you play and shorten up turn-around time between games. You likely won't need a pack until after you buy your marker. Rentals/loaners usually don't shoot paint very fast and so running out is rare. When you find yourself running out of paint because you emptied your full hopper on a regular basis before the game is over, it's time to buy a pack.

THE MARKER/GUN

Your LAST purchase should be your marker. Whatever you decide on, get one with eyes. Eyes are just an LED on one side and an LED light detector on the other side of the feedneck. When a ball is where it should be, it knows it, and lets the marker fire. If the ball is only half in, it waits till it's fully seated before firing. This stops most "chops" where the bolt cuts the paintball in half inside your marker... a bad thing, as you can imagine.

Almost everyone loves the marker they own. You will hear a lot of advice advocating a particular design or model. You can research until you're blue in the face. All paintball markers sometimes break paint. All paintball markers need to be cleaned when they break paint. The more o-rings a marker has, the less reliable it will be. In the end, you want a marker with eyes that is as reliable as you can get, easy to maintain, and within your budget. The next thing you'll find yourself wanting is speed. More on that in the more advanced section.

WHERE YOU SHOULD BUY

Short answer: Buy your stuff from R&S Paintball if you're in the Tallahassee area. Pick out the equipment you want by doing your research at the field and at pbreview.com. Once you pick out exactly what you want, contact Rod at BWRPaintball@yahoo.com or 850-422-1757 or PM "BWRPaintball" on the forum or talk to him on game day.

Paintball gear is finicky and needs to be properly maintained, especially the higher end stuff. Being new, you'll probably need help with some little problems on your marker until you get used to how it all works. I've bought stuff off eBay, websites, local stores, and from R&S. eBay is a 50/50 shot at best at getting something not messed up. There are no local paintball stores anymore in the Tallahassee area. Buying online is a pain in the ass, because if it has even a small problem you can't figure out, you get the joy of packing it all up, mailing it back, paying for shipping, and hoping they get it back before your next game day. And then there's WalMart. Do yourself a favor, and just don't. The stuff they carry is mostly junk (and that includes their paint).

I can honestly say the smartest way to go is to buy from R&S. Rod runs it, and he's at the field every single game day to help you with anything he's sold you. Despite my best attempts to change his mind, he charges the same or less than online stores, can get anything you need, and if something goes wrong, is very happy to make it right no matter what it takes. You also skip shipping charges. And last but not least, you'll be supporting your home field.

OPINIONS

Now for my own marker plug and opinions. I have owned three Tippmanns (A5, 98 Special, used 68 Carbine), a used 2000 Shocker Turbo/SF, two Autocockers (used Minicocker, new eBlade Eclipse Orracle), a used Angel IR3, a used DM4, and a C02 pistol.

Tippmann used to be known for reliability but they're outdated, heavy, not fast enough, and they're not built like they used to be (my opinions). Plastic internal parts that shouldn't be plastic, among other problems. A fine paintball marker, especially for woodsball, can be made on a Tippmann platform, but it will never be light or quiet. To even think about playing speedball you need an egrip on your Tippmann (APE Rampage board installed is even better). If you want to go with a mil-sim look, I recommend the BT TM7. Military shell around Invert Mini internals.

Kingman (Makers of Spyder) has its fans, I'm not one. They sell cheap entry-level markers and expensive entry-level markers. But they're all entry-level, imho.

Smart Parts has the Ion, which is their long-time entry-level electro. There are millions of them floating around on the used market, so they have the lowest resale value ever. They are very upgradeable, and good thing, because they really need it. By the time you finish upgrading an Ion to be everything it should be, you'll have spent more money than buying something better from the start.

My current marker is a Dangerous Power G3. It was a risk for me because it's a newer company but I liked their internal design and customer feedback and price. It has eyes, lever clamp feedneck (easy to take hopper on/off and keeps it on during play), shoots fast, is a true electropneumatic marker (not a hybrid), weighs 2 lbs, and only has 2 moving parts and 6 o-rings. It's accurate, has a decent regulator, and can be cleaned by unscrewing the back and running a squeegee through it. Simple simple simple. Last year when I bought it, it was around $400, and it's $300 now. Does that sound pricey? It does to a lot of new players, but you can spend $1,000 or even $2,000 on a stock paintball marker. The G3 is a lot of value for the price. The bad? Like all spool valve markers, it's less efficient. Some people screw down the reg too far and damage the seat. DP is giving away the permanent fix for that on their website. I have yet to bother getting it. The board/trigger is optical, which some people don't like because they're used to microswitch combos. You have to degas the marker to unscrew the back for a good cleaning. When I bought mine the macroline fittings were too tight and had to be replaced (two dollars). People say 'cockers are more accurate. Maybe, but my G3 does jusssst fine. I've really enjoyed how reliable it's been over the past year. And yes, this was a blatant plug for my own marker.



