tippmann 98 custom
flatline barrel
inline expansion chamber kit
12 oz CO2
Recommended Upgrades:
better barrel, an expansion chamber, anything that makes it better (another gun would be your best bet)
Strengths:
looks cool, i guess
Weaknesses:
the freakin gun sucks (see below)
Review:
ok this gun sux majorly
THE GOOD-
looks sorta good, nice shiny colors
THE BAD-
Barrel- sucks so much, it is inaccurate, breaks balls and the balls don't go far
Sight- Why do they even bother putting a sight on this thing!? The gun's vertical feed neck is in the way so you cant see what you aim at. U Cant even take the feed neck off to swap with a better one
Ice- frozen co2 comes out when shot. That gives it horrible accuracy and velocity consistency. to fix this get an expansion chamber (or a better gun)
Cocking- it un cocks itself every 5-10 shots. the cocker it very stiff and hard to recock
Feeding- The balls dont feed well through this gun. No, it is not the hopper. every few shots you have to shake it really hard to get it feeding (unless u had an electronic loader, then it would break balls)
Handle- since ther is relly no front handle besides that tiny thing in front, the tank makes the gun lean back and hard to hold
De-gassing- when you try to de-gas it seems to work until u fully unscrew the tank, then co2 sprays out and kills your o-ring
loud- this is the loudest gun on the face of the planet. it may even be louder than my .22 rifle. it hurts my ears
Conclusion:
this is one of the worst guns ever. i give it a 2 for its looks and that no gun deserves a 1(except for the Black Maxx)
Strengths
I would say the best strength of this gun is it's stock performance. Like I mentioned above it's a good stock gun besides the barrel.
Weaknesses
I guess it's key weakness would be it's barrel.
This is a very simple marker, nothing really flashy or special about it.. However, you can make it one. If you get some good upgrades this can quickly become a good gun for the in between range of beginner and the next level. Possibly even the next level.
Conclusion:
I would buy this product if you're looking for a new gun, but you may want to also look into the Spyder's. This is comparative with a few Spyder's.
Spyder Victor, Tippmann 98 Custom (Very hard to field strip) , Spyder Imagine (meh),
Marker Setup:
PMI PIranhe Pro EVO, 4500 psi, 72 ci crossfire preset screw in nitrogen, 14 tear drop smart parts barrel, 12 volt revolution
Recommended Upgrades:
Expansion chamber and a new barrel
Strengths:
Light, Durable, schops rarely, CO2 efficient
Weaknesses:
Drop off during rapid firing,
Review:
THis marker is awesome i played every weekend for 6 months and the only problem i have had yet was it sometimes uncocks but i only uncocks when the isnt a ball in the chamber... but that isnt that bad because it kind of lets me know that i need to shake my hopper instead of me shooting a bunch of air and giving away my position.
Conclusion:
Buy it if your a newbie but if you are good buy a Piranha Pro 2004 of a Piranha PRO EVO
What you should buy:
-New Barrel
-Drop Forward
-Electro hopper
-handle
-Springs and O-rings
Other optional stuff:
-New Bolt
-Expansion Chamber
-Air Tank
-Electro Trigger
Strengths:
-Cheap
-lots of mods
-fast field strip
Weaknesses:
-can freeze up
-bad stock barrel
-likes lots of oil
Review:
I used this gun half way through my first year playing and also a month or two in this year. This gun is a nice starter and can be modified like crazy. It also can fire as fast as you can pull the trigger. Something wierd happend with mine, when I pulled as fast as I could sometimes the balls would get lodged in between the verticle feed and the bolt, it didn't break the ball though. So I guess what you would have to do is buy a nice electro hopper for faster speed but you wont need a fast one if your not going haywire.
You can't really use this thing out of the box, you got to get some upgrades such as a drop forward, electro hopper and a nice barrel if you want good accuracy. This thing get our about 800 paintballs on a 9 oz tank.
Conclusion:
If your a beginner this is a nice gun to start out with because you wont spend a lot on your first marker and setup. If also can go fast but has the ability to freeze up if your trigger happy. If your looking to have a great gun though I'd recommend a better marker such as a spyder for begginers and if you have the money a 98 custom or Bushmaster. There is no sence upgrading this marker because if will cost just as much as a Bushmaster for instance. I'm giving it an 8 because it has the ability to be a great marker, it's just up to you if you wanna spend the cash.
Horribly inaccurate, highly inconsistent, chops a lot of balls, and double or triple shoots.
