From: gheller@yoda.wsu.edu (Geoffrey Heller)
Subject: Opinion of various paintguns
Originator: gheller@yoda.eecs.wsu.edu
Organization: Washington State University!
Date: Mon, 16 Nov 92 18:11:06 GMT

I have a few comments to make on some of the various paintguns available.
Most are semis and I also talk about my Trracer towards the end of the file.


PMI-3
=====
I've seen several of these things and most of what I've seen isn't all that
good.  While they are quite durable, they never do get to working very well
even after the break-in period.  A player in my last paintball game finally
gave up on his PMI-3 and finished out the game with his Pirranah.  Actually,
I really don't recall anyone *ever* finishing a day with a PMI-3 -- they
seem to suffer an inordinate number of mechanical failures.


Tippman PRO-AM
==============
This is a fairly nice semi but there still does exist some problems.  For
example, I have seen the plastic feeder tube attachment (part of the gun) 
break right off during a game.  If you are going to get one of these you 
really ought to consider getting the metal feeder attachment for it.


Automag
=======
Probably the best semi I have seen to date.  Very high rate of fire, and
overall a nice feel.  I recommend that you don't get the drilled-hole rifled
barrel if at all possible though.  The holes are a pain in the butt.  (more
on this later)  Also, the Armson (sp?) barrel is available (although not to
the general public yet) for this gun.  For those of you who don't know, the
Armson barrel is a micro-tolerance lathed rifled barrel.  There seems to be
a bit of accuracy improvement, but not really a whole lot.

The Smart-Parts rifled barrel may help some in accuracy, but it has some
severe logistical problems to it.  First, if you put your hand on the
barrel you will defeat the function of the rifling!  So forget it if you
like to hold the barrel in one hand while firing.  Also, if you break a
paintball in the field it is next to impossible to get all the paint out
of the gun.  The paint disperses into those little holes and gets lodged
there for the duration of the game.  Periodically it drips back into the
barrel wrecking havoc with your accuracy and causing you to break even more
paintballs.


WGP Auto-Cocker
===============
I can only tell you what I've heard about this gun (no firsthand experience).
It has a firing rate similar to the Automag and is indeed a competition-
grade gun.  However, it apparently has parts which move around on the
*outside* of the gun.  It was described to me as looking like "Willy Wonkas
Chocolate Factory" with little parts moving up and down all the time outside
the gun.


Promaster SI
============
This is a good gun.  I've fired it and it works very smoothly.  It doesn't
make any loud clicking noises while operating -- it just pops the balls right
out there.  Not quite as high a fire rate as an Automag though.  But it still
has the classic semi problem of blowing paint up into the feeder tube if you
break a ball.  In my opinion, this is one of the major problems with the
semis in general.


Black Eagle Stingray
====================
I cannot begin to describe how *BAD* this gun is.  Starting with the look and
feel of a big squirt gun, to the mushy trigger and safety lock.  This is a
really lame gun.  I don't know what the bozos in the paintball mags have been
drinking -- this gun is the worst.

A player on my team recently purchased this gun and is now seriously
considering switching to a pump-action gun.  Upon the initial firing of the
gun it apparently shredded all the original O-rings so they all had to be 
replaced.  During yesterday's paintball game it split about every 15th 
paintball fired.


Trracer
=======
This is a pretty good pump.  I admit that when I first got mine I was fairly
unhappy with it.  It jammed alot and wouldn't fire at a consistent speed.
But after a break-in period (about 2500 rounds) it is working just fine.
With practice, your rate of fire can approach that of the semis.  Also, since
it doesn't have blowback to spray the paint around, it is easier to keep it
going during a game.  This gun is comparable to the Bushmaster in firing
accuracy and durability.  Lately I have been firing 600+ rounds a day and
get only 3-5 balls broken in the barrel during that time.


--

I hope this cleared things up for some people.  If you have any questions
please feel free to send me e-mail or better yet post to alt.paintball.



  - Geoffrey Heller
    gheller@eecs.wsu.edu

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