If I was trying to get playing for the least amount of money possible, or buying a marker setup for a young kid getting started, I would probably go with a Smart Parts Vibe for $150. Semi, Three shot burst and full auto with a max ROF of 11 balls per second. A VL Quantum loader for $14, and a steel air tank for $38. But you're better off buying better gear from the beginning.

Popular mid-level markers: Invert Mini, Dangerous Power, Certain Autocockers, Proto Matrix & SLG, some Smart Parts guns

Popular high-end markers: Planet Eclipse, Bob Long, MacDev, Dye Matrix, Smart Parts Shocker

SLIGHTLY MORE ADVANCED INFO

Serious paintballers are usually chasing 3 factors when it comes to their marker and setup: Accuracy, Reliability, and Speed. Efficiency and weight are important but not as much as the first three to most players. Some players also want extended range, especially for woodsball.

ACCURACY

All of the following assumes that the "human factor" has been taken out, as in, a marker clamped in a vice. Most accuracy problems are due to marker setup being awkward, unstable shooting stance, and lack of practice.

Assuming all of these factors are removed, the most important thing is using quality paint. Don't skimp if you're serious about being as accurate as possible. Sometimes great paint isn't available, but do the best you can and throw out your old, dimpled, wet paint. After that it's about paint matching. Less space between the barrel and the ball means less air goes around the ball means better efficiency (air lasts longer) and better accuracy. You don't need a full "barrel kit" if you're lucky enough to have a barrel that matches a particular brand of paint. If you are choosing paint from samples, bring your barrel. Most stock barrels are big bore, for maximum flexibility. They're big enough to shoot ANY brand paint through. Some brands of paint (and type within a brand) are typically larger. A chart for the size of paintballs is available here.. As you can see, they vary a lot, and paintball sizes even vary slightly between balls in the same bag!

So with all of these variables, I think it's fair to say that 80% of a paintball gun's accuracy is in its regulator and paint quality/sizing (assuming both are using compressed air). It used to be that stock barrels sucked, but that's really no longer true, even if the myth lives on. This rumor likely started when people noticed improved accuracy with their new aftermarket barrel which was likely caused by accidentally matching their paint to their barrel because after-market barrels are usually smaller bore. Spiraling, venting, rifling have no affect, other than making it quieter. A good barrel has a mirror finish bore which helps it self-clean if you get a barrel break, but that's about the only important difference. And barrel length doesn't matter either. According to this chart (click here) ten, twelve, fourteen, and sixteen inch fronts made no difference in accuracy, period.

Tip: If you've just lubed your marker up, fire at least 20 shots with your barrel and hopper OFF, preferably into a rag. This runs the excess lube through your marker and out so it doesn't coat the inside of your barrel which fouls up your shots just like breaking paint.

Tip: If you break paint in your barrel, squeegee it out REALLY WELL once you're back off the field. A perfectly dry and clean barrel is essential for accuracy. If you break paint in your hopper, you're screwed until you can dump out all the paint and clean it right. Even slightly wet paintballs never shoot straight.

Fitting Paint to Barrel

The best way to fit paint size to barrel size is with a "barrel kit" such as the Smart Parts Freak kit, MacDev MatchStik, Powerlyte Scepter, Redz Pepperstickz, etc. These are all variations on different size diameter barrel backs combined with a standard tip. Proper paintball fit is determined with "the blow test". The basic technique is you put a paintball in the back of your barrel and try to blow it through with a puff of air. If it rolls out without blowing, it's overbored (paint is far smaller than the barrel diameter). If it doesn't blow out, it's underbored. Some say you want it to blow through with a light puff. Some say that a perfect fit is undesirable and you want your barrel one size bigger or smaller. Some say it depends on the type of marker you're using. I have been running the stock barrel on my G3 since I bought it and my Freak barrel kit has been gathering dust in my closet. This means in general I overbore, because I don't feel the improvement in accuracy is USUALLY outweighed by the convenience and reliability of a large bore barrel. Again, this is all personal preference.

