Sid’s Paintball

Tippman A-5/X-7: The Jeep of Guns

This gun is for the player who wants awesome reliability, nearly infinite upgrades (especially in the mil-sim arena) but is willing to sacrifice some high-end performance. The A-5 is tough, simple to work on, and reliable. Its Cyclone feed system obviates the need for a motorized loader, saving some investment in that area. The gun will perform well in all conditions.

The A-5 and X-7 are like a Jeep in that they have TONS of customization options and they can take abuse and keep going.

However, it is a blowback-operated gun and suffers from the associated problems with that: some recoil, temperature intolerance with C02, and louder operation. The ROF can be pretty high, but the shot-to-shot velocity consistency at upper BPS ratings is in the middle-of-the-road, putting accuracy at the same middle level.

Tournament-level tweaks for the A-5 in the some performance features are limited, in things like electronic modes of fire. Electric triggers with full adjustment ranges are slowly creeping into the market, however. Making the gun low-pressure or adding regulators or expansion chambers to the gun tend to be awkward, as the air inlet is in the bottom-middle of the gun. This tends to ruin the mil-sim aesthetic and player ergonomics, but does offer some performance advantages. Without regulation, getting nice consistent shots can be a challenge. The usual answer to this is in the regulator at the tank, vs. on the gun itself.

Buy this gun if you want to add gadgets and never worry about the details of HOW your gun fires. Buy this gun if your PMCS (Preventative Maintenance, Cleaning and Service for you non-military jargon types) is less than stellar. This is the AK-47 of paintball guns, and is popular for roughly the same reasons as that assault rifle.

A-5s can be had for $150-200 (used or new) and entire “player kits” can be had on eBay for $230-275. The newer X-7 runs in the $300+ range. The upgrade paths can be as simple or complex as you’d like and you can get almost any visual modifcation you can think of.

The Autococker paintball marker is one of the most popular markers ever produced. These markers are smooth firing and also very complex in terms of design and internal mechanics.

How it works…First of all, the body of the auto-cocker is usually made of aluminum. In the body is placed an adjustable valve, which, after shooting, automatically pushes the compressed air to the front part of the autococker. In other words, the air rushes through something called bolt and this bolt forces the paintball out of the marker right towards your target. Then, the air rushes back and pushes the bolt back, and the autocker recocks.

Recocking is putting another paintball in place of the already shot one, in the firing chamber. The chamber, or also known as breech, is the place where the paintball waits for the compressed air to throw it out. So, this way, the player does not have to recock the gun with every shot.

As a whole, the basic idea behind the working mechanism of the cocker is to make a pump paintball gun and replace the pump with a piston which will pump the marker automatically.

There are a large variety of Autococker paintball markers.They differ in brands, size, colors, features and many others. Almost every famous paintball gun manufacturer produces autocockers, as they are really preferred guns among paintball players. They are highly upgradeable. The auto-cocker may be the most upgradeable kind of paintball gun on the market…Everything from valves, springs, grips, rods, bolts, barrels, regulators, rams, blocks (front and back), trigger, trigger shoe, and body color of the auto-cocker can be changed. The large variety, good performance, reliability, and upgrades available make it one of the most popular choices.

You can get a decent and a good working auto-cocker at a very reasonable price.

If you are looking for a good brand name autockocker paintball gun, expect to pay at least $479.

A high end auto-cocker runs as high as $1,400. You can get a stock one for as little as $289. But at this price you can get a killer Tippmann A-5.

Well, I had the opportunity to test a new gun the other day. Tippmann’s Triumph was more impressive than I would have imagined. I really was not expecting much from this marker at all. I do not care much for the looks of this marker and the front grip was a little uncomfortable, but the accuracy and reliability of this marker was excellent. Straight out of the box and no problem whatsoever. In a nutshell, this marker is a 98 custom with a completely different look and feel. This means that aside from the outward appearance, the internals are that of a 98. Another downfall of this marker is that you cannot really upgrade it. Basically, the only upgrades would be an electric hopper and a barrel. This is a great marker for anybody just starting out. They run anywhere from $100.00 to $140.00.

WOW, can paintball guns get any more realistic? Rap4 has a reputation for putting out paintball markers that look so real, you can hardly tell the difference. The new Rap4 AK47 with 40mm grenade launcher will set your opponents straight in a hurry.

This is a great gun for those who like the simulation and scenario games.

Have you ever wanted to play Paintball but was afraid that you would spend all your hard earned money just to find out that paintball was not your cup of tea? Well, there are some markers out there that you can pick up at nearly any reatail store like Wal Mart or K Mart that are not that expensive. Kingman has a series of markers that will fit most any budget. The Spyder series are great quality markers without the huge price tag. Check out the Spyder Xtra here. This is the marker mostly found in these retail stores. They also have marker packages that have the mask, squeegie and CO2 bottle that come with them.

Check out this review for the Spyder Xtra.

