[jasonhtml]

first off, this might be considered to be a n00b post and that i should have searched more, but i think it deserves a post of its own because im asking for some specific things...

ive played paintball twice and i can't wait to go a third time, but i would really like a gun of my own as the rentals suck. my target price range for a gun(including hopper, tank, and barrel) to be less than $250. so far, i like the tippmann 98 because it has a nicer front grip(other than the straight grips i see so often). i would like a pretty good barrel because i care more for accuracy than i do firing speed. i read that tanks are pretty cheap(about $20?) but are the cheap ones any good? and i dont care very much for an expensive hopper, just one that works and looks decent. also, the rentals didn't have sights. is this normal? i would really like to have a gun with sights so that it is easier to aim. if they dont come with some, what are some good cheap ones that i can buy?

ive looked through quite a few posts but i can't find the gun for me. i like woodsball more than speedball, but i do both. also, what are the most reliable websites for buying guns?

also, i have some other questions:
1. is a longer barrel usually better accuracy-wise, or is there some brand that is just better than all of the rest? and if i buy the gun and then a different barrel, is it easy to exchange the barrels? i've never taken apart a paintball gun before...
2. ive heard that spyders are really good for beginners. why is that?
3. whats the easiest way to maintain your gun? do i take it apart after i play, hose it down, and dry it? do most guns come with cleaning kits/instructions?
4. whats the difference between CO2 and HPA systems? is one better than the other? is one cheaper? what are the pros and cons of each?

[noobie_noober]

:B, ok Buy a pilot ACS, its cheap $100, is well in your budget. Then buy a 20 oz Co2 draxxus tank, $14. Barrel I recomend is a J&J Ceramic barrel 12 or 14 inches for $35. A good fast hopper is the Egg3 (Viewloader eVLution 3) 20ish balls per second and 200+ ball capacity for about $60. And you an buy Dye spyder E frame sticky grips for like $25 (great grips) and a Java spyder metal feedneck for like $15 with that money.

100 + 14 + 35 + 60 + 25 + 15 = $249 >:B

I'll answer your next post tomorow, I just found out I got Gingivitis!

[Clifford]

1. Barrel length doesn't make too much of a difference on accuracy or distance. The gun design and the barrel bore to paint bore size match make the most difference for accuracy.

2. Spyders are cheap and really easy to work on. I've had a spyder and it never let me down. Just take care of whatever you get.

3. There's a lot of guides etc on cleaning guns. It depends on what you get, whether you have a delrin bolt etc. Basically for a spyder you should take the bolt out, wipe it off, clean the breech etc, then re oil bolt and put back in the gun. If it's delrin then just wipe the bolt off-it doesn't need to be oiled.

4. CO2 is much cheaper, and you get more shots for the size of the tank. HPA is more expensive, but it is more consistent than CO2 and is better for your gun. I would suggest anti syphon CO2 (tank with a fitting that allows gas CO2 not liquid CO2 into your gun) if you go that route.

As for a gun with your price range I would suggest something like a spyder vs1. It's electric, has eyes, delrin bolt, and can be used with CO2. You can find it here:

Paintball at ActionVillage.com : Paintball Guns, Gear, Paintballs, Barrels, Goggles and Equipment. (PaintballGear.com)

or at a local proshop.

[jasonhtml]

ok, ive looked at comparisons for the pilot and VS1 and ive decided the VS1 is better, and still not too expensive. ill probably go CO2, but i dont know what tank to get. i like the action village website because it is really easy to navigate, and i can choose a lot of add-ons. for tanks, they list DXS's from 9oz, 12, 16 and 20oz. should i just get the 20 cause its biggest(not much of a price difference)?

and for the squeegee, should i just get the least expensive one, or is the cleaning equipment really important?

i looked at the Egg3 hopper, and its a bit big, bulky looking, and expensive. ill keep looking around for another hopper, unless you think this is an absolutely amazing hopper.

what is a barrel bag? they have 3 different kinds, but they all look the same...
what is a thread protector and do i need one?
is a gun case a good thing to get? its only 20 dollars and it seems worth it.
should i get GOLD cup or ER oil? they're both cheap. but is ER better because its 3 dollars and the GOLD cup isn't? lol

EDIT: and i decided to get the J&J Ceramic 16 in Spyder barrel. it was the same price as the 12 and 14 inch so i couldn't resist.

