Closest paintball store

[rudito1]

What is the closest paintball store that is decent in size that is near Rochester MN, or the twin cities. A store with a BIG variety of all paintball gear.

[Krutsie]

Where you from?

[rudito1]

[QUOTE=Krutsie;21325]Where you from?[/QUOTE

Rochester area.

[Stretch]

I don't know of anything around Rochester since I don't live anywhere near there. As far as around the twin cities MN Pro has quite a bit of gear, or else Air Assault has a decent selection also although they mostly stock Eclipse gear.

[Shadow959]

you could always go to CC Military Surplus in Maplewood, mn. they have a lot of things for paintball and the staff know a lot about paintball too.

[Docman]

It's getting hard to find a good paintball shop, I live in the SW Metro area an it's not easy for me either. Here are a few of my favorites:

Cabelas, Owatonna - Ok but they don't carry as much as they used to
MNPro - Good Store in Burnsville, field with a small shop in Lakeville
Action Packed Paintball, Jordan, MN - Small shop, it's Ok
Dicks Sporting Goods, Richfield - Ok but they don't carry as much as they used to
CC Mil Surplus, Brooklyn Park and Maplewood - Good shops

In Rochester:
Play It Again
How about Skyline Raceway?

Good Luck ...

[Hydrohawk]

Scheels in Mankato has some selection, but it isn't very current and they keep moving it further and further into a corner.

[MondoMor]

My local Gander Mountain used to have a decent amount, but I checked yesterday and I think they're actually getting out of paintball completely.

I despise Cabela's, so I haven't been to the Rogers one in forever, but last I looked they're pretty much out of it as well.

Scheel's is about the same as D*ck's and Sports Authority - nearly nothing.

I wonder how much of this is due to online sales killing Brick-and-Mortar stores, and how much is due to how unreliable those B&M stores were at having usable stock.

These are weird times in the industry. Smart Parts still hasn't emerged from its reorganization. CC in Brooklyn Park is having difficulty getting things from Kee.

I'd like to buy things from local stores, but it's getting harder to do.

[Thalion]

Now is not a time that I would want to be in the paintball industry. And I give a great thank you to Darrin and to the others still in the industry.

Guessing that's a big part of why the brick and mortars are drying up - not a big market for paintball right now aside from the regular players, who already have their gear and only need paint and air/co2.

[nchittendon]

Here is our local tale.....


Gander Mountain was the place to go locally for air/co2. They had their little paintball corner, but nothing extravagant. Last year, they put all the gear on clearance. We have another place in town, MC Sports, that currently has "broken paint, $19.95"!! lol

2 years ago I looked at the sport. I noticed a couple things......

There were a few companies that were "monopolizing." Jacking the prices, which were ultimately driven by the bigger conglomerations/associations. Tournament ball was starting to not fly so straight.......starting to tail-spin out of control......get away from itself......

I noticed the UWL being created. I noticed more 'ballers coming back to the woods. I noticed more 'ballers going back to pumps, slowing the game down to their pace, instead of the game taking the pace and consuming them.

I noticed that a lot of mainstream stores were falling out of paintball. Only carrying 2 year old cases of paint, carrying outdated gear, and upon inspection of the bags on the floor, finding half of the paint being broken anyways.

2 years ago I decided to start my own paintball business. For a number of reasons......1) I had recently battled cancer, and left the job that took me away from my family......however it paid quite well. 2)to help bring good products to paintballers. To bring decent priced gear to beginners, and to bring experienced players what they desire. 3) my area was slowly abandoning the players that surround us.

Locally, besides Gander, we have a field about 45 miles away that fills air. Otherwise, it's 45 miles the other way to Ft. McCoy for fills. This spring I have dedicated to large Nitro tanks to fill off of. I bring them with me to a local field that frequents 30 on a Sunday, and 10-20 on a wednesday night. They benefit, as do I (the business). The more the business grows, the more I am able to help the locals.

We need to pull together to help ourselves because the "outside" world is not going to support us anymore. Those who are able, should attempt to open their own business and help support the sport!

[Stretch]

Well I certainly do appreciate the the variety of fields and stores I have available locally who are doing well. I was unaware how few fields and stores some people have available to them. By the way, tournament paintball is alive and well out my way. I personally prefer the woods but I do enjoy some airball.