Automag Newbie w/ many ?'s

[Loki]

Hey whats up gang. I am new to the board and new to Mags. I have been shotting a Spider elite for about 4 years and finally decided to upgrade. Well i have been scaviging your threads for some answers and cant seem to get a defanit, so if the is a repaeating post i am sorry. I just bought an Automag 68 Classic w/a powerfeed, it has a Lapco drop forward and a Smart Parts barrel. not exactly sure witch barrel it is. Its solid blak with a chrome ring about 3/4 of the way down. Is this a good barrel or is there one that would be better? Also i am looking at HPA and know nothing about it. Do i get one set at 450psi or 800psi?

this is my plan for the gun and would like your oppenions:
ANS Gen-X Reg
ANS Stage 2 charger
ACI 68ci/3000 Nitro Tank

Now what is the ANS Full Flow valve for and is it needed and what would a good bolt be? Also i am sure that you guys will suggest the Retro valve but i cant afford that at this point. Sorry for any repeats and thanx for the input

[virus]

ok in the order you asked here are your answers =)

as far as barrels go.... look for barrels that match the paint that you normaly shoot.... having a good paint to barrel match helps out with accuracy and air usage

for HPA/N2/compressed air(all same thing as far as paintball in conserened)..... i take it your lookin into the preset screwin type... you want one set in the 850psi range (give or take 50psi or so)

genx reg.... not needed on a mag
reason being the back half of the mag valve is a reg. adding a inline reg would give you a 3rd reg on the gun.... the genx, the reg on the hpa tank and the reg built in to the mag valve

and stage2/phase2 charger(8hole mods)... you would be better off spending the money on paint... these do nothing for current mags... they were orignaly designed to give a better chance of the reg and air chamber holes to lining up.... old valves from years ago had that problem but all current ones dont.....

aci 69c3k tank..... no pronblems there.... on a full 3k fill expect to get about 640-700 shots out of it.. this depends on current veloicity, amount of barrel porting and paint to barrel match

ans full flow valve.... it is a replacement on/off top.... this and the z-valve both claim to help out on a mag.... there is no real proof of this, though some people swear by them, and others have had nothing but problems.... for the most part this is cause by the after market company not using the same quality of material and/or specs for the part..... and they to answer your question... no they are not needed

as for the bolt.... stick with the AGD bolts.... there are both foamie, non-foamie, long nose and the superbolt (these are currently being reworked)... any of these will be fine.... as for the other company aftermarket bolts same reason applies to them as the on/off tops

and any other questions... just ask everyone here is more then happy to help

[Loki]

Thanx a lot Virus, but now this leads me to more questions. First what are foamie and non-foamie bolts? I dont have a good understanding about the workings of this gun seeing as how i didnt get a manuel or video with it. BTW if anyone has one or knows how i can get one, that would be great. Well from what you have told me a Mag is a great gun straight out of the box. So what can i do to the gun for better performance? If that is all i will be getting out of a 68c3k tank is ther another fiber tank you could recomend in the $150 price range? I would also like to add a new triger frame to it, what do you guys recomend? As far as barrels and paint go, i use many different types of paint depending on how the cash flow is going and the givin situation. If im just playin with a group of friends i use cheap stuff but if i am at a big game i use tourny stuff. Given that sould i maybe get like a Freak set up or just have 2 barrels, 1 for cheap paint and 1 for good paint? Once again thanx guys.

[virus]

http://www.manuelknorr.de/Bolts.jpg

these are the newer longnose, old style, and old with foamie

the superbolt looks like the longnose but it has a delrin sleeve..... also the longnose bolt should be the only one coming with newer mags right now... it was designed to help reduce blowback

for figuring out shots per tank for hpa use this....

for 3k tanks 10 X total cubic inches
for 4.5k tanks 15 X total cubic inches

those shoudl give you a good guesstimate to the total you should see.....

ie 68ci @ 3k 68 x 10 = 68
68ci @ 4.5k 68 x 15 = 1020

myself i used a 88ci/4.5k tank but for the most part was only able to get fills upto 3k... at that time noone in my area filled for it so i had to use a scuba tank... but i got the 4.5k for those times when i would travel and the 4.5k fills were available.... now i dont have that problem.....

if you can get fills upto 4.5k in your area/field then look into one of those... if not, but you travel to big games where they are.... it couldn't hurt....

if you caan only get 3k fills look up one size to the 88ci tanks or larger

[Xzion]

To put it simply, AGD makes their valve as good as it can get out of the box. when they find something that works better, it becomes stock, they don't make you pay for something that makes the marker better. That, and they test their parts first, they know that no matter what you do, your not going to get the A.I.R. valve to perform any better.

If your really bent on upgrading your valve, the only option that does anything, would be the ReTro Valve.

As for a manual, you can find all sorts of manuals here:
Manuals/Blow Up Diagrams (http://www.airgun.com/manual.html)

for one for the stock mag AIR Valve, look here:Automag/Minimag Manual (http://www.airgun.com/Images/automan.pdf)

When you call AGD or use the online registration form at www.airgun.com make sure you mention in the note section that you bought your marker used, and didnt recieve a manual or a video, AGD should send you one free.

For trigger frames, the only ones really worth while, are the AGD Z-Grip, and the Intelliframe, theyre by far the best choice in aftermarket grip frames.

If you ever plan on getting a ReTro Valve in the future, you might wish to spend the extra $ and buy an adjustable Nitro tank.

Since you use lots of different paint, your best bet would probably be a FREAK system, the full kit is like 8 barrels in one, and lets you match your barrel to your paint. I personally love mine, and thinks its well worth it.

[Loki]

Thanks alot Xzion and Virus. I'll take your guys word for it. At this very moment i am looking for barrels and an air system. I am glad to finally own a product that is manufactured by a company that puts quality first. Thanx for the help.

[xmetal2001]

yep, everything they said is true, AGD's stock parts really are the best.

[Xzion]

your welcome, any other questions you have, just post em on AO, Im sure someone will be more than happy to help you.

But don't forget to try using the forum search function first, theres all kinds of info on this board already ;)

[Loki]

Well i have decided to save up for the freak barrel. Now i have another ?. I sarced the site but still cant seem to get a defanite answer. Currently i shot a lot of paint so i want a tank with a lot of air. I am looking at a Nitro Duck 90ci45k. What do you guys think of these tanks? I play a lot of private games so a small tank wouldnt be good for me. The smallest i could go would be a 68ci45k but that nitro duck is a good price. I need to stay in the 150-210 prive range.nitro duck (http://www.paintballwizard.com/cgi-bin/VirtualCatalog3/CatalogMgr.pl?cartID=b-5861&SearchField=partnumber&SearchFor=10733&template=Htx/sample2.htx) This is the tank i would like. Also is there anything ese i will need to do w/ the tank or gun to make sure i get the best performance forom the air?
Thanx again everyone.


P.S. I just read the post from AGD and that is toooooo sweet that he takes the time to keep in contact with his client base.