The best Cocker ram?

[afultz075]

Well, I just traded my backup Viking for a lovely Gloss Orange E-Blade Merlin. This is my first cocker and i'm really excited to get it and try it out. The ram on it is an ANS, so i'm thinking it would probably be a good idea to upgrade. What all good rams are out there?
These rams caught my interest, anyone have any experience with them?
Belsales .44 Magnum
Palmer QuickRam
CCM J2 ram

Any others that you recommend?

[slade]

Well, I just traded my backup Viking for a lovely Gloss Orange E-Blade Merlin. This is my first cocker and i'm really excited to get it and try it out. The ram on it is an ANS, so i'm thinking it would probably be a good idea to upgrade. What all good rams are out there?
These rams caught my interest, anyone have any experience with them?
Belsales .44 Magnum
Palmer QuickRam
CCM J2 ram

Any others that you recommend?
i dont know too much about cockers, but from what ive heard the ram really doesnt matter too much, if it works it will perform the same as any other ram. the 3-way and regulator are the parts in the frontblock that really matter.

[teufelhunden]

Belsales/Eclipse w/ QEVs.

They're the same same, just look slightly different.

[teufelhunden]

i dont know too much about cockers, but from what ive heard the ram really doesnt matter too much, if it works it will perform the same as any other ram. the 3-way and regulator are the parts in the frontblock that really matter.


That's the LPR. It only regulates the air that is used to recock the gun, so it doesn't have to be super consistent or anything-- just has to work.

[slade]

That's the LPR. It only regulates the air that is used to recock the gun, so it doesn't have to be super consistent or anything-- just has to work.
really? i thought the advantage of a good lpr is that if you can lower the pressure enough it will pinch balls instead of chopping. i know the advantage of one 3-way over another is the trigger pull distance... whats the advantage of one ram over another? (besides the qev's)

[Muzikman]

There are a lot of things that make one ram better than the other. Speed is one of them. I personally like the older Palmer ram. The new one is just a bit big and beefy for me, but it does have a built in back stroke QEV.

[sithos]

the fastest and lowest pressure ram is the SMC ram. It is sold by one of the moderators on www.air-powered.com (the cocker forum)..

It is actually manufactured by the company that makes the rams for Freeflow, and comes in a Pro Paintball package.

The difference between the SMC and the freeflow (and all other rams) is that the internal bore is almost double in size, including the ram shaft, so it requires a lower pressure to move the ram, meaning it will cycle faster at your current pressure, or you can lower your lpr and get that pinched ball thing going.


Also.. its one of the least expensive rams. For only $33 its a steal!


btw.. compulsive sells them, and you even get a free sticker!

[teufelhunden]

really? i thought the advantage of a good lpr is that if you can lower the pressure enough it will pinch balls instead of chopping. i know the advantage of one 3-way over another is the trigger pull distance... whats the advantage of one ram over another? (besides the qev's)

Ya got it backwards ;) A better ram will be larger bore, so it can run at a lower pressure, and thereofre be set up to pinch.

[SlartyBartFast]

http://www.palmer-pursuit.com/images/cocker-prts/prokit-nkl-microrock.jpg :cool:

[RusskiX]

I've owned a WGP STO, Freeflow SMC, and Eclipse 44.

The eclipse is hands down the winner of those three. It is insanely smooth, so that if I tilt the cocker up the ram and back block slide from gravity alone. I could never do that with my STO or Freeflow, even when they were freshly rebuilt and lubed.

Though I've never tried a PPS, I'd spend my money on the eclipse.

[afultz075]

I hear that the Nexus/Belsales rams are the smoothest, but as i've been reading up on them it seems that some people have issues with them snapping, so i', kind of leaning toward a Palmer ram.

