ChoicePaintballGuns

Do you have any funny stories about playing paintball… stories of competitions, playing with your friends, other teams, etc.?
The first day of practice, one of the guys that was on my team got shot in the testicles and dropped like a rock.  Another day we were playing and the same guy got hit in the same spot, I thought that was pretty funny, but he wasn’t laughing.  I would highly recommend a groin protector!  One time, Travis, the Captain of our team, was running through the woods when all the sudden he tripped over a rock and face planted right into a tree.  The very next practice he got close-lined by a vine hanging down.  Then we got a new player and he started playing.  The Captain and the new guy went head to head in an open field match.  The second after it started it was over.  The new guy got shot in the nuts and curled up in the fetal position while in mid-air.  We thought it was hilarious (he didn’t think it was very funny) but this is what you get when you go one-on-one with our captain; he’s pretty much a black belt when it comes to paintball!
Joey W.  Midwest Assassins, Division 1 Paintball Team, Perryville, MO.

What kind of injuries have you had from paintball?
I got hurt when I was playing paintball for the first time - we were playing scenario paintball in the woods and I tripped over a vine and scraped my legs and hands a little. Another injury I had is when I ran straight into a thorn bush; sometimes the natural ‘bunkers‘ outside can be kind of dangerous!  One day we were playing and I got shot in the face mask; my nose started bleeding a little, but not too bad.  But this goes to show you how important your face mask is.  If I wasn’t wearing it when I got hit, my nose would’ve surely been broken; who knows what would’ve happened to my eyes from the paint splatter too.  Overall though, these are the worst of what I’ve had from playing paintball…. not too bad.  One way to avoid these kinds of injuries is to look very carefully on where you’re running - especially when playing woodsball.  In woodsball, the unpredictable terrain is part of the fun but it can also get you injured if you’re not careful!  Another way to avoid injuries is to wear the proper gear.  The face mask/paintball goggles are a must, but you can also protect yourself with body armor, paintball gloves, helmet, padded jersey, shin guards and even a groin protector; getting hit in the sac is NO fun!  Also consider elbow and knee pads (in tactical and speedball) to protect yourself when sliding, landing and falling.
Joey W.  Midwest Assassins, Division 1 Paintball Team, Perryville, MO.

You’ve been playing paintball for a while, what equipment would you recommend for the newbie, just starting out?
Obviously, the most essential piece they’re going to need is a paintball marker.  The gun I would recommend for a beginner is a Spyder Xtra, Sonix, or even a Spyder MR1; these are easy to operate, maintain and there are many attachments and upgrades you can buy for them later.  They’re also very reasonably priced for a first gun.  To make the gun work, you’ll need air; I recommend starting with CO2….. start with either a 9 or a 12 oz. CO2 tank.  Next importance, you should think about safety.  I would recommend a full head paintball mask, to protect your face and eyes and just in case you get shot in the back of the head.  You can play with no body protection if you want, but it kind of hurts a bit when you get hit with a paintball, so a beginner may want to consider purchasing a padded vest and/or a padded jersey.  The paintballs I recommend is the kind that your team uses.  I would probably start off with Brass Eagle Monster Balls; they’re cheap and readily available - you can get them at Wal-Mart.  Our sponsor sends us Karnage paintballs and these are much better but we generally need more of them and Monsters bridge the gap nicely.  I would also recommend wearing a good pair of paintball gloves too. 
Joey W.  Midwest Assassins, Division 1 Paintball Team, Perryville, MO.

All paintball guns may look the same but it is important to remember that choosing the right paintball marker is not an easy task.  Here are some tips that you may need to consider:
1. The very first thing that needs to be considered when buying a paintball gun is the price. It is important that the buyer determine his budget for the gun. There are many paintball markers in the market and prices may range from $100 to $900. The cost of the gun will depend on the brand and features that come with it.
2. It is recommended a person test a specific type of gun before buying one.  You may want to try those that you’ve borrowed or rented which will give you the chance to choose which one that works best for him. The paintball gun should provide ease of use and maintenance, comfort for the user and upgradeability.
3. Before buying a paintball gun, it is important that he decide on the size of the gun, the paintball loader and the tank that he desires. Remember that the bigger the tanks and the paintball loaders the heavier the gun becomes.  A good hopper should be the right size for the gun and should contain the amount of paintballs needed to fire at the opponents.
4. The buyer should shop around first before deciding on a particular paintball gun (for example, there’s such a thing as tactical paintball guns). This will give him the chance to evaluate and compare prices.  Some shops offer lower prices than other shops, so do some research and purchase the one that fits your needs and pocketbook.
5. Seek advice from friends who play paintball, instructors, and coaches of paintball games who will be able to provide some tips on what paintball guns they have used and have found effective. Paintball stores can also recommend some good paintball guns and/or those that they most often sell to their customers.
After choosing the right paintball gun, you must familiarize yourself with the machine. Practicing with the paintball gun will help you move with the gun as well as apply some strategies for using the gun.

