Looking for some detailed advice

[illidus]

Hello and thanks for for checking in. I have a few questions and I apologize if this gets long or if I ask something that is located somewhere else. I've been reading around the forums here a number of times and I'd like to either upgrade or build a higher quality automag to keep up with players with new-age E-guns. My brother and I own classic 68 automags from over a decade ago and both still work fine. Neither has been upgraded or changed from stock except for a new barrel on mine.

Now I've seen on the forums here a few sweet looking/shooting mags and would love to see the specific parts or ideas to build/upgrade. So far I've been looking into the following;
ULE Mainbody
X-valve
apex 2 barrel
some new clamping feedneck for a decent loader
new rail to fit the ULE body (without the barrel detent thing for the twistlocks, not sure what type that would be yet)
not sure about the grip or trigger, I don't have a problem with the stock one currently.

Beyond that I'm not too sure what I could do to up the performance of my marker. (I only use compressed air fyi.)

My end goal is to have a fully mechanical, semi-auto marker that consistently has good range and accuracy. I love my mag but I would like to put some cash into it or build another mag that performs a little stronger. If anyone has any suggestions about my ideas or can point me in the direction of a solid build I would greatly appreciate it. Thanks for the help!

[OPBN]

Just buy an X valve and ULE body. You can use the stock rail, just remove the twist lock pin.

[vintage]

the ULE bodies are threaded for Autococker barrels which increases the number of barrels available. if you want it to RT i believe you'll have to change the rail and grip frame.

[illidus]

the ULE bodies are threaded for Autococker barrels which increases the number of barrels available. if you want it to RT i believe you'll have to change the rail and grip frame.

What does it mean "to RT?" Just wondering.

[BigEvil]

For the money you are going to dump into it, you might want to consider just buying a new one. Can't go wrong with a Tac-1.

[OPBN]

if you want it to RT i believe you'll have to change the rail and grip frame.
Nope.

[vintage]

Reactive Trigger---there is a sweet spot in the trigger pull that allows the marker to fire continously as long as you hold it. poor mans full auto. go on you tube and check it out

[vintage]

For the money you are going to dump into it, you might want to consider just buying a new one. Can't go wrong with a Tac-1.

if you buy all new parts he's right unless you just want the pride in building one from scratch. used parts will shave a little off the cost, all depends on what you want.

[illidus]

Reactive Trigger---there is a sweet spot in the trigger pull that allows the marker to fire continously as long as you hold it. poor mans full auto. go on you tube and check it out

Ah ok. I don't really care for that. I'm just trying to find a build that has higher shooting performance while still being mechanical and semiauto. thanks though. =)

[OPBN]

Ah ok. I don't really care for that. I'm just trying to find a build that has higher shooting performance while still being mechanical and semiauto. thanks though. =)

If you're not looking at higher rate of fire there really isn't any reason to change valves. Just buy a. ULE body, a freak barrel kit and a Level 10 bolt and go to it.

Maybe it would help to define "performing stronger".

[Spider-TW]

If you're not looking at higher rate of fire there really isn't any reason to change valves. Just buy a. ULE body, a freak barrel kit and a Level 10 bolt and go to it.

Maybe it would help to define "performing stronger".

Right. Maybe add an RT-style on/off to your classic valve. It won't make the valve reactive, just lighten the trigger pull.

To bother with the RT and x-valves, you should want the rate of fire and/or the aluminum. Like BigEvil mentioned, you have to weigh $200-$250 in parts, vs $400 or so for a used build that runs fast enough to be banned from many tournaments.

You can scooch about cheaply with a classic up to about 8 bps. After that, the price goes up and the possibilities get numerous.

[illidus]

Alright, so besides upgrading the valve (x-valve) and the ULE body to get access to better barrels, the only real performance upgrading I can do is rate of fire? In that case what all would I need to get RT going? Intelleframe? Maybe some sort of regulator? Thanks again for the help!

[OPBN]

What "performance upgrading" are you wanting? What are you looking to achieve?

[athomas]

An X-valve will give you protection from short stroking at high rates of fire. If you're like me, you probably get on the trigger when excited, and then get a half released trigger cycle which causes a short stroke and a cough. It doesn't cause problems, but it is annoying. The X-valve will help prevent that because of its ability to recharge in much less time.

The X-valve comes with the level 10 bolt. If you don't get the X-valve, at least get the level 10 bolt for your classic if you don't already have it. It is the best upgrade for any mag.

The ULE body is also a nice upgrade. It gets rid of the nubbins and the barrel wobble that goes along with a twist lock barrel. The cocker threads are the most common barrel threads, so it opens up a lot of barrel possibilities. Make sure you keep a spare detent on hand in case the one in the body gets damaged. The detents are a common angel thread.

