First of all, if you have received this newsletter and don't wish to receive any more issues, please send me an email with "unsubscribe" for the subject.  I will promptly remove you from the list.  On the flip side, if you know of people who would like to receive this newsletter, please have them email me with "subscribe" in the subject, and I will be glad to add them.
 
All I can say is that I have finally finished the first issue.  For those of you who have been waiting since the beginning of the month, I apologize.  Well, September marks the end of summer, and the beginning of fall.  I hope that all of you who live where it is probably getting ready to snow, got in some good paintball this past summer.  For those of you who play year round, winter simply means you play a little less (cause of the cold), but you still play cause you just can't get enough!
 

INTRO
 

        This newsletter was designed to keep you the paintball players of the world, informed of what is going on in the paintball realm.  Topics will vary from month to month and will cover new products, fields, teams as well as tips and strategies.  Any suggestions, tips, gun maintenance tricks, or anything that you can think of that you think could help others, are always welcome.  Please feel free to question, comment, or suggest anything about paintball.  That's what this newsletter was created for!

        I guess to start off, I should tell you a little about myself.  I am originally from Southern California (home of some of the greatest paintball fields!), now living in Northern California.  I have been playing paintball for a little over ten years now.  You can visit my home page at www.jps.net/warlock1/realm.html (Please sign my guest book!)  When I first started, I played with a Sheridan PGP pistol, which used 12 gram C02s, had a pull back bolt and no pump!  I worked at Adventure Games in Rowland Heights, CA for a couple of years as a air smith.  I have done some ref work here and there.  Currently, I am a player on So. Cal's Team Subzero and play with a custom Autococker and Minimag.  I don't mind playing semi, but my true obsession is playing "stock" games (12 grams and 10 round tubes).
 

Starting off - What to Buy - Guns
 

        Many of you have been asking about which guns to buy, which paint to shoot, what extras to put on your guns, etc.  In my opinion, paintball can be rather expensive, I should know.  Throughout my career in paintball, I have probably been through about 30 guns.  It is not that I hated any of the guns, I just was curious about trying something new every couple of months, years, whenever something caught my eye.  Please be aware that what I talk about in my newsletter is simply an opinion on what I know about the industry.  By all means, please get multiple opinions when you are ready to invest into this sport

The Gun

        When buying a gun, the first and most important thing to take into mind is price, and ask yourself, what can I afford.  How much do you want to spend.  After market "goodies" for the guns have the magical prices of $50 and $100, or increments thereof.  For instance  a $200 gun might sound like a bargain.  It might very well be.  But you need to consider what upgrades (if any) need to be performed to get the gun shooting good.  That 200 might end up costing you $400+!

        The Spyder by Kingman is a good gun.  It costs about $145 for the basic semi-gun.  It shoots well for the price.  For about $400, you can have a fully tricked out spyder which can compete with the big boys.  Like the Mag, it has a blow back bolt.  the good : is that its rather inexpensive and is light compared to other guns.  the bad : the gun has somewhat of a "kick" which causes parts to rattle off if you don't locktite or teflon tape them in.

        The VM-68 by Sheridan has been around for a while.  It came out when the Automag and Autocockers did.  The basic model starts at about $179 and goes up to about $250.  The gun shoots somewhat accurate and can be quite compact with a small horizontal bottle setup.  the good : not a lot of work (if any) needs to done to this gun.  Its ready to go out of the box.  Maintenance is relatively simple.  the bad : is that this gun is rather heavy and has a very heavy kick when it fires.  Also, when you run low on CO2, you need to be sure that you stop firing.  When the pressure gets too low on this gun, the bolt has a tendency of not catching and can chop mega balls.

        The Automag by Air America Designs is one of the 2 most popular guns.  It features a blow back type bolt, operated by a "rocker" type trigger.  You can get it either power fed or not, for either Left or right handers.  The basic model costs about $350 for the Automag (about $80 more for power feed), $450 for the Minimag (smaller with powerfeed and extended body), $425 for the Micromag (shorter body), and about $650 for the Automag RT (which features slanted power feed, tricked out body, custom sight rail and grip in front.  This gun (I believe) only uses high pressure systems).  the good : the automag rocks!  It is pretty air efficient, and has tons of things that you can put on it.  It is, in my opinion, one of the fastest firing guns on the market (per one ball per trigger pull).  the bad : is that this gun can get really expensive.  I would suggest buying this gun only if you plan on playing for a while, just because, it is an investment.