Review:
This gun is horrible, i used it as a rental 2 times at predator and it is not worth the money. Just today i went, almost every 10 shots i had to pull the cocker back out, this happened the entire time I was there from 1:00 till 4:00. At the target range i tested the speed, first shot 99mph, second, 154 mph, and third 137. this gun was very inconsistent. During a game i pulled the trigger once, it shot one ball and let out 3 shots of co2. Another time i shot the gun and 3 paintballs came out the barrel and went about 15 feet. I hit at least 3 people when I didn't see a ball break. And on top of all that, one time in the field before the game started, i was stand about 10 feet from a tree, I aimed at it and fired, the ball curved so much it hit a wall about 20 feet in front of me, and 15 feet to the side of me, HONEST. then i looked in the barrel and it was coated with paint.
Conclusion:
I do not recommend this gun to any one, it will make you miserable. You constantly have to clean it since it breaks so much paint. And if you don't clean it the balls will curve even worse than it usually does.
new barrel and if you want to use auto a lot deff. get an elctro hopper
Strengths:
alright stock barrel, fast! , QUIET!!
Weaknesses:
none that ive encountered yet! new barrel
No handle
Review:
This gun is good for beginners and is a good gun when you pull it out of the box. One thing you might want to do is bring 2 9v batteries when you go bc if you forget to charge electronic trigger then your screwed. Good gun though i got everything i needed for 210 and its a really good gun... you cant customize as much as 98 custom but hey it still a good gun!!
Conclusion:
All in all is a great gun when you put a couple things into it so GET THIS GUN, great price and just it a good gun!
Tippmann A-5, Spyder Extra, 98 Custom, Tippmann Pro Carbine
Marker Setup:
Piranha BL VF G3, 14in Teardrop, 20oz Co2
Recommended Upgrades:
Barrel is a must, Bolt
Strengths:
Its a very quite weapon, Very light easily monuverable, Accurate, Never breaks a ball
Weaknesses:
There is no real weakness to this gun, a barrel is a must to start.
Review:
Whenever I go out to play I never have to worry about breaking any balls. If I have a problem with the gun I just take it apart in no time and then im back in the game. Never have to adjust my velocity because it never messes up unless I move it.
Conclusion:
A very good starter gun needs a couple upgrades but other then that its a great gun.
I have also played with a friend's Piranha eForce. Not bad at all. Compared to the G3, its way better. My friend had to install a bottomline onto it, but I like the electric trigger on it. Compared to the G3 BL VF its much better, because its pretty much a G3 with electric trigger, Venturi bolt, and some more internal upgrades.
Marker Setup:
I use a Piranha BL VF with a 20 ounce CO2 (PMI Pure Energy with a PMI Butt-plate on it), Venturi bolt, PMI Gravity fed hopper, 14" Jnj ceramic barrel and a JT nVader mask. Most of my stuff if for woods-ball.
Recommended Upgrades:
I would reccomend you start off with a barrel. The stock barrel is Okay, but compared to the Jnj 14" Ceramic barrel I installed on mine, it fires much farther. Don't make the common mistake that a longer barrel is better because it shoots longer! Sure you can stick it through bunkers, but you can't play as tight to bunkers, and the longer barrel can cause more friction, use more air and actually decrease the performance of your marker, not increase.
Your next upgrade should be a bolt. Go for a Venturi bolt. It distributes air over the surface of the paintball more evenly, reducing breaks and chops.
Of course, if you really want to get a good rate of fire, you're going to need a fast-feeding hopper. A Revvy or Halo B is a good choice. I have never actually used an electric hopper because I don't shoot that fast that often. I'd much rather save my money. However, I do know players that can't play wihtout an electric hopper. Go for one of the above I reccomended. I reccomend the revvy over the HAlo. Who needs a hopper more expensive then your gun. Just get a 12v revvy and save up for a tank..
The last upgrades you'd want to get are for your air system. If you have an electric hopper, nice bolt and like to shoot a lot of paint in a short amount of time, HPA is for you. When you fire CO2 in a marker, every shot is going to be at a different velocity, unless you wait a while for the CO2 to expand, and refresh in between shots. Not a good thing. Also liquid CO2 can damage your internals, not to mention hinder your ability to shoot fast.
