All the markers I started with

How I started
I started playing at age 15. A friend of my dad’s took me and my brother out and gave us pump guns. The experience really was exciting despite the fact that we were the only pumps. My brother and I used pump guns while everyone else had a semi. this was back in the days of 12 gram little cartridges. Albeit, a long time ago, it was fun.

Tipmann rentals

Then I moved up and began playing with rental Tipmann Pro-Lites. Pretty nice durable semi automatic gun that is a no hassle gun. This gun is used at most renatl fields. Some fields now have Carbines. This gun is so durable it is amazing. It is pretty accurate too. I recall once my gun was out of air, and I borrowe d a rental Pro-Lite from someone and was amazed at its accuracy (relatively speaking). No gun will last longer. You can’t destroy that gun if you tried. I love that gun.

VM-68

Eventually I was playing with a group of guys who had VM-68s. I ended up with one and it was the first gun I personally owned. From the get go I disliked that gun and was looking to sell it. It was very heavy, adjusting the velocity required taking the barrel off, which was impossible sometimes becuase it would be stuck. It leaked air all the time when putting on the new CO2, or in the middle of combat the tank would get loose. Obviously a few modifications would have solved everything, but I didn’t want to spend the money. The weight really did a number on your hand and thumb, a lot of scratches.

Spyder

Later I purchased a Spyder which was much lighter, pretty cheap and had a quick trigger, which I loved. I now had both the Spyder and the VM-68. I never used the VM-68 after getting the Spyder. I loved the Spyder and its rapid rate of fire, however it was a hassle to clean if a paintball broke inside the barrel. It had an angled power feed on it. You had to take at least 5-7 minutes to clean it so that it was working properly again. It was a pain. The problem is that it broke balls often. More than once or twice a day. I grew to dislike this characteristic in it. Also it was not very air efficient. I had a 12oz tank and seemed to run out of air a lot faster than the 9oz rental people. So I wanted to get rid of it. I am sure with all the new upgrades a Spyder could be a terrific marker, but I wanted a hassle free gun. I was tired of the broken balls and painstaking cleaning.

68 Carbine
I then purchased a 68 Carbine (the Pro-Lites new little brother)and now had three guns including a Brass Eagle side arm (more on this later). The Carbine was really nice. I traded in my Spyder for a 14 inch DYE barrel for the Carbine. The Carbine was hassle free and never broke a ball. I used it many times at home and on the playing field never once did it give me a hassle. I highly recommend this gun to any beginner or advanced player wanting a gun of their own. It is said to be the most air efficient gun around (more shots per 1 oz air). Also, it is a lot lighter than the Pro-Lite, due to some modifications in the front end. It was quite accurate, relatively speaking, and was a joy to use. I also at this time purchased a remote hose.

It was fairly inexpensive and it really aided my game. I am not sure if it was because of an attitude change or an actual difference that it intrinsically made. But I could run more quickly and have more mobility, thus more fire power and activity. You can play more actively, there are passive players and active players. The one thing I disliked about it was it’s stiff trigger. I eventually evolved as a player and my finger got tired after shooting ten rapid shots in a row. I needed a lighter trigger. I could not take it and my finger hurt.

I remember running up a hill with a couple of teammates and finding 4 opponents on the other side near the bottom of the hill about 20 yards away. Two of them dove to the ground. I pointed my gun and fired about 5-6 shots at one, not landing all of them, but enough to eliminate him. Then I opened fire on his partner two feet away and fired at least 6-8 shots, not hitting with all of them. He was also eliminated, then I was blind sided and my teammates covered me from my right side. An opponent from behind a tree was shooting at me. I turned and fired about 7 shots at him, landing a few and eliminating him. Then his friend retreated I opened fire until he was eliminated (about 10-12 shots, not all hitting him) and all this with a Carbine. Yes my trigger finger was in pain.

I wanted to solve this so I went to the paintball supply store and asked about making the trigger lighter. They said it was virtually impossible, and would greatly reduce the reliability and life of the gun. So I asked about lighter triggered guns and I was shown an AutoMAG, AutoCocker, and a Shocker. I tried all of them out. The AutoMag had a light trigger. It looked really nice but, there are not too many improvements that one can do to the AutoMag. Another problem is that it will not shoot CO2 in the cold. The Shocker had a very light trigger, but was electronically cocked which I did not feel I needed, it was also quite expensive. I settled on an AutoCocker.

AutoCocker

I have found the Autococker to be an amazing weapon. I traded in my Carbine, Dye barrel, VM-68, some paint hoppers, and 12oz air tank. I got a very nice used AutoCocker with a Rock regulator, three way valve, the strong metal handle frame, stock trigger, and a few more goodies. Although I have not used this weapon in actual battle I am really amazed by it in backyard practice runs. It has a very, very fast trigger. It is said that some people can get as many as 6-8 shots per second. Amazing! Mine is a plain old black one, without any creative color patterns. I did put on a laser sight that I got off another gun I had. It has a squeeze on-off switch on the autococker handle. You can turn it on whenever you feel like using it by simply squeezing it. I am not sure that this is useful or practical, but it is a fun accessory. Thus far I love it! I can’t wait to try it in battle. Click here to see how an autococker works.

New AutoCocker

Eventually I got tired of that plain old autococker and decided to get a better one. So I traded it in and got an amazing machine. This Autococker is tuned up to the extreme. New it’s worth about 1500 bucks. It is all after market parts. Where should I start?

First of all it has an anodized splash finish (means really nice professional painting). It is blue with silver splash, and a little black. The barrel is a stainless steel Smart Parts barrel (silver color) and looks great with the finish. It has a Nelson spring kit, modified trigger, stainless steel 4-way valve, chrome plated ram (sorry getting technical), stainless steel cocking pin, stainless steel cocking rod, a stainless steel beaver tail, stainless steel 45 grips, blue trigger shoe with vertical traction (for more grip), cut block, and screws to keep trigger aligned. All this stuff helps the gun cycle faster (recock and shoot more per second). If you need help timing your autococker then Click Here.

It also has a Sheridan external regulator. This thing is amazing. Every shot you take is within a few feet per second of the next one. I was testing this baby out and just fell in love.
Since then I’ve had the opportunity to use almost every paintball marker ever invented. It’s been awesome!