A-5 vs RT/Tac1

[SCpoloRicker]

AO,

my dad is getting back into playing, so its time for another round of "vs" threads ;)

It's pretty much down to Tippy vs Mag.

Priorities:
1. Reliability
2. Ease of maintenance and repair
3. Utilitarian look (close to mil-spec, but not armotech territory)

Notice, speed is not all that important. Either way, he will likely end up with a single trigger frame, and mechanical only.

So, I would appreciate everyone's opinion. I assume everyone is going to say mag, so talking points would be appreciated.

Thanks all,

Ricker

[Brophog]

You've successfully described both guns, congratulations!

[SCpoloRicker]

:dance:

I know, they both definately fit the requirements.

I honestly never repair the Tippy I own, just clean and lube. Are they fairly basic. I remember being able to tear the mag down in a few minutes...

[space_weazel_45]

I own both, if you wan to deck it out to look as real as possible (which it sounds like you don’t) go with the a-5, but honestly from personal experience ive found that the mag will shoot smoother, quieter, and more consistently. simply by design. you are comparing two completely different designs, in two different price ranges. you get two completely different feeling guns.

My vote is for the mag

[nt2004]

AO,

my dad is getting back into playing, so its time for another round of "vs" threads ;)

It's pretty much down to Tippy vs Mag.

Priorities:
1. Reliability
2. Ease of maintenance and repair
3. Utilitarian look (close to mil-spec, but not armotech territory)

Notice, speed is not all that important. Either way, he will likely end up with a single trigger frame, and mechanical only.

So, I would appreciate everyone's opinion. I assume everyone is going to say mag, so talking points would be appreciated.

Thanks all,

Ricker

I'd say the mag fits it better than the A-5.

1. Reliability- I have several friends including myself that have mags, none of them have any issues with reliability
2. Ease of maintenance and repair- A few drops of oil and thats all. Also, 1 screw removes the whole valve/botl assembly
3. Utilitarian look (close to mil-spec, but not armotech territory)-depends on what you put on it

[Meph]

I'm biased for obvious reasons, but oh well gotta chime in.

First I'd ask him to see if he can handle either or. Maybe not a TacOne but at least an automag in general. See how they balance and feel to him. If he can handle either or and likes both feel then go Tippmann. Why?


1) Both are reliable yes, but no doubt that Tippmann = King. I know fields still using Pro-Lite rentals since 91, and I'm using still at times my SMG-60 external line which was the first production of Tippmann.... still works. It's a durable, reliable, and tough lil bastard. Even with neglect it'll work fine. Major neglect. When working on markers in the booth you hear stories from people, most outrageous one I've heard was a guy whose house burned down. In the house was his paintball gear including a Model 98. He got a friends tank, screwed it in..... still held air and shot.

2) Sure you can maintain both easily, especially with both having same method. Drop in some oil and gas it up. However repair.... Tippmann wins big again. A-5 especially, you can gut this thing in seconds to get anything you need to get at. Easy to both repair in general, and very easy to identify the problem needed to repair. Not much to go wrong. Tippmann can do without oil for a while, but mags love lubrication and require it. Though fun part is many mags I've fixed that wouldn't fire... I just lubed it up and they shot fine again. But for the A-5 you don't need any tools, don't have much hassle. Mag takes not a lot of time but you have to know what you're doing (not hard to figure out most areas, but mags can be finicky).

3) Can't comment, this is his style not mine. Sure you can get ProTeam Products gear or Lapco gear on an A-5, or a night scope and lazer sight on the TacOne.... but that's your call on what looks better. Both go borederline mil-sim but don't cross into realistic land via armotech.

And above all you can buy an entire package + an upgrade or two for the cost of just the Tac-One. Overall my vote (biased but at least detailed explained why) is no doubt Tippmann A-5.

[SCpoloRicker]

good comments guys! Feel free to keep em coming.

related tippman horror story; My first gun was a pro-carbine bought in 1995. It recieved no useage from around Sep 99 until two months ago. Plug in air, *bang* *bang*, lo and behold, the summa shoots! :shooting:

My dad really dug that it worked, and is basing his pref towards Tippys based on our previous experience. I'm prob biased towards Mags, even though I don't have one right now ;)

Anyways, thanks guys

[Jack & Coke]

Good post Meph...

