Originally posted by Conman
Hey All --
I'm new to paintball...I just played for the first time a couple of weeks ago.
Anyhow, I'm interested in buying a marker and have decided to go the cocker route...I'm not sure I need the speed of an electro (had a chance to play with and Angel and Intimidator my first time out) and really like the idea of upgrading as I get better and tinkering with stuff. So, here are my questions
1) Would I be better off going for a WGP stock Autococker 2003 and upgrading or start completely from scratch? Or maybe something else?
2) Do all after market parts advertised for cockers fit on ALL late model cockers? Or in other words how to you know what parts will work with what guns...just following magazines and web sites?
3) If I was to go with the WGP stock Autococker what would be your first recommended upgrades.
Thanks for putting up with yet another newbie. I appreciate any advice you all have to offer.
Jeff
(1) If you plan on upgrading it, a stock 'cocker would be the best way to go. That way, you can change what you want to change when you want to change it and you don't have to worry about already having spent a large sum of money on aftermarket parts that you don't like.
(2) All aftermarket parts will fit on all cockers with the exception of bolts. There are bolts for Pre2k cockers 2k+ cockers, and Evo and similar cockers. The same is true for ASA's and front blocks. Other than that, 99.9% of all aftermarket parts will fit onto a new cocker. These parts for older cockers or specialty cockers are usually noted, but it is best to ask first just to be 100% sure. Better safe than sorry I think.
(3) The first thing I would get for a new cocker is a new barrel, an electro loader, and ... well, that's all you need, new cockers are good to go out of the box.
After that (and after yiou have spent a day learing the ins and outs of learing how to time and re time a cocker - Which is a must if you want to avoid any and all possible cocker problems) Then I would buy a Valve tool and a Spring kit (under $20 total) Then you might want to buy an adjustable reg such as a Palmers Stab. an AKA Sidewinder, or a WGP ERGO reg (or black magic, those 2 are the same reg, which is also the same as the stock, only adjustable) The stock reg is great but a pain to adjust. using the spring kit and the valve tool you'll be able fine tune your operating pressure and get more shots per fill.
Now at this point you
may need to adjust your recock pressure so the easiest thing to do would be to buy an adjustable LPR, suck as a palmers Rock or a WGP Tickler. You use this to adjust how much force is used to recock your 'gun.
After that, just change out what you don't like. Want a shorter trigger pull? You could buy a new frame with trigger stops, I like Benchmark, great finish and it's pre tapped for trigger stops. You could buy a roller sear kit such as the one Extreme rage makes, expensive, but the best one out. and you could buy a shorter 3-way. The shortest right now are the Bomb from shocktech, the P.M.P. From DYE, and the new adjustable one from WGP.
Don't let anyone try to sell you a new bolt tho, The stock bolt is the second highest flowing bolt on the market, and the best deal (comes with the 'gun so it's free) The highest being the AKA lightining, and the only reason I bought that one was that I found it in delrin. That and my stock bolt was getting a bit chewed from the ball detent (this isn't really a problem anymore because the new stock bolts have a grove in them to prevent wear from the detent)
When buying the stock autococker, I would go for the center feed over the right feed. The balance is better it looks cooler and you don't need to worry about breaking elbows. So will tell you it feeds faster too, but really, it's not enough to make a noticable difference.
I think I've covered most of the angle, feel free to Email me with any questions you might have.
-Micah
mcmski@adelphia.net