[SummaryJudgement]

I've got an all Shocktech front block set-up and I love it. I know the eclipses are real good too and the ones from palmers, but the shocktechs movement is really a "crisp" "clean" movement, but has VERY little recoil to it. Of course all these things depend upon the other components in your front block. If your pressure is too high it can add to recoil and premature wear on the ram. If it is too low, yes you may pinch balls instead of breaking them, but then during rapid fire the ram can get sluggish. These are of course only in instances of relative extremes. Also the input pressure of the gun can affect all of these factors collectively. A friend of mine swapped out his sto ram with a pps a couple of years ago. He had been running his sto just under 300psi, but when he put the pps on there he had to increase his input pressure. That sucked for him because he didn't have a velocity adjuster, just a spring set that gave him the velocity he needed with his old input pressure. I have never heard of this happening to the extreme he suffered (about half a day of experimenting with different springs), but it's possible. Go with eclipse, pps, or shocktech. You should be safe ;)

[afultz075]

Hmm, another one to consider. In case it matters, here's the specs on the gun:
AKA Merlin (Tornado valve and all AKA internals)
Lightning Bolt
E-Blade
SCM

I need to use a Crossfire LP preset with this gun since it's the only tank I have.

[kenndogg]

http://www.moodypaintball.com/pages/ram.htm

[FSU_Paintball]

I wouldn't go with an ebladed merlin... they're really nice guns, but the lightning bolt is a little heavy for an eblade, and I think the back block may be a bit chunky as well. It's very important to have very little cycling mass in e-cockers.

As far as a ram... the nexus with QEVs is the best. Aside from looks, the only thing separating it from the .44 ram is that the nexus uses different seals.

If you're on a budget, check out the Moody Paintball ram with QEVs.... I think you can get the ram and QEVs for like $45 total. Nice deal.

LPR doesn't matter a whole hell of a lot.... an eblade has eyes, so no worries about chopping. And having your LPR set somewhat high bumps up your cycling speed.

[Ityl]

This post is so 1997.

I'd go with the Freeflow, never had any problems with them.

[afultz075]

I wouldn't go with an ebladed merlin... they're really nice guns, but the lightning bolt is a little heavy for an eblade, and I think the back block may be a bit chunky as well. It's very important to have very little cycling mass in e-cockers.

As far as a ram... the nexus with QEVs is the best. Aside from looks, the only thing separating it from the .44 ram is that the nexus uses different seals.

If you're on a budget, check out the Moody Paintball ram with QEVs.... I think you can get the ram and QEVs for like $45 total. Nice deal.

LPR doesn't matter a whole hell of a lot.... an eblade has eyes, so no worries about chopping. And having your LPR set somewhat high bumps up your cycling speed.

Actually, I don't think my Merlin is going to be any worse than other cockers as far as cycling mass, it's a P-block, and the Lightning bolt is delrin, so I wouldn't think it'd be a problem.

http://img68.exs.cx/img68/2268/IMG_0578.jpg

[WenULiVeUdiE]

I was going to get a mech. merlin, but things fell through.

As far as rams go, as long as it has a very smooth stroke and your backblock setup is light, it shouldnt really matter. You'll be happy with any of the Rams people have mentioned. Get one and see how it goes.

[Steelrat]

I love that merlin. I too just bought a merlin:

http://www.printproofing.com/greg/race_1.jpg

The ANS mini ram is supposed to be pretty darn good. The .44 and the one sold by moody also seem nice. Palmer makes good stuff as well. I dont think you would go wrong with any of them.

And you cocking mass should be fine. The delrin bolt and p block back are pretty light.

[sithos]

ooooops... i ment mpp.. its a custom version of the smc, sorry for the confusion. that one from moody paintball is insanely fast.. i know cause i put one on my old eblade to replace the eclipse ram that i broke, and it was much smoother.

[afultz075]

Well, I think i'm gonna go with the MPP ram, seems like the best bang for your buck!

[FallNAngel]

Ya got it backwards ;) A better ram will be larger bore, so it can run at a lower pressure, and thereofre be set up to pinch.

Actually, that's not true either. The truth is, the pressure doesn't matter at all. It's the return force that you have to worry about. You could take a stock ram and pinch with it, it's not that hard. Being able to pinch actually has more to do with the mainspring tension than what kind of ram you have.