As the Team Captain of a successful competitive Division 1 Paintball Team, what kind of paintball equipment do you own; what’s your favorite paintball gear?
Well, I’ve been playing paintball for a long time and have built up a pretty good amount of stuff; some of it I’ve used up and gotten rid of and the rest of what I hold onto and use now is my favorite.  They keep coming out with new, more awesome stuff, so it’s hard to say exactly, but right now my favorite paintball equipment consists of 5 paintball guns, a pod harness, 2 different masks, 2 Jerseys, about 12 CO2 tanks and a Paintball RPG.  
I like my Tippmann A-5 Custom M-16 the best right now; I’ve equipped it with a 22 inch barrel because I like to play sniper and also back field.  The accuracy of this gun is awesome; I can shoot totally far, it’s super quiet and right on the money if you’re in my sights.  My pod harness holds 4 x 140 round pods (so I can carry roughly 560 paintballs); I love it - I never run out of paintballs during a game.  I wear different paintball masks depending on what type of game I’m playing.  I have a practice jersey from EVIL and a tournament jersey that I only wear to tournaments with my team.  This is our jersey we got from www.choicepaintballguns.com (one of our favorite sponsors!).  I also have a lot of CO2 tanks of various different sizes.  CO2 is OK to shoot but I’m wanting to switch to  compressed air; I don’t know why but I just haven’t made the switch yet.  I also want to buy a pistol; I’m thinking of either the new Tippmann TPX or maybe a Tiberius T8.  I want it to shoot .68 caliber paintballs though.  Our team used to only compete in speedball but we’ve started competing in scenario paintball tournaments in just the last couple years, so I’m still building up my tactical paintball equipment collection.
Travis S.  - Midwest Assassins Division 1 Paintball Team Captain.

Introducing the Elite Marksman Custom Paintball marker from MilSig.  The MILSIG ELITE MARKSMAN Custom is based on MilSig’s flagship ELITE K-Series marker and comes ready for action.  This is a .68 caliber, magazine-fed, lightweight, high tech marker; it’s not a gun for the beginner, this is for the hand with experience in the paintball game.  The ELITE MARKSMAN Custom comes equipped with the super accurate MARKSMAN barrel system right out of the box; this barrel is a 3-piece that gives you the option of making it shorter and can be converted to a shorter length by removing the rear section of the barrel.  Another nice feature of this marker is the 552 Holosight that comes with this package; this is an excellent sight for fast target acquisition while still keeping both eyes open.  Also check out some of the other awesome new Custom .68 caliber paintball markers like the Elite HP Custom, PDW SD Custom CQB and the Sniper Custom at www.choicepaintballguns.com.  All markers by MILSIG Custom Gunworks are hand built by certified MILSIG technicians and come with a One Year Warranty against defects in materials and workmanship.

Which Do You Like Better…. Scenario or Speedball Competition?
This is a good question, because I really like both; but if I had to choose one over the other I guess I would choose Scenario.  I like Scenario play because you have to take your time and look for people; you have to hunt them.   I also like that the games are quite a bit longer; they usually take like 30mins or so.  Plus, you’re in the woods so you have to be quiet and sneaky; you get to pretend like you’re really in a military-type battle.  When we’re hunting our opponents, sometimes we split up and sometimes we move as a unit.  With the natural setting, your ‘bunkers‘ are trees, hills, bushes, stumps, rocks or anything you can hide behind.  If you’re playing scenario paintball at a field, sometimes they have awesome scenario bunkers already set up, like a fort or old buildings, old cars or military vehicles or even just a bunch of stacked up tires; anything will do.  Your heart usually starts beating quickly and you have to watch from all angles.  
On the other hand, speedball is good to compete in because it’s all about speed and quickness; you have learn how move quick and refill your hopper while you’re moving.  You have to learn to how to cover and bunker people.  One thing’s for sure, with speedball, you can’t be scared to move!  This is a game where your energy is flowing quick you don’t even have time to think about whats going on; you’d better have your game plan in your head before you start a speedball game - but be ready to change it in a second’s notice!  You also need to know where your teammates are at on the field - in tactical woodsball and speedball.
Travis S. - Midwest Assassins Division 1 Paintball Team, Perryville, MO.

