A pump in a semi auto game ... the whys and hows

We Want To Pump You Up!

A Pump In A Semi Auto Game...The Whys And Hows

By Byron "B" Bowen

Publication Date: September 1999

"Hi, and welcome to this week's meeting of Pump Players Anonymous, or PPA for short. You are here because you are addicted to the wonderful, exciting,challenging and unique (at least today) game of using your pump paintball gun in a sport dominated by semi-auto paintball guns. We have a old member of PPA here, so with that said, Byron, would you tell the new PPA member your story?"

"Sure, here goes ...."

Most players in our game today buy a semi auto as their first gun, whether it is a StingRay, Raptor, or Tippman, or one of the higher end guns on the market like a AutoMag or Angel. Every larger field has semi autos for rent, and most players get used to the firepower that is able to be produced with just a twitch of their finger. To use a pump, in most newer players eyes, is a waste, and a disadvantage, but I am going to hopefully change your mind about that.

Advantages ~ Pump guns

First, there really are some clear cut advantages to using a pump over a semi auto. Thy include less paint usage, players will aim more often with a pump paintball gun, pump paintball guns can be bought cheaply either new or used, they are easy to work on, and they usually break less paint than a semi auto paintball gun. Here's more about the advantages of pump guns.

One outstanding advantage is paint consumption. When you play with a pump, you just don't use as much as a semi auto player (although, there are those exceptions). No more spending $10 or more a game to buy paint, when $10 will buy your paint for the whole day. Now, the disadvantage of this is you generally can not fire as fast as semi autos, but a decent pump will have a auto-trigger function on it, which means you can hold down the trigger and as fast as you can pump the gun is how fast you can shoot. This rate can be comparable to some semi autos, but it takes a little more work and getting used to the feel of your pump.

Another advantage to using a pump is you generally tend to make your shots count better. You aim, and you don't throw out a lot of paint to get that tag on your opponent. If you take an average semi auto user and a pump player, however much it took for the semi auto player to use to tag his opponent, the pump player will generally use less to tag the same opponent.

Pump paintball guns cost less. You can almost pick up 2 pump guns for every one semi auto you can purchase. Now, there are those expensive pumps out there, but unless you are going to be serious about pump play, Trracers, Phantoms, and the like will do well for play, and they don't cost a lot. With that money you save you can add a lot of extras to your gun, like barrels, bolts, internal work, anodizing, or even nitrogen.

Pumps tend to break paint less than semi autos. They don't have to operate on such high internal pressures, so they distort the balls less and don't put a lot of undo pressure on them when firing, making for less ball breaks in the gun. Also, pumps tend to use a little less air than semis, because you don't have to devote some of that air to recock the gun. All if it going to put that little colored sphere on your friends.

Pumps are easy to work on if something goes wrong. They don't have a lot of parts to check over, and they can generally be taken apart fast to get you back into the game. Overall maintenance means put a few drops of a good gun oil (I recommend KC Trouble Free oil) in the tank reciever, and take of the barrel so you can fire the gun to oil the system. (You take off the barrel to keep the inside from getting oily when you shoot the pump.)

Tactics ~ Pump guns

Now, onto how to play with a pump during the day on the field. A lot of these tactics are good for semi auto play as well, but they are especially important for pump players. Pump play is a truly different game than semi, so unless you try it, you really don't know what it is like.

One of the first tips I recommend is get with a buddy that uses a semi auto paintball gun. Pump players work well in pairs where one can lay down a lot of paint to cover your movement. This will free you up to do a lot of moving while your partner shoots the paint. Once you get a clear shot, SPLAT!!, you got a tag and they are usually still paying attention to the friend with the semi auto. Playing using a pump doesn't mean you have to stay in the back.

Another thing to do is make that pump gun of yours quiet! If it sounds like a howitzer going off every time you pull that trigger, it will do no good sneaking around, because the first shot will give you away. There are a lot of brands of barrels out there that make your shots quiet, and some of the best are PMI Perfect Ceramiks (that's how they spell it, not me), Smart Parts All American, and DYE barrels. Now remember, quiet is different than silenced/suppressed, because the BATF (Burea of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms) frowns on that type of thing. The BATF has stepped in and already discontinued the BOA line called the Concealer because they determined it was silenced/suppressed. But, I digress, so just get a quiet barrel.

Aim, aim, aim. You don't have the same number of balls per second you can toss out there like a semi auto can (in some cases), so just aim and make those shots count. Isn't it better to brag about only taking 1 or 2 shots to get that player, when everyone else took almost a hopper full to get theirs? Also, just aiming will help your game overall, with any type of gun.

Play light. Using a pump you don't have to carry a 8+1 Monster pack, use a VL3000 as your hopper, and have a 114cc 4500 psi nitrogen system as your air source. No harness or maybe just a small 4 pack, a 12 oz. or 20 oz. co2 tank, or maybe even a 68cc 3000 psi nitrogen on-gun bottle, and a simple VL2000 or a 9v Revelution hopper will be more than enough for most pump guns. The less you have to carry, the better you can move and hide. Movement is very important for the pump player, don't bog yourself down.

Now, here is the biggest thing you have to do as the pump player in a semi auto game .... HAVE CONFIDENCE!!

If you are going out there to have fun, then don't worry about the snickers and the strange looks. Think about the looks of surprise and those looks that will tell you the others are impressed with your play. Also, just make yourself realize that you are going to do good amid the oceans of paint throwers. Show confidence, get out there and do it, after all, you have probably played with a semi auto before and you weren't afraid of getting shot then, so why should you now?

"Well, now you know my story, and I don't want to be a PPA member anymore. I am not going to be anonymous on the field, and I invite you all to rise up and join the ranks of the semi auto player! I say we go out there, and show them what a pump player can do! Now everyone, HAVE FUN!!"

Byron "B" Bowen is one of the field and store owners of Wild West Paintball & Supply Inc. in Purcell, Oklahoma. He has been playing paintball since April, 1989, and is a avid recreational player. He does own a lot of personal guns, but his favorite is a Sterling STP Turbo pump that has been lovingly taken care of for 4 years now. You can email "B" at: WildWestPB@aol.com