Well, not to knock Paul's favorite gun, but the Vikings we used in the 1-on-1 at the Pan Am in December weren't very satisfactory. Several times we had to delay starts to figure out why guns weren't putting balls out whenever the trigger was pulled, but I will admit that that Ricochet hoppers were probably the cause...maybe the batteries were low? I don't know. I do know that we powered the guns down and up occasionally, and we sometimes shook the guns...I was too busy moving forward usually to try and figure things out...I got smart after awhile and would pull the trigger several times before the start so we could solve the problem before I started cursing...I'm sure many people don't remember, but if it went down on you at the wrong time, I'm sure you do remember.
Now, a teammate's Excaliber is nice, even though it is capped. The only quibble I have with it is that you can cut steaks with some of the sharp edges of the gun, but I think AKA softened those edges in later production runs.
For me, not matter how sweet the gun, an important consideration is support...as in I don't want to have to send my gun away for two weeks to get it fixed 'cause it sucks if it needs to be fixed the week before a tournament. Is AKA big enough to offer the support you need? Only you can answer that. For me, I live in 'Cocker Country so that's my backup gun, and I have access to the Intimidator factory, so that's my main gun (the E-blade came too late for me). I have nothing but praise for the customer support at Smart Parts (I do have a quibble or two with some of their engineering decisions), you just have to be PERSISTENT and nice when you deal with them. I have talked to the people at the AKA booth, and emailed Aaron, and they all seem to be very nice and knowledgable about their product, and much of their stuff is well made, if a little expensive.
No matter what gun you get, you'll have a problem or two crop up eventually, that's why the support part is very important to me. Good luck, and let us know how your purchase goes
Ray "I talk too much" N.
Now, a teammate's Excaliber is nice, even though it is capped. The only quibble I have with it is that you can cut steaks with some of the sharp edges of the gun, but I think AKA softened those edges in later production runs.
For me, not matter how sweet the gun, an important consideration is support...as in I don't want to have to send my gun away for two weeks to get it fixed 'cause it sucks if it needs to be fixed the week before a tournament. Is AKA big enough to offer the support you need? Only you can answer that. For me, I live in 'Cocker Country so that's my backup gun, and I have access to the Intimidator factory, so that's my main gun (the E-blade came too late for me). I have nothing but praise for the customer support at Smart Parts (I do have a quibble or two with some of their engineering decisions), you just have to be PERSISTENT and nice when you deal with them. I have talked to the people at the AKA booth, and emailed Aaron, and they all seem to be very nice and knowledgable about their product, and much of their stuff is well made, if a little expensive.
No matter what gun you get, you'll have a problem or two crop up eventually, that's why the support part is very important to me. Good luck, and let us know how your purchase goes
Ray "I talk too much" N.
