I've taken up playing paintball to get some extra exercise, a little bit of tactical training and also to have some fun. I went out and bought a Tippmann 98 Custom paintball gun that came with a mask, CO2 tank, and I'm sure it came with something else but I can't be sure at the moment. I also bought a buttstock to go with it that is a lot like the M-4 buttstock (to give it a more familiar feel ;-)).
It's not a fantastic gun, but it's pretty good. I'd like to get a longer barrel for it, possibly one that resembles the M-4 to make it a whole military-lookin' weapon, but I think instead I'll invest in the better Tippmann A-5 gun. There are more accessories for the A-5, plus it has what Tippmann calls a "Cyclone feeder" that is more efficient at putting a ball in the chamber than gravity alone. I'm going to buy the M-4 buttstock for that, as well, along with a new barrel -- probably either the Tippmann Flatline for better distance or the M-4 look-alike for badass aesthetics -- and probably some sort of sight, like a set of iron sights (it's just what I'm used to) or a red-dot sight. I've never used a red-dot sight, but I heard they're pretty good for paintball. A scope is overkill for paintball, but I do want something better than just staring down the barrel and estimating.
I'm also going to have to get a better vest for carrying paintball equipment. The vest I currently have is for carrying M16, M249 and M203 accessories and not suited for carrying paintball pods or air tanks. Special Ops Paintball offers some pretty good vests for carrying equipment. Luckily, a lot of my gear is suitable for playing paintball, like my uniforms, boots and elbow/knee pads. I wonder if they'd let me wear my flak vest and tell them it means I don't die if I get shot in the chest or back. :-) Of course, that would divert all paintball fire to my face. Nevermind.
I'm trying to get one of the guys in my old unit (oh, btw, they put me in a new unit and they're sending me to Korea .. I forgot to mention that) to go play with me, and maybe a few of us could form a team.
Been doing truckloads of research on paintball lately, too. When I do something, I try to do it right. :-) Anyway, I found out that Special Ops Paintball has a little club called the Special Ops Paintball Brigade that allows players near each other to find each other and gives everybody an idea of what kind of player you are. It shows what gear you have, how much you play (you log each time you play and how well you do), and it even gives you little promotion points for all of that, and you get to go through each rank and get promoted. Kinda cool. Cheesy, but cool.
If anybody'd like to talk some paintball, let me know. I'm still a beginner, and I'm trying to get all the information I can get.