Sniping - The concept of a paintball sniper is not completely a myth, it's just very misunderstood. "One shot one kill" is the real sniper motto. "One BURST one kill" is more like it for paintball. Military snipers stay alive by staying very far away from their targets, taking advantage of their weapon's long range, outside of the range of the standard battle rifle. Paintball snipers cannot exceed the range of standard paintball guns, except with an Apex or flatline barrel. Since the chances of getting a break on a target outside of the range of regular paintball guns is slim, you need to send a short burst of paintballs at your target in order to increase the chances of a break. (See: RANGE below) Unfortunately, flatline and Apex barrels (when engaged) are also not as accurate as regular barrels, so that increases the need to send a burst instead of a single shot. I have found that a short burst at long range is just as hard to pinpoint as a single shot from the same range.

Relocating after you take a shot is critical in military sniping. You take your shot, and move, and take another shot. In paintball, this is hard to do because everything is on a smaller scale. Your opponents can close the difference in range achieved by backspin in mere seconds, unlike a military sniping situation. You have to plan your escape when you set up your ambush. The best ambush location provides at least 180 degrees of cover (not just concealment) in case things go wrong and you have to fight it out as well as an escape route.

RELIABILITY

Mechanical vs. Electro

Some people still feel that mechanical markers are inherently more reliable than electros. I think this was once true, but electros have been out a long time now, and my current electro has given me far less trouble than any of the mechanicals and hybrids (electronically actuated mechanicals) I've owned. Part of the reason is that many mechanicals have more moving parts than some electros. Most of the innovation and work done on paintball design for the last 5 years or so has been on tweaking electro designs. So I no longer think it's fair to categorize electros as "less reliable." The bad? You can't play with electros in the rain. Batteries die. Then again you can't play with a ported barrel in the rain either, and probably not an electric hopper either. Besides, everyone else is under the tent so who are you playing with exactly? My electros have endured light rain and never had a problem. Batteries? Bring extra batteries. I replace the battery in my marker once every 5 months or so playing 2 times a month.

Maintenance

The bottom line is that regardless of the quality or price of your marker it must be properly cleaned and lubricated after each play day to be as reliable as it can be. The harder it is to break down for maintenance, the less you'll do it, and the less reliable your marker will be.

Design

The simpler the design, the less likely something will break. Many markers, even the most expensive, have a LOT of o-rings in their design. O-rings eventually go bad (crack/swell up). O-rings have to each be lubricated regularly. The less o-rings, and the less moving parts, the simpler the design.

Spool valve vs. Poppet valve

Spool valve markers have a bolt that acts as a valve too. This eliminates the need for a "stacked tube". They are simpler than "poppet valve" markers, quieter, and have less noticeable kick but you pay a price for that with increased wear on at least one o-ring, so you have to be extra-careful to keep a spool valve marker's bolt well-lubed before game days. They are also less air efficient than poppet valve markers. Examples are Dye Matrix, Smart Parts Shocker, and Smart Parts Ion, Dangerous Power G3, MacDev Droid.

Poppet valve markers always feature two tubes, stacked on top of each other. Examples are WDP Angel, Planet Eclipse Ego, Bob Long Intimidator, MacDev Cyborg.

Which is better? It's a matter of personal preference. For more detailed info on paintball marker design and the upside and downside of design types, read this. (Click here.)

SPEED

Some markers are faster than others. You need a hopper capable of feeding at the speed you want to shoot your marker. Your marker needs eyes so it doesn't chop paint as it's being fed at ludicrous speeds. It is no longer necessary to spend the amount of money it once was to own a marker that will shoot as fast as you want it to.

Ramping

Ramping is nothing more than various ways to have your marker firing faster than one-pull-one-shot, aka semi-automatic. For example, you can program your marker to start firing in full-auto at 15 bps if you pull the trigger over 5 times in one second, and to continue doing so as long as you keep that speed up. The bad? You end up over-shooting opponents sometimes because so many balls are in the air at the same time. The same can be said for firing extremely fast in semi-auto mode too, but very few people are capable of more than 10 or 12 trigger pulls per second. The other bad part is you always end up wasting paint because you have less control than shooting in semi. So not only are you shooting more "intended" balls but you're also shooting a lot that you wish you'd saved. This means you have to buy and carry substantially more paint when you're ramping as opposed to shooting in semi.

Tournaments

If you ever decide to try tournament play (they have rookie divisions), keep in mind that the fastest speeds and some if not all ramping could be against the league's rules. For example, PSP has specific ramping modes that are legal, but many that are not, and they have also implemented a rather conservative BPS limit for the 2009 season:

[tonto]

Wow...you put a lot in to that. But all good advice.
_________________
Just walk it off!