Coming back to paintball, need automag advice

[stangclassic66]

Hey Everyone,

The last time I played paintball was 1996. Back then the guns "to have" were the Prolite, Automag, and the finnicky Autococker. I had the prolite. I love it but from some of the websites i've been visiting, it looks like LOTS has changed since then (burst, auto, electric, etc.) Not knowing much about the new guns, I stumbled upon this automag forum and another tippmann forum. I was so close to buying a new Tippmann A5 until I sighted it. I am a lefty and that big hopper feed was in my way. So i'm in the market for something new (or old.)

Question for you automaggers... What are the different Automags on the market today? I see the original classic Automag is still used a bit. But how many different Automag models are on the market? Including the electric stuff. I found an ad for a used Automag with some extras and an extra hammer marker for $190. Is that a good deal? Other than the barrel it's completely stock. What should I expect to pay for a used classic automag? Can the classic be converted to auto or burst?

Sorry for all the questions. Thanks in advance for any answered!!

Erik

[Aeronautica86]

I'm kind of in the same boat as you - I haven't played in about 2 years and am getting back into it this spring. Not the same length of absence as you but still much has changed even in the two years that I left the game.

I used to play with a tricked out 'cocker that I loved, but wanted to get back into the game with something different so I decided to look at my other favorite gun - the classic automag R/T.
I picked one up for less than the price of the lesser gun you mentioned, so I bet you could find a better deal.

www.airgun.com is AGD's website and they have all the various guns there. They still make the minimag, the Pro Classic, Pro ULE R/T, and E-Mags, as well as a gun based on the Mag called the Tac-One which appears to be mostly for the scenario game players.

[stangclassic66]

Will all upgrades and mods that fit the automag fit the minimag? Are they totally interchangeable?

[geekwarrior]

what style of paintball are you going to be playing? speedball, or more woodsball?

if you play sppedball, chances are your going to be outgunned with an automag. not saying that you will get worked, i play with an mag against angels shooting ropes, and still manage to take them out. but probably the biggest change since you've been playing is that most people dont shoot 2-3 balls at you, they shoot ropes of paint, 25-30 balls.

if sticking with an all mechanical gun still sounds good to you, I would recommend getting a automag rt of some sorts, the rt or x valve, the level 10 is a must, and the ule body is nice. you can find them on here for a decent price, and its easy to find parts and swap them out to build the gun you want. as for parts being interchangable with the minimag, im nt sure whats all compatible....the level 10 is, and you can drop a rt or xvalve in it.

welcome back

[Coralis]

The minimag and the automag are essentially the same the only real difference is the body.

$190 for the mag and the hammer is a little high,(depending on the extras) but not to unreasonable especially if its a local deal where you wouldnt have to spend money on shipping . You could probably find cheaper if you looked I have seen some classic mags go for around or 100 or less (used of course)

There are two main classes of mags these days:

1) those based on the classic 68 air valve, such as the minimag, 68 automag, classic automag etc

2) those based on the RT/Xvalve, such as the RT mag, RT pro mag, Emag and Xmag etc


Hope this helps some

[Arstron]

Check out these sites for automag stuff:

http://store.airgun.com

http://www.themagsmith.com

http://www.logicpaintball.com/

http://www.deadlywind.com/

http://www.lukescustoms.com

http://www.tunamart.com (site isnt finished yet)

Like what was asked before, what style paintball will you be playing mostly? If you need to shoot fast, an emag would be your best option. If shooting fast isnt a concern then there really isnt any end to what kind of automag you could have.

[bad64chevelle]

For whatever its worth I just sold a classic Automag power feed with an ACI expansion chamber, Dye Boomstick barrel, and some other accessories for $135. I dont know how that compared to the mag you looked at but the Mag I sold was exceptionally clean and worked very very well.
Jon

[stangclassic66]

It comes with a grey splash 18" barrel and a VL2000 viewloader and some other assorted accessories like squeegies and pods, etc.

I'm about a 95% woodsball player. I played speedball once and it's too fast for me. I couldn't should fast enough as compared to the guys laying paint and I couldn't afford to shoot that much paint at the time. I was 16-17 yrs old then. Cases of paint used to be $120. I like the prices of paint nowadays!! I haven't tried speedball since then but might give it a go. Woodsball is definitely what I love to play. We used to run as fast as we could to the center field, put ourselves in tactical positions and employ ambush tactics to the opposing team. If we got to the spot and met our opponents, we'd screw the ambush and it would just be a straight full on fire fight. Games we played were mostly capture the flag, but we didn't really trip on capturing the flag so much. I loved to nail people.

One memorable moment was when the game started and we rushed to the center of the woods. Waited for 5 minutes...nothing. Thinking wtf, we go closer to the opposing fort, nothing, nobody. We call the guys holding down OUR fort said they killed about 15 guys out of a 40 man team. At this time, we had a couple guys in their fort getting the flag and a few of us outside when all hell broke loose and they proceeded to ambush us from all directions. It was a bad beat to us and probably one of the best tactics i've seen used. It's one hell of an andrenaline rush.

Are the playing fields still like this? Or does everyone want to shoot 2000 rounds per game.

[bad64chevelle]

Thats how we play. We usually have anywhere from 10-25 people out in the woods. We have built up the woods pretty well with bunkers, and what now and there is alot of natural coverage. We usually set up with a set of snipers, middle men, and a few front men and use alot of tactics. Alot of fun, I cant stand speedball myself. Once in a while we will mess around and play some speedball like games in the woods we call it "Spoodsball" but other than that we dont go anywhere we have to pay admission to.

[geekwarrior]

an automag would be great for you than.....if you want to shoot a little faster, get an x valve or the rt valve. the only downside of this is that you must have compressed air, they dont run off co2.

if you want to stick with the classic valve, than upgrade to the level 10 bolt, it will eliminate chopping. the ule body is nice, it gives you vertical feed, is alot light, and takes cocker threaded barrels.

if you want to drop a little cash, get the tac-1, a great gun for woodsball. otherwise the sites listed above are great for automags. if you want to save some $$ and buy used, you can find great deals here and ebay.

let us know what you get!

[flyingpootang]

Stang66 wow we got a lot in common, I have an 65 gt fastback, started playing in 95, and now I'm back into mags. I p/u an RT pro for 250 w/ an Xvalve, lvl10, ult, tac rail, and ule vertical body, & chrome double finger intelli frame. I have now upgraded it to a Spydermag electronic spyder frame modded to my RT mag. Check lukescustoms.com for info this guy dose stuff cheap. I have also found Emags going for 350 here on the classified section. Just be shure the seller has tons of feedback. If your going to get a mag I would suggest a least a Xvalve & lvl 10 at the minimum because those items will be needed if you ever wanted to upgrade. You have to face facts everone always upgrades and having parts that we still be usable is a lot less headaches......