Are you looking to get the most realism out of your paintball experience? Do you like to use the scare factor that comes with walking onto a field with a marker that just looks mean? Engler Custom Paintball Guns makes custom modifications for the Tippman A5 and 98 that look absolutely superb. These mods include an AK, RPK, Dragunov SVD, Thompson, M4, British STEN, M1 Carbine, Browning M2, MG 42, Battle Rifle and my personal favorite, the Browning 1919-A5. This thing is just plain scary.

These do have somewhat of a heavy pricetag to them, but if you are looking for realism and quality. Engler Custom Paintball Guns will set you up right.

Check this out. Have you ever had left over propane bottles (the small ones) at the end of camping season? I usually end up with at least 4-5 of them sitting in my basement all winter long. Well, now I can use these to shoot up my friends…lol. Tippman has a new paintball gun that runs off of propane. Although this gun is pump action, it still has many benefits over CO2 powered markers.  The marker is not semi-automatic so you have to concentrate on marksmanship and strategy more than with other markers. The small propane bottles are much cheaper than buying a CO2 tank and having to pay to have it refilled. Plus, propane is not affected by temperature changes the way CO2 is.

This marker is called the C-3. Check it out on Tippmans site.

I had a good friend of mine tell me of a company called RAP4. This company makes grenade launchers for paintball guns. Their website even has some videos that show you what these things can do. After looking at the product and watching the videos, I am seriously thinking about buying one for myself. They attach to any RIS rail system, so these things can be mounted on just about any paintball marker. The only thing that sets this product back a little is the fact that it does not actually shoot a “paintball grenade”.  This thing shoots paintballs (up to 25 at a time…OUCH!), so it is more like a shotgun but with the look and feel of a grenade launcher. You have to charge the grenade with green gas or a grenade charger that you have to buy seperately. The charger itself is just an adapter that you attach to a bottle of CO2. They also have a regulator that can be purchased too. It is a good idea to have the regulator so you can reduce pressure when charging the grenade. The charger is kind of pricey. Around $100.00 for the charger and regulator.

The grenade launchers cost around $199.00 to $499.00 depending on what type you buy. These things are just plain evil. If I had 5-6 guys charging me, I guess one of these grenade launchers would be the friend I want with me. Even if you missed a couple of them, the ones you missed would give up due to the shock factor…lol.

To watch demo videos of these grenade launchers in action, click here. 

They also make a Revolver Grenade Launcher. This thing holds six grenades shells. It does not have much of a range (only about 30 feet), but I think you can make people think twice about getting that close to begin with, with one shot of this thing…lol.

There is a company call Ariakon that makes paintball markers that look so much like the real thing it’s scary. These markers are very realistic and they are awesome for scenario games. They have the Sim-5 standard, Pro and Pro Elite which looks like the MP5. Then they have the Sim-4 rifle, Elite and the RIS Elite, which looks like the M4. Also, if you are looking for a cool sidearm to go along with your outfitting. Ariakon has the Overlord and ACP. Both very nice compact markers. This company makes markers that will just plain scare the competition when you walk on the field. Very intimidating looks and a well rounded marker that you can buy tons of upgrades for, make these some of the best on the market.

OK, I thought I would start off by mentioning a company who’s markers I have found to be the best all around markers on the market. The company is called Tippman. I personally own the Pro Carbine and A5. Which you will see below.

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Tippman Pneumatics “PRO-CARBINE” Paint Ball Markers.

The PRO-CARBINE is a semi-automatic marker that combines the best features of 2 of Tippmann’s most popular models, the Carbine and the Pro-Lite. The Pro-Carbine features a bottomline rear constant air adaptor, stock 45 grip frame and external velocity adjustment under the breech assembly. It also includes a removable 9 inch aluminum barrel. Comes with a 1 year warranty.

Marker Name Pro Carbine
Manufacture Tippmann
Overall Weight 2.6 lbs.
Overall Length 20.625
Overall Height 8
Overall Width 2.875
Air Type CO2, Nitrogen, Compressed Air
Firing Modes Semi-auto
Bolt Style Open Bolt
Barrel
length 10.5
bore size .706
Colours Available Black
Pressure High Pressure

<Price: $299.99Description:
The All New Tippmann A-5 is a high performance paintball marker with the patented Cyclone Feed System. The Cyclone Feed System Links the Feeder Sprocket to the Air System. The Faster you shoot, the faster the Tippmann A-5 feeds. Pull the Trigger 15 times a second, and the Tippmann A-5 feeds 15 balls per second. The Tippmann A-5 is also easy to clean and maintain with its no tool field strip feature. Innovative technology, maximum firepower, unsurpassed accuracy and Tippmann durability are the core foundations of the all new Tippmann A-5. Comes with Electronic Trigger Pre-installed.

Thes markers have been absolutely great to me. One of the best things about the A5 is how much customization you can do to it. There are so many upgrades for this marker. Check them out here and you will see what I mean.

Another marker that is new to the Tippman line is the X7. I have not had the pleasure to fire this marker, but I think this will be my next purchase. This marker is also full customizable. With a wide variety of upgrades. Check out the site. Tippman has a neat X7 add that lets you build your own marker. Then gives you the price of what it will cost to purchase everything that you chose. Check that out here.

All in all, if you are looking for a marker that is great during any kind of play, Tippman is a great buy.