Would this improve you as a player?

[Jaydebull]

I have long held this notion to myself because some people will disagree.. I think you can improve as a player by playing with an older less than 100$ gun with no upgrades... Heres why, you have a junk gun that breaks balls, doesnt shoot accurately, and jumps around in velocity. If you are a tourney player this will help you by preparing you for those "moments" during the tourney... Your gun breaks a ball you have to squeegee, doesnt shoot accurately, you have to get in closer. It can altogether change your style of play to become more aggresive and prepared for the mishaps. Once you switch back to your straight shooting, distance flinging gun, everything becomes that much easier and you are more prepared for the worse. So what do ya think? I think it would be fun if everyone you were playing against had a less than 100$ gun with no upgrades....Hmmmm maybe a new scenario game in there somewheres?

[Wasimodo]

I agree, you could definitely improve by playing with a crappy gun and then switching to a nice one. The thing is, I don't know that you'd improve more in a shorter amount of time like that. I mean, if the gun was really crappy, you wouldn't improve at all. And I'd rather spend time improving something like my snap shooting with a good gun than work on being able to handle the relatively rare ball break. So yeah, it would help, but I personally don't think it would be the best way to improve.

[Jaydebull]

Somewhere in what i am discussing is the is it the gun or the player question? I am leaning toward its the player. But I agree with the too crappy of gun statement, that might be a waste of time, but then again not... I started out with a BE tigershark, first pb gun I ever shot... They were unreliable little junkers, but you learned how to think on your feet.

[dawgs712]

a good idea, but who many peoplecould part with their sto's???

[Wasimodo]

Yeah, I agree with you Jay. I wish I had started out with something crappy that doesn't use much paint or gas. I thought, at first, that the way to be good was to have a really nice gun and stuff, but I was so wrong. Starting crappy would have been good for me and everyone else.

[paintball_commando]

I agree with you Jay. I started out very crappy with all the ball chops, pumping, 12grams, all that. I was an envy of all the guy with "good guns" But now I realize, sitting here holding my autococker, :-) I'm glad I started out crappy.

[Stealthy_Yellow]

I think you would improve more with a good quality pumper/manual cocker. Then you have to pick and choose your shots more, but you don't have to deal with the frustration of 20 foot spreads at 20 feet. Plus its cheap :)

[Jaydebull]

Stealthy, I think you can improve with a better gun, but if you start with a great gun, and practice, and shoot, and play some more, than upgrade it again, and do it all over again, pretty soon I think you rely to heavily on your gun and not on those underlying skills. Too many newbs I have seen start out with a 700$ gun and then sit back and try to shoot people from a distance, play with them a year later and they are still doing the same thing. Why? because they havent learned anything other than they can pick people off without having to get in real close or even move. What kind of improvement is that? Ya, they might be a better shot but if they camp out all day and do the same old predictable stuff I guarentee strategically speaking they are not improving. Henceforth playing with a crappy gun gives you an unsecure I got to move or be tagged kind of feeling that makes you experiment by doing different things. Finding out which ones work and don't work is the key. But to me its funny because you can go to the same field play against the same people and you will know exactly where they are going and what they are going to do. Makes it easier to tag them...But it's less challenging to me.