[joejohnjohnston]

Hey all!

My apologies if I'm violating any forum rules, but I didn't feel like this was just another which gun should I buy thread. I'm not looking for advice on a specific gun, so much as advice on how to spend my money to get back into the games I want to play after a 10+ year hiatus. I need some sage advice.

I'm 6'1 and about 190lbs. I mostly play speedball, and I'm looking to get into pump soon as well as tournament play in the future.

I used to play with autocockers, so I was thinking of getting a good mechanical trigger model from a quality manufacturer like chipley and purchasing a pump kit so i could switch between the two depending on what I want to play that day. The problem here is I won't have multiple firing modes and I won't be able to play VSC pump.

Another option would be to purchase a Phantom and maybe a used Invert MINI. That would give me the most options.

The third option would be to forget about playing pump for a while and get an Etek 4 or a Dangerous Power Fusion or something else in that price range.

Quality customer service and a good warranty are essential. A good gun with bad service/warranty is a waste of money in my opinion.

Im budgeting around $500. I could spend more, but I'd rather spend the extra coin on a better mask, tank, and hopper. Let me know what you think, I'm open to all suggestions.

[Trbo323]

really i think this is goind to come down to how much pump you want to play.

one option though is to go with the etek rout but also pick up a pump cocker as they are fairly cheap used. word of advise on that though, get an etek 3 over an etek 4, really there are no changes to the marker other than the 4 uses non-standard reg threading so PE can force you to use their regs only on the 4. the 3 has standard ASA thread so you can throw just about any regulator you wish to on it.

[joejohnjohnston]

Thanks for the heads up. I guess I can buy myself a used Etek 3 and a used sniper. If I really get in to pump, I can always pick up a Phantom later.

[ShortBus]

CCM all the way, you can get a cram n jam and play SC as well!

[Pro_paintball]

for a new spool look at the reflex rail
for a used spool look into the macdev drone dx
for a new poppet look at the etek 3/4
for a used spool look into the alien invasion or a g6r
for pump gotta say phantom for its customizing options

[tlmiller]

Originally Posted by Pro_paintball

for a new spool look at the reflex rail
for a used spool look into the macdev drone dx
for a new poppet look at the etek 3/4
for a used spool look into the alien invasion or a g6r
for pump gotta say phantom for its customizing options

I'd look at the Aura/Proton over the PRR personally. Honestly, I'd even look at the standard Rail. For the price difference, you can easily put an on/off and a better clamping neck on. REAL WORLD performance between the 2 is identical.

[ShortBus]

If you can bump up your $$ a bit - the brand new CCM J12 was released today

My next purchase when I sell a few more guns!

[Pro_paintball]

Originally Posted by tlmiller

I'd look at the Aura/Proton over the PRR personally. Honestly, I'd even look at the standard Rail. For the price difference, you can easily put an on/off and a better clamping neck on. REAL WORLD performance between the 2 is identical.

really mhm i owned a 07rail when it first came out and i shot the 11 and the reflex
the reflex almost has more of a dm feel to me over the rail feel but i am not certain its just the feel
i got a question how do the bolts compare with the rail and reflex

[joejohnjohnston]

I may be more confused now than I was before. Honestly, when I stopped playing you either had an automag, an autococker, or an angel. So many choices, I've spent all day doing research. May just have to go to my local pro shop and get my hands on a couple.

[Pro_paintball]

ok what are you looking for in a marker
ergonimics, shot, smoothness, sound, reliability, ease of maintenance or design

[tlmiller]

Originally Posted by Pro_paintball

really mhm i owned a 07rail when it first came out and i shot the 11 and the reflex
the reflex almost has more of a dm feel to me over the rail feel but i am not certain its just the feel
i got a question how do the bolts compare with the rail and reflex

Same bolt, only the solenoid is different when comparing the internals.

[Trbo323]

hands down a used etek is going to give you more performance for the money than anything else listed in this thread. its a straight forward and easy to understand design that especially since you have experience in the sport already i see you having no issues working on and maintaining it. its cheap enough to allow you to pick up a pump at the same time to play with (the reason i suggested a cocker pump is because they are cheap and you have experience with cockers already) and then down the road if you want to go after pump more there are all kinds of options out there

[ShortBus]

Originally Posted by Trbo323

hands down a used etek is going to give you more performance for the money than anything else listed in this thread. its a straight forward and easy to understand design that especially since you have experience in the sport already i see you having no issues working on and maintaining it. its cheap enough to allow you to pick up a pump at the same time to play with (the reason i suggested a cocker pump is because they are cheap and you have experience with cockers already) and then down the road if you want to go after pump more there are all kinds of options out there

And you can pump the etek if you wanted lol

[joejohnjohnston]

Shot is the most important thing. I want consistent accuracy and range. I think I'll probably go with a used Etek 3 and a used cocker/sniper. That'll keep me under budget so I can spend the extra cash on the best mask, bottle, and hopper I can afford. If I really do stick to pump, there are plenty of upgrades for the cocker/sniper package and I can always get something better if I feel the need after learning the game. The Etek 3 seems to have everything I'm looking for and, if we are being honest, more time on the field will do much more for my game than spending more money on a marker ever could.

[Trbo323]

well everything will have the same range, range is determined by exit velocity and so once everyone is chronoed to the same speed, range is the same regardless of the marker or barrel. same thing with accuracy, while shooting the same paint with the same barrel, every marker will have the same accuracy. there are a few that are more consistent but honestly that plays such a minor roll in todays market its pretty much negligible.