Gearing up for the new season

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   So it's been a few years since I went out to a field.  I've been busy working on my degree and working my way up the ladder.  So, I moved at the beginning of the month here and thought I would dust off my gear for a nearby field.

Having been out of the game for a bit means my gear's a bit dated but still as strong as a tank.  I got into paintball about 12 years ago and I've had the same paintball gun from the start.  I have a TM 68-Carbine.  I've been VERY happy with it over the years.  I've played with it in the rain and cold with very few issues, if any at all.  I think the 98 custom came out at about the time I bought it but the gun store where I bought my gun from gave me a "life-time" repair guaranty plus it was suppost to be a free upgraded version of the normal gun (it had a CO2 expansion handle and later got the free steel hopper elbow).  Well.... my "life-time" guaranty ended up lasting 2 or 3 years.  He said the parts became too hard to come by and then he switched his rental field guns to another brand.

So, I've striped my gun down and started to clean it and was ready to put it back together and oil it.  However, I haven't checked it for bad seals or leaks yet and I didn't notice any the last time I had it out a few years ago; but the O-rings have been on this gun from the start and I've been thinking about replacing them since I have it apart now.  I'm also curious about the Front Bolt.  It's made out of nylon and has a few grooves scratched into the sides of it from sand and debris getting into the top of the barrel over the years.  It doesn't look bad but I remember a few of the field guns the guy had that got pretty beat up and he said after awhile that they begin to leak air after being chewed up.  So, I guess what my primary concern is after all these years if it's possible to get ahold of a Front Bolt for a TM 68 and know what O-rings I need to replace?  I don't "think" I need them but it would be great to have them on hand when needed.

I guess I'll piggy-back on 2 other questions here as well to try to get some help with known issues I have.  I've been curious to buy a X7 phenom but only after I reastablish my gaming mind.  So, back when I started, CO2 was a main-stay.  Compressed gas was coming out and was expensive as heck.  So I see that there's Nitrogen gas as well now.  Are the 2 of them comparable in pros and cons or is one better then the other?  With a gun that's 12+ years old, will I be able to use either gas in both guns?  I was also thinking about picking up a 4500psi 68ci.  Besides brand names, is that your average gas bottle now or is there something better?

I also have a remote that's been acting bad.  When I disconnect the receiver it just shoots out air.  I swear when I first got it, it didn't.  I thought I used to be able to disconnect my gun from my remote so I could get something off the field and then come right back and connect my gun again and off I went.  Of course, it's been a few years so maybe I had to turn off the valve first but it feels uncomfortable doing that and I would think I would have remembered that.  So, just to be clear, I'm not talking about bleeding the gas off in my gun, I'm talking about the air in the hose of the remote.  That just disconnecting my remore with the gas on will let the gas leak out of the remote.  So, is that actually normal or is something broken and is there a way to fix it?

Thanks for the help guys.