Paintball

[Paintballer50505]

I prefer having a large ball on the end of a t-stock setup. It feels more like a tank to me and gives a great rotation and less to worry about when rocking and cocking

[criticalhammer]

I personally like the telescopic gas through stocks even though I only use it for the stock function. This give me the ability to use my asa for other applications without having to remove it. Also I like the 15 degree downward slope of the asa. It allows me to aim better.

[Studwiser]

I didnt realise that people tried to aim by looking down the center of any gun that has a hopper attached.. just look down the side of the barrel it does the same thing. Thats how i did it with my tippy, and my stock was a Car stock because i could adjust it for when i wanted to play a little tighter then normal.

[idkfa]

I use stocks on guns that use either:

a) 12 gram changes (other than the rare pistol)

or

b) CO2 tanks of any size (or small HPA tanks), vertical or off the grip frame

I don't like the way flat bottom tanks feel so I end up running a stock with bottomline mounted underneath for 3.5 oz, 9 oz, and 13/3000 tanks.

[ta2maki]

Originally Posted by Mike68

...2. Those milsim stocks that people put on their guns are obtrusive as hell, and yet almost every Tippmann/BT/etc user had one....People buy CAR stocks and other similar rubbish in the thousands, and for what?

Because it looks cool. For many, aesthetics will always trump ergonomics.

Image is everything.

[Horizon]

Originally Posted by ta2maki

Because it looks cool. For many, aesthetics will always trump ergonomics.

Image is everything.

No no no. Function over Form. What are we? A bunch of teenage girls?

[Mike68]

Originally Posted by Horizon

No no no. Function over Form. What are we? A bunch of teenage girls?

Seriously. I can't judge anyone who's into milsim, as we're all part of the same sport, but my opinion always has been that a paintgun should look like a damn paintgun. If you want to shoot people with a gun that looks exactly like a real one, play airsoft. Then you won't have to use fake plastic magazines and other decorations to disguise hoppers and air supplies. Again, just my opinion.

Going back to my original point, I really do feel that certain companies exploit the ignorance of newcomers to the sport as to what attachments actually help, and it really is evident with stocks.

Keep in mind that you're most likely going to be putting a CAR (or any similar) stock on a woodsball gun, especially a Tippmann. With Tippmanns it is absolutely beneficial to be able to aim down the iron sights, or at least be able to have a clear line of sight over the barrel. I'm not talking about speedball guns or really any centerfeed guns, you aren't going to put a milsim stock on your Ego. And most centerfeed guns would only be able to accept undermount stocks anyway.

Moving on, most stocks are advertised as "accuracy increasing," by "providing a stable platform to shoot from" (obviously not direct quotes, but you get the gist). But all this accuracy is wasted by the fact that it prevents you from directly seeing over the top of the marker! Woodsball companies have to know this, but noobs who have never used one on a marker will shell out money for to have a cooler looking and supposedly "more accurate" marker, oblivious to this fact. It appears to be fine when you target shoot sans a mask, because you can press your cheek right up on the side of the stock. You only notice the obstruction when you put the mask on. I know I went through this, a few centuries back when I was using my first paintgun: a 98c. The same companies that sell the stocks also tend to sell offset and raised rails, so you can mount the optics they also happen to sell, so you can fix the problem of not being able to aim by spending more money on useless junk. It's just a vicious cycle of spending, in which you create a problem by buying one attachment that is negated by another attachment, and it's all completely unnecessary for every reason other than aesthetics.

Besides, undermount stocks are stylish as hell

[LettuceHead]

I think the T-stock fell out of general use when widespread use of remotes dropped off during the late 90s/ 2Kish rise of tourney-style playing. When the rise of scenario/ milsim came everyone wanted collapsible and other stocks. The T-Stock is still out there but more to the stockclass crowd.

As far as using stocks goes, to each his own. Everyone harping on the manufacturer's 'preying on the ignorance of newbs' has not worked in a paintball shop. Players of all levels love them and want them. When setting up a new player I'd give them the usual rundown of sighting down the barrel vs mask getting in the way, both ways are as stable a shooting platform as the other... yada yada yada. Guess what? Players would go out to play with their new 98 or A5 with a tank in the ASA and come back later to buy a stock. They tried out other people's stocked guns and they liked it more. Whether its to look and feel like Rambo or mimic something they are comfortable with or they think its increasing their accuracy doesn't matter... it heightens their enjoyment of the game. To be honest, the way most people shoot it hardly matters where they're sighting over

I own/ have owned markers of all types, with and without stocks. When I play scenario/ milsim (I also airsoft and blankfire WW2 reenact, all three have something the others don't) I always have stocks, mock mags, red dots, etc. Is any of it necessary? No. Do I like it anyways? Yes. Am I probably having more fun than you? Abso-freakin'-lutely! To me, fun is dug in with the bipod deployed, one hand on the grip with the other on the stock near the cheek classic machinegunner-style, hammering a beaten zone where the other team is trying to push. I have several other markers of 'traditional' paintball configuration that could do the same thing but none of them are the same experience.

People like to spend money and get new bits for their markers. No paintgun needs a red dot sight but people love them. If they need an offset sightrail so they can use it with a stock they buy them with pleasure. (Actually, most markers, despite having rightfeeds or offset hoppers still need an offset sightrail for hopper clearance).

Is it a 'vicious circle of spending'? Yes and by golly, I'm sure no one here on MCB would ever spend money on something they didn't really need and had no performance benefit

[ta2maki]

Originally Posted by Mike68

Going back to my original point, I really do feel that certain companies exploit the ignorance of newcomers to the sport as to what attachments actually help, and it really is evident with stocks.

Or maybe it's because they don't listen. I don't know how many times I've advised someone against a certain part only to see them a couple weeks later with that part. Then see them a few months later without it or a completely different setup.

Case in point. KP's are tremendously cool and coveted here. But many get sold because they are too hard to aim for many people due to the stock shape. It's hard to aim if you don't have a flexible mask. This fact has been mentioned over and over again, yet people still buy only to sell it because "It's not for me". Luckily, KPs have good resell value.

[-=ArchAngel=-]

Personally, if whatever on you're marker helps you have more fun, then more power to it. Isnt that the whole point of playing paintball? To have fun?