Palmer markers?

[magking1971]

Anyone own or has owned a palmer?
Are they reliable and low maint?
And do you have to mess with them like a cocker? (timing and all that crap)
I was thinking about getting a typhoon and know nothing about these guns and nobody around here owns one.
Thanks for the help.

[shartley]

You may want to take a stroll over to the Palmers’ Owners Group Forum.

http://www.paintmagazine.com/cgi-bin/cutecast/cutecast.pl?forum=8

Palmers markers are indeed reliable. Mine was just tuned and had a complete rebuild from PPS themselves, so I don’t know how long it will go before it needs to be tuned again. But they are great markers.

[edweird]

Palmer is quite possibly the most respected man in all of paintball honestly... The man has done more stuff for the paintball industry than anyone else I can think of. Oh and Glenn is quite possibly the most intersting person I have ever had the pleasure of speaking to at or around a paintball event. I mean hell... this is the GUY that invented pneumatic automation as we know and love it today in the autococker brand of paintball gun!

But on the case if I know about the maintenance and care of palmer markers... I personally dont own a palmer gun[yet] and thus cannot give you every detail about them. But I do know several people that do, alot of which are regulars on this board.

[this is where Muzikman, Evil Preacher, RamboPreacher, Shartley, and other palmer owners come in singing the praises of palmers goods]

Now the thing with owning a 'phoon is finding a feild that will let you play with it... we all know its not the 18+ bps was monster but feilds have insurance policys and some of the policys prevent use of markers that fire more than one ball per trigger pull.

[Dayspring]

Only the Nasty Typhoon is double barreled if I'm correct...

[edweird]

see this is what I get for having eccentric[aka crazy... but with money!] friends Ive yet to see a Typhoon that wasnt double barreled but im sure they exist now that you point it out.

[personman]

Ive yet to see a Typhoon that wasnt double barreled

http://www.palmer-pursuit.com/images/typhoon/Typhoon-blue-pc.jpg

Now you have ;)

[50 cal]

Get a Palmer gun. You won't be sorry. They shoot fantastic. Very little maintanence.

[deathstalker]

Typhoons are awesome! Got to use one last year in a Big Game because I was waiting for my gear to come back from a vacation in Florida. One word of warning: if you don't work out, you better start. Those things are heavy! :D The weight, however, makes it very stable and you feel hardly any kick.

A group I play with uses either Mags or Palmers as their primaries or backups. I've played with a Blazer, Stroker, and Typhoon and I had a great time with all of them. These guys have never had to time them. They've only had to replace a few o-rings here and there.

[magking1971]

I really really want a blazer or typhoon but I hate to spend $400 or so on a gun I have never held or shot and won't know if I like it untill I get it.
AARRGG this drives me nuts! :mad:

[shartley]

Yes, as was pointed out only Nasty Typhoons are double barreled. In fact unless the PPS marker has “Nasty” in front of it, it is only a single barrel.

With that said, yes, they are fantastic markers. I would not suggest passing up the opportunity to own a Palmers marker if given the chance. But if folks are worried about weight, most Palmers’ markers will not be for them. They tend to be hefty (as pointed out by deathstalker)… but I like it that way.

Just for reference… here is my baby again…

PPS Piranha SB Stroker…

http://www.gbsu-usa.net/shartleycustoms/mystroker3.jpg

And here it is in pistol mode with motorized hopper and remote…

http://www.gbsu-usa.net/shartleycustoms/customer/stroker1.jpg

And here it is with a custom spring feed I had Glenn make for me…

http://gbsu-usa.net/shartleycustoms/customer/stroker10rd.jpg
http://gbsu-usa.net/shartleycustoms/customer/stroker10rd2.jpg

They are great markers and real fun to play with…. as well as look GREAT.. IMHO

[magking1971]

Sure, make it worse by posting pics :mad: :p
I am not worried about weight I had a classic e-rt with a 114 4500, warp and halo and never had a problem :p
But what is with the timing thing? is a big problem? happen often? easy to set or just better to send to palmers to have done?

