Bought a 98 custom just recently and need some ideas on what parts to use to create a accurate but cheap sniper. please help new to paintball!

Well, you are gonna need more range, sooo...

Considering the fact that people do tend to look down on shooting faster than 300 feet per second (which is one way of getting more range), you will need to use some trickery.

Cheapest way to do it, get the Apex barrel. This will put backspin on the ball and alter the range that you can get with the ball. This is the cheapest way to do it at around $45 for the newest version, or find it even cheaper with the old version which shoots perfectly well. I know, because I have it.

Then the other option is the Flatline barrel. Same idea, but a slightly more expensive and different technique. The Flatline uses a curved barrel that provides backspin before the ball exits the muzzle of the barrel. This way, the flight path is much straighter than the Apex. The Apex uses a rubber ramp at the very end of the barrel that does provide backspin, but the ball will drop at first because of the deflection of the ramp. They all work well though.

Then your most expensive method in the long run is modify the breech of your gun to accept First Strike rounds. This will involve turning the O shape hole in the side of the gun where paint enters to a D shape and will require you to hand feed each shot. First Strike rounds are much more expensive than the standard paint that everyone else shoots. But you will see much greater range with some pretty amazing accuracy.

Hope this helps!

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Xbox Live- SilentAgent047

get a pump
Ha nah... i think Wolf was pretty on with what was said. Apex i have heard great things about, just dont get a barrel longer than 14in, a 14in will serve you great. I have a 16in and i like it alot sometimes it is just a bit big

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Image removed as it was too tall.

Get told that all the time

Yes dont get a barrel bigger than 14 it will be a mistake.

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BS! 16 inch works better than 14" sometimes, on my salvo i got a 16" and set it to 256 fps, it shoots so far and str8, i use a proto 16". Its a great and cheap barrel. I was looking into getting a flatline but it costs so much! Btw, apex will break if you set your marker to a higher fps. The apex requires another barrel that it can fit into, dont listen to them saying that 16 is bad, if you get longer than 16 it goes slower. Get a 16" with a correct paint size for it.

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yeah i also put the apex on my 16 and quickly swapped it out for a lapco 12in barrel. that thing it beastly on a 16in!! like red said that ramp will chew up balls on full auto or high fps ( guess the higher fps distorts the ball?)

First off welcome to the forum

also i know your new to paintball but most of the newer ppl that come on always says that: "I wanna be a sniper"
like wolf says the only way to be an effective "sniper" is to be able to shoot first strike rounds, and they are expensive to shoot also!
Sniping in paintball is either sitting and waiting in concealment (ghillie suit, camo cover, plant cover etc)and using one shot per person. Or stalking and shooting very limited ammo.
secondly:
the flatline is really hard on paint so if you go that route
make sure you get hard shell paint
also i havnt used a apex but i know the apex2 dosnt have a problem with
chopping i have seen a bunch of guys shooting full auto with it on and no problems so i dont know about the others are saying
and for the best i would go with a 12"-14" the 16" is to long and plus the apex adds another 1"-2". The most effective barrel length is going to be 14"-16" as its the most efficiant on air per shot

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Well, not only does it make the ball go all wierd, but it also ruins the ramp on the apex.

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Turning a 98 into an effective "sniper" marker isn't that cheap.

Probably cheaper to get a good used electro.

Sniper marker has many meanings to many people.
Personally, making the distance shot is only part of it. I think dead on accuracy is more important than distance but there's all kindsa ways to skin a cat.

What you need:
HPA:no chance at being spot on accurate without it. Co2 with a Palmers is close but also expensive.
Compression barrel: Good ball to bore match is essential to getting a good shot. Never mind all that "efficiency" talk, yer shooting a Tippmann after all. Bore matching is all about accuracy.
First Strike:Any marker that hopes to be called a "sniper" should be chambered for first strikes. This is the only way to get an accurate shot at extreme distance. I don't consider lobbing balls it the target in the hopes that one hits it's mark as "sniping". 1 shot/1 kill, then reposition.
Paint: Cheap paint with a big seam is NOT adequate for a "sniper".
it curves way too much to be useful.
DON'T shoot cheap paint. Leave that for the spray and guys.
This does not mean "tourney' paint as it is far too brittle. You want a nice, round ball that has a thick enuf shell to penetrate leaves and such. i recommend DXS Scenario Blaze but there are others.

Full auto, double triggers, force feed hoppers etc, DO NOT belong on a "sniper" marker.

Just my 2 cents.

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You know guys, thats funny. I have never broken paint because of my Apex. I shoot around 280 fps, which is a bit higher than your 16" barrel shooting at 256 fps, Red. Also, just a bit of info for ya, the Apex usually does come with a barrel that shoots alright. Also, hate to tell ya, you can't run the flatline at a high fps anyways. Turns out they shoot the best around 270 fps.

And I just checked the ramp on my Apex after having used it nonstop for a little over 2 years. No damage whatsoever, and shoots just as good as the day I got it. I don't know, maybe I am not as rough on my equipment or something strange..

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