x2
Printable View
in all seriousness, its rather a counter response to to the counter response.
you know, at LL1, when sal got up on stage and said he was a pump gun player, and for all the pump gun players to raise there hands, there was probably only about 25 folks besides me and bryce who raised our hand. might have even been less. i remember going to fields and having to explain using a pump, or what they even were.
and im happy to see that change. now, its common to go to an event like that, and 2 out of 10 are rocking pumps. and probably 5 in 10 have a pump back in the staging area. and likewise, im very happy to see mechanical and old school guns take off again. cockers are back, mags arnt weird anymore. people shoot them on a regular basis, and im very happy to see that.
but there is something slightly hollow, about that victory. we switched people from $1200 electronic guns, to 600 dollar CCM pumps and 500 dollar automags. a victory? yes, clearly. but the point of switching to mechs and pumps was to show that guns didn't matter. we created a counter culture to the firepower and gadget craze, and in doing so, created something almost as bad. old school elitism. we destroyed the old gun/gadget hierarchy, only to create a new one, when the point all along was that it didn't matter. when the real point all along as been this one:
The ultimate truth in paintball is that the interaction between the gun and the player is far and away the largest factor in accuracy, consistency, and reliability.
and as my position as tech-guru has come and gone, i have always tried to impart that lesson on folks. that while im happy to argue the fine details of anything technically related to paintball ... the ultimate truth is that simply doesn't matter. it never did.
and
i just love the way that little guy points ... ;)
My general dispute there is that I'm not sure it does have all of the benefits of - specifically - the Azodin Kaos-D (on/off ASA, longer AC thread barrel, all metal), that drawbacks of sear-tripping are ill-defined or overblown (are we talking noise and kick, or what?), and that it has additional drawbacks that are not considered or ignored (maintenance is truly not comparable, though maintenance in paintball is pretty minimal overall).
I do enjoy my Enmey
I think this whole concept speaks to me and my thought process after this weekend... I have an Invert Mini, that I have had for years. It sat in a bag for 1.5 years as I got a good deal on a G6R that I had to sell due to monetary reasons over the winter. I had to break out the Mini for a grand opening event at the local indoor last weekend. My plan all along was to pick up a VCOM or some newer Bob Long toy prior to LL7. Shooting the Mini brought it all back, why? Why do I need to drop 850-1200 on a new marker when my Mini just works, and works well. Would I like the microswitch Axe trigger feel - hell yes, but my Mini works well enough for my style of play that it's not worth me spending the extra money to upgrade to an Axe.
Meh - I agree. Simple little solid gun, should be all we need.
The problem is kind of like picking the right car. Somebody could argue that a VW Golf is the best car for most of the same relative reasons. Holds 5, light, lots of room, GTI if you want, TDI if you want, fantastic chassis for corners.
It is good enough for most anything we do an a daily basis. I already have the Golf TDI. And a Suburban, because I have 6 kids. :)
I still want an Aston Martin Vanquish, a Ultima GTR, Lincoln Continental....
Needs:Wants
well to a point. the interection between the gun and the player is one thing but there's a reason people dont rally in a Corvair
i started with that phrase from about day 1 with punkworks. i never wanted it to become and for the image of that forum on me or bryce to become some kind of technical elitism. or some kind of only self absorbed technical singularity. we should never ever forget that for all the fine tuning we do with barrel bores, porting, or valve tuning or shape of the paintball, the biggest factor in paintball performance, bar none ... is the player.
There are people that play "paintball" with a piece of wood with a fluffy edge on it soaked in paint, or a barrel without a gun, that are more effective than some with guns, and definitely having more fun than most. :)
It's always about the people. Life is like that too.