New player - Aaron

[Tom]

I'm creating this to move a conversation into a new area
Will respond as well


@Aaron Baker
http://p8ntballer-forums.com/threads/classifieds-update-important-information.157873/page-46#post-1566091

Perfect! Thanks @tommikka

Hadn't thought about contributing in this way, am new to this so perhaps what follows is in the wrong thread - maybe you could advise where it should be?
But in response,

I recently got into paint-balling a couple of months back after going to a paintball day for a friends birthday. We all really enjoyed the day and walked away wishing we could play more regularly but the cost of around £80 per head on that day just is not sustainable to play each week at an organised event. Therefore we all decided to go away and buy our own equipment. We all bought similar priced markers in a 'start-up bundle', a couple of us got the Spyder MR100 pro and others for the Sierra one. Unfortunately my MR100 arrived 'broken' and was leaking air through the barrel, so I sent it back and after seeing my mates block up and split balls in the barrel I blindly come to the conclusion it must be because of the cheaper marker, this is when I then bought the G36 elite for just shy of £400.
This is an awesome marker I think, and really enjoy using it, but we no longer play on my friends land (a 5 mile wood in which we built barricades etc). We now play in a derelict farm building which is a different level to playing in the woods. The farm building has many rooms over 3 floors, underground passages and access hatches within the building which leads to the reason why I want to find a new marker.
The G36 is too big to use in this environment, so am looking for something more agile with good performance and accuracy, without spending too much more than I did on the G36, and I would hope to recoup some money back with the sale of the G36 although unsure how much that would be worth now its been used a handful of times.

I hope this response gives you all a bit of background of the level I am at (Very amateur, and playing just for fun with around 10-12 other mates)

Any marker recommendations would be hugely appreciated, with a price of what I should pay and why you advise each one.

Cheers in advance

 

[Tom]

Firstly I'll discourage playing off sites
But I'll go into that later

We can introduce you to much more paintball choices to punter play (which you experienced at £80 each)
Check out the 'what paintball costs' thread

http://p8ntballer-forums.com/threads/what-paintball-costs.153010/

 

[Tom]

With 'off world paintball' it could be highly illegal, or legal with risks and liabilities

If within a distance of a 'public highway' which could just be a public right of way then you're heading to a firearms offence
The types of location you've described are probably ok for that
Next theres public access. If farmland then it's not private property but a workplace with public access (even if it is just the milk lorry and vet)
The landowner and the organiser become liable for anything that happens. It may all be friends until someone gets hurt
Insurance won't be provided to anything but a properly run site, and controls on safety won't be 100% and you need the logistics of fills and getting & storing paint

 

[Tom]

Check out your area for sites that run walkons, idealy an independant. Shout out where you are and we can point you somewhere

Not only that but also check out scenarios which may be on classic sites, unusual urban sites or one off / occasional venues such as copehill down army training area, Drakelow tunnels etc

Be wary of unusual venues and make sure the organiser is experienced and up to the job
Unusual sites take a lot of organising and cost a lot to put a game on
The most famous cockup being reading shopping centre which ended up with too many people shooting too much paint to make it financialy viable, a bad paint batch, an amateur team running their first event, the destruction of that team and group of friends and money going missing

Other than that theres so much paintball has to offer!

http://www.paintballcalendar.co.uk

 

[Tom]

The leaking Spyder could have been for a variety of reasons
For some guns if you don't cock first the seals may not close and it leaks
something wrong in the assembly
Or lack of lube etc
Either way it doesn't matter as it went back

Blocking and split balls can depend on what precisely you mean
By playing off site you may also be relying on cheap paint that has been sent to you. Anything can happen to the condition and you don't know how it's been stored, transported etc

Blocking - are the balls not feeding well? Common with Gravity hoppers, just shake and they will get through. A shelf hopper is better (eg Proto primo) a force feed is even better (halo is a bargain)

Broken balls have a variety of reasons - burst in the barrel is probably condition of the paintball
Physically chopped with the shell around the bolt means the ball had not dropped into the breach while shooting. Slow down the rate of fire or use a force feed or gun with eyes that won't fire until the ball is in place

 

[Aaron Baker]

I'm creating this to move a conversation into a new area
Will respond as well


@Aaron Baker
http://p8ntballer-forums.com/threads/classifieds-update-important-information.157873/page-46#post-1566091

Firstly, Huge thanks for the time and effort to create thread and respond in such depth!!

