ChoicePaintballGuns

If you cannot see, you are no help to your team and you are endangering yourself.  I would take being able to see and a pump-action paintball gun over the best paintball marker you can buy and fogged lenses (any day!!).  So, when you buy your paintball goggles, don’t skimp.  Get the thermal ones with a good field of view (if you already own goggles, go back and buy the thermal lenses for them).  If you can, get a fan.  You will never regret the purchase.  One last piece of paintball goggle advise.  Don’t ever wipe paint off your goggles!!  Paintball paint is really sticky.  More times than not as you walk off the field, stuff will get in the paint.  If you wipe it off, you could scratch the lens with the stuff that got stuck in the paint.  Remember, you have thermal lenses, you paid good money so you could see, don’t blow it now.  Here’s another good tip…. get a spray bottle, fill it with water (just water) and throw it in your paintball gear bag.  When you need to clean your goggles, spray all the yuck off and then dry them.  You will have clean lenses and they will last a lot longer.  You can also purchase certain sprays/cleaners specifically for cleaning paintball masks that will help polish the lenses and also help with anti-fogging; Sal Clear Spray/Solution is good for this.  Check out the Tippmann Ranger Performance Goggle or the Hawkeye Goggles from RAP4 for a couple of good ones.  You can also buy the Hawkeye goggles with a tactical helmet if you want.  You can find a great array of paintball goggles and masks at www.choicepaintballguns.com

What I love about paintball is being able to have loads of fun with my teammates and friends.  Another reason I love paintball is the fact that I can just go out to a paintball field and just run around shooting people - where else can you do that?!.  I play paintball not just because it’s fun, but also because it’s a very competitive sport.  I also play because I know eventually our team is going to be a pro team.  There’s no doubt about it, being on a team makes the game more fun.  There’s also so many more advantages when playing with a paintball team as opposed to just playing alone.  You’ll definitely learn about teamwork when playing competitive paintball on a paintball team.  The fun we have makes me want to play paintball with other teams whether we win or lose.   I love to win, don’t get me wrong, but I like playing paintball even more than I like to win.  I also want to get to the point where we make money to play.  I know it will take a while and a lot of hard work but I dont care.  Another advantage of being on a paintball team is knowing that you have backup.  If you get surrounded you want to have more people to try and help you as much as they can.  I also love playing paintball because it’s so active.  You will definitely get good exercise with several fast games of paintball!  My favorite equipment is my six pod, pod belt with a pouch in the back for an extra CO2 tank.  I like it because it has plenty of room and the pods are easy to grab.  My 20 oz. CO2 tank is my favorite tank because I can shoot a bunch of paintballs with just that one tank.  My favorite paintball gun is my Spyder Xtra TL-X.  I haven’t had any trouble with it since i got it and it’s plenty fast.  Joey W.  Midwest Assassins Division 1 Paintball Team, Perryville, MO. 

I picked up my new Empire E’vent Thermal Lense Goggles, got em for $135-140 (Canadian) after taxes. They came with the goggles, a thermal AND tinted lense (one lense, single pane), visor, and two increadibly soft bags, one for the goggles and one for the visor, note these bags are not neccesarily meant to protect against shock/dropping, mainly just to keep dust and debris or whatever else could get on the lense when you’re not playing, packaged in an attractive hard-plastic, very protective case. Because they are tinted I wouldn’t reccomend these for evening/nighttime play, evening play being when the sun is just sitting above or on the tree line.  Other than that, these are, I’m sure, the best paintball goggles out there, the first time I played with them, I blew up into my lenses to check for foggage, I was huffing hot breaths up into the lense for 10-20 seconds before it reacted, and even so there was only a very small amount of fog in the far parriferals, and lets face it we don’t use them anyway in the heat of battle. Low profile, fits well, amazingly comfortable foam, by far the best paintball goggles I’ve even witnessed to exist, highly reccomend them! Just a reminder, to wash these use regular dish soap and water for the outside, if needed use a damp rag to clean the inside.. and NEVER submerge these underwater! Korian D., Barrie ON

If you’re a serious paintball athlete… (one who trains/practices and competes with goals of making the ‘next level’ of competition), then there are certain activities you should also practice; they’re called active rehabilitation. In weight lifting, there are exercises to help you build muscle and get stronger and there are others that help you recover/rehabilitate your body so you can train again sooner and therefore effectively increase your training load. You should also do these things with any athletics and the activities will be different depending on your sport. For example, massage therapy, trigger point work, deep tissue, A.R.T, ice/heat baths and jump stretch band mini-workouts are a few we use in powerlifting. It’s also super important to visit your chiropractor often to make sure you don’t have any pinched nerves that will cause pain and poor performance for sure. If you take your paintball seriously, treat yourself like a professional athlete and take measures to actively heal after hard training sessions. If you have an expensive paintball marker, you clean it, oil it, upgrade it and maintain it so it lasts longer and you get the most out of it…. do the same thing for your body and it will run like a fine-tuned race car as well! Some of these activities for paintballers may include stretching and properly warming up before practice and play; massage therapy and chiropractic care to iron out the bumps and scrapes of rough play and just keeping in shape to have more stamina for longer and more strenuous play.  Out play your opponents by being in better shape than them!