[68automagpwnr]

STO ram is pretty nice, thats what i have. I don't know exactly how much better they make it, i just hear they are nice, but anything that can fit QEV's or TRV's sounds pretty good.

[Kaiser Bob]

Hey steelrat, thats a pimp *** merlin, I didnt know they sold them cut down like that. Is that custom? How much those suckers run?

[Steelrat]

Hey steelrat, thats a pimp *** merlin, I didnt know they sold them cut down like that. Is that custom? How much those suckers run?

Thanks man. Its a normal merlin cut down by Martin paintball to a half block. I would have a hard time recommending him or Bob "Turtle" Long, because both of them are taking many months to complete their work. But the work on this one is certainly beautiful.

[Kaiser Bob]

Thanks man. Its a normal merlin cut down by Martin paintball to a half block. I would have a hard time recommending him or Bob "Turtle" Long, because both of them are taking many months to complete their work. But the work on this one is certainly beautiful.


I rather like the sled design on Doc's fastbacks, but his turnaround time is a thing of legend (not in a positive way). But Merlins are like the cadillacs of cockers, and yours is like a pimped out cadillac, +2 bps for every sticker too :)

[trains are bad]

Actually, that's not true either. The truth is, the pressure doesn't matter at all. It's the return force that you have to worry about. You could take a stock ram and pinch with it, it's not that hard. Being able to pinch actually has more to do with the mainspring tension than what kind of ram you have.

true.

THE DIAMETER OF THE RAM MAKES NO DIFFERENCE. STOP BUYING THE HYPE.

the force a ram exerts is a function of pressure and diameter. Getting a larger ram lets you run a lower pressure but exerts THE SAME FORCE. If you had a one inch ram it might run on 5 psi but it is still exerting whatever force is needed to compress the mainspring. I lighter mainspring is what will allow you to run less ram FORCE which will pinch better.

I hate seeing lies spread.

[slade]

THE DIAMETER OF THE RAM MAKES NO DIFFERENCE. STOP BUYING THE HYPE.

the force a ram exerts is a function of pressure and diameter. Getting a larger ram lets you run a lower pressure but exerts THE SAME FORCE. If you had a one inch ram it might run on 5 psi but it is still exerting whatever force is needed to compress the mainspring. I lighter mainspring is what will allow you to run less ram FORCE which will pinch better.

I hate seeing lies spread.
yeah that makes sense... so essentially the best ram is the one that has the least friction, thereby reducing the force needed to cycle?

[Kaiser Bob]

true.

THE DIAMETER OF THE RAM MAKES NO DIFFERENCE. STOP BUYING THE HYPE.

the force a ram exerts is a function of pressure and diameter. Getting a larger ram lets you run a lower pressure but exerts THE SAME FORCE. If you had a one inch ram it might run on 5 psi but it is still exerting whatever force is needed to compress the mainspring. I lighter mainspring is what will allow you to run less ram FORCE which will pinch better.

I hate seeing lies spread.


Actually you should specify that the diameter of the ram makes no difference when you are trying to pinch paint. If you are going for balls out speed, you want a ram that can cycle the fastest with the least pressure, if youre running with a solenoid 4-way you can only crank your LPR so much before the solenoid starts venting.

[punkncat]

Actually, that's not true either. The truth is, the pressure doesn't matter at all. It's the return force that you have to worry about. You could take a stock ram and pinch with it, it's not that hard. Being able to pinch actually has more to do with the mainspring tension than what kind of ram you have.

I was wondering if anyone was going to say that.

I wouldn't worry about replacing the ram. The ANS will work fine. Wait until it leaks , then replace it. And as was mentioned before , higher pressure will give a higher cycle rate , to a point.

[FallNAngel]

yeah that makes sense... so essentially the best ram is the one that has the least friction, thereby reducing the force needed to cycle?

Yes, but more often than not, the force needed to cycle just the ram is rather small when you bring into account the mainspring.

[gregmeyn]

best ram out there period; largest bore, lowest pressure, fastest cycling rate.

smc freeflow ram w/ optional qev's

order it on www.4freeflow.com

freeflow forever