[hitech]

I also have a stroker. It was built in 1991 and sometime around 1998 or so the 3-way orings started to leak. Took me forever to figure out what it was. Keep some of those on hand as they are hard to find from anyone other than PPS. Seven years seems like long enough before replacing any orings. I've since replaced all the orings. Seemed like a good idea after more than ten years. ;)

The only caution I would add is that working on one is more involved than a 'mag. If that is what you are use to, it will seem much more difficult.

BTW, they really are tanks. A stroker will make your RT Pro seem very light. My eMag is WAY lighter than the stroker.

[Muzikman]

Palmer guns are simply amazing. When I first bought my SB Stroker (looked a lot like Sam's when I first got it) it was the best craftsmanship I had ever seen in a paintball marker. Palmer has come a long way over the years, yes they still sell all the good 'ol brass based guns that weight as much as a cinder block, but they also have the Blazer. This is MUCH lighter and directly competes with most non electro cockers. It's fast, light, and very reliable.

This all being said, Palmer markers are not for your part time tinkerer or the person who wants to buy a gun then put 1000 aftermarket upgrades to make it look pretty or in their mind, shoot better. The key to Palmer markers are to play with them, clean them, oil them, store them. If you do just this, the gun will sing for years and never need more than the LPR and velocity adjusted. If something should break, it will more than likely have to be sent back to Palmers as not many shops understand them well enough to fix them and also most shops do not carry parts for them.

I currently own 4 Palmer guns (SB Stroker, Houndstooth, Hurricane, and Typhocker (Palmerized miniCocker)). Except for the Hurricane (which needs a rebuild) the only problem I have ever had with any of them is the safty on the Typhocker broke.

[PaintballSmurf13]

Anyone own or has owned a palmer?
Are they reliable and low maint?
And do you have to mess with them like a cocker? (timing and all that crap)
I was thinking about getting a typhoon and know nothing about these guns and nobody around here owns one.
Thanks for the help.
i've never really had to mess with my cocker in my year and a half with it. :rolleyes: ...palmer's guns are incredible though
-Ryan

[UThomas]

They're cool but know that its an old school thing. They haven't changed much in the last 5 years if at all (verticle feed is all I can think of).

Don't get one (at least a typhoon) and expect a 45 frame, interchangeable barrels, delrin bolt, clamping feedneck, electro upgrade path, etc. So just know that going in. If you are easily bored don't get one.

[DK1]

the 2k series Blazer's are excellent little markers. Very small, very light, you can get a double trigger .45 frames. Nice short snappy pull. Vert feed, dual ball detents. They are very reliable, almost bulletproof.

I can say I've never had a bad experience with anything I've used with PPS's mark on it.

I really liked mine... if I weren't such a URGW (un-repentant gun whore) I'd have kept it. But, I have to stay true to the cause and try different markers. :)

DK1

[gc82000]

I own two Blazers (ok one is for my dad) and I just got them back yesterday. I sent them off to have them rebuilt and man are they faster, the trigger pull is exceptually smoother now and QEVs were added for a faster rate of fire. The customer service there is top notch second only to AGD :D . And my Blazers are not bricks they are even lighter then many ULEd mags. The only problem is that barrels must be ordered from PPS directly, no systems or the like. As for upgrades, PPS has done alot more then VF, they got QEVS, double triggers, updated hammers, rams and three ways. They probably could surpass any mechanical cocker when put though the same test. All in all I would definiteky reccomend getting one timing and tinkering are not a problem, just play, oil, and store. And they will love you long time. :D

[deathstalker]

I'd like to add that I felt it was MUCH easier to learn and perfect the trigger pull on a Palmer than it was on a 'cocker. They're definitely the smoothest I've ever shot and it really helps you get into a rhythm.