        The Autococker by Worr Game Products is the other popular gun.  Derived from the Budd Orr Sniper (the pump version of the Autococker), it features a 3-way valve which basically distributes the C02 (or high pressure) to do multiple things when you pull the trigger.  One is to cock the gun and load a ball when you pull the trigger.  The other is to close the bolt and fire the gun when you release.  This is probably the heaviest of the guns, but also features the most options.  The standard model is about $400 and basically features a lot of the upgrades (the 97 includes expansion chamber I think).  The Minicocker, $470 is much lighter, shorter, and has a hose coming out of bottom of the gun to the bottom feed setup.  The new STO Autococker is about $800 and features a verticle drop from the top.  the good : is that this gun also rocks.  In my opinion, it is one of the most accurate (next being the mag :) and shoots very reliable.  the bad : is that this gun is high maintenance.  When it works, it works awesome.  When it breaks, it takes a crap.  I personally use the Autococker, and would trade it for anything.  It, however, takes a little patients and getting used to.

** NEW ** The Angel by WDP.  Not a lot is known about this gun.  You can visit www.wdp-paintball.co.uk (thanks Gadgetf) and see a picture of it.  It in my opinion looks like a cross between the Spyder and Automag.  It is constructed of an all aluminum body with a standard 45 receiver.  It features a 14" Jacko barrel and Venturi Bolt.  The also features micro line hoses, feather weight springs (ultra sensitive trigger), and velocity adjustment.  The top of the gun opens up for easy cleaning when you break a ball.  Unfortunately, this gun is only being distributed in really small numbers and varies in price from $1000-2000!  I guess you have to see it to believe it.

If you would like info on a gun not mentioned, please send me an email.  I tried to cover the guns with the most questions.

**  I will talk about High pressure systems in the next issue  **
 

Gun Tips
 

* Buy yourself a spray bottle and fill it with 40% rubbing alcohol and 60% water.  This makes a great cleaning solution for cleaning paint, oil, and dirt of your gun and gear.  Don't use it on your mask.

* When lubing your gun, be sure to take off the barrel before firing it, so you won't get oil in your barrel.

* For those screws that keep coming out, buy yourself some removable locktite.  Clean the screw, put on a drop, then screw it in.  This will hold it firmly in place, and you will still be able to remove it as well.  This works great on the cocking rod for the autococker.

* If your elbow or loader just won't stay on, buy a water clamp at your local hardware store.  you can get 2 for under a $1, and it will solve that wobbly loader.

* When not using your view loader (agitator, shredder), unplug the battery and reverse it.  This way it will work the next time (cause it doesn't accidently go on in your bag).

* Have the proper tools to work on your gun.  You don't want to ruin it by stripping out screws, scrapping your gun, etc.
**  I will put a Q&A section in next the next issue so send those questions! **
 

Strategies
 

* When running towards a bunker, don't go where another team mate might be.  Two people behind the same bunker gives you less mobility.

* If you have the chance to get the flag, the kill, the advantage, etc., TAKE IT!  If you wait, you will regret it.  Especially for you first timers, intimidation is the biggest factor.  You will be scared at first, but its only natural.  If the opportunity arises, don't hesitate.

* If you are behind a bunker and getting shot at from the right and the left, don't run out!  See if you can go backwards and try to maneuver into another bunker behind you.

* When shooting at your opponent, don't pop your head out at the same location.  Come out in different spots.  If you don't, who knows, your opponent might be waiting for you.

* When in doubt (if it is friend or foe) shoot!, and ask questions later.  Better to be wrong then dead.

* This is the most common mistake I see with newbees : if you get hit, don't call yourself out unless you are sure it broke.  Have someone near you check it if you can't see it.
 

Links
 

Visit our Affiliated Teams:

Team Subzero at www.jps.net/warlock1/subzero.html
Team Tsunami at www.bdcpaging.com/Tsunami
Team Apache at www.jps.net/ants/apache.html

Need additional paintball info?, Warpig is one of the biggest paintball authorities on the web at www.warpig.com/
If you have a team and would like to be seen on the web, join the Paintball Webring at www.jps.net/ants/ring.html

Well that's it for the September issue.  The October issue soon to follow.  Until then:
 

Happy Paintball'n!!
 

The Warlock - Public Relations and member of Team Subzero