Ask a Paintballer

[toxicseagull]

do you do it for sexual pleasure of any kind?

if so where do i sign?

 

[Gelion]

How easy is it to organise a paintball team at work/uni/school? What are the minimal requirements (financially included)?

Really interested in the responce

 

[Steph]

What is the surface of your gaming area?

When I was young we played in a large forest, with two small team of 4 people. The forest was 1 km x 1 km, relatively dense.

So we spent most of the time wandering in the forest, trying to find the others, set up ambushes, etc... And we did not actually fire much paintball!!

Another question... If you hit someone in the nuts, are you a paintballer, or a ballpainter ?

 

[El_Machinae]

Heh, we have a company that does this for MWR right on Fort Lewis. 20 or maybe 25 bucks for gun rental and paint for the afternoon.

Sweet Gravy, that's a good deal.

And you're right, it's a bit risky if you're worried about bruises - but it's a heck of a sport. It tasks a lot of athletic attributes and is well worth your time.

I find the learning curve is STEEP. When I first started, I couldn't hit a hubcap 20 feet away. After 6 hours of play, you can ping them at 60 feet no problem.

The ONLY sad thing about the game is that your success can depend on your wealth. When I didn't have a lot of money, the richer players could use about 10x the suppressive fire that I could. And pinning someone down with suppressive fire is an excellent tactic. Sadly, it's a money issue. You can dry-fire to mimic suppressive fire, but that only works so well.

 

[GoldEagle]

How easy is it to organise a paintball team at work/uni/school? What are the minimal requirements (financially included)?

Really interested in the responce

Many universities have paintball teams. Check out the NCPA. At work, you just basically need guys who know how to play. At school, you could either make a club, or just get some people together who play.

And now, the question:
How much does it cost to get into paintball? I mean, just getting a gun and some basic upgrades to be competitive.

Well, it depends.
Hmm...
-Tippmann 98 Custom Anti-Chop, 200 round hopper, 20/12oz. CO2 Tank, Goggles...will probably set you back ~$180...but then if you want a new barrel, that'll cost an extra $30 or so.
-Or, if you want a Speedball marker, it'll be less, but then you'llwant electronic upgrades...this is an awesome gun package, great price...then you could get this upgrade trigger to make you shoot faster (but then you'd need a hopper that feeds 12-15 bps (balls per second).

Ever get a knife kill? Thats stabing someone with a Bingo Dabber

No. You usually don't get close enoughm and if you do, you usually yell "Surrender!!!" or "Take the hit!!!"

Important question: How the hell do you manage to eliminate the damn condensation fog in your mask?!?!?!?!?!?! (especailly when it rains)

Breathe in through your nose, downward out through your mouth. Or use a surgical (doctor's) mask.

GoldEagle: what's your mercy-kill policy?

Either "TAKE THE HIT!!!", or, if I'm in the mood, "CHITTY CHITTY BANG BANG!!!"

(1) Do you play Rec or Tourney mostly?

(2) If Tourney what position do you play?

1.) I play Recball about 3 times per year, and Speedball about once a month.
2.) Well, in unorganized Speedball games, I play midplayer...I also like to use the snake. I'm usually the second person in front...

 

[RedWolf]

The ONLY sad thing about the game is that your success can depend on your wealth. When I didn't have a lot of money, the richer players could use about 10x the suppressive fire that I could. And pinning someone down with suppressive fire is an excellent tactic. Sadly, it's a money issue. You can dry-fire to mimic suppressive fire, but that only works so well.

Back in the day I had a nice Spyder with upgraded venturi bolt and a smart parts teardrop barrel - I was an excellent indoor player. I ended up getting busy and stopped playing for a while (5 years or more).

Recently ran into an old (younger friend) and he and a bunch of guys play some outlaw bush ball every Sunday around where I live so i started playing again - it's dirt cheap when you can buy paint from the store by the case (instead of field prices).

But the gear itself is the killer as you said... I probably earn twice as much as these guys but they're mostly single, living in their parent's basements... They all have expensive guns (some full auto) and masks and camo and all the other accessories.

I just find most weekends I don't hit a lot because their guns shoot faster, farther and more accurately. I could start over again and buy new gear but I have more useful things to spend money on these days - gas, rent, groceries insurance etc... So the sport has lost some of the magic for me...

