100% recommended A5 upgrades?

welcome to the forum, i think you should play with your gun a bit first then decide what you think needs upgrading, i would suggest getting a response trigger over the e-grip because it doesnt need batteries and it doesnt have any wires or other elctrical bits in it therefore its less like likely that youll damage it, with it properly tuned you can get speeds aroung 15-18bps and higher , i would say get the apex over the flatline because it has all the capabilties of the flatline and more, and its not picky on paint.

Edited by pwned!!! - 13 March 2006 at 3:03pm

maddog312us wrote: get the e-grip. Because if you get the r/t then you can't use it on the field.

Many fields allow it, but most tournaments dont.

get a barrel, a trigger, then HPA (1st and second can be switched based on ur needs as of then)then random stuff u want

Thanks for the input guys.

I noticed quite a few of you mentioned replacing the barrel. Are  you thinking in terms of a Flatline or Apex, or something different altogether? I've read horror stories about the Flatline, so perhaps someone can put my fears to rest about an aftermarket barrel ;).

I will definitely buy an E-grip. I think i might actually buy one this week, as a matter of fact (before i play thursday night).

 

OK, the first thing you should get should be a new barrel. Still, wait until after you've played with the stock marker a bit and got a feel for it. Maybe you won't feel you'd need a backspin barrel like a flatline or apex and just want more accuracy. Get all your other gear; clothing pods, a good mask, knee pads, assorted sqeegies ect. first.

As for barrels, the Apex apparently has it all over the flatline as far as paint pickyness goes. It can also double as a standard barrel. The A-5 flatline isn't a bad barrel either. So I wouldn't count it out. Also, if you're ever planning on playing a tournament, some circuts have banned the apex due to it's advertised ability to shoot around corners and such. Still, if you play with your stock barrel first, and just want better accuracy and not necessarily more flat trajectory, LAPCO barrels are a great buy and excellent quality.

Next, before you do any firepower upgrades, it's a good idea to switch to HPA, or optomize your CO2 usage. Either get a HPA tank that suits your needs, or get an x-chamber or even a remote hose, depending on how you play. Those will help CO2 perform better with firepower upgrades. If you really feel you need upgraded firepower, do that first. You could also get a secondary regulator for your HPA tank to better consistancy. Palmer's Stabilizer works with CO2 as well.

Firepower upgrades: Either an RT, or an E-Grip. I like the RT personally. You can tune it quite a bit, it seems to be legal at most fields, alhough they may make you turn it down on some. It's mechanical and pretty fool proof. It's great with a single trigger. However, if you plan on playing any tournaments, or have fields that don't allow an RT, get an E-Grip. You have a choice of fire modes, and semi-auto give a short, light trigger pull, that with a proper double trigger (like the JCS) you can walk it pretty fast. Also, by pulling a few pins and a few screws, you can switch back to your mechanical trigger group. It requires batteries, which I personally don't like, but hey, you've got mechanical back-up. The RT, is howeve, cheaper.

Also, at this point of firepower, you might want to try the QEV mod to your cyclone, and maybe a super RT if your fields don't limit your RT's rate of fire. Maybe you'll want mods like a drop foreward, sights, stocks, bigger or smaller hoppers for the cyclone, chromed whatever, ect. At this point, you've got as much performance as possible out of the A-5, the rest is up to personal preferance. Remember, you can stop at any time you're comfortable with your performance and budget. You may feel like you're doing fine with a $50 barrel and CO2.

rednekk98 wrote: OK, the first thing you should get should be a new barrel. Still, wait until after you've played with the stock marker a bit and got a feel for it. Maybe you won't feel you'd need a backspin barrel like a flatline or apex and just want more accuracy. Get all your other gear; clothing pods, a good mask, knee pads, assorted sqeegies ect. first. As for barrels, the Apex apparently has it all over the flatline as far as paint pickyness goes. It can also double as a standard barrel. The A-5 flatline isn't a bad barrel either. So I wouldn't count it out. Also, if you're ever planning on playing a tournament, some circuts have banned the apex due to it's advertised ability to shoot around corners and such. Still, if you play with your stock barrel first, and just want better accuracy and not necessarily more flat trajectory, LAPCO barrels are a great buy and excellent quality. Next, before you do any firepower upgrades, it's a good idea to switch to HPA, or optomize your CO2 usage. Either get a HPA tank that suits your needs, or get an x-chamber or even a remote hose, depending on how you play. Those will help CO2 perform better with firepower upgrades. If you really feel you need upgraded firepower, do that first. You could also get a secondary regulator for your HPA tank to better consistancy. Palmer's Stabilizer works with CO2 as well. Firepower upgrades: Either an RT, or an E-Grip. I like the RT personally. You can tune it quite a bit, it seems to be legal at most fields, alhough they may make you turn it down on some. It's mechanical and pretty fool proof. It's great with a single trigger. However, if you plan on playing any tournaments, or have fields that don't allow an RT, get an E-Grip. You have a choice of fire modes, and semi-auto give a short, light trigger pull, that with a proper double trigger (like the JCS) you can walk it pretty fast. Also, by pulling a few pins and a few screws, you can switch back to your mechanical trigger group. It requires batteries, which I personally don't like, but hey, you've got mechanical back-up. The RT, is howeve, cheaper. Also, at this point of firepower, you might want to try the QEV mod to your cyclone, and maybe a super RT if your fields don't limit your RT's rate of fire. Maybe you'll want mods like a drop foreward, sights, stocks, bigger or smaller hoppers for the cyclone, chromed whatever, ect. At this point, you've got as much performance as possible out of the A-5, the rest is up to personal preferance. Remember, you can stop at any time you're comfortable with your performance and budget. You may feel like you're doing fine with a $50 barrel and CO2.

 

Excellent source of information, thank you! Appreciate all of you taking the time to explain things. Definitely makes starting out a lot easier. Today ive been reading some (at work) about barrels, and noticed the Lapco Bigshot seems to be a widely used and praised barrel. I would say accuracy is more what im after, rather than flat trajectory.

Im still torn on egrip or RT. Buddy of mine at work has the RT, and loves it. The fields we play at havent made him tune anything down at all, so sounds like its fair game. There are definitely pros and cons to each, so think i will play a while without either and try to determine which would best suit my playstyle.

For now, i think i will grab a barrel... who can argue with increased accuracy? Then from there, i will take my time and see what would best suit me. I will likely go remote for the outdoor play (easier to get low to the ground without a massive tank in your way...).

Thanks again, and if anyone else has anything to add, im all ears.

B

if you can afford good paint i would get the flatline. make sure it is installed properly.

jerseypaint wrote: no flatty unless u have the $$ and the pattience cuz if u have no patience ur gonna wish it to die...it is also inaccurate...i wuld get a Lapco Bigshot my idea is accuracy>distance...whats the point in reaching longer targets if u cant hit them w.o spraying paint all over the field

Most people spray paint all over the field anyway, so they might as well make them long shots as well.

The flatline is perfectly fine on cheap paint if you know what kinds to buy. We have no problems running $30-35 paint through our flatties.

Any of the Lapco barrels will do you fine. I have a 12" Bigshot and it's great. You might want to look at the Lapco Snapshot. It's more expensive but I think it looks cooler and it's supposed to be even better than the Bigshot.

The Bigshot is definitely one of the best for its price though.

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