Just out of curiosity what’s a solid way to “afford paintball” as someone who came from airsoft which is a lot more affordable my first time playing paintball this past weekend was $25 entry with your own gear and $60 for a case of paint. So almost $100 every weekend you want to come out and play. Now I ended up coming out on a day with nearly 100 players so it’s possible it’s abnormal to go through a case of paint with a Tippman98 in a single day I played 9am-3pm because I ran through the full case by then. Any tips for paintball longer term. I’m assuming the goal would be to keep it to 1000 rounds or so a weekend so I can stretch the cost and you just can’t be as trigger happy with paintball as you can in airsoft.

Update*

Thanks for all the replies I think long term my goals will be shooting less and maybe getting a pump to force myself to conserve shots. I think my first weekend playing paintball I came in with the airsoft mindset of ammo is easy to come by since you can get 12,000-20,000+ airsoft bbs and make that last a solid year for $60-70 bucks so it’s just adjusting my play style while still having fun.

The field near me also has a $300 annual membership that comes with discounts on paint so that may be the go to.

Unfortunately I couldn't make it out to any NXL events. But finished the year out strong at WCPPL.

Seriously why do people do this? I see this all the time, people post looking to buy say a 180r and someone in comments trying to sell their MXR to poster.

I was trying to buy an OG invert mini as that was my first paintball marker and people out here offering me a dsr and CS3s in the comments. WTF? Thats not what Im looking for. You wanna sell your dsr and CS3? Go make your own damn post. Rant over

Just recently took my 10 yr old on his first paintball outing. He absolutely loved it and wants his own gear now. Can anyone recommend a good starter set or website? Not looking to spend a fortune but would like something decent to get him going. Can't order from Amazon due to "shipping restrictions".

There is an intentional pinhole that let's air escape during the initial connection, but it's letting out constant air, any fix?

So I just got back into paintballing after quitting like 10 years ago.

I am buying cheap mini gs for loaner guns for friends who want to play.

One of the things I do is go over the GS when I buy it to see what needs repairs or maintenance.

Since I typically buy the cheapest GSs they tend to be in pretty rough shape and not cleaned over the years. The majority of them have corrosion in the eyes from paint that never gets cleaned out.

One thing I started doing to them is wrapping the eye pins with heat shrink wrap. I do it up to the eyes and it creates a seal against the body of the GS not allowing paint to get down there. Ive attached some photos.

Hopefully this helps some people out for preventative maintenance.

I'm so glad to see these coming back. It's always an awesome experience

How did I do? What are some things I should know about the Luxe Aire?

I have a Dye Rize CZR whose bolt won't cycle. The battery, solenoid, and O-rings are all brand new (I bought Dye's O-ring kit to make sure it came from the manufacturer). When I gas it up, the bolt immediately gets sucked into the back, ready to fire. I pull the trigger, the solenoid clicks, but the bolt remains where it is with a quick "puff" of air released at the bottom of the solenoid where the hole is found. I've lightly greased it, and when I pull the bolt out, everything seems to move smoothly, but I'm new to this marker so I'm not 100% sure.

Before bringing it in to be serviced, what could be the issue? Should I try swapping out all of the O-rings again?

So my friends got back into a yearly trip playing paintball at skirmish in the poconos. This year I played with a mini gs and enjoyed it, but chopped paint a ton due to using summer paint in cold temps (a lot of others had the same issue). However, I’m now considering getting back into playing maybe 1-3x a year and wanted to get an entry lvl setup. My brothers bought 180r’s, but I just don’t need to drop that amount of $ on a gun imo. I’ve been steered toward the Axe 2.0 and etha 3. Right now, I found a deal for a brand new axe 2.0 for $350 and comes with a halo hopper. An etha 3 I can buy brand new for $430, no hopper.

Just wondering what some opinions might be on these two guns. I lean toward the etha 3, but didn’t know if it was worth the extra $, considering it doesn’t come with the hopper like the axe 2.0 does.

Overall, I’m looking for a reliable gun that’s relatively low maintenance and decent performance.

Thanks!

So those who are not in the loop. Contract Killer was bought out a while ago and then Contract Killer bought out the high end marker division of macdev. They just announced a new high end marker K7R. Retails for $1700. It has 2 different drives. One for open bolt spool and the 2nd one makes it a closed bolt. Apparently it's got a super super soft shot. So I'm interested to see how that compares to the R5. It will also have a mech frame available at some point. Cant wait to see more or hear more at cup.

https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1JhkgrpRbr/

I am planning on bringing some friends who are completely oblivious to paintball to watch some World Cup matches. Does anyone have an existing one sheeter I could print out/send them with an overview of what the hell is happening, or should I create my own?

I've been following for a while and been wanting to get back out here. Haven't played in probably 15 years. Anybody want to host me? I sold all my gear years ago (now I wish I hadn't). Had a PM6, Dark Shocker, and Karnivor. So I'm not looking to go rent a Tippman, but also not looking to spend a few grand getting some decent gear. What are my options? Would anyone be willing to lend me some gear?

A FSP Excalibur

Padmé, Princess Leia, Queen Elsa, Princess Jasmine, Princess Fiona

Before and after

Are they even worth the price increase?

THE GOOD

-The scale of Skirmish is unlike any other field of have been to. The Tippmann Castle Field is really unique and had a blast playing it.

• They have a tech booth at the course that they will try to fix any problems with your marker whether rental or your own. You only have to pay for parts. Never seen this at a course before but was extremely useful

• Everyone going into the game gets Chrono'd Every Single Time. To walk into the insertion point you get chrono'd every time.

• They have a full service tank fill. They have someone willing to fill your tank for you or you can fill it yourself

• The armory is the best field store I have ever seen. Has a ton of options to buy gear there.

-Lockers are free and all you have to do is bring your own lock

-Friendly people. My buddy lost his phone on the field someone found it and went out of there way to return it.

-The refs are very friendly and very chill. They also listen to your feedback. You want to play this course. They will listen.

-Walk ons have so many people. They have multiple groups of walk ons playing at a single time. At a time when most fields have a problem getting walk ons, Skirmish is not one of them.

-Really like how the fields play. They are well designed to limit camping

-People in the armory are there to help you. Willing to give good advice ask abunch of questions. Wanted to help out newer players.

-Were able to get more games in than my usual field. Less stopping more playing.

-The smoke grenades are great quality and actually work

THE PERPLEXING -Can anyone explain this. When shooting at 280 the paint shoots straight but as soon as your FPS is over 280 the paint starts flying in all different directions. Similar to playing in the rain without a rain lid on your hopper. No idea how to explain this but tried this with multiple markers.

THE DOWNSIDE

-Who decided that gun hits and hits below the knee and to the elbow and out dont count? This is a crazy rule and makes it even harder to call people out. Never heard of a rule like this. Leads to tons of people not calling hits.

-Never chopped more paint on a field. My squeegee was damp by the end of the day. While the paint is a true .689 and not small by any means it did chop alot. Feels like a marble when it hits you which I like compared to some fields who are having smaller sized paintballs

-As I said Refs are very chill but they are dont many paint checks on the field. Lots of wiping.

-Have to park pretty far away from the fields. Not a huge pain in the ass but I like to bring a cooler with me and I wasnt able to use it.

-Paint is expensive which I am ok with. Just wish for $105 paint wish it didnt break on me as much (I am using CS3 Pro)

-The paint grenades are weak. Wish they had a real paint grenades like most fields. They had knock offs that actually dont have paint in them

For someone who loves paintball going to Skirmish (aka the Mecca of paintball) was a 10/10 experience. I will be going back. Hoping to hit ION in '27