The clamping feedneck is a nice upgrade on the ULE body. It is a standard Angel thread which a lot of markers use. It gives you lots of options.

Any rail will work. You can use the stock AM/MM rail until you find one you absolutely must have. If you do upgrade, try to find one that is milled from a retro rail so that it uses the screw in sear pin and retro sear.

There are lots of great grip frames for automags now. Check out some of the dealers that sell here on AO. They have some really nice frames. The triggers are really stable and smooth.

You don't need a regulator. A regulator will hurt your performance. There is already a regulator on the bottle itself and one in the mag valve.

To get an X-valve to be reactive, you just need to adjust some of the parameters. The easiest one is to get a bottle with an adjustable output pressure that can reach 1100 psi. The next one is to get some ULT shims for your retro on-off assembly. You can add up to 4 shims to increase your reactivity. You can start with a shorter on-off pin if the 4 shims don't give you enough reactivity.

[vintage]

this can get deep real quick, OPBN is right it would help to know what kind of performance your looking for, longer bottle life, more accuracy, more distance, different look, slightly higher rate of fire without the RT effect etc..........:)

[illidus]

this can get deep real quick, OPBN is right it would help to know what kind of performance your looking for, longer bottle life, more accuracy, more distance, different look, slightly higher rate of fire without the RT effect etc..........:)

Gotcha, sorry. What I'm looking for is a automag with good distance, accuracy and a respectable rate of fire, (mechanical only). I've always played semi-auto but the RT idea is pretty cool. At this point I agree that it is probably easier to just build a new one.

[vintage]

I have 2 RT Classics that seem to shoot faster than my standard classic mags without the RT effect and the trigger pull feels lighter as well. can't give you a bps number as I have not been able to play since I picked them up, I just shot up the privacy fence in the back yard. the RT is a mechanical semi-auto.

[C_losjoker]

Pnuemag it.

[illidus]

Pnuemag it.

What does that mean/entail?

[Patron God of Pirates]

distance, accuracy

The deepest rabbit hole of all. While you were away....

Accuracy in paintball terms = consistency / repeatability. A good tank reg, well maintained valve, and a good paint/barrel match are your friends here.Check out the Paintball spin physics thread in deep blue.

Range has to do with the speed of the paintball and little else (that you can control). Since fields set the FPS limit, everyone has effectively the same range. The APEX2 will *help with that.

*It's been my experience that backspin devices (I've owned a Z-Body and an APEX2) can give you a flatter trajectory but seem to trade backspin for velocity over distance. i.e. the effective breaking range of the paintball is shorter or at least cancels the range advantage.

**If striking at range is your game, maybe look into something that will fire FS rounds.

[vintage]

where are you located? might be able to hook up with someone from here on the forum for a first hand look at something your looking at.

[illidus]

http://www.automags.org/forums/showthread.php?266069-My-Automag-ULE-custom

The build this guy has going seems nice. Full mechanical and it seems to shoot great. The speed on it just seems like gravy. I'd like to know what hes using.

[Patron God of Pirates]

http://www.automags.org/forums/showthread.php?266069-My-Automag-ULE-custom

The build this guy has going seems nice. Full mechanical and it seems to shoot great. The speed on it just seems like gravy. I'd like to know what hes using.

Looks like your standard ULE-Custom with a Ninja SHP reg.

[Syko89]

http://www.automags.org/forums/showthread.php?266069-My-Automag-ULE-custom

The build this guy has going seems nice. Full mechanical and it seems to shoot great. The speed on it just seems like gravy. I'd like to know what hes using.

That's what happens when you put a ninja shp tank with a x valve, or any of the rt style valves. If that is what you want out of a mag then the suggestions for you to find a used one would probably be best. Unless you want the "I built it myself" feeling

[need4reebs]

Pnuemag it.

listen to this man!!!


What does that mean/entail?

a pneumag uses a 3-way valve that sends air from a LPR to a actuator/ram to trip your sear. it gives you the trigger feel of a electronic marker, making walking the trigger possible…but with out the batteries, boards, and noids. any valve can be used and a lvl 10 is recommended. take a look at this video of a classic Pneumag…this is the video that got me interested in pneumags:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dV9KfjuO5Vk

and another:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dHORgVbPsVs
gotta love that song at tha end…haha

there is even a nice pneumag frame thats completely built and a nice price in the MISC section here…seller says its ready to go…you just remove your sear leg, bolt the frame on and go shoot some peeps in the face!!!
http://www.automags.org/forums/showthread.php?266441-Stuff-for-sale