Paintball

[SHAG]

Hi,

I have flirted with quitting ,for the lack of a better word, Paintball for quite some time now. Something has always caught my eye and got me back in. However, since I have a house now and getting married, I find it is not so important to get out anymore. I missed both Castles this year with a deep desire to make it to both of them. Both dates had other things going on with them. Since April 6th, I have only played once but bought about $500 in gear to just sit there.

My plans for my basement where to install a shooting range with the aid of reballs for practicing and testing but that does not get me excited anymore. All my gear is still sitting at my future mother in laws house and I really don't think about it. Elizabeth has not played in about a year. She seems to have other things going on. I threatened to sell her gear is she does not use it. She laughs.

Could I just be having a Paintball Depression? It seems I have no time anymore. Whether it is working on the house or the next few months with the wedding and the holidays and all. Anyone else experience anything like this? Or this is a sign of "well you had a good run and let it be"?

After ten years of playing, I am starting to think this is my time to exit. Everything I knew then is now ancient. I have no idea of what is the new thing. I just know it takes a battery. I have no drive to drive to a local field anymore. I wonder if my one buddy will ever get a field off the ground again. Finding suitable land in the area is rough.

What do you guys think...

Alan

[freedom]

shag, sell off everything but one or two... you will come back...

[thepenguinc]

i'd say if you feel that way ethier take a break from it or find a new style of play. i wouldn't go selling all your stuff just cause you haven't felt like playing. and don't feel bad cause you haven't played in awhile or feel as if your time has passed. i've got a guy on my team who used to play when paintball started then stopped for about 10 years and now plays again, and is also a huge clutch player. doesn't matter how long you take off but if you get that craving down the road you'll still have all your stuff. another guy on my team got the same way, then we started playing speedball/ tournies, and basicly gave us the big challenge of adapting to something new. just give yourself sometime, and it'll work out, just don't feel guilty about getting a bit of dust on your gun.

[midnite-penguin]

i stopped playing for like a year, hardcore stopped.

My phantom sat in a box, with all my other still new gear,(profilers, Evil tourney pants, etc).

Then one sunday i woke up early and went out to breakfast with my girlfriend, and it was SO nice out. And for some reason i just thought about paintball and it all flooded back to me.

I went home, took everything out, cleaned and oiled my phantom, and went and played my *** off that very next sunday. And im totally revitalized back into the sport.

Paintball is like that for a lot of people. Thats why you see so much gear floating around B-S-T forums on the net.

You play when you have the bug, then the weather gets rediculous, or you get sidetracked with other things in life(same thing happened to me), and you dont ball for a long time. But trust me, youll always get the bug again.

And its easier to have the stuff to play than have to buy all new gear once you get the bug and have to argue with yourself about wether its worth it to get back into the sport or not.

Once i get old and jaded with speedball or whatever the next 'thing' of paintball is. Im determined to trade in my tourney attire for a black sweat suit, and me and my phantom are going to retire to woodsball to become 'that scary oldschool guy' at the field.

if your serious about it though, just sell MOST of your stuff, but leave yourself a gun, hopper, tank, mask.

thats my 2 cents

[greenmtnphantom]

one of my buddies stopped playing for two years and sold most of his stuff, I finally convinced him to break out the one gun he had left a spyder tl and come out and play, now he's hooked again and can't get enough. If you don't need the space or money don't sell wait to see if not wanteing to play is a "passing phase" if you don't change your mind in a year or two or you end up needing the space or money sell but always try to keep something

Just my $.02

[Omega Chief]

Don't sell your gear. Ever. I know so many people who have done the same, but they always come back to the sport. Once you've played, and liked it, it's just like that. You will only regret selling your things, and will end up buying more for twice the cost.

Keep you gear, who cares if you don't play for awhile. You will be back, and getting a few hundred dollars will not be worth the loss of your gear.

I have passed through this a few times myself, but it always comes back.

-Omega Chief

[Shiba-Kun]

It could be time to hang it up. I bet there's a ton of activities we've all done in the past that we no longer partake in. For example there was a 6 or 7 year period where I surfed a minimum of 3 days a week. Or the multiple years I'd put thousands of miles on my bikes. Now I've given my boards away and my bikes are all dusty.

P-Ball is kinda like that to. The indoor field where I used to hang out closed up and I bought a home further away from my local fields so the drive was much longer. Some of the people I grew up in the sport moved on and stopped playing, and that takes away some of the joy of it also. But as long as I a least had a minimum amount of contact with the sport, I knew there was always that chance I could fully get back into it.

But I'd say at least keep your gear. Who know, maybe one day the bug will bite you again or you'll meet a new aquaintance who wants to learn the game, etc. and you'll want to get back out and play once more.

[Tugboater203]

Just try to slim down your gear to the essentials. If it's not that easy you are still into it. I took almost 14 years off due to life and now I'm back part time and loving it. Keep a few favorite markers and a mask etc so you always have the option to return.

Tug


so what are you going to be selling?

[pwpaintball]

I agree with the other posters. Keep the minimum, that way if you feel like playing you have it. I have been in business since 94 and have seen it a 1000 times. Someone comes in and says I want to sell my gear because I have not used it for a wile. Then you see them down the road and they say they should have keep it, because now they want to play and they are trying to come up with the start up cost of buying it all back. Or in other cases they can not find that gun that they loved.
I have a lot of hobys but I don’t have time to do them all at the same time. So I jump for one to the other and back and forth. The thing is I don’t need to buy a new table saw or pistol if I want to make a table or go to a range and poke some holes in paper. Just think about it and if you have to get rid of it, than get rid of it but if you can make it with it what is the harm.
Take some time off and when you come back most of us will still be here or we will be back.

[d4rksabre]

keep your favorite gun and equipment. you'll come back. we all need breaks some times, be it a month or two, or 5 years. but you'll come back.