Black Magic STO Autococker shoots

Let me repeat the two words that best describe this marker: Sweet and Ness.

We tested the Black Magic both indoors and outdoors. We were very impressed with the results, to say the least. To put it simply, the Black Magic shoots paintball like Michael Jordan shoots basketballs.

Indoor testing:
When Mike Gomez, of Michigan Paintball, was offered an opportunity to shoot the latest and greatest from Bud Orr, he jumped at the opportunity. He is pictured wearing his JT jacket and bunkering someone at the Toledo Indoor Paintball field.

"This is amazing. I turned away from autocockers years ago because I simply got tired of them. I am old school, I like pump guns. But this might make me go back. Wow. Tell Bud that this is what paintball is all about," said Mike Gomez after some playing with the Black Magic.

The marker shot very well and very consistently. Paintball on top of paintball from 30 to 40 feet away. After the game ended, Mike asked, "Hey do you mind if I empty the hopper. I just gotta try this out."

We used Diablo Inferno indoors and it was about as perfect a match as any. The J&J was very impressive with the Diablo Inferno. We also tried some two month old Diablo Blaze and had exactly the same results. One paintball on top of the other. We haven't done the full bench test, but our preliminary indoor findings have found the Black Magic to put paintballs into a 4 inch diameter circle at over 40 feet away. The only reason that it was 4 inches is simply because as one paintball exploded on top of the other it pushed the paint under it out to the sides. I am sure that if we bench tested the Black Magic and had erasable paint, we'd have a much tighter circle, as tight as an inch or two.

Indoors we tried playing with CO2. Not very bright. Anyone who plans on using this marker should invest in a nice compressed air system. The Black Magic was inconsistent in terms of velocity with the CO2. But all markers would do the same with CO2. Even with the inline regulator, the inconsistency was very prevalent. We highly recommend a compressed air system.

Outdoor testing:
Scientists once created the 'perfect' dog food. It was well balanced, contained all the proper nutrients, and was the result of years of research. The only problem was that dogs wouldn't eat it.

Like the dog food experiment, we did not just want to write about the Black Magic 'in theory'. We wanted to test how the marker performed in a realistic game situation. So we had the locals and our staff play at TAG (Toledo Action Games) and get their impressions.

For the outdoor test we decided to run the marker on compressed air. We rigged it to our Smart Parts Max Flow 3000 psi system and had the air go into the custom inline regulator that came with the Black Magic. Double regulation wasn't necessary, but we figured that we might as well test the products we were sent, not our own. So we wanted to see how the inline regulator would do.

First, I stopped by the chronograph to check the velocity. I dropped the pressure down to 230-240 psi and the marker was shooting fine at a perfect 290 feet per second. Took a few more shots and quickly realized that the inconsistency problem that we had with the CO2 was no longer existent. Anyone who spends this type of money on a paintball gun, really ought to invest in a good compressed air system.

I took the camera and handed the marker over to one of our junior staff members to play with the weekly recreational staff. Before the game started players were already eyeing the Black Magic and wondering what it was. I expertly announced that this was a new WGP product that was coming out soon and we are here to test it. I also informed them that anyone who wanted to play with the gun is welcome to do so once we were done.

I stopped by the registration booth, checked in our staff members, and purchased the necessary paintballs. We wanted a Diablo brand, based on our previous experience, and were handed Diablo Inferno. See our technical area to learn how to match your barrel to your paintball.

The Diablo Inferno proved to be an outstanding choice. The paintball left the barrel to their target as if they were laser guided missiles.

Our staff member played on a team and had an enjoyable experience. The Black Magic was lightweight, easy to hold, and well adapted at shooting from both right and left handed positions. Our player ran through a swamp, eliminated some players in distant bunkers, and even took the flag. On the way back to the home bunker he had to bunker an opposing player, but that's all in a day's work. You can see the flag hanging from his arm as he gracefully wields his marker.

After the game I took the marker to the target range and had one of my trusty friends, who doubles as a referee at TAG, take a look at the marker. He unloaded about 300 rounds through the marker and really liked it. He was shooting at a saucer that was hung by a string about 60-70 feet away and was nailing it every time, except for a few times when the saucer would swing by the string. He is an autococker expert and has an autococker as his personal marker. He really wanted to play the speedball field with this marker, but time did not permit; perhaps next week.

So how well did it shoot? Eventually, I took the marker, chronoed one more time, and began some more technical testing. I dropped the pressure below 200, and the marker performed like a hero. We haven't chronoed at pressures below 230 psi, so we don't have a velocity at 180 psi. We hope to have one by next week.

I reset the pressure to around 230 psi, chronoed in at around 287-293 feet per second, and began another round of shooting. The target I chose was a 1 x 1 foot piece of wood about 60-70 feet away. I held the marker as steadily as I could and proceeded to precisely place one ball on top of the other just as a scientist would do with a pair of tweezers and a microscope performing microsurgery on a lab rat. It was an exact art. One right on top of the other.

The overall area covered with paint was less than 4 inches, but once again, I firmly believe that this is due to the paint landing last pushing other paint out of the way.

I was very surprised indeed. I have never, I repeat, NEVER seen anything like this from a paintball marker. I always believed that markers simply could not be accurate no matter what people did to them, but I am beginning to change my mind. I was in shock to say the least.

This marker, with Diablo Inferno, is beyond accurate. In fact, accurate is a gross understatement. This marker is dead on. Pinpoint accuracy is the most befitting term. We have tested all types of barrels and markers, even all sorts of autocockers, but have never seen anything like this before. But the question remains why?

Several hypothesis come to mind, which will have to be tested at a later date. However, could it be due to the low overall operating pressure? Lower pressure does not distort paintballs as much or slam the bolt into them as hard, but is that the reason? Or could it be that the J&J two piece barrel and the Diablo Inferno paintballs are truly the perfect match? A marriage made in heaven? We have tested barrels and paintballs before, but never a J&J with Diablo, so that could be the explanation. Could the internals be that much different than other autocockers we have tested? None of our other autocockers were that highly polished and none of them use the newer velocity setting mechanism. Or is it the valve?

We will find out as we delve further into this marker. As of right now, anyone shooting anything else is truly missing out on a paradigm shifting experience.

See the upgrades we have made and how they affected the marker.

Upgrades>>

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