What was your 1st paintball experience?

[Trigga Nometry]

So - What was your very first paintball experience? How did you get introduced to it and what happened the 1st time you played?

Here is what mine was. The wife and I bought a house on a kinda large piece of property with tons of wooded area (about 4 acres or so). So I get this idea that a friend and I will take up paintball.

Of course we both never played but convinced enough people that we knew to join us so that we'd have a large number of people to play with.

So we go out to the local paintball shop and buy a gun (he bought a Spyder Imagine and I bought Black Dragun ME3) CO2, tanks, hopper, and 500 paintballs.

We knew nothing about the sport and the only people that showed up to play the first day was me and my friend. So it was one-on-one. Two complete noobies.

The only thing I knew I had to do was wear the crappy goggles I bought and wear a cup.

So we get the guns shooting so we figure we are ready. At this point, we had no idea what velocity we were shooting at and that they even have limits to how fast the paintballs should be flying out of the barrel. Like I said, NOOBIES !

We decide that we are going to play "hunt the rabbit". So he goes out and hides and I wait 3 minutes for him to find a place to hide. After he hides, I go out and look for him.

I remember being so freaking nervous because at this point, I had never even been shot but a paintball! I had no idea what to expect. I remember hearing my heart pounding in my head as I was walking around looking for him.

Next thing I know, I am being fired on! He comes running out like the nut that he is and I take a shot right to the forehead at about a 15 foot range.

I then scream that I am out. He runs over and starts to laugh, and laugh, and laugh, and laugh....Meanwhile, I head is pounding from the pain and my ears are ringing.

Next I thought, what the heck am I doing playing this game? This hurts! Of course that all changed once I hit him for the first time and pretty much had the same reaction. lol!

[jestertls]

Sounds like my first time playing. My two friends bought Stingrays at Wal Mart one night. They took them out into the drive way, standing about 30 to 40 feet away and shot each other a few times. Well, they bought a couple Spyder Compacts the next week after taking the Stingrays back twice for bad seals. I got one of the second Stingrays as did another friend and we headed into the woods. It was fairly interesting. We shot each other and that was it.

I went the next week and bought a nice new Tippmann 68 Carbine. And it was on from there. Played a few years than got out of it, and then got back into playing August of last year.

[FantasticDamage]

Started about 6 years ago....friends wanted another player and they knew I was into military stuff. I borrowed a Talon; got nervous before the game so I shot myself in the foot. I didnt think it hurt that bad so I played. Eventually I bought a Spyder Compact....once I educated myself in the sport I realized how un-safe my friends were and how rude they were I got out of it. About a year later paintball was brought back up through some of my other friends, I bought a 98c and sold my Spyder....then the A5 came out so I sold my 98 to my bro and bought an A5....

[Jackson]

My older cousins always played paintball an dI wanted to join them. So when my parents decided I was old enough, me and my other cousin who's my age got guns. I got a cheap Spyder Sonix for $60 and he got a Piranha of some sort for around $120. We went out, knew nothing about velocity or anything really. My first game, I can't remember the scenerio, but I was walking through this thich brush down a trail. All of a sudden, wham! right in the side of my stomach. It hurt a little but I knew I was hooked. I actually didn't shoot anyone out that day, mainly because I bought crappy Walmart paint, it was the middle of winter and my spyder sucks.

[a5chica]

its all brads fault i like to shoot people...shame on you. or as you know him, FantasticDamage got me started in playing. he told me all about it and me being such an unhealthily curious person, i decided what the hell? people do this for fun, getting shot could be fun, right? plus the added factor that ive always been slightly a tomboy helped my decision out. well, anywho, my first time was with brad and a few of his friends. i was nervous as all get out considering i'd never even shot a gun. i borrowed a Tippman 98 and headed out. (after the fact that i figured out the magical invention of the safety by shooting the ground a couple times) the first round i had no idea what to do when everybody scattered, so i followed brad to gauge his movements and reactions and in hopes of gathering up a few meager tips to get me by. needless to say, this was before i knew his love for rushing and getting in the center of the shooting. i actually find a pretty good spot, it being a slightly hollowed indentation with a tree for cover, and try to just chill there for a while. well that plan went down the drain as soon as the shooting starts. i got real darty when i first heard the sounds of the balls hitting the tree and flying past my head. but it turns out the person shooting at me didn't get me, someone had snuck (wasn't too hard to "sneak" around me though) around behind me and shot me in the back a few times and the arm. after that first round i strayed away and did my own thing, the outcome being slightly better. after my first time shooting someone i was totally exhilerated and yes, i was hooked after that. i went out literally the next day and bought my A5, mask, and paintballs.

