Advise needed!

[knuckledragger]

Several months ago I saw a story about paintball on CNN. Intrigued I went and played indoor with my family. Not being really prepared and being dressed without much padding I shot my daughter in the ankle and she was hurt. She never wanted to play again. However, the rest of us LOVED IT!!!!!!

I am now totally addicted as is my son. After reading numerous paintball magazines I bought an A-5. My question is did I simply succomb to lots of bull**** advertising or do I have a decent Marker. I have put a flatline barrell and did notice improved distance and somewhat better acuracy.

I would also like to know is does the Marker make that much difference in your game. It seeems some guys can shoot with what appears to be incredible accuracy. While I will send a wall of paint and never hit my mark. What is the secret. If the anwser is a better marker then what is the best most accurate. Thanks in advance!!!

[Chronobreak]

Welcome to AO accuracy is paint to barrel match i suggest ditching the flatline but after you get used to the gubn and aim better you can judge where the paints gonna go better tippmans are on the low spectrum and there ok for woods and rec but if u play tourneys u may wanna get a mag or a cheap electro

[kopfjaeger]

Hose down a point in front of where your opponent is running and let them run into your paint. Try to shoot at people who are at angles from you. Like if you are on the left tape, shoot at the guys on the right tape. It will be easier for you to catch someones elbows, feet, shoulder, or head this way. It is much more difficult to hit people in the bunkers directly in front of you.

[RtDaNiMaL]

hey,
that is a good ? lots of people have A-5's. but it really depends on what kind of paintball you play. for instane if you play woods ball with wide areas, the tippman is the way to go, but if you arte going to go out to your ordaniary speed ball field, then it wouldnt be the best gun. Also the flat line wll make a difference, it shoots straight for the first 100 feet, then is slowly starts to sink at a rapid pace.

It really depends on what kind of game you play for the type of marker you get. In my view, the gun is okay if you play woods ball, and yes you really got suckered into their bull****!!!
good luck

[LittlePaintballBoy]

I personally like A5s as begginning guns, because they are workhorses. My suggestion is to get rid of the flatline. Sell it and but a good barrel, J&J barrels are awesome, and cheap. When we had an A5 we had a flatline on it, it is fun shooting balls way out there, but it has horrible accuracy.

[Konigballer]

your A5 is a good basic gun, I used to hold my own with a Tippman Prolite against cockers and mags for years and the A5 is a better marker than that.

Your flatline is mostly hype though. It DOES do what it claims though, improves DISTANCE. But distance does not equate accuracy. With a flatline your paint is reaching out far and with a level trajectory but your shots tend to fan out, negating any distance advantage achieved with the flatline. The paintballs also lose so much velocity by the time they get out downrange that they basically seem to just float in the air, anyone who has ever played against one has probably seen this. I've been hit by shots from one and just had them bounce of my arm with out braking, that is useless.

I would just get a decent aftermarket barrel and get a good paint to barrel match and you should be good to go, with lots of target practice of course.
Try a Lapco, Dye, or other respected barrel. Theirs some players, usually woods players, who swear by flatlines, but generally I think u will find a consensus that you should dtich it.

[CaliWagon31]

A-5 is a good gun man, you didn't waste your money. Not a high lvl marker but im sure u are having fun with it

[Loud Tim]

to say u got suckered into their bs is not totally true its not the gun of choice for most of the people that are on the forums because they have been playing for awhile and have moved up the ladder from low end to high end guns. to call the tippman a low end gun does not mean that it is not good because it is great for people just getting into the sport they are simple to take apart and cleanand they are a work horse i know few guns that u can bounce off a brick wall and then throw them in a creek and still have them shoot like a champ. i would recomend ditching the flatline barrel and get a j&j barrel they arnt the most cosmetic barrel but thats cus j&j focus on the inside of the barrel not the outside. the problem with the flatline is that it is very hard on paint. sending it through a curved barrel is gonna give u alot of barrel breaks if u are using a more fragile paint, and after u get a little bit of paint or dirt in that flatline your balls are just gonna scew out in every direction.

[SpecialBlend2786]

ANYTHING Tippmann is a good choice for a first gun. Therefore you made a good choice

The A-5 has a decent upgrade path as well, with choices such as an electronic trigger and auto responce frames. Plus, Tippmanns are built like tanks, my m98 NEVER broke or let me down.

[knuckledragger]

New Barrel

Could you tell me if I bought another barell like a J&J would I get a 16 14 or 12 inch. Thanks in advance.

[Loud Tim]

umm depends on what u are doing with it if u are playing rec ball 12 inch is just as good as a 16. the advantage of a longer barrel is that it alwows u to push into air bunkers and wrap on them. performance wise a 12" 14" and 16" barrel will all shoot the same distance and be just as accurate.

[ZapTheMad]

J&J ceramic barrels are the way to go. They actually clear ball breaks fairly well just by shooting a few more balls. Nothing compares to a good squeegie job, but sometimes you aren't in the position to clean your barrel while being shot at.

[SpecialBlend2786]

Personally, I would go for a 14" J&J Ceramic if you are looking for a cheap, effective barrel design. The J&J barrels really impressed me, and are a great value for the money you spend on them.

[Jeffy-CanCon]

Could you tell me if I bought another barell like a J&J would I get a 16 14 or 12 inch. Thanks in advance.

Longer barrels are not more accurate, but since most paintballers aim down the side of the marker rather than over the top, the longer barrels are a little easier to aim with. The longer barrels can be a less efficient on air, but Tippmanns tend to be air-hogs anyway, so I doubt you'd notice.

Welcome to paintball, and welcome to AO!

[ghideon]

Can't go wrong with Lapco barrels either, for any gun. Lapco also does a lot of A-5 upgrades (not too sure what they all do, since I'm not an A-5 owner).

http://www.lapcopaintball.com

http://www.lapcodirect.com

Also, check out the A-5 Owners group:

http://beta.a5ownersgroup.com/forum/