Hey guys,

Been reading the forum quite a bit, and seen some good suggestions for A5 mods. Im a very new paintballer, but have already developed a die-hard love for the sport.

I plan on playing outdoors mostly. Bushball was the reason i got into it, however, there will be a fair amount of time spent during the colder months indoors.

My question is this:

Which A5 mods would you recommend as a starting point for a new player? Money is available to do what i need, within reason. My wife wont kill me over spending a few hundred more .

Right now im thinking my first two mods will be:

a) Polish my internals

b) Change over to compressed air.

Considering: Egrip, and Flatline or Apex.

Any suggestions, advice, or otherwise are more than welcome. I've already found the forums to be very helpful, and look forward to reading your advice.

cheers,

B

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).

 The flatline is a good barrel, but it is quirky with paint you can't shoot cheap paint with it, or if the balls start to get effected by humidity they can jam it up real quick. the Apex is a very good barrel also reletivly the same distance as the flatline and can shoot more brands of paint.

Look around and compare see what others are using, ask ?

Get your HPA last, tank can run as much if not more then you paid for the gun, if you have a expanion chamber on the A-5 that will help with the Co2, if not you can get one cheap then when you go HPA you can always sell it or give to a buddy.

I would go with the R/T over the E-Grip for weather reasons, I have seen them freak out in the rain. Go ahead  and get the e-grip if youhave a back up gun that in mech. then if the weather looks bad you can use the mech. one

Get the e-grip if you plan on playing indoors alot.

Good luck, and welcome 

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.

barrel

HPA

the order

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