Which paint and where to buy for Pump

[shooter311]

Paintball kind of died in my area (Central Maine). I pretty much play backyard ball with some local newbies. So I moved down to pump to make it fair for everyone. One issue I have is that I don't have access to good paint. We have a local field that uses junk paint for their field paint, the owner didn't even know what it was, it comes in a white box, and he opened one in front of me, and all 2,000 balls were in one bag. It is the ugliest paint I have ever seen. I almost never play there for several reasons. He said the best he could get me was Valken Field paint, which I bought a case of, but the paint was so hard I could drop it from like 7' and it just bounced. My only other option is Dicks Sporting Goods and they only have Triumph and I get the feeling they never sell it so it has been sitting for a while.

Last season I bought some Marbalizers from ANSGear, but by the time it made it to me it had breaks in it. I toweled it off the best I could, but it still shot horribly. I know they are in CA so that is a long travel to get to me.

Does anyone have any recommendations on which paint is best for pump, and where to buy it from? There is a field in NH (OSG) that I could get good paint from but it is a 3 hour drive and I don't plan on playing there until late august.

Thanks in advance.

[Siress]

The only method I'm aware of is either driving to the point of sale so that you can inspect it yourself, or buying a full pallet direct from the MFR so that it's impossible for it all to be damaged upon arrival.

It may actually be more affordable to play with FirstStrike rounds these days.

[Shaftski]

OSG has the best paint I've shot so far this year actually. It's GI, only downside is it is smallish bore. Their blend breaks well on target and they go through so much it doesn't sit around long.

Valken....Not so much. Like shooting marbles sometimes. Some graffiti I shot a few weeks ago started out OK then swelled up huge and started bouncing.

A lot of shops are having trouble sourcing paint right now too, tournaments and fields are getting first dibs.

[ChuckLove]

Valken Graffiti will be the most consistent ball you will probably find. Like Shaftski said though, it is really hard and bouncy. The OSG field paint isn't as round or consistent but it breaks much better and has an awesome orange fill. I had great luck shooting it OSG in June through my pump.

[Skipdogg]

I have used that Triumph paint from dicks. It probably does/has sat for a while, but I seriously didnt have any problems with it. About 4-5 of us shot at least 20-30 cases of it a couple years back over the course of 5-6 outings. I think it will work fine for your needs.

[shooter311]

It actually shot well, pretty straight, but the problem is that it doesn't break well. A group of 6 of us all bought it, and we were getting hit like 5 or 6 times before we would have one break on us. It was fun, but they hit hard, and when shooting pump, bounces are a real pain.

[SignOfZeta]

I don’t know why or if there would be a better paint for pump guns but when I’m not forced to use Hell Survivors bouncy ball...I mean Fireball...I use Valken Graffiti. Some shop on Amazon sells it to me, zero issues with breaks or delivery.

[Jonnydread]

Paint is always such a crapshoot these days. moving_target is a fellow Mainer, he may be able to point you in the direction of decent local paint.

What game are you attending at OSG? I'm up there once/month or more.

[moving_target]

MAYBE V-town paintball in vassalboro, birch hill in York might have decent paint, been a while since I've been there so idk what the paint is like.

Stocking up on the OSG custom blend in August might also be your best bet. It's expensive, but it's good paint. (Though occasionally a little stainy)

[shooter311]

I'll be at the Aug 15th Stock class event.

I'm playing at V-town This Saturday, but last time I went the paint was really bad, maybe the worst paint I have seen. The owner admitted it was garbage, but he said everyone uses Model 98s and they shot it just fine. Since I was using a highend pump he gave me a bag of Valken field paint which he said would shoot much better. It shot great, but I was hitting trees and it was bouncing off. My buddy stood on one and it just warped. We had to stomp on them to get them to break. I'll ask him if he could order anything better for me to buy off him.

[Mr. Hick]

$65 for a case of OSG custom blend paint is by no-means expensive.

[paintmann111]

Birch Hill had Pro-Shar for awhile, which was excellent paint when Brett was running drill nights. Best option would be to call and see what they can bring in. I’m originally from Auburn, ME and I commend you for keeping paintball alive in that State. Hopefully it will get back to its former MRPL days.