ChoicePaintballGuns

If you’re sick of speedball and you’re looking for the ultimate in tactical scenario play - I mean a real tactical scenario event.  The most realistic games have restrictions on paint - this forces you to use tactical stategy and real war tactics.  There’s an event called Operation End War coming up in California that requires everyone on the field to have realistic magazine fed paintball markers.  Rap4 is running it and it looks like it’s going to be an awesome event.  Don’t worry, if you don’t have a magazine fed gun, with your admission fee for the game your rental consists of a brand new T68 Gen6 with 3 additional mags and a MOLLE Vest to hold it in..  it’s the perfect game.  My team and I are so looking forward to this game and just know it’s going to be the greatest thing since sliced bread, we’re already bugging RAP4 to do it more than once/year and in more places than on just the west coast.  So if you want to see more well-run big tactical scenario paintball games, go to the event and also help us encourage RAP4 to please the nation and all of us true tactical paintballers by running this event more often.
Matt Kresch Team Trinity

What’s the difference between the Apex Barrel and the Flatline Barrel?

Both the Apex and Flatline barrel are upgraded barrels for your paintball marker. The Apex is an interesting little attachment; it has a switch on the side that will allow you to curve your shot one way or another. It’s supposed to also increase the distance of your shot somewhat. It has to be used on a rifled barrel though for it to work best. The barrels that come standard on most paintball markers aren’t rifled, so you will first need to upgrade to a rifled barrel before adding the Apex. The Flatline will not curve your shot but compared to the Apex, it should shoot farther and straighter. Whereas there’s more tricks you can do with the Apex, the flatline seems to have a larger ground swelling of testimonials behind it saying it’s the best. The Flatline barrel, however is made specifically for Tippmann paintball guns and may not fit on any others.  Between the two, if you already have a rifled barrel on your gun, you may want to see what the Apex can do.  If you have a Tippmann paintball gun and you’re just looking for more distance and a straighter/more accurate trajectory, try the flatline.  Tippmann markers can use either barrel (the Apex dependant on having a rifled barrel to attach to first of course).

There are lots of people who are interested in the competitive spirit and camaraderie inherent in paintballing. They find friends or clubs that they can join and have target shooting or war games. You will need your own weapon if you want a high caliber weapon and don’t want to rent.  There are pistols, rifles, and even shotguns that are powered by CO2 cartridges.

You will need a variety of paintball accessories to be able to enjoy the sport. Some of the must-have accessories include:

~rifle slings
~shooting gloves
~scopes
~lasers
~flashlights
~mask

There are two main ways to learn and refine your techniques.  First, by trial an error.  Second, by other player’s trial and error.  There are several different medias for learning from other players.  It can be from watching your own teammates, to reading articles from the experts.  The following tips will help you get the most out of your marker and your plays on the field.

 1.  It is most important to keep your marker clean.  Enough so that you should stop what you’re doing right away and clean it out.  Make sure you do a thorough job though; the bolt, bolt face, and the barrel must all be kept clean or the marker will malfunction.
2.  When a paintball breaks in your marker, make sure you not only clean out all of the paint, but anything else that doesn’t belong there as well.
3.  If you are still having problems with paintballs chopping inside the marker, you will need to take the gun apart and check for damage such as chips and burs.
4.  If the bolt face or o-rings are damaged, you should replace them as soon as possible.
5.  After playing all day with the problem of paint chopping in the machine, you should take it apart for a more thorough examination of the parts.  Look for scratches, fraying, or any other damage.  Check each part individually.  It’s a good idea to check the sear and hammer first, because these two parts must be in good condition to operate correctly.  The hammer and sear should be sharp.  The edges should be clean and no major wear should be visible.
6.  Make sure all of your paintball clothing is clean and in good shape. 
7.  Keep your camouflage jerseys and paints in good condition.
8.  Wear camouflage jerseys and pants that match each other. Mixing camouflage makes you easier to spot.
9.  If you are in an open woodsball field and a player has not spotted you yet, STOP.
10.  Keep the oil away from your compressed air tank when you are lubing up your marker.  The mix of oil and high pressure can cause a spark and pretty much blow you up - making for a crappy day.

Paintball started off as a simple game of elimination where each player shoots at everyone else until there was only one individual left.  Well, the ‘Last Man Standing’ game has gradually become more complex; although this is a fun game if you just want to get out there and shoot at each other.  Now there are all sorts of senario games and props used to make things more interesting.  Some of the props that have become popular are Armored Paintball Vehicles, electronic bugs, grenade launchers, and the smokescreen.  Some scenario games now even include hundreds of players, played over several days and are designed to simulate famous real-life actual battles that have taken place.  Some of the team positions involved in these scenarios include generals, infantry units and special operations units.  The point of the scenario game is to complete your objective - which could mean any number of things depending on the mission.  Sometimes your team will have several different objectives to complete before the game is over.  With each completed objective, a point is scored for your team.  The team with the most completed objectives in the end wins.  The multiple objective games are usually played in the larger scale scenario games - the ones spanning several days to play.  Players in these games often use tactical paintball guns, camouflage clothing, grenades and paintball landmines to add to the experience.

