A spyder from the get go is a poor gun.
Yes you can do worse, but you can also do a lot better. Mainly the Model 98 (an excellent gun)
From my work at the field and the store I cannot begin to tell you how many hundreds (seriously, hundreds) of spyders I've had to fix, most with the SAME problems they've had since the design was introduced (not even by kingman, but in the original patriots).
The Kingman corporation does not care. They rely much more heavily on marketing, and having become the de-facto standard than they do on quality or improvement.
Anyway, as much as I dislike the spyder, you can make it a nice enough gun with a lot of work. But you have to be smart enough to see through all the BS like rear-cocking and venturi-bolts. People who buy a shutter, have bought into what are essentially bald-faced lies.
abra: the fact that you think a mark on your velocity adjuster will bring you down to 285 continues to show just how stupid you are. There are soooooo many other variables to a paintball speed, that your little mark does nothing. Warm day means higher pressure CO2, so higher velocity, cold day opposite. Humid day means slightly swelled balls, so they take more push to go through the barrel so slower, dry day opposite. Even if you only use marbalizer every batch is a little different, so speed will vary. Different barrel, different velocity. Anyway, back to my oridginal intenet, I hope you Die. (have a bad day)
Zeeliv: There's basically 3 classes of guns
-absloute crap (talons, stingrays, mostly stuff from Brass Eagle)
-blowbacks (this includes over/under blowbacks like the spyder, or in-line blowbakcs like the Model98)
-competition guns (everything from the mag up to the dark LCD angel)
Frankly, any dime you can scrounge getting yourself into the competition class is worth it in the long run. But, if you need to work on the cheap, here are some pointers.
-Go with a model 98, its an amazing piece of work. And has gotten to be very upgradeable.
-Start with nitro. CO2 is little more than "white sh!t" (my quote). You can usualy get tanks used for a decent price, or go with a crossfire type of tank (screws in like a co2 tank). Frankly, if at all possible, spend your money on a Flatline. One of the best bang/buck's in nitro.
-IGNORE THE HYPE. Frankly, the paintball industry AMAZES me with the downright lies it gets away with in advertising. "Venturi" bolts are complete BS, Rear cocking was a fad started to make spyders look a little like cockers, and is actualy a real pain in the ass to deal with. No barrel will ever give you more range than another barrel. Rifling or Spiral Porting will not improve accuracy, and in some cases can completely ruin it.
anyway, this post is getting really long. If you need a place to shop, check out
D&R Sports, the owner, and myself, can be found on IRC in Afternet's #Paintball.
bart
ps: die abra, die.