Newbie Gun Question...

[flyguy89]

I'm just getting into Paintball. I haven't played my first game yet but I am planning to go to a field and rent the stuff and see if I like it. I'm sure I will though, I've had a smaller skirmish with some friends. I am looking at the Tippman Model 98 Custom as a first gun. I don't want to spend an incredible amount of money, but want a nice, upgradable gun, that is a semi-auto. Do you suggest the Tippman?

[Silencer.1]

Definately. It is nearly impossible to damage and can survive pretty much anything thrown at it. It doesn't field strip, but you should never have to. I put 10,000+ rnds through mine and NEVER chopped a ball blew 20-30 up in the barrel though. That was with Diablo Inferno paint (thin shelled). It is also really easy to upgrade.

[flyguy89]

Originally posted by Silencer.1
Definately. It is nearly impossible to damage and can survive pretty much anything thrown at it. It doesn't field strip, but you should never have to. I put 10,000+ rnds through mine and NEVER chopped a ball blew 20-30 up in the barrel though. That was with Diablo Inferno paint (thin shelled). It is also really easy to upgrade.

OK, thanks. Is it fairly accurate with the stock barrel, or should you get a longer one?

[Silencer.1]

Always get a new barrel. The stock one is ok, but isn't really that good. Get a Custom Products 12" aluminium barrel $45 at http://www.paintball-discounters.com . It's dead on accurate. You'll find you go through less paint with a more accurate barrel, just because you'll hit what you're aiming at. The difference between the two is night and day.

[Thor the Mighty]

OK, thanks. Is it fairly accurate with the stock barrel, or should you get a longer one?

no you dont need a longer one, you should actually get a short one because you use less co2 and stuff like that. get a 10 or 12 inch barrel

[Silencer.1]

Thor,

I recommended a 12" barrel. The stock barrel is only 8.5" long and is very LOUD. If polished it can be an ok barrel but it just isn't as accurate as a CP and is still loud. By changing barrels, I tightened my groups at 35 yds from 18" to 10" and decreased the thump. I'd say that the barrel really is worth the money. The stock barrel is ok for speedball since it is so short, but it really doesn't have the groupings at range. I used to play speedball with my 12" on my tippy w/o a problem though.

Also, I was able to get 1200+ rnds off of a 20oz tank w/o any problem.

A long barrel is actually more gas efficient because it allows the gas to expand longer, accelerating the paintball down the barrel the entire way. This is especially true in lp markers because the pressure behind the ball is much lower and it needs to accelerate from the expanding gas behind it. Since the stock 98c, is a higher pressure marker a longer barrel really only stabalizes the paintball on it's way out. The efficiency increase is only about 10fps for 98c due to the porting of the barrel.

[BlackMageHell]

tippmans are good, but have you looked into pirahnas and spyders? The only thing I dont like about tippmann is the metal they use for the gun.