The Wait Is Over

by | Jan 21, 2010 | Paintball

Finally, after nearly two weeks, all my paintball gun equipment is here. I took a couple hours and put everything together last night. This is the result.

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That’s the Tippman A-5, with an electronic WAS board trigger with firing mode selector, Flatline barrel with rail shroud, foregrip, composite tactical stock, low-profile hopper and (unseen) Cyclone upgrade mod, polished internals and new firing bolt.

The only other things I want to add are a top rail (right about the A-5 logo) with some sort of site. The iron sites on it just aren’t going to cut it. Other than that I just need a fill of my air tank and some paint and I’m good to go.

I’ve got my RAP4 tactical vest, Proto Switch FS mask with thermal lens, Sniper gloves and Ninja air tank. I’ll eventually trade the CO2 tank up for a HPA/Nitro tank, but for now it should be ok. CO2 tanks are really only an issue in cold weather, which is something I don’t really need to worry about here in Texas. Hell, it’s almost 75 today.

I can’t wait to try this baby out. It’s supposed to rain all weekend, but next week it’s supposed to be sunny and clear and in the low 60’s, should be perfect. I’ll post more photos once I get it outside on a nice day with a nicer camera.

Matt out.

Post Holiday Fun

by | Jan 4, 2010 | Friends and Family, Personal, Travel

Well gang, another year come and gone and now we’re into the double digits. “2k10” doesn’t sound right quite yet, but “10” doesn’t make sense either, and “20-10” just sounds weird. Oh well, at least it’s here. I don’t think I’m alone in saying that 2009 wasn’t exactly the best year on record. We had quite a few crazy moments family wise and the country/world had quite a few crazy moments all on their own. Hopefully 2010 will be a little better for everyone all around.

Personal update wise, we just got back from visiting my parents in New Hampshire. My dad is doing better and is 75% of the way through his chemo treatments. Eight down, four to go. We had a nice trip and actually had a breeze through the airports with short lines and little waiting. I was quite surprised. I got a couple nice presents, a few t-shirts from Think Geek, a nice paintball mask, a bottle of Crystal Skull vodka, all kinds of nice stuff.

For those of you who might be confused by my receiving a paintball mask, worry not. It’s actually something I’ve been enjoying playing lately. I went with a small group about a month ago and I’ve been hooked ever since. In fact, my “big” present is actually a paintball gun that I’ve yet to purchase. I did my research very thoroughly and decided on the Tippman A-5 as my first gun. Tippman is apparently known for it’s very rugged and durable guns and the A-5 suites my needs in the “awesome” category. They designed that gun in such a way that it’s completely modular and customizable. You can add things like barrels and handles and stocks and change it from a normal paintball gun into a replica of anything from an AK-47, to a M16 or MP5 to a full on Barrett .50cal. Check out some of the options here. Of course, those mods are a little pricey. I wanted to start out a little more reasonable. The way I figured it, I would need two things to get the most bang for my buck: a nice barrel and an electronic trigger. After reading review after review, I decided on a “Flatline Barrel” and the WAS E-grip. The barrel is actually kinda funky, it’s not strait. It has a slightly raised slope that actually adds backspin to the paintballs. Backspin, as you probably know, makes round objects travel further and straighter. If everything I’ve read is correct, this thing is nasty. It’ll add nearly 100 feet of range and keep it laser accurate. The grip, well, that’s just as awesome. The electronic trigger allows for single shots, 3 round bursts, semi auto and full auto firing. The upward rates of fire are over 25 balls a second. I found both of these in at Ultimate Paintball for about $400 in total. I normally would never spend that on myself, but I got $350 in total over the holidays and my birthday, so I just about break even.

Anyway, just wanted to wish everyone a good 2010, I hope everyone’s holidays went well and that you got to spend some time with loved ones. It’s tough getting back into the groove of working, especially after having a nice long break. Oh well, that’s what coffee is for, right?

Matt out.