Ok, the A-5 is a good gun. The only problem i have with it is that its a rec gun, period. Its ment to be. Tippman has decided to take more of a recreational style to all of their guns, now i'm not saying there is anything wrong with that but i find rec ball to be really really boring. Personally if your looking to go into tournaments i would go w/ something like maybe a cocker or better yet a timmy, vision impulse or angel. A-5 is a good gun, nearly indestructable. you could drop it off like a 2 story balcony and it would still fire fine. So if ur looking to upgrade from the world of the lowly rec marker and have one of the best rec guns around go with the A-5. But if your looking for a good (cheap) starting tourney gun that you can get wicked rates of fire and play tight with go w/ something like a base model impulse.
I hope you find this helpful.
Chris