[rhinomike]

I am sure some of these questions have been answered. I did a search and spent 2 hours reading but I couldn t quite find what I was looking for.

I went out and paintballed with some friends about 5 years ago. I did it about 4 or 5 times. I bought a Spyder Compact. It has been sitting for 5 years but it still works fine. My kids are now old enough and wanted to try paintball. My nephews also wanted to play. They range in ages 8-12. Me my wife and my 2 brothers also decided to play with them. We hvae 65 acres with plenty of room. I went to the closest paintball store to me (30 miles) and bought 8 Spyder MR1 guns, 8- 20 ounce tanks, 8 helmets/goggles and 4 cases (8000 balls) of paintballs. We went out yesterday and had a great time. All of the tanks are now empty and the all 4 cases of paintballs are gone. Best $ 1,500.00 I have spent. Great exercise too. I know these guns are not the greatest but the seem to be perfect for me and my boys.

Now here is my question. My gun jammed right away. I figured out what is wrong. It needs a need trigger. No big deal. I am going to get it fixed. However I am thinking about buying a new gun for myself and keeping the old spyder as a back up. Money is not an issue. I am thinking I want to stick with a basic spider. I want it to shoot fast and pretty accurate. I want it simple and dependable. I dont want anything to crazy as I am just playing with the kids and a few adults for fun. I want something that requries as little maintenance as possible. I dont want anything electronical or anything that I have to charge. Should I just get another MR1 or is there something a little better out there for me? What is the best Spyder out there without going electronic (dont want to charge it)?

Second question..... I bought the larger 20 ounce tanks because the closest place to get them filled is 30 miles away. When I went to my friends house 5 years ago he had a large tank to refill his small paintball tanks. What is this, where can I get it and how does it work? I want to be able to refill my own tanks instead of driving 30 miles away. Again cost is not an issue but I dont want to wast money either.

Thank you for any help or advice that you can give me. The kids love this so far and we are ready play go again.

[the_real_kaz]

first off, Welcome back to the sport!

You'll notice that a lot has changed. Most markers are electrical now a days. If you want to stay mechanical, the spyder MR-1 is a good chice, but if you want a more durable marker, the Tippmann 98 or A-5 are the way to go. If your into senerio stuff, the A-5 is the way to go. If you want a challange (it may be a little to easy playing with all the kids) you could get a nice pump marker. A phantom is the way I'd go. But the more conventional path is the A-5.

Your freind probbly had his own CO2 fill station. Sorry I can't help you with that.

[RockingTheIon70]

A Tippmann 98 is really unbeatable for your situation. It's durable, dependable, and not too expensive.

As for your CO2 dilemma, I dug up an article that should get you started:

http://www.ottersccustoms.com/filling.html

[rhinomike]

Wow.... Thanks for the quick responses. I know I am old school but I really am worried about the depndability of the new electronic guns. I guess what I dont know about scares me. How long do they have to charge for? Once it is charged how long do they last? What are the pros and cons?

I will take a look at the othe guns that are suggested.

I am going to read the article on tank filling right now. If I have any other questions I will let you guys know.

Thanks again for the resposne and the help.

[martix_agent]

Electronic markers stay charged for supprisingly long and are very dependable electronics-wise. i assume you're talking about a spyder or spyder clone when you say charge the barrery because not many other markers require batteries to be charged hrough the marker. It takes a few hours, nothing to long. It's very possible ot over charge them thouh, so dont' forget about it. Mechanically, you still have to take care of them.

[rhinomike]

Ok I hope I dont sound stupid here...... You are correct I was looking at a Spyder. What do the others require for power? Do you just add batteries? Sorry if that is a stupid question. I just dont know much about the electronic guns yet.

[martix_agent]

yeah you use normal 9v batteries. spyders and their clones use a 9.6v battery. instead of giving you a charger fro it, they built it into the board for it.

[bobide]

the entire spyder line including their electronic markers are very reliable and easy to work on. Its safe to play in the rain as well, just don't drop it in a puddle!

[txaggie08]

To add to matrix's post:

If your rechargeable DOES die on the field, it is replaceable, and in a pinch a normal, fresh, 9v would be good for a limited time...

[rhinomike]

Curious..... How long does a 9 volt battery last in the guns that you guys have?

[bobide]

man, forever it seems. Cases and cases of paint.