A paintball strategy usually includes all of the player’s or team’s pre-planned tactics that they will use to complete the objective or win the game. The best advice for a team is to select a painball strategy based on the teammates they have near them, the alignment of the opposition, and the format of the game being played.  Strategies must often be different when playing on flat surfaces and airball bunkers as opposed to rough natural terrains with a lot of steep inclines.  You should also have different strategies when playing 3 on 3 tournament games as opposed to 10 on 10 matches.  A player’s environment and the level of competition they’re facing as well as many other factors may affect the strategy needed to win the game.  Do yourself a favor and have several strategies ready, so you can switch to something else at the last minute if you have to.  Most of the paintball teams that are effective in competition have a planned and studied a paintball strategy they will use for that particular game.  Many of the strategies and tactics used in paintball are often rooted in military tactics.  Many of the most important strategies involve how to move and play as a team and which players will go between bunkers or out in the open.  Don’t be afraid to frequently move between bunkers to get better shooting angles on your opponents.

We are excited about the upcoming release of the X7 Phenom, a next-generation .68 caliber paintball marker that’s truly in a class of its own. This gun will be released for sale on ChoicePaintballGuns.com by mid-November. The unmatched benefits of this new electro pneumatic marker include improved air efficiency, superior accuracy, manual or electronic firing and the flexibility to use either CO2 or compressed air. The heart of the Phenom is Tippmann’s patented FlexValve™ Technology, a brand new technology that is not available on any other paintball marker. The FlexValve operates below 300 PSI for improved air efficiency, giving players more than 1,400 shots from a single 68 cubic-inch, 4500 PSI tank. Also, with its Spool Valve Design, recoil is virtually eliminated for significantly-enhanced accuracy. The design of the Phenom also incorporates fewer wear parts, making maintenance easier than ever and breakdown rare. Even though the Phenom is three inches shorter than the standard X7, it will still accept more than 20 current X7 mods and upgrades, including the popular Flatline Barrel. 

Other features of the X7 Phenom include:
·         New compact and lightweight aluminum body
·         Streamlined design with internal gasline and no cocking handle
·         Pushpin construction for easy field stripping
·         All-metal trigger for enhanced stability
·         Magnetically activated hall effect electronics
·         Redesigned Cyclone Feed System paddles that feed up to 20 balls-per-      second without batteries
·         Picatinny top rail to easily add new sights and handles
·         Air-thru stock compatibility
·         Internal regulator with new external-velocity adjustment
·         9.5” high performance stone-honed barrel
·         Removable rear and front sights
·         2-Year Warranty
·         Made in the U.S.A.

A paintball attack is when a team makes their move towards the enemy side of the field, make a surge to the opposing team’s flag, or makes a move towards the defending team’s players.  There are hundreds of different paintball games and your method of attack may be different for each, depending on the objective of the game or other variables, like whether or not there are bunkers to hide behind.  For example, in Capture The Flag, a player’s attack strategy may involve taking a path where the enemy isn’t.  In games of total elimination, the objective is for one player (or one team) to be the only one standing at the end of the game.  In the game Alamo, an attacking team must break through an enemy line of defense within a certain period of time.  In the game street fighter, players fight out in the open, with no bunkers, forts, or holes to hide in.  No matter what the game is, enforce your attack through a combination of strategy, player’s preparation, and luck and you will most likely emerge victorious.

To mount a proper attack, players must develop a keen field of vision to see the field around them, and know where the enemies are.  A player’s experience is the best means of developing the art of field of vision.  Players with this skill are successful at using their peripheral vision to see not only what is in front of them, but also what is to the left and right of them.  During an attack, make sure you’re running and shooting at the same time.  Players that only run across the field without taking aggressive maneuvers towards the enemy are putting themselves in a vulnerable position; you’re likely to get shot.  If the opposing players have the opportunity to take multiple shots at the enemy without seeing return fire headed that way, then they have a distinct advantage.  When a player executes running and shooting correctly, they shoot at the enemy while on the run, enabling their chances of staying in the game longer.

If your paintball marker chops your paintballs, stop what you are doing right away and clean it out.  Clean your gun thoroughly where the ball broke.  Clean the bolt, bolt face and the marker barrel.  Make sure to clean out all of the paint as well as the film, shell bits, and any other debris that does not belong there.  If you continue to chop paintballs, take the gun apart and check for damage.  Completely disassemble the marker, and check out the bolt face for burs, nicks, chips, and other damage.  If you have found any damage to the bolt face or o-rings, then you should replace the damaged components.  If you weren’t able to fix the problem while at the field, when you get home take your paintball gun apart and inspect all of its components for scratches, fraying, or other damage.  Check out each individual part.  As soon as the paintball gun starts to fail or act funny, try checking the sear and hammer first.  For your marker to operate flawlessly, the hammer and sear must be sharp, with cleaning edges that are not worn down or worn out.  If your bolt, sear, and hammer do not show any obvious signs of wear and tear, have an airsmith inspect the entire machine. An airsmith is to a paintball gun what a blacksmith is to machine tools.