[Z-man]

Sounds to me like in the end you really won't suffer either way you go. Perhaps at this point you should go on more subjective things like looks. Heck you want something that is reliable and functional but, if you hate the looks you will never really like the marker.

[peewee]

I personally just went thru this same decision making process. :eek: The A-5 is hard to beat for recballin. I agree that Meph is truly biase in his opinion at least he's the first to admit it & you cant argue to much with his having this paticular biase Tippys are great guns, in one area I am not sure that I agree with his post . Lube is one area that I disagree. Mags dont require much, a few drops now & then , in my experience Tippys require more. I went out & played with a friends A-5 it worked great , didnt seem to have an issue with taking the rumored hopper hits that the cyclone is known for. I now question peoples skills over the marker that they use. Noobs cant pop out. :tard: TE has done very well with A-5's etc. The Tac one would have a much better rate of fire bone stock, but requres a hopper , A-5 nope already got that saves $60. I finally went with an all black ULE ,had some cost savings over the tac one now I can buy a hopper with basic ease of design of the mag over the A-5. There is more things that could go wrong with an A-5. Even if it is rare that they might ( lets just say the exploded view of the A-5 can scare you a bit.) But I do have to say that my next purchase will more than likly be an A-5 unless Tippmann comes out with something new now that they got all that investment capital. Or AGD still have Sydarms around . :headbang:

[Jaremy Rykker]

AO,

my dad is getting back into playing, so its time for another round of "vs" threads ;)

It's pretty much down to Tippy vs Mag.

Priorities:
1. Reliability
2. Ease of maintenance and repair
3. Utilitarian look (close to mil-spec, but not armotech territory)

Notice, speed is not all that important. Either way, he will likely end up with a single trigger frame, and mechanical only.

So, I would appreciate everyone's opinion. I assume everyone is going to say mag, so talking points would be appreciated.

Thanks all,

Ricker

As a start, this has been proven time and time again in the history of weaponry and warfare.

Simplicity=Reliability.

The Tippmann's inline design is very simple. The Automag's design is even simpler.

1) Tie. Tippmanns are renowned for reliability, but so are Automags. The Automag is probably slightly more reliable because there are less things that can go wrong, but the difference will not be significant. There are still many very old Tippmann markers that still exist, and there are still many old Automags that are still working. The difference is that the Tippmann is now subpar, while the Automag can be upgraded and with a little spending can become the new Automag as the parts are usually interchangeable.

2) Automags will win here. Replacement parts are less common, but major ones can be found at many proshops, and AGD will repair you marker just like Tippmann. However, AGD markers need less general maintenance, largely out of respect for the fact that they have less moving parts. Both can be used on little maintenance.

3) A-5 looks like an MP5. TAC-ONE has a utilitarian feel, and is more useful for features such as a red-dot and such than an A-5. However, it will never look quite as military as an A-5.

My suggestion is that either is good, and he should go with whichever he likes more. The TAC-ONE is better, but the important thing here is that he should like the look of it, or he will never be really that happy.

[SpecialBlend2786]

wow thats a tough choice.

I think you'll be very happy with either marker, but keep in mind that the A-5 will be a bit cheaper (cheaper base price + dont need to buy a hopper) and will run well on CO2 as well as HPA.

Mags dont like CO2.

[Enemy]

ok im sorry i got bored so i didnt read the whole thread if anything i mention is already stupid call me a moron and that will work..

tippmans are great i love 98s they are the back up to my mags..

for pricing im going with the a-5: it has an enclosed hopper so you dont have to buy a new one, can run co2 good thing cuz lots of none tourney fields either have poor compressed air stations or they dont have one at all co2 is an easy fill so its all good...

the mag is easier to maintain and alot more durable..look for the cocking handle on the a5 to break often!!!! mags also almost tool free teardown and one screw holds the rest to gether so..but then the tac one only runs on nitro so thats a big issue!!!other than that i think you see all of the good and bad points of both guns.

[Vendetta]

You forgot the very important :wow: factor. How many A-5's do you see on the field compared to T1's? That's worth some $ :D

[anarchistwar]

judging by what everybody else has said and what i know personaly about the A-5, i think it comes down to style and price preference......TAC-one if that's how much you wanna spend, i would.
i don't think you can go wrong with either. :cool:

[Jack & Coke]

Is this for Rec. ball (walk-on), or Senario (big games)?