Whenever i used a 9volt with my spyder i got skipped shots and such, didn't work so hot.

[rhinomike]

Originally Posted by bobide

man, forever it seems. Cases and cases of paint.

Whenever i used a 9volt with my spyder i got skipped shots and such, didn't work so hot.

How long did your spyder last on a single charge? Thanks.

[bobide]

no idea. I'd always recharge before a day of play.

[rhinomike]

Originally Posted by bobide

no idea. I'd always recharge before a day of play.

Well then it would last you atleast a full day of fun? If I can get a full day out of it then that should be good.

[bobide]

easily. I suspect it can probably shoot 10 cases on a single charge if i were to guess.

[YouCantSeeMee]

Originally Posted by txaggie08

To add to matrix's post:

If your rechargeable DOES die on the field, it is replaceable, and in a pinch a normal, fresh, 9v would be good for a limited time...

LIMITED being the key word here. The marker won't last for that long on a regular 9v. I used to have on in my Spyder E99 Avant and when it died, a regular 9v wouldn't last all that long.

[martix_agent]

I used my spyder imagine on a 9 volt for it's entire life because i lost the 9.6 battery. I guess I was lucky.

[sNoW PIrAnHa]

Originally Posted by rhinomike

I am sure some of these questions have been answered. I did a search and spent 2 hours reading but I couldn t quite find what I was looking for.

I went out and paintballed with some friends about 5 years ago. I did it about 4 or 5 times. I bought a Spyder Compact. It has been sitting for 5 years but it still works fine. My kids are now old enough and wanted to try paintball. My nephews also wanted to play. They range in ages 8-12. Me my wife and my 2 brothers also decided to play with them. We hvae 65 acres with plenty of room. I went to the closest paintball store to me (30 miles) and bought 8 Spyder MR1 guns, 8- 20 ounce tanks, 8 helmets/goggles and 4 cases (8000 balls) of paintballs. We went out yesterday and had a great time. All of the tanks are now empty and the all 4 cases of paintballs are gone. Best $ 1,500.00 I have spent. Great exercise too. I know these guns are not the greatest but the seem to be perfect for me and my boys.

Now here is my question. My gun jammed right away. I figured out what is wrong. It needs a need trigger. No big deal. I am going to get it fixed. However I am thinking about buying a new gun for myself and keeping the old spyder as a back up. Money is not an issue. I am thinking I want to stick with a basic spider. I want it to shoot fast and pretty accurate. I want it simple and dependable. I dont want anything to crazy as I am just playing with the kids and a few adults for fun. I want something that requries as little maintenance as possible. I dont want anything electronical or anything that I have to charge. Should I just get another MR1 or is there something a little better out there for me? What is the best Spyder out there without going electronic (dont want to charge it)?
There are tons of guns on the low end market that could suit your need. Personally, I would stay with a mechanical marker because they are almost always more reliable and simpler. Also the performance difference between an electro spyder and a mech spyder is very small.

So I would recommend a mechanical spyder. Or if you want great reliability then get the tippmann 98c. The tippmann is harder to field strip but more reliable. Its also longer and comes with a really bad stock barrel. I don't like the A-5 because it puts a gigantic hopper on the side of the gun that not only throws it off balance but makes the profile larger. The A-5 is essentially the same as the tippmann 98c but it has the cyclone feed system. Not worth the price difference.

Second question..... I bought the larger 20 ounce tanks because the closest place to get them filled is 30 miles away. When I went to my friends house 5 years ago he had a large tank to refill his small paintball tanks. What is this, where can I get it and how does it work? I want to be able to refill my own tanks instead of driving 30 miles away. Again cost is not an issue but I dont want to wast money either.

Thank you for any help or advice that you can give me. The kids love this so far and we are ready play go again.

Well you could talk to your friend and ask him about his tank set up. I'm guessing its a scuba tank hooked up to a fill station and he fills high pressure air tanks using the pressure in the scuba tank. High pressure air is more common than CO2 and actually gives a good performance increase (more consistent and reliable). You can get them filled at any dive shop and other places as well. Unfortunately HPA set ups are a lot more expensive than Co2.

Also if you're playing on your own property and not an organized field, then you should invest in a chronograph like this one http://www.actionvillage.com/is-bin/...YAAAD3kXilA_2y

[YouCantSeeMee]

I agree. A Chronograph