Compressed Air, HPA or N2 will do the trick. For the most part, its referred to as Nitrogen. Usually, fields will fill HPA tanks with Compressed air as opposed to Nitrogen. Air is basicly 78.1% nitrogen already, so using Pure N2 won't make much of a change. Nitrogen has a very low condensing temperature, so to get liquid N2, you'd have to cool it a lot. As for air, you'd also have to drop the temperature signifigantly to make it condense. So liquid isn't much of a problem with HPA. HPA is also more reliable. It is more consistant, so every shot you fire will be whatever PSI your regulator is set for. PMI Pure Energy is a popular brand of tanks, and I'd reccomend them.
Strengths:
Quiet, good reliability, simpel design, cheap price.
Weaknesses:
Needs regular maintanance. Bad stock barrel. Needs simple upgrades.
Review:
I won't lie. Its a pretty basic marker. It doesn't come with much, but for the price you pay for it, its about right.
I am the kind of guy who takes care of his marker and has pictures of real guns all over his room. I pull out two cloth diapers after every game, strip the marker completely to its bones, wash them off (in water if the paint is really in there good) and re-oil and reassemble my marker. I do it twice a week if I'm not playing and I do it the night before and usually after games. The Night before I just oil up the bolt assembly.
The stock barrel isn't that good, but it will shoot. I just got my JnJ Ceramic 14" Barrel (PMI markers take Spyder threaded barrels) and have only played with it once. I have noticed a significant change in my performance, but thats not to say I didn't have fun playing with the stock barrel.
I have only had one double feed, and it was because I double cocked my marker (That is, uncocking it, and cocking it again, putting two rounds in the chamber.
It did break down on me once, but I just needed a new tank O-ring. Luckily a cool kid was there to give me one of his. Thanks M8!
Conclusion:
Let's sum up what we have gone over:
-Stock barrel needs upgrading
-Bolt needs upgrading
-For faster shooting, get an electric trigger and electric hopper
-For consistency and overall better accuracy (but remember, the gun only shoots as good as the player plays), get HPA
-Needs regular maintenance
-Cheap
-Quiet
I hope you choose the G3 marker. Its great. Spyders are very similar to Piranha's. Some people consider Piranha's "clones" of spyders, hence the name Spyder Clone.
Some other things to consider is paint-barrel match (every barrel and style of paint has a different size (example: .685, .687 )
Rating:
8 out of 10
Last edited on Thursday, June 3rd, 2004 at 12:26 pm PST
-Very Light
-Doesnt Chop Balls
-Inexpensive
-Durable
-Quiet
-CO2 Efficient
-Cleans Easily and Quickly
Weaknesses:
-Accuracy
-Inconsistent Velocity
Review:
I just started playing paintball and picked up the BL VF G3 after reading some reviews. I am very happy with my purchase. I was able to purchase the gun kit, a new barrel and spring kit for $150.
I run alot when I play and because this gun is really lightweight it makes it easy to manuever and shoot. Some friends bought spyders and tippmanns and they are alot heavier and use more CO2 than me. There accuracy was the same but they spent alot more than myself. I have only chopped one ball in all my games. It was also very easy to clean the break quickly.
The only real problem I noticed was accuracy, which I fixed with the puchase of a new barrel. There is no front grip and the velocity is not the same every time but it doesnt bother me.
Conclusion:
Overall this is an amazing gun for the price and I would recommend it to anyone just starting to play paintball.
Piranha BL VF G3 with Bob Long reg, Ultralite barrel, Bandit bolt, Storm trigger frame, Bullet drop forward, VL revolution hopper, Evil valve, 3000psi armson tank, Rocket pressure chamber
Recommended Upgrades:
All above that are needed, drop optional
Strengths:
VERY reliable
Light
Can be quiet
Vertical feed
Weaknesses:
Bad stock barrel
Stock everything is bad
Review:
I have never found a more reliable gun that costs less than 100 dollars. I had started with a Spyder Compact and put some upgrades on it, and it just didnt work for me. Nothing seemed to work right. I found this gun at a local sports store and i saw that it had the same upgrades available as the Spyder, and it was only 75 bucks! It is very cheap and very acurate. With all the upgrades above, I started outmatching my friends autococker. The reg makes it quiet, the valve makes it even quieter, the trigger is really fast, up to 15 bps, the bolt is one of the best on the market, and all of the upgrades including the gun maxed out at almost $275. It really does shoot better than most pro guns, and it helped me start out on my way to being a pro.
Conclusion:
This is my favorite beginner gun and I would choose it any day over an autococker or an A-5. Just one more thing though, you might want to put a beavertail. It makes it look cool and the cocking rod doesnt hit you in the face.
