New players and $1400 guns?

[paint magnet]

What does an 8 year old know about paintball safety? They don't even make paintball masks for kids of that age, which I believe is very dangerous.

Yes, but ironically, they do make Dye gear in 8 year old kid sizes. This is not to condemn Dye gear by any means; I personally wear a pair of Dye pants and have been very pleased with them, they have lasted me over 2 years of sliding into (and, on occasion, out the other side of) bunkers on bare dirt and rocks (the field is a lot nicer now that grass is starting to grow). I think their stuff is a bit pricey, yes, but well designed. They just seem to be the stereotypical company for those that want to look like they've been playing a while and know what they're doing.

As has been said before, there are entirely too many people that have replied to this thread to quote them all (well, I could, but I don't have that kind of time), so I will try to sum everything up in this:

No, I'm not jealous of their stuff. Yes, it looks cool and flashy, but my stuff works fine for me. I've never really been all that impressed with Matrices in general, but before I start getting flames from all the Matrix shooters out there, keep in mind that it is just a personal preference. Actually, I'm quite glad that I did not start playing paintball with a $1400 gun that my mom bought me. I started playing with a Tippmann 98 Custom and didn't really start improving until I took up pump play, so there's no telling how bad a player I'd be if I had started with a Dark Angel or something along those lines. (You can say what you'd like, but I think most of you will agree that the most common newbie mistake is not moving enough, and that having the capability and the finances to shoot a lot of paint generally tends to make people want to remain even more stationary)

Yes, it does pose a safety issue. Anyone who buys an HPA tank should be instructed in how to fill it properly, or have someone else fill it for them until they know how. Anyone remember when people got killed by rocketing CO2 tanks? Imagine what could happen if you take someone with no experience and give them a 4,500 p.s.i. pressure vessel to mess around with.

While proper care and filling of tanks is probably the most dangerous aspect, putting electronic markers capable of shooting several shots per second in the hands of someone incapable of controlling that kind of firepower on or off the field is definately not a good idea. I'm not saying that the kids I played with this weekend were being unsafe, but I'm sure that some people are (then again, so are some "experienced" players). And to whoever said that it's no more dangerous giving an inexperienced players a Nelspot or Splatmaster than an electro, I'm not sure what you're saying...yes, it's still not a good idea, but if someone knocks a Nelspot off the table, it's not likely to go off, and even if it does, it would fire only one shot (and you probably have a crater in your floor). Shut the hopper lid or bump an electro with a sensitive trigger and you can cause the marker to fire multiple shots.

As for the issue of whether or not having large numbers of new players starting off with high end markers is good for the future of paintball, I am still undecided. Yes, it's good for the field owners who make lots of money off of all the paint these kids shoot, yes it's nice to be able to buy a slightly used high end gun cheaply off of some kid's dad because their son played three times and didn't like paintball, and yes, it is fun to be able to say at the end of the day that you shot out the rich kids with the $1400 gun that daddy bought them with your (insert other marker here), but it's not without its drawbacks. In addition to the ones mentioned above, this potentially creates more people who view the sport of paintball in a critical way, whether because their son didn't like it and cost them 3 grand, or because their son and his friends played for the first time on his birthday and got shot multiple times by the rich kids with the expensive guns (which leads to the mentality that they too have to have expensive stuff to compete and have a good time).

Anyway, that's just my $.02.

[Rooster]

Its the parents money. Who cares how they spend it? I figure its nicer to spend it on their kids than blowing it on a new BMW.

[matt-o]

But that's just as true for a Splatmaster or Nelspot as todays most "advanced" electronic marker.

yes but to a much lesser extent, a nelspot dosnt have the ability to put out 20+ eyes per second

[tippmannpain889]

ilike the good deals. some guy i know traded his angel 4 thats 2 years old for a brand new ego because he thought the angel looked cooler i love the deals. and my parents havent bought me any paintball stuff since i was 10 when i started playingf with mydad me and my brothers would all go out ( 3 of use with a sling shot a nelsplat and a sl 68 II oldest had the best gun and when he got shot he passed it down. i was youngest so i had the sling shot:) it was the good ol days.

[Lohman446]

Yes, it does pose a safety issue. Anyone who buys an HPA tank should be instructed in how to fill it properly, or have someone else fill it for them until they know how. Anyone remember when people got killed by rocketing CO2 tanks? Imagine what could happen if you take someone with no experience and give them a 4,500 p.s.i. pressure vessel to mess around with.

So... you properly fill them? Care to explain to me the procedure you use when filling your HPA tank.

This is not to pick on you... but you have very likely crossed a line of condeming others for something you are not right on as well - not that I am right either.

[mobsterboy]

so, was the impulse user any good paintmagnet?

[Chris42050]

But that's just as true for a Splatmaster or Nelspot as todays most "advanced" electronic marker.



No. You could say it's a safety issue putting a device that fires projectiles of any sort into the hands of a 10 year old. And even then I take issue with that statement.

Really, it's a safety issue when you put a device that fires projectiles of any sort into the hands of an inexperienced person.