During big senario games, it's not uncommon for them to have problems with HPA compressors and max fills they can give you. If you don't want to deal with re-filling head-aches (low fills, long lines), CO2 is the way to go. In that case, go A-5.

[RRfireblade]

I say A5.

Best bang for the buck. (Value)

Less maintainance than a Mag

Far simpler design than a Mag and more reliable

Almost fool proof, will run on almost anything

Doesn't require any 'tweaking' or 'tuning' at all

Comes with a force feed loader and it's already 'intellifed on top of that

Endless scenerio options including and beyond items that will mount to a piccinny rail.

IMO.

[ZapTheMad]

I say Mag for rate of fire. I played my first scenario a couple weeks ago. The RT mags are way fast when set up properly. It's easy to exceed 20 BPS with an X-valve and a good adjustable tank. I tried out some Tippmans while I was there and the rate of fire is just not anywhere close. You may spend more on it to start but it will last forever and you will always be happy with it.

[Brophog]

Is this for Rec. ball (walk-on), or Senario (big games)?

During big senario games, it's not uncommon for them to have problems with HPA compressors and max fills they can give you. If you don't want to deal with re-filling head-aches (low fills, long lines), CO2 is the way to go. In that case, go A-5.

That's an excellent point. Ironically, at some of the games I've been to in recent months, it has been the other way around. Great 4500 HPa fills, and lousy, long line, inadequate CO2 fills.

I prefer to have both options available.

[Brophog]

I say Mag for rate of fire. I played my first scenario a couple weeks ago. The RT mags are way fast when set up properly. It's easy to exceed 20 BPS with an X-valve and a good adjustable tank. I tried out some Tippmans while I was there and the rate of fire is just not anywhere close. You may spend more on it to start but it will last forever and you will always be happy with it.

Well sure, if you set your gun up to bounce like that, there won't be a comparable rate of fire. That's why some fields aren't allowing either RT style mags or RT style tippmanns.

[slasherdan]

Have both ....

The difference really only comes into how one plays the game. Here is something that came up recently with my two markers.

If I shot just one ball out of my T1 it would curve. If I rapid fired it I had a 6 inch grouping at 70 feet.

I shot one ball out of the A-5 and I hit my target ...

From what I've seen on the forum this is due to AGD's X-valve and how it works.

I tested this on all my friends Mags and found the exact same issue.

With a E-frame I have a better chance of shooting at the same levels as my T1. But if I want to go out and hunt someone down in a scenario, I don't want to lay down fire as much as tag the doogie with one shot.

When I hit a speedball field I pull out the T1. When I rec-ball I flip a coin. When I go to a scenario, I pull out the A-5.

If he only wants to play rec and scenario I'd say the A-5. When he gets hooked and looks to upgrade ... go AGD ....

Tom always says it best when he says "Everyone owns a Tippmann."

[TheTramp]

Someone said it above and I'll say it again....this isn't exactly an equal comparison

The A-5 is a nice reliable marker (with some anti-chop due to the cyclone) that costs ~$250
The Tac-1 is a fast reliable top of the line scenario marker that costs ~$450

That extra $200 is important to some people. If I had a choise between an A-5 and a Tac-1 in a give-away OF COURSE I'd go for the TAC.

THe real question your father has to ask himself is: does he want to pay the extra $200 for the significant increase in speed and almost perfect anti-chop ability of the TAC. I'd do it but that's because I tend to want the best and I'm willing to pay more for it.

[Jeffy-CanCon]

As usual, there is a lot of excellent advice here.

If it comes down to price, the A-5 wins hands down. The Tac-One costs more OOB, and will need an HPA tank, and a hopper. But for that $ you get a higher quality marker, that will perform a bit better. If you want good all-weather performance out of the A-5, you will need an HPA tank, anyway, so it's not germane to mention that as an extra cost of the Tac-One.

I always reccomend Tippmans for people just starting out, for their reliability, commonality and low price. For a more serious player, someone who likes to [I]like[/] his equipment, I'd reccomend the AGD product. The quality of machining and materials is noticeably higher, and this site gives you some idea of the support from both the community and the company.

[Phobos]

if you own a mag there is the added bonus of interchangable parts. All of my friends have slowly converted to mags and it is nice.