If you’re considering having a paintball tournament with friends you should probably learn more about what your supply options are.  Gone are the days when you only had one choice for a paintball gun.  Now you can choose from many different brands and varieties.  Visit www.choicepaintballguns.com for an excellent selection of competition paintball guns as well as a fantastic array of tactical paintball markers.

Consider adding an edge to your tactical game by using a paintball grenade launcher. These powerful weapons pack a punch. You can attach a paintball grenade launcher underneat the barrel of your paintball gun, attach it to the handguard or you can use a grenade launcher that is a gun in and of itself.  You can also choose between whether or not you want to use .68 caliber or .43 caliber paintballs.  If you want to use .68 caliber, you will use the M68 paintball grenade; if you want to use .43 caliber paintballs, you will use the M203.  If you’re looking to buy a paintball grenade launcher, a great package to get is the Thunder Grenade Package.  It includes everything you need to be able to shoot a paintball grenade from your paintball gun.  Let your paintball grenades splatter your opponents into submission!

Finally!  Tippmann’s version of a .68 caliber tactical pistol, the TPX is an excellent new addition to their legendary line of paintball markers.  The new TPX .68 caliber Paintball Pistol has a compact design; it’s engineered to be super lightweight, easy to maintain, customizable and best of all…. you can always count on the dependability of a Tippmann.  The TPX has a metal trigger that punctured the 12g CO2 cartridge on the first pull.  It comes with 2 self-locking 8 round magazine clips that fit nicely into the handle; they also feature a quick release feed system.  The 12g CO2 cartdridges fit under the barrel with an easy to load 1/4 turn cap.  The new TPX has an external velocity adjuster, internal regulator and has the ability to add a remote line for a greater air supply.  It also comes with a removable barrel that has X7 threads.  This gun is also compatible with the Tippmann Hammerhead 8.5″ barrel (spiral rifled barrel).  On top of all this, the TPX also comes with a maintenance kit and a deluxe carrying case.  Tippmann has also made a nice leg holster that can be switched to right or left leg specifically made for this pistol.

This is pretty much a standard Capture the Flag game but the teams can go back for reinforcements and the players you’ve eliminated go back to defend their flag station.  You’ll need 2 teams, flag stations and 2 flags in their respective flag stations.  The flag stations double as Reinforcement Rally points.  Here are some rules and how to play:
1. Eliminated players go back to their flag station.
2. One player wears a special armband.  This is the only player that can go back to the flag station to get reinforcements.
3. If the player wearing the armband is eliminated, he proceeds back to the flag station. He then collects those players who wish to rejoin the game and he himself rejoins the game.  In this case the eliminated players have no choice but to be reinforcements.  They cannot stay behind and defend the flag station.
4. Players can elect to stay behind and defend the flag station, with the exception of REINFORCEMENTS Rule 3.  When they return to the flag station they are automatically active defenders.
5. Players returning to the flag station must physically tag the flag to become active defenders.  If the flag is not at the flag stations the players are considered out of the game as they enter the flag station.
6. All players must begin the game at their flag station (or assigned starting point) and cannot leave that area until the game begins.
7. Players who are hit are out of the game but the player is only out until he reaches his flag station.  Players eliminated at the flag station are out of the game.
8. If a player is eliminated while he is carrying the flag, he must drop the flag where he was hit, or hang it on the nearest available object.
9. Players who are eliminated may not, by word or gesture, indicate any intentions or locations of the opposing team members.
10. Players eliminated in their own flag stations are out of the game.
11. When a player is carrying the flag, it must remain visible at all times and must be carried in the hand, over the arm or around the neck. 
Object of the Game: Capture the opposing team’s flag and return it to your base.
Tactical Advantage: You will have to keep in mind that every member of the assault force you eliminate will be back defending the flag.  If you get to the flag station and you’re low on players, send back for reinforcements.  Remember, if you send back for reinforcements and the flag station is being attacked, you will lose defenders and probably your flag.
Best Paintball Equipment to use: any type of tactical paintball marker or competition paintball gun will do.  Something with an electronic trigger is nice; add an electronic hopper to speed your game up even more.