[RainDog]

First of all, great post idea. Okay technically my story was my first paintball experience although it was pretty short lived. About 14 years ago being a Freshman in Highschool I had a buddy who was playing this "new" game. I'm talking the very early 90's and not many had heard of paintball at that time. My mother didn't know what I was about to do, as there was no way she would have let me do it. One day I headed over to my buddies house to stay the night, thinking we would go swimming and play Nintendo. He instead took me into his backyard and we took turns shooting this weird gun. I remember it being pretty clumsy looking and it had hoses on the front and a part on the back that moved everytime you pulled the trigger. Also the gun rarley worked properly because of something called "Timeing" was off. Yes I'm talking about a very early Autococker. Basically we both wore shop glasses* and stood there trying to dodge the balls as the other person shot the gun. We didn't call them markers back then. I didn't really get into paintball at the time, as my mother would not let me buy a gun. I kept sneeking issues of APG and fell in love with a sport I could not play. Little less then 2 years later I bought a Splatmaster without her knowing. Then shortly after that a PMI Sheridan DF pump and then my first semi. A VM-68, which I still have.

* For anyone this may have or might offend. Remember this was 14 years ago. Back then (where I am at anyway) safety was not a standard like it is now. Motorcycle googles or shop glasses were widely worn for paintball. Originzed fields were far and few between. Outlaw ball was the way most of us were introduced to the sport. Basically we didn't know any better. When we finally learned about paintball googles the most common models where JT Wipper Snappers and Vents. BOTH of these models are no longer seen as acceptable or up to Safety Standards on todays paintball fields. Also it was very common to not were a mask at all, only the google portion. So before you let this upset you and you decide to repramand me, remember a few things. I am reaccounting the past in my story. I can in no way alter the past nor will I ignore it. When ever I introduce a new person to our sport the first piece of equipment I recommend to purchase is a nice mask/goggle system.

[Double Tap]

Military School!

About 4 years ago I was in a program called JROTC Rangers, and we went and played paintball at Battlecreek Paintball, in Kingdom City, MO quite frequently. The first marker I used was a SL68-II, and then the second time I played with a Pro/Carb. Eventually I got to use some 98 Customs, but when I saw an Autococker I was thinking "WTF is that!?". I was pretty sheltered. Played about two years down there.

When I came home, I bought a Phantom, just like my Uncle's. I absolutly LOVED that Phantom. Then my Uncle got an A5, and, well. The rest is history! I eventually got an A5, and here I am!

[jmstallard]

When I was 19, I went down to Louisiana to visit my brother. He took me out to a local field and I got a rental Tippmann Pro Carbine. We played in an old chicken coup, so it was long and narrow, with plywood bunkers strewn around. I got schooled pretty good that day, but I did enjoy it. Now my brother is out of paintball entirely, and I'm in it stronger than ever.

[Mavro]

I knew about paintball for some time before I finally made the decision to play. I was always into first-person shooter (FPS) video games and wanted to get as close to the action as I could.

Finally, on December 23rd a few years back, the CFO of the company I worked for walked into the LAN room where I was doing technical support, and asked me if I wanted to go play paintball with him and a few others from the company. As soon as I said yes, he gave me a free day off on Christmas Eve (the next day), and we spent the day at Cousin's Paintball in Long Island, NY. It was a speedball-only indoor arena with a bunch of inflatable bunkers strewn randomly about. Using what I learned from games like Delta Force 2, I was able to hold my own with a beat-up rental (I don't even know what it was). The crowning moment was when I popped out in front of the CTO and started laying paint in his direction. He slipped on some paint on the floor and I ended up shooting him in the... um... well... pants. Luckily he didn't hold a grudge.

As soon as I fired the first shot, I knew I'd be hooked. I immediately went out and bought my F4 Illustrator, on my friend's recommendation. After suffering through many games with that marker, I sold it and bought my A-5. The rest is history.

[skateralec]

i was 11 years old. i had just bought a BE Talon pump with the 45 round hopper. we went out in the winter and played some capture the flag. I got lit up by a spyder elite.

[beerandfuel]

I helped $$$ my 2 sons purchase their first paintball markers (2 spider TL's with basic hoppers) and after getting all their gear, and playing a few 1 on 1's they felt they were ready to play in the indoor park a few miles from where we lived at the time. After paying the admission and buying them field paint off to battle they went. I watched as a group of about 20 very young individuals in a relatively small warehouse with inflatable bunkers shot each other up, I mean overshot each other game after game. That night my sons were showing off their welts, dam I really didn't see the fun in any of it! How could you enjoy that much pain and suffering... heh.

We moved to Montana soon after and my sons started playing woodsball?!? They retired their bright speedball clothing for camo and absolutely loved it. Over the next couple of years they tried and tried to get me to play.... absolutely not... I mean every time I saw them get back from playing they'd have paint all over, their markers needed to be completely torn down, and those welts… anyway…

On a multi-family camping trip my oldest son had made plans to woodsball behind camp, and had bought me a mask and setup a marker for me (one of those black and silver spyders). After much coaxing I gave in and decided to play just once... heh. It was a 3 on 3 and numerous games later I had racked up a bunch of eliminations, and yes had a few welts. I'll never forget the first time I heard the sound of paintballs whistling over my head... I was hooked.