 

[Aaron Baker]

Firstly I'll discourage playing off sites
But I'll go into that later

We can introduce you to much more paintball choices to punter play (which you experienced at £80 each)
Check out the 'what paintball costs' thread

http://p8ntballer-forums.com/threads/what-paintball-costs.153010/

With 'off world paintball' it could be highly illegal, or legal with risks and liabilities

If within a distance of a 'public highway' which could just be a public right of way then you're heading to a firearms offence
The types of location you've described are probably ok for that
Next theres public access. If farmland then it's not private property but a workplace with public access (even if it is just the milk lorry and vet)
The landowner and the organiser become liable for anything that happens. It may all be friends until someone gets hurt
Insurance won't be provided to anything but a properly run site, and controls on safety won't be 100% and you need the logistics of fills and getting & storing paint

Thanks for your advise, the land we are currently playing on is owned by friends parents, the derelict farm building is at the back of there land (no longer a working farm) which we have permission to play on.
Having said that I most definitely do take your point of 'if anyone is injured' and the dangers of playing in such places, and I shall take your advise on board. Did not think of this potential problem in from the angle of insurance etc...

 

[Aaron Baker]

Check out your area for sites that run walkons, idealy an independant. Shout out where you are and we can point you somewhere

Not only that but also check out scenarios which may be on classic sites, unusual urban sites or one off / occasional venues such as copehill down army training area, Drakelow tunnels etc

Be wary of unusual venues and make sure the organiser is experienced and up to the job
Unusual sites take a lot of organising and cost a lot to put a game on
The most famous cockup being reading shopping centre which ended up with too many people shooting too much paint to make it financialy viable, a bad paint batch, an amateur team running their first event, the destruction of that team and group of friends and money going missing

Other than that theres so much paintball has to offer!

http://www.paintballcalendar.co.uk

We were not aware of 'walkons' I presume this is where we can turn up and use our own markers, paintballs etc whilst keeping to the rules they set with regards to pressure of the markers..?

We are in the Canterbury, Kent area and would love to find some local walkons, although also happy to travel especially if the cost is not like the £80pp we experienced in what you referred to as 'punters play'

 

[Aaron Baker]

The leaking Spyder could have been for a variety of reasons
For some guns if you don't cock first the seals may not close and it leaks
something wrong in the assembly
Or lack of lube etc
Either way it doesn't matter as it went back

Blocking and split balls can depend on what precisely you mean
By playing off site you may also be relying on cheap paint that has been sent to you. Anything can happen to the condition and you don't know how it's been stored, transported etc

Blocking - are the balls not feeding well? Common with Gravity hoppers, just shake and they will get through. A shelf hopper is better (eg Proto primo) a force feed is even better (halo is a bargain)

Broken balls have a variety of reasons - burst in the barrel is probably condition of the paintball
Physically chopped with the shell around the bolt means the ball had not dropped into the breach while shooting. Slow down the rate of fire or use a force feed or gun with eyes that won't fire until the ball is in place

Im unsure what the problem was but having now got the BT G36 elite I have not had such problems, and with the RIP CLIP hopper I have had no blockages, or problems with the balls getting through.

As mentioned previously the reason I am now looking for a new marker and perhaps selling the G36, is purely because I want to be more agile, and lighter than what i currently have.
I am even considering a pistol aswel as a standard style marker, do you have any thoughts on pistols?

thanks in advance.

 

[Tom]

We were not aware of 'walkons' I presume this is where we can turn up and use our own markers, paintballs etc whilst keeping to the rules they set with regards to pressure of the markers..?

We are in the Canterbury, Kent area and would love to find some local walkons, although also happy to travel especially if the cost is not like the £80pp we experienced in what you referred to as 'punters play'

I don't know the Kent area well enough, but on a walkon you may or may not be able to use your own paint
But expect them to have a better choice of paint then punter days and you would probably pay a basic green fee to enter and paint somewhere around £30 for a case of 2000
(Compared to the punter optimum price of £50 for 1000)