New member from MI

Hi all,

Just joined the forum.

Looking forward talking paintball, milsim, scenario, and of course my Alpha Black.

It's currently stock but I intend on installing some upgrades, which is why I'm here.  Looking for input from other alpha black users and learning from their experience on what works and doesn't work.

I also belong to Team Anarchy.  We're a milsim scenario team from southeast Michigan.  Callsign Crash.
http://anarchymi.webs.com/

So, just saying hello and see you on the field,

Ed

welcome to the crazy house.
Enjoy your stay
ask questions, answer in return, post pics/vids
and have fun


first off, What "upgrades" do you plan on doing?
I highly suggest dont touch the internals, they are fine stock and do not need
wasted money on "improvements" when I say this its companies wanting to make more money
on something that does minimal to nothing
save your money for paint

Hi Arson,

Nothing internal.  Honestly, the only upgrade that I waffle on is the barrel.  The more research I do the more confused I get.  I totally get the concept of matching paint to bore size... but I also totally get the concept that paintballs are liquid filled capsules that expand based on heat, humidity and when under pressure like when fired from a marker and the concept of over-boring. 

All the fields out here are FPO.  The main fields where I play have told me that their paint is .687

So do I get a something like a J&J Edge barrel kit and have just about every conceivable barrel to paintball combination but pay a lot of money for parts I may never use?  Or do I buy a bunch of individual barrels in several boresizes, again spending a lot of money?  Do I buy an over-bore barrel?  Or do I buy a barrel and try to hit some happy median.

I'm going to give the try the over-boring a try.  I found a 14" Lapco Bigshot .690 bore on opsgear on clearance for $26. $34 total with shipping.  So for that price I can try it and not be out too much money if it turns out to be an experiment that goes horribly wrong.

I'll post my results after I get it and use it for a while.

As far as other upgrades I'm thinking E-Trigger and Cyclone feed. Pretty standard stuff.

Ed

epauli wrote:

Hi Arson,

Nothing internal.  Honestly, the only upgrade that I waffle on is the barrel.  The more research I do the more confused I get.  I totally get the concept of matching paint to bore size... but I also totally get the concept that paintballs are liquid filled capsules that expand based on heat, humidity and when under pressure like when fired from a marker and the concept of over-boring. 

Bore matching is always a good thing to do, but its what you want that you make the choice.
1) Bore match - paintball is pretty much the same as the barrel and the air pushing it will push it evenly down the barrel, make it a bit more accurate and efficient
(a good test is to blow into your barrel and if it takes only a bit of effort to push it then you have properly bore matched)
2) Over boring, paintball is a tiny bit smaller then barrel (you should see past the paintball as your looking
3). Under boring. make sure the paintball can easily roll thru the barrel



All the fields out here are FPO.  The main fields where I play have told me that their paint is .687

If I could tell you that every one of my paintballs was 685.....that would be a lie. No paintball is the same as the next one, in a bag of paint you can find all sorts of sizes, and

So do I get a something like a J&J Edge barrel kit and have just about every conceivable barrel to paintball combination but pay a lot of money for parts I may never use?  Or do I buy a bunch of individual barrels in several boresizes, again spending a lot of money?  Do I buy an over-bore barrel?  Or do I buy a barrel and try to hit some happy median.

The J&J edge kit is a great barrel kit, but there is tons of options, I personally LOVE the Freak inserts, if you get a barrel that is compatiable with it then I would highly suggest it. Basiclly they are aluminum tubes you insert into the barrel that accepts freak inserts and it sizes the paint.
You can buy a Deadly winds 14" barrel with freak inserts for a decent price....they are pretty expensive but I cant speak enough on the quality of the barrel its definitly worth the price.....plus it looks cool as hell!

I'm going to give the try the over-boring a try.  I found a 14" Lapco Bigshot .690 bore on opsgear on clearance for $26. $34 total with shipping.  So for that price I can try it and not be out too much money if it turns out to be an experiment that goes horribly wrong.


its all up to you but the fact of the matter is that 690 is HUGE in paintball and you wont find paint that big any more, for some reason the industy is making them smaller 685 682 area. with a tippmann you at least have a ball detent
with my pumps I dont have one so if I run with a 690 barrel I will get roll outs on top of roll outs

I'll post my results after I get it and use it for a while.

As far as other upgrades I'm thinking E-Trigger and Cyclone feed. Pretty standard stuff.

Cyclone great Idea!
E-grip meh .... I like the idea and stuff but I always see problems with these since most dont read into it they just want it to work. Plus its another thing you have to worry about....batteries. Also tech + rain = not great bed fellows

Ed

Answers in red
Good luck and let us know what you choose!

"its all up to you but the fact of the matter is that 690 is HUGE in paintball and you wont find paint that big any more, for some reason the industy is making them smaller 685 682 area. with a tippmann you at least have a ball detent
with my pumps I dont have one so if I run with a 690 barrel I will get roll outs on top of roll outs"

I know it's huge.  But, I figured at that price I can afford to give it a shot and see what happens.

It would be nice if the industry would just set a standard bore, say .685, and all barrels and paintballs are .685 bore (knowing that still not every paintball will be exactly .685).  But then they couldn't sell us expensive barrel kits or inserts or more than one barrel trying to match paint to barrel.

if you look up the process of the making paintballs its hard to get it the right sizes


I would suggest if your gonna get a barrel save your money
and get a CP barrel (no specific bore size) for $25 and then work your way
to other barrels
My suggestion is CP barrel first, and if you really want into dive into matching your paint
then you can look into barrel kits, but do your research first.

1) J&J Ceramic barrel kits - great barrel kits, never had an issue with any of them, only probelm I find is that there is two kits, Also you can get the Apex 2 barrel adaptor that will allow you to use an apex on your barrel
the elite edge
(With 5 control bores (.676, .679, .682, 685, .688) and 10", 12", and 14" fronts.
http://www.rockstartactical.com/product_p/jj-edge-elt-a5.htm)
and the edge kit
(http://www.pbreview.com/products/reviews/1197/
The Edge is a 2 Piece barrel that includes 5 backs: .682 .685 .688 .691 and .693.)

2)FLASC barrel kits, all depends on the package you get but I have heard great things from this kit
(http://www.flasc.com/pages/barrel.html)

3)Super Freak barrel kit - freak inserts and also comes with an apex
(http://www.ansgear.com/Empire_Super_Freak_Barrel_s/3374.htm)
(I dont condone how ansgear runs their business and i suggest staying away from them, hustle paintball will be alot better for your self)

4). CP barrel kit - great barrel cheap and works well
kit is a bit expensive but thats what happens when you get a kit but they are worth it

http://www.punisherspb.com/custom-products-full-bore-paintball-barrel-kit.aspx