Best marker for punter days?

[wingnutLP]

Hi there,

I play paintball a couple of times a year at regular punter days. I really enjoy it but am fed up with the accuracy of the rental weapons. I have done a fair bit of reading and searching but have some questions I would like help with.

I am looking to buy a gun and don't mind spending up to £200-300. Now I know that most people say buy an electronic marker like an ion and start doing walkon days but I know that the only times I will play will be with a few mates (who will mostly not have kit) a few times each year. If I get into it and start doing walkons I will buy another gun for them.

I have gathered I will not be allowed an electronic marker for regular punter days so what are my options. My main requirements in order of importance are:
1 must be acceptable at all or nearly all punter days
2 must be accurate (ROF is not that important to me)
3 must be easy to maintain

I have done some reading and chatted to a few people that play and the general options seem to be:
Mongoose (cheap and reliable)
Tippmann 98
Tippmann A5
Are there any others to consider?

Long range accuracy is also important so is the Flatline barrel upgrade for tippmann a must have?

The A5 has the cyclone feed system, will this be acceptable for punter days as it must really help with rof compared with gravity fed, especially when combined with the response trigger or e grip. Or do the additions of these features basically make it similar to an electro marker and therefore banned at punter days?

Finally (sorry for all the questions!)

I was playing yesterday both with rentals and with a spyderco (sp?) and there were huge puffs of gas coming out the barrel. The weather was fairly cool and wet, is this normal and are there any barrels that will prevent it? It was really annoying because after a burst of fire you couldn't see anything!!

Thanks in advance for your help.

 

[Hoodless ECI]

Some sweet Mechanical Autocockers are available at times...

or the newer "Prostock" cockers aren't too bad for a mech marker.


but saying that, you can't really go wrong with a good ol' tippy

I know you said dont, but i would strongly recommend getting into walk-on paintball with the prospect of getting more involved in the sport, i mean, if you are prepared to spend £300 on Mechanical "Rental" Level kit (which would be practically impossible) you'll have plenty left to spend on a walk-on day, or even a day down at a local "Sup-air" site

 

[lemonadeX]

Yeah, definitely go with a Tippmann (especially over a Mongoose). Just seen THIS thread which might interest you (2nd post).

-Will

 

[evoonline]

dont buy a mongoose (or moongoose as they've been called in the past)

tippmann all the way. u can buy a standard 98c or a-5 then add ups to it as u want.. can make em look awesome. tippmanns and cockroaches will be the only things to survive a nuclear war!
get a remote hose for yer tippmann then get a nice nxe battlepack which can hold yer co2/air on the back. look the mutts nutts

 

[Stan]

A couple of other things for you to consider:

Whatever you buy, you should consider a barrel set as the best way to get 'accuracy' in a paintball gun is to have a good paint to barrel match. (ie - the ball fits the barrel properly). These are down to personal preference but you have a couple of options including Freaks, DYEs and Empire kits, etc. For example, i use a DYE Ultralight front and have a couple of different sized backs.

You will also need to budget on an electro loader of some description.

Also, you need to work out which air sources the sites you play at normally will use? Some guns work better on CO2 than others and some sites aren't equipped with Air compressors. Also, some sites won't fill your CO2 or AIR bottles so you'll have to ask if it's ok to use one of theirs.

As for markers, Tippmanns are hard working, hard wearing, bullet proof units that work day in, day out at sites across the country and are supposedly simple to maintain (never had one myself).

The cloud burst you are talking about is likely to be caused by the site you were at using CO2 as it condenses (i think) as it comes out of the barrel.

 

[Tom Allen]

why not use an electro on semi, you could always limit your rof, or just take it easy.

 

[large oaf]

why not use an electro on semi, you could always limit your rof, or just take it easy.

i didnt think rec sites let you even if you did that - or the ones round me dont anyway

 

[Tom Allen]

Talk to them you may be suprised.

 

[mewwy]

cheers LemonadeX for the link Wingnut, if you're interested in the tippy, let me know, its a good little shooter and any questions i will endeavour to answer.

yep, those clouds of co2 are useless, normally caused when the gas leaves the bottle, (where its very cold) compared to air temperature and that gives all the tree-huggers locations away but its just what happens.

its when it turns to liquid its a pain, then you need an anti-syphon tube. but tippys run off air so they wouldnt be a problem.

tippys are bog standard excellence for punter-hunting days mate, them plus a decent barrel bore and they come with a self-powered hopper so you're sorted. with the cyclone, you're powering it with the air supply and most sites would allow you to use an electro hopper anyway, the thing is, although the hopper inhibits ROF speed, its more often how quick you can pull the trigger because for some reason, grav-feeds rarely fail

mew

 

[no-infernomark]

get a mech cocker, accuracy is superb, easy to maintain, you will get all the oooooooo's and aaaaaaaaaaaa's due to the external parts moving, and they are fanatstic markers. cockers all the way. for sure i choose my mech cocker over my ego and borg in the woods anyday.