[jasonhtml]

i can't seem to find any hoppers under $50 and are any good. is that just how things are? after looking at prices, the Egg3 seems the best, but i still think it looks really big... is it as big as action village shows it?

if i have to spend about $60 on a hopper that makes the total about:

Spyder VS1 - $140
Egg3(maybe) - $60
J&J Barrel - $30
CO2 tank(20oz)-$20
+__________________
exactly $250, cool

am i missing anything? i already have a mask. ill also be getting a paintball harness/tubes, but i wont be adding that to the total because we're just discussing the gun. and i'll go look and see if i can find any good paintball brands...

[JH]

The Egg3 is not that big. You could also look at a Viewloader Revolution or Force.

[jasonhtml]

i looked at some more hoppers and i like the Odyssey Halo TSA Front Man. it has a small profile, holds 140(not much, but it shouldn't be that much of a problem), looks sleek, only $45. what do you think?

[JH]

If you buy used you could get a halo b for that price.

[jasonhtml]

i would rather buy new. i dont like buying used things because its more risky.

[JH]

Get the force then. It is force fed and not just agitated like the TSA.

[jasonhtml]

whats the differences between force-fed and agitated?

the Revolution Eye Force looks nice, but its $70 and i can't find any customer reviews on it anywhere...

[Clifford]

The egg has a pretty small profile, and it's one of the better hoppers for the price. As for the eye force I don't know too much about it, but there's one review here:

Viewloader Eye-force | Paintball Review | pbReview.com

Force fed hoppers actually push the paintballs into the feedneck, and they can load much faster than an agitated hopper, but they usually cost more.

[martix_agent]

force feed actually, pushes balls down the feednec allowing feed speeds that are faster than gravity. Agitated means the balls get pushed around inside, yet rely on gravity to fall down the feedneck.
Eggys are semi-force fed. allow me to elaborate.
halo b, empire b, velocity, and the pulse all use spring tension to keep the stack under pressure when the marker is not being fired. that way, they'll still feed faster than gravity onthe first few shots. the eggy does not do this, so even though it forces the balls into the feedneck, the fist few shots will fall at the speed of gravity.

Iv'e seen a video of the new revy and I gotta say I was pretty impressed. I do not think it's a competitor to a halo, but it's close. I was very impressed with my revy till the lid cracked. I ordered a new one and it cracked 5 min after I installe dit. After that I bought a halo and my eggy has sat topless in my gear bag ever since. I gotta say, the halo blows the eggy out of the water.

[jasonhtml]

@matrix: are you saying the halo tsa that i mentioned earlier would be better for me?

also, the halo tsa loads 13-15 bps. for a beginner, that should be fast enough, shouldn't it? or is there a major difference between 15 and 20 bps?

[martix_agent]

the halo tsa is a agitated hopper, it's not the same ting as a halo b
adn it may feed 15 bps, but it's not a steady and consistant feed. you'll also find that all hoppers lie about how fast they feed by a good 5-6 bps

[jasonhtml]

but the halo b is $100+! im not forking over that much just for a hopper...

[martix_agent]

I got mine used for $65. nothing is wrong with it whatsoever

but if you wanna buy cheap new things look at a velocity jr or eggy

[jasonhtml]

im sorry, but i just dont want to buy any used parts.

[martix_agent]

everything I own I bought used. EVERYTHING.(with teh excepting of a cp reg that i needed when i was playing that day) I've never had any problems with it that I didn't cause myself.
I've owned 2 pants, a mask, a jersey, 4 hoppers, 6 markers, assorted barrels, 2 cp regs, a tank/cover squeegees, an empire pack..the list goes on.

there's absolutely nothing wrong with buying used things so long as you make sure they're not broken.

[jasonhtml]

well, i decided to get the halo tsa frontman. it gets good reviews, many of them saying the hopper is good for spyders... and its more in my price range than most new hoppers