I love scenario paintball the best; it’s really fun to compete with to.  You get to go out in the woods and hunt people down.  I don’t think it’s as fun to know where your opponent is like you do in speedball; in woodsball you can run into them while on patrol or you might walk into an ambush where they’re hiding - there’s unexpected action at every corner.  What’s the most awesome though is to be able to track your opponent, sneak up on them and either set a trap and ambush or snipe them off one by one from a vantage point.  I would rather be in a natural landscape too; natural terrain is so much more unpredictable than bunkers.  I don’t want to hide behind huge balloons.  I guess I like woodsball the best because its like hunting, except your not hunting deer with a rifle, but hunting people with a paintball gun!  And guess what?  They’re hunting you too!  The guns are sweet as well; I like Spyder MR1 and MR2 juiced up with a sniper barrel and a killer scope.  Travis, our captain has an awesome Tippmann X7 M4 Carbine paintball gun; I think it’s a good choice too.
Joey W.  Midwest Assassins Division 1 Paintball Team, Perryville, MO.

If you’re thinking of buying a new paintball gun but don’t want to fork out the dough yet, consider purchasing an upgrade kit instead.  A ‘kit’ is a package of items you can buy that will fit onto your current paintball marker to make it look or act different.  For example, you can buy an AK47 Kit for your Tippmann 98 that will include everything you need to add to your current gun to make it look just like an AK47 - without having to buy a whole new gun!  They make kits for almost all paintball guns, but they’re mostly for tactical/scenario paintball.  Some kits will just add a certain look to your gun, while others will improve the performance as well.  www.choicepaintballguns.com sells a Tippmann A5 M4 Carbine Complete Upgrade Kit that will not only turn your A5 into an awesome realistic looking M4, but will also upgrade the internals of your gun (it’s also for a great price!).  Many times adding a kit to your paintball gun will bring new life to an old, beat up friend who you may have grown tired of.  There are many kits to choose from too; you can turn your paintball marker into a sniper, AK47, M4 Carbine, CQB or combinations of any of these.  With all the new gun parts and accessories there are nowadays, you can also put together your own kit…. pick out a different handguard, buttstock, add a few rails and a scope, maybe a laser or a flashlight; you can even add a magazine expansion chamber or carry handle.  If you get tired of the same old paintball gun, consider adding a kit to dress it up as something different or improve it’s performance before spending all the money on a brand new gun!

I play and compete in both Scenario and Speedball.  If I had to choose between the two or answer the question, ‘which do you like better?’  The style of game I would choose is scenario paintball.  I like playing in the woods and running around, using natural things like trees, bushes and hills for cover.  I like it because it’s like the real thing; it’s like I’m in the military in a real mission.  You also get to play in the woods or in an abandoned town; some paintball fields have awesome bunkers and towns set up to make your fighting more realistic.  These are just awesome and it makes it so you want to play all day and keep coming back to that paintball field.  When the bunkers/environment are realistic, it’s like you’re really playing in a war or something.  In Scenario paintball, you don’t have to move as quickly as you do in speedball.  This means you can carry a lot more gear.  You can have extra and more air tanks in scenario paintball; the gear you can carry and use is much, much more awesome too.  The military style replica paintball markers, like the Tippmann X7 M4 Carbine or RAP4 AK47 or maybe even a sniper paintball gun make the game a lot more realistic.  It’s fun to get upgrades and kits for your tactical paintball gun too; you can get a longer barrel or add a paintball gun scope and make your marker look and act completely different.  It’s also fun to sneak around the other team and shoot at them from behind; I like to try and flank my opponents and hope you don’t get spotted.  I even like to play the sniper position when I get the chance.
Joey W.  Midwest Assassins Division 1 Paintball Team, Perryville, MO.