[skuldragger]

My 1st game was similar too Raindogs as far as equipment(splatmasters & shop goggles) and timeline. But my real introduction to it was about 2yrs ago with my two bro-in-laws and thier kids. They had a small field where they played My nephew had a extra 98 custom and mask that he let me use. And I was hooked !! I dealt out as much as I recieved so it was a good day. Next weekend was a big scenario game and I talked a friend into going. He had a bunch of camo that we wore and he had a pair of walkie-talkies with earbuds,which we wore. Well we walked up to the wrong group of people and before I knew what was happening we were voluntiered to be the General and Captain??? Its my 2nd time playing ! I can barely lead myself! I'M PLAYING WITH RENTED EQIUPMENT!!!!!! I tell him no way but he talks me into it. So we go out and try to get a game plan together

[Ety]

First time I shot a paintball gun i shot my friends neighbor (He'll pretty much do anything, we gave him $5 to let us shoot him) from 10 feet away. After the fun I had with that I found the A5OG, ordered an A-5 from HotShot, then went and played 2 v. 3 in my friends yard. Me and my friend with a Brass Eagle, verse my other friend, his brother, and his neighbor. All our guns where hot, hurt alot when I got shot, and I was wondering why I got into it. I played 5 games one I ended up defending a shed verse 2 other people. My friend said he was going to the bathroom and came back with a smoke grenade he threw into the shed. I ran out chasing him and got shot a few times. Then I didn't play for a while, after shooting some electros I sold my A-5 and my parents wouldn't let me get another gun until my grades got better. I just got a ProMaster last month and am starting to play again.

[MNewman15]

7th Grade 2 Years Ago, Friend told me that paintballing was tons of fun and i was doing nothing with my time so i said what the hey...My dad took me to the local field and we both rented, I was on one team, he on the other(speedball), We were using i think Piranahs....I dont think i hit anyone that day....I took one to the arm,leg and the top of the head(this one from my dad who was about 10" taller than me at that time...It hurt, but i loved the feeling of having a gun in my hand that cause some1 else pain(ya i know, id join the military but the enemy shoots back which can kill you, call me a panzi maybe ill grow out of it, im only 14 anyways) So then i knew my life would never be fun with out it...Next week i went out got myself a VL Orion(that im in the process of refurbushing, to get it to work again) 14 Oz. C02 tank and a Brass eagle mask...we went and i got shot in the finger(which F***in killed) so i wore gloves and a hooded sweatshirt the next time(which i still do), so then we went every other friday for about 2 months(got expensive, that prolly took my bank account down a large sum)....

I know you only want to know my 1st time but why dont i just keep going ehy?

So then we stopped playing....the summer came and past( i went prolly twice) then 8th grade came...and i started hanging out with new kids(who i had known since 6th grade) and they were really into it...they didnt play my way though...they played outdoors? I figured id try it, what the hay i liked it the other way...It was a totally difference experience, We walked from my friends cuzins house down this dirt path.. to a construction site(REBELS!) It was huge, a big hill of dirt in the middle and all sorts of big concrete tubes and stuff around(with marks of games everywhere) soo we played capture the hill/defend the hill...I then realized my marker was not suited for this type of play, and since i would be doing this more often(every friday) i would need a different marker, a better one...I played about 2 more months with the VL, while my friend purchased his first marker a Tippmann A5, all of the kids i played with used tippmanns for the most part and they seemed to be very good for our play, so i tryed out the A5 and fell in love with it...I loved the noise, look, feel, and power..I asked for one for christmas and my wish came true...Jump to about 2 months later....after using the marker i knew it was for me...i had seen something somewhere about what paintball forum do you belong to(i think the dye website) so i decided to check out this one called PAintball-Forum.com...i liked it but it felt like it wasnt tailored to me...i did a little searching and found the forum of my dreams, where i learned everything i know......may she rest in peace

[skuldragger]

WHOOPS!! Which I figure will never work anyways. As I look around me I see mostly kids dressed like it was Halloween with markers. Long story short the 1st game I went and tried to complete the missions and got my (our)a$$ handed to us and the next game I was ordered to hand picked some good players and go out to harrass the enemy on thier flanks and behind thier lines and give support to teammembers carrying out missions. We still lost but I had the best time I've ever had without a woman adult beverages and/or partyfavors. Funny story at the end of the game though, I witnessed my 1st barrell tag. As I said I picked a group of players to go with me and by the end of the game it was down to me and this guy named Mr. Bill . We were still harassing and disrupting when we noticed 9 or 10 enemy come thru the woods kinda of at a slight angle away from us about 200/300 ft away.We both ducked into a small bunker but something got thier attn. and 5 of them started coming right at us, weapons at ready. I figured the OK corral was coming and I was filling my hopper when Mr.Bill said just wait and stuck his arm out the window and waved at them!! I couldn't believe it he gave away our position!! I look out the window and thier lowering their markers,so Mr. Bill waves at them again and they start sneaking over to where we were. They all walk around the corner of the bunker and VIOLA they were tagged. So we decided too drop in behind the other 5 and try to pick them off. We got 3 0f 5 before there was a reinsertion and we were overwelhmed