In the heat of the summer, barrel breakage is rare.  Breakage on target could also be a problem as paintballs get soft from the heat and humidity.  So now we must keep the paint dry and cool.  Room air conditioning may be good enough for the player but air conditioned air still contains 70 to 80% relative humidity.  Keep the bags closed tight!  If you begin to get a lot of bouncers, chill the paint in the refrigerator (not the freezer!) for 30 to 60 minutes - NO LONGER!  The air in the refrigerator is cool and dry and will condition the paint for use on the field.  Between games, store your butt packs, loaders, and hopper in the air conditioned car (not in the trunk!).  Refill your loaders just prior to heading out to the field.  Keep in mind the exposure times mentioned above.  Also, keep the paint sealed in the bag.  If you cannot leave the car running, I would suggest keeping the paintballs in a cooler with a couple of ice packs.  (Don’t use ice cubes or blocks because the bags may leak and damage the carton.  Also, ice packs take up less room in the cooler allowing you to keep refreshments in the cooler as well.)  Deformation of a paintball can occur when a paintball has been exposed to high heat and humidity.  Oblong and odd-shaped paintballs will not return to their original round shape and should be discarded.

This is a great game to finish off your day and eat up the rest of your paintballs if you want.  Basically, there are no losers!  This is a game for multiple 3 man teams, but don’t worry about flags or flag stations.  You will need a holding area for players who’ve been eliminated.  Create, depending on group size, as many three man teams as you can.  Odd players out will wait in the Designated Holding Area for enough eliminated players to return and will make up the next ingoing team.  Teams start the game in different areas of the field.  This game is fun to try and keep it within a 30 minute time frame; or you can just play until everyone is spent or all the paintballs are gone if you’re trying to use up your paint.  Here’s how it works:
1. Once a player is hit, he proceeds to the Designated Holding Area.
2. Once there are three players in the Designated Holding Area, they rejoin the game as a new team.
3. A referee will escort a newly formed team out into the field, away from the action and any other teams, if possible and signal their entry with a short whistle blast.
4. Players cannot shoot or be shot at while being escorted by the referee.
5. All players must begin the game at their flag station (or assigned starting point) and cannot leave that area until the game begins.
6. Players who are hit are out of the game, but only until they form another team.
7. Players who are eliminated may not, by word or gesture, indicate any intentions or locations of the opposing team members. 
What’s great about this game is everybody wins!
Tactical Advantage:  Stay close to the boundaries of the field, at least you’ll know you won’t have anyone behind you.  If you hear shooting, run up and blind side the two combating teams.  It would be advisable to keep checking your back when you’re not against the boundary.  You’ll learn how to stick together and know where your other team mates are.  There is one good thing about being alone, though.  You know EVERYBODY is a bad guy.
Best Paintball Equipment to use: any type of tactical paintball marker or competition paintball gun will do.  Something with an electronic trigger is nice; add an electronic hopper to speed your game up even more.

This game is another variation of ‘Capture the Flag’ but with a civil war twist.  It’s played with 2 evenly numbered teams; the North and the South.  You will need 2 flag stations with flags in their respective flag stations.  The flavor of this game is you are not allowed to have any bulk loaders, loading tubes/pods or any solid apparatus used to hold or feed paintballs.  Players can carry as many paintballs as they wish, but they must be loose or in a plastic bag; they cannot be in tubes or in any bulk loading system.  Players can only load paintballs by hand, one at a time into their paintball guns and cannot load another paintball until they shoot the one in the paintball gun.  The game is most fun when played in a 30 minute time frame, but the time limit can be changed to accommodate variations in field size, cover, number of players, etc.  Here are a few rules to follow…
1. Players can carry as many paintballs as they wish.
2. Paintballs must be loose or in a plastic bag. They cannot be in tubes or in any bulk loading system.
3. Players can only load paintballs by hand, one at a time into their paintball guns and cannot load another paintball until they shoot the one already in the paintball gun.
4. All players must begin the game at their flag station (or assigned starting point) and cannot leave that area until the game begins.
5. Players who are hit are out of the game.
6. If a player is eliminated while he is carrying the flag, he must drop the flag where he was hit, or hang it on the nearest available object.
7. Players who are eliminated may not, by word or gesture, indicated any intentions or locations of the opposing team members.
8. When a player is carrying the flag, it must remain visible at all times and must be carried in the had, over the arm or around the neck.
Object of the Game: Capture the opposing team’s flag and return it to your base.
Tactical Advantage: Much like other games in which the teams carry limited paintballs, there is safety and greater firepower in numbers.  Try to coordinate the troops so while one is firing the other is loading.  Line up your troops and get them to count off.  Get them to remember whether they were given an odd or an even number.  During the game, the team captain can give out commands like, “Odd numbers, fire! Even numbers, load!” and “Even numbers, fire! Odd numbers, load!”.
Best Paintball Equipment to use: any type of tactical paintball marker or competition paintball gun will do.  Something with an electronic trigger is nice; add an electronic hopper to speed your game up even more.