Help with mag pistol project for winter

[ChristianFromPitt]

Well, the cold season is upcoming. I only play in above 40* F and since that's not going to be possible for the upcoming cold months, I look towards working on a project marker to make over the next few weeks.

So I have all the main markers I can play. I really like my mag but have this sudden temptation to have a mag pistol to play for some big games. Back in 2013 I used a pistol from a friend to clear a building at Invasion of Normady. The ability to crawl low, angle around corners without a hopper exposed, and the light weight ability to be one handed handled made it enjoyable and easy to shoot 3 guys out who kept looking for me, but never saw it coming. Plus I prefer to shoot someone with a lower feet per second marker at close range. I'm not here to hurt someone, I want paint to break at 250/260 fps Max and think that if I'm playing a marker tuned and adjusted to 280 to shoot outdoor for most games, turning down the dial a welt and back up isn't a choice to play safe. So having two markers makes sense in this case.

So I have a few ideas but cost is a factor. I have a few setups I'm looking at but haven't had the money or didn't log in at the right moment when the one did pop up on MCB for $85 until the day after it sold. So what I'm looking for...

1) runs on 12 grams
2) gets a minimum of 20 shots on a 12 gram
3) small size, built in spring feed attached so no hopper
4) under 12" long barrel
5) Operate at 250-260 fps in most cases without issues on CO2.

So I've looked at the following mag options

1) Sydarm- My first choice but the most expensive. I haven't found one under $300 and really didn't want to spend more than $200 on one since I'd use it for 3 games in 2016 tops.

2) Micromag - looked at a gen 1 micro but again price is above $200 and I'd have to still work out the spring feed and running on 12 grams (many say micro mags need HPA, not CO2). This seems the least likely option.

3) Classic Valve mag- I see some real nice builds, as a matter of fact, if I was able to get the one on MCB for $85, this thread wouldn't exist. However I see I would need to devolumize the valve to run on 12 grams and putting together parts might be the way to go with this project. Piece by piece I bet I'm under $100 built for this option and think this is the best way for what I'm looking to do.



So yinz mag guys, what would you suggest for the most bang for the buck? I'm going to work on this over Nov, Dec, Jan so it's not like I need this marker today. I'd like some perspective from the mag techs here to see what valve I should be looking at to make the best marker for this project.

Cheers,
Christian

[Spider-TW]

20 shots on a short barrel is pushing it, but the 250 fps will help a lot. I would look into either a twist lock freak back ($) or a doc's adapter and some sort of barrel kit with a tip you like. Getting the bore down helps with efficiency with different paint.

Spring feeds need some help usually, with function and/or fit. I would look at knownothingmag's stock class adapter and building off of that if you are building your own.

BigMatt has various versions of horizontal ASA's...

http://www.mcarterbrown.com/forums/mad-customs/269111-automag-hasa-version-3-0-a.html

It's hard to top a sydarm for compactness, and it's all in tucking in the feed and 12g.

[captian pinky]

if you go the building a mag route. im pretty sure i have a valve that has the dump chamber already cracked open that you could easily use a devolumizer. i also have plenty of options for twistlock bodies and barrels. aswell as a lot of single trigger frames. feel free to shoot me an pm.

i would avoid the gen 1 micromag option. price and limited options will likely change your mind.

i would build your own. using a low cut feedneck and a empire spring feed will likely get you in the ball park of what your looking for. that paired with a devolumized valve and a 12gram changer straight off the valve would probably give you about the max number of shots you could realistically get.

[ChristianFromPitt]

So I should look at a HASA, and a classic valve to get the 20 shots at 250. Thanks.


Does a level 7 bolt work or should I go with something like a level 5?

Does a bolt even matter?

[Cyco-Dude]

1) runs on 12 grams
2) gets a minimum of 20 shots on a 12 gram
good luck with that; i think 280 fps and a typical barrel with stock valve only gets about 12 usable shots or so. 250 fps, underboring with an unported barrel and the "efficiency" mod might get you there.


1) Sydarm- My first choice but the most expensive. I haven't found one under $300...
...and you likely won't. if you want a sydarm, you need $300-400.

i think just buy a tipx for $200 and be done with it lol.

[ChristianFromPitt]

Well, the other thing I see is a lot of interesting markers/pistols on MCB for under $100 and I could build it from there.

For example, there is this Delta 68 pistol on MCB that burps and seems to need some rework to make it go, but I know nothing about these pistols and if they are known to have issues.

However my love of mags has me convinced that if I want a dependable marker and I'm willing to wait over time, I can assemble the parts I want. Heck, I've seen two mag pistols with spring feeds pop up and sell for $150 or less. That might be the way to go and then add my personal touch to it to make it unique.



Last question:

The line from the ASA to the valve, would a hard line offer any benefit as I think the diameter of a hard line is smaller than the soft tubing I currently use?

I figure that less gas will sit in the line with a hard line, but it might not make that much of a difference.

[Spider-TW]

Well, the other thing I see is a lot of interesting markers/pistols on MCB for under $100 and I could build it from there.

For example, there is this Delta 68 pistol on MCB that burps and seems to need some rework to make it go, but I know nothing about these pistols and if they are known to have issues.

However my love of mags has me convinced that if I want a dependable marker and I'm willing to wait over time, I can assemble the parts I want. Heck, I've seen two mag pistols with spring feeds pop up and sell for $150 or less. That might be the way to go and then add my personal touch to it to make it unique.



Last question:

The line from the ASA to the valve, would a hard line offer any benefit as I think the diameter of a hard line is smaller than the soft tubing I currently use?

I figure that less gas will sit in the line with a hard line, but it might not make that much of a difference.

Gas line is usually worth 1 or 2 shots (which is a 10% difference). You can run some weed wacker line in a regular hose or tube to get rid of the unused volume. You may need to watch your rate of fire for drop off though. Some people want 10 shots fast (4 bps) out of their pistol, which isn't asking much, but it cuts into the efficiency and you can find thick weed wacker line to go in narrow macro tube.