I don't question that there's a need for basic training for new players. However I think the responsibility is with primarily with the manufacturers, then field owners and referees, then fellow players.

Honestly now, how much difference is there learning the safe use of a 100$ Walmart marker and a 2000$ "top-of-the-line" marker? Considering the 10 year-olds probably could whip the average "older" players back-sides in any given video game, I doubt that any worries of the "hair trigger" really merit consideration.

Put the jelousy (if they have 200$ markers) or snobbery (if they're carrying 100$ Walmart specials) aside and teach the new players (regardless of their age, 10 or 40 makes no difference). If they prove to be too immature or arrogant to learn or act appropriately, then complain.

I hope the jealosy and snobbery was not pointed at me because if so you need to read my post again. I cant beleive you think there is no difference between a 10 year old newbie with a splatmaster and a 10 year old newb with say a DM-5. I have played with many 10 year old newbies. I do not feel very safe standing next to them in between games. They havent learned proper safety yet. I of course help them and teach them what is safe and many times I take them under my wing and have them tag along with me on the field. But, I do not feel safe handing them a very fast gun. It's just not safe. They dont know how to handle it. It's much better starting them with a gun that suits their level. I dont like giving them a gun that has a hair trigger because many times they forget to put thier barrel plug in. Why give them a gun that can go off by just bumping it. This happened to me the last time I played actually and the newb was 20. He forgot his barrel plug. I was walking off the field and someone bumped him. His gun shot me 3 times point blank, once in the mask and 2 in the armpit. I was reaching out to point his gun away from me and someone bumped him right before I could grab the barrel. I just dont think its safe for a newb to have a hair trigger.

[Lohman446]

Why give them a gun that can go off by just bumping it.

Any marker that will fire by just bumping it does not comply with ASTM standards, nor with the standards of any major tournament promotion - as such it has no place in the hands of anyone, on any field.

[Chris42050]

Any marker that will fire by just bumping it does not comply with ASTM standards, nor with the standards of any major tournament promotion - as such it has no place in the hands of anyone, on any field.

That doesnt stop people from buying these guns and bringing them to the fields. As for the incident I described I think the person had thier finger next to the trigger and when they were bumped thier finger hit the trigger.

[paint magnet]

So... you properly fill them? Care to explain to me the procedure you use when filling your HPA tank.

This is not to pick on you... but you have very likely crossed a line of condeming others for something you are not right on as well - not that I am right either.

Turn tank off or unscrew it from marker. Hook Q/D onto the fill nipple (after checking hydro date and pressure rating), make sure it's on there, depress "push to fill" button on fill station. Watch tank gauge, stop at appropriate pressure.

No, I'm not certified to fill tanks, but I consider it properly filling a tank because I am using the fill station the way it was designed to be used. As opposed to someone who, say, tries to hook the Q/D up to the pin valve.

I'm not trying to look down on anyone or make fun of them because they didn't know how to use the fill station.

Perhaps I came across as condemning individual players in my first post. This was not my intention, those mentioned in my first post were in no way rude or stuck up; it just got me to thinking about the subject - and judging by the replies to this thread, it seems to have been on the minds of a few others as well.

mobsterboy - I'm guessing you were shooting the Impulse?

[The Action Figure]

dude where u been? when you play now? I wanna play too

[paint magnet]

dude where u been? when you play now? I wanna play too

Whenever I can. We'll have to play at Upstate some time

[Lohman446]

Turn tank off or unscrew it from marker. Hook Q/D onto the fill nipple (after checking hydro date and pressure rating), make sure it's on there, depress "push to fill" button on fill station. Watch tank gauge, stop at appropriate pressure.

Hmm... thats the way "everyone" does it - though most of the time there left on the marker. Judging by other industries fill standards though it is far from the correct method. What you are doing is referred to as a "Flash fill" and if you talk with people who are involved with HPA you will find it is not as safe as we think it is. SCUBA for instance uses "blast chambers" or compartmetns to fill the tank - the hoses we used are often untethered or theres a piece of string... you will find our "accepted" way of doing it is very wrong.

[mobsterboy]

what makes you say that paintmagnet, besides the fact that you never said anything about an impulse?
Gonna play today?

[Hybrid]

I see it all the time too.

recently, i went to a big woodsball center flag game that was held at me and my friends woods field that we made up. the teams were divided into 2 sides and the opposing team ended up consisting of a lot of guys and kids that went all out (or their parents went all out, for the kids. you know). i saw guys that were using headsets/walkies etc. i mean, by the looks of them, you think they would be pretty good, right? nope! they had no strategy whatsoever.

well after two rounds of slaughter on them, i think we sent home a bunch of humiliated people. we just kept forcing them back and there was no saving their team. i was only shooting a Spyder with a few upgrades too, and knocking people out left and right. i saw kids with tricked out Impys, etc. i even saw a few Timmys. its crazy. parents spend so much on their kids.

if it was my kids and they were totally new to the sport, they would end up with Spyders or something similar.

i'm not pro or anything but i know better than buying myself an expensive marker and then finding out i dont like the sport. thats why i have a Spyder for the time being, and an Automag on the way.