[Tack]

If you are used to a crisp short electronic trigger pull you will be in for a surprise when you pull the trigger on any of Palmers guns except for a Blazer. They require a full pull and release. I found it very easy to short stroke and chop paint when I first got my SB Stroker. As for timing and such, I have never had to time it, I did have some problems with it not shooting good at first when I got it but found that the trigger shoe had slipped down and was keeping the trigger from fully being pulled. Once that was fixed and the thing was dialed in it kicks tail.

Also, don't expect super insane rates of fire. I haven’t shot a blazer but I understand they are the exception, but the others because of the way you need to pull the trigger won't allow you to get crazy on the trigger, however you can keep a decent ROF up and their performance and accuracy will make up for any lack of speed.

[Muzikman]

I own two Blazers (ok one is for my dad) and I just got them back yesterday. I sent them off to have them rebuilt and man are they faster, the trigger pull is exceptually smoother now and QEVs were added for a faster rate of fire. The customer service there is top notch second only to AGD :D . And my Blazers are not bricks they are even lighter then many ULEd mags. The only problem is that barrels must be ordered from PPS directly, no systems or the like. As for upgrades, PPS has done alot more then VF, they got QEVS, double triggers, updated hammers, rams and three ways. They probably could surpass any mechanical cocker when put though the same test. All in all I would definiteky reccomend getting one timing and tinkering are not a problem, just play, oil, and store. And they will love you long time. :D


First off, how did you get QEV's to fit on a Blazer? Second, why? the air path is so short anyway. If you could get pics, I am really interested in seeing them.

[cphilip]

And Glenn is quite possibly the snazziest dressing old coot in paintball biziness too! :D

[veteranmag]

I was in the same situation as you. I had heard so many great things about Typhoons but had never seen one in real life. I bought a used typhoon (single trigger, pro-touch trigger job). Here were my impressions. By way of comparison I've owned a 1999 ANS GenX autococker and a freeflow autococker (benchmark single frame).

1. Palmer has great customer service. You can call them up with a serial number and they will tell you the history of that particular marker.

2. The typhoons are built like a tank (very rugged), and consequently solid and heavy in weight.

3. The trigger, even with the pro-touch trigger job (at least the one I had) is quite stiff and heavy compared to contemporary autococker triggers. Custom autococker triggers tend to either be smooth and long (ie STO, freeflow) or have shorter, heavier/snappy trigger pull (GenX).

4. I found the typhoon to be very reliable. The timing on the marker is quite conservative so I wouldn't expect you to have any blowback or timing issues.

5. Accuracy. I did not find the accuracy and range of my typhoon any better than my other autocockers.

Overall, the typhoon definitely has the "cool" factor. I think the typhoon is one of the best looking markers ever made. But given the typhoon's heavier trigger (less rate of fire), greater weight, and fewer options (can't use standard drop forwards, stocks, etc. on the grip frame) and no greater accuracy, I would choose an autococker over the typhoon.

I haven't tried a blazer yet, so that could be a different story.

Good luck.

[shartley]

But given the typhoon's heavier trigger (less rate of fire), greater weight, and fewer options (can't use standard drop forwards, stocks, etc. on the grip frame) and no greater accuracy, I would choose an autococker over the typhoon.
If you want to use drops, stocks, etc. you can get a UMB (universal mounting bracket). This allows for you to use what you want because it provides the mounting holes which the grip frames do not have. This will however cause a slight gap in the front of your grips (if using standard Battle Grips or two piece front wraps). You can use a one piece front rubber wrap, but it does not fit quite the way it should IMHO, but will fit. What some folks have done to take care of this issue is to have custom grips made that are the correct dimensions to make up for the added thickness and eliminate the gap.

Of course then the grips will not fit without the UMB… but this is not really a problem since you still have the original grips if needed.

[lew]

I shot a Typhoon at a local field about a year ago. It shot so nicely. The trigger pull was manageable, a little lighter than that of my Mag. Truthfully, it is probably the nicest gun I've ever shot, aside from my Mini cocker, that is. It was very comfortable and the weight was reassuring. It'll probably be the next gun I get.