 

[MobBoss]

As EL_M said it is a sport where the "haves" definitely outclass the "have nots". If everyone playing has about the same level of equipment its pretty fun. However, a team with older, slower guns isnt going to have much fun vs a team with the most modern auto-cockers and new equipment.

 

[El_Machinae]

Well, occassionally you'd get a pro in, with full auto. Then it's mainly him creaming you over and over.

But even with equal equipment, the person who could afford to pelt out 100 pellets per round had a distinct advantage.

I liked playing the best as a young adult. I was wealthy enough to have a decent number of balls, skilled enough to outperform the youth, and rugged enough to be more athletic than the corporate 'team building exercise'.

 

[JerichoHill]

I play paintball, and am on a team here in the area. We play outdoor tourneys (none of this inflatable course cripe). Trees, woods, real cover.

I carry a modified (personally) Tippman 68 carbine. That's your old school semi-auto. I have a rifled, filtered, bored, barrel that triples the effective kill distance on my shots. I carry 3 bolts of ammo. I also carry two 8 shot pistols, just in case I run out of ammo. They have saved me both times I have done such.

I do not believe in full auto's (I am a purist) as they take out the skill in the game. Against an average player with a full auto, I will cap them most every time. Against a good player, its 50/50, as long as I see em coming.

In 5 years of playing I've maintained a 15-1 kill ratio. Pretty happy about that.

Best story I can relate is that, we were in the finals of a CTF tourney. Whichever team made the flag first won (it was in the middle).

The middle was a deathtrap. Quickly the teams are whittled down to 3-3. I capped two players before running out of ammo (hence the 3-3). I also ran out of ammo on the pistols.

My teammate radios to me through my headset... "You're out? Go get the flag, we will cover you." One of their players gets capped. We think its now 3-2. I dash for the flag, and to be honest, my teammates cover the remaining 2 players perfectly.

Turns out, the siege was actually 3-4 when we started. The third kill wasn't a kill. He was 15 yards from the flag and concealed. I come into his line of sight and grab the flag, and am pelted with a round of shots. The ref blows the whistle as I am wincing in pain on my right side.

Not a single paintball broke (the gun was going too high of velocity, I think), and we won. I however, hurt like a MF


The best story that I can relate is that

 

[Hotpoint]

do you do it for sexual pleasure of any kind?

I'm afraid that Paintball is only the second most fun activity you can have in weird clothes and a kinky mask

I do not believe in full auto's (I am a purist) as they take out the skill in the game.

That's pretty much the argument that was made when:

Single-Shot pistols were replaced by Pumps

Pumps were replaced by mechanical Semi-Auto's

Mechanical Semi's were replaced by Electropneumatics

Electropneumatics were upgraded with Turbo/Assisted Fire boards

All that really happens is the required skill-set changes a bit. The modern game requires a far fitter, faster player than it used to back when I started but they don't have the honest-to-goodness sneakiness that us old-school 'ballers had.

 

[Esckey]

You can still be sneaky in todays games, all you need is the right field. Seems to me the fields are getting smaller and smaller. Use to play on fileds bigger then a football field, now I play on ones that are cramped even when its 5 on 5.

I've always wanted to do a 3 day paintball game. Day and night. With like 40 on 40, on a field thats bigger then 2 city blocks

 

[nc-1701]

That would be cool or a forest or my fav assualt team storms a well fortified mansion.

 

[GoldEagle]

I've always wanted to do a 3 day paintball game. Day and night. With like 40 on 40, on a field thats bigger then 2 city blocks

I don't think they have any 3-days, or even 2-days, with that few people. Many big scenarios attract as many as 2000 people for a 2-day scenario.

 

[Esckey]

That would be fun, but I don't know 2000 people . I barly know 40

 

[Genocidicbunny]

Ah, i remember playing paintball back in russia. That was the only time i ever played the game, but i wish that i had kept going. A bunch of guys from my dads work got together for a day of paintball and they took some of their sons along. We went to an abandoned building project, which was pretty much a tiny city, that was overgrown by forest. From there, it was a teamed free-for-all. Teams of 4, approximately 20 teams...we had major fun that day..

 

[garric]

I have been told that it is rather difficult to get into doing "real" paintballing because of the xenophobic nature of the clubs and groups, in other words, you need to have good friends and connections (which are nigh-impossible to come by to a novice player) in order to experience this "game" (strangely enough, it's no longer a game but something more profound and serious.).

 

[El_Machinae]

It's best if you go with a group of people. "Team Building" corporate exercises will work. It's good for a stag party too.