Is N2 or compressed air worth the money?

[meloco14]

I have only run CO2, and have never really considered high pressure cause I've never been too serious and never wanted to spend the money. But it seems to be getting more and more popular, and I plan on playing a lot more. I have heard that it makes shots more accurate, is this true? I assume they would be more consistent as far as velocity, which would affect accurracy to a point, but is it really noticable? And is there a cheap way to get into high pressure systems? I have a minimag, do I need to change anything? Do I need a regulator or anything? Any help is appreciated, thanks

[DeathscytheSK]

Defiently Worth it especially if you use a mag, mags don't like co2, give it Nitro and it will shoot like a charm

[Dover]

Just a couple of answers, or at least my thoughts:

Compressed air can make you more accurate, but just more consistent; it is well worth it especially when you are stepping up to the chrono. Once you go to compressed air you won't wanna go back.

A cheap way to get into air is the smaller, self-regulated screw-in systems. I believe they come as small as 48ci for under $100 these days, a far cry from when I bought my boat-anchor-heavy Air America Apocalypse for $400.

And no, you do not need to change anything to your Minimag, nor do you need to add a regulator (the A.I.R. valve is a regulator itself).

[digitard]

To elaborate more on Dover's comment ..

HPA isn't as temperature sensitive ... go outside, fire off 20 shots as fast as you can with your co2... watch and you'll see scattering drop off points and inconsistant shots.

HPA doesn't have a reaction like that to the valve/outside being as hot or cold so your FPS is more consistant, this allows you to have a bit more accuracy because your shots are getting to the same point a lot more consistantly.

YES its worth it ...

You can get a PRESET HPA tank for about 100 bucks used from someone and that'll do ya just fine!

Sincerely,
Dave K

[TheTramp]

Everything these guys have said is right. Also, If you look in the classifed forum you can probably find a tank for even less then they are talking about. You can get a used 48/3000 for around $50 or a crossfire 68/3000 steel tank for around $80. I'd go with the crossfire because you wont need to upgrade to a bigger/lighter tank for quite a while (if at all). All in all, moving on from CO2 to N2 is one of the best "upgrades" you can do for your mag.

[meloco14]

Wow, thanks, seems like I'll be moving up to air sooner than I thought. One more question, I haven't been to too many different fields, but I remember a few years back when I went to one of the bigger ones near me they separated the high pressure guys from the CO2 guys. Do a lot of fields still do this? My friends still run CO2 so I'd want to be able to play with them...

[digitard]

No,
Most fields dont do that anymore ... Most of the new guns run on HPA solely (any of the new mags, etc) and most players are actually using HPA now ... so you should be just fine.

Check out the AIR SYSTEMS forum and try to pick up a cheap 68/3000 tank and you should be set.

Best of luck,
Dave K

[meloco14]

cool, thanks a lot, one last question. Right now I have an expansion chamber on my gun, and which I've always believed is used to make CO2 fire more consistently, but it seems like I wouldn't need that for air. Should I take it off or leave it on?

[Remington]

It's up to you to leave it on and use it as a foregrip or take it off. I recommend taking it off and switching to either a gas-thru grip or just a foregrip. If you leave it on it probably won't do anything except possibly constrict air flow a little. But again, it's up to you.

[digitard]

Exactly like he said ... You have 3 options

1) Leave it on and use it... but to be honest it will restrict air flow in this case.

2) Leave it on but dont use it ... this basically makes it a foregrip, so if you like the feel of it and look go for it.

3) Get an actual foregrip or gas thru grip and use this: If you get a regular foregrip then you're going to have to get the air line to go from the valve directly to your ASA (however you have it setup) ... if you get a gas thru you can hook the valve to the gas thru, and then the gas thru to the actual mount.

Your valve has a built in regulator, and the preset HPA tanks regulate as well .. so you dont need anymore than that.

Sincerely,
Dave K

[Big Unit]

Well, Meloco, I guess I was a little late replying to you. I just found this site.

Anyway, I have been using a stock MiniMag for 10 years now. And all that time I used CO2. I noticed that CO2 was a pain in the *** when firing fast because rapid firing with the tank on the vertical setup caused the CO2 to "boil," making it so cold that solid CO2 would blow out the gun. And of course, with CO2, as you have been told, does indeed drop off in velocity with each successive shot in a rapid fire series.

The way I combated the solid CO2 from messing up my velocity in rapid fire situations was by using a remote hose hook-up. And that worked satisfactorily for me all these years.

HOWEVER, a couple months ago I broke down and bought a compressed air tank for the MiniMag, being that I am also a SCUBA diver and have my own 100cu. ft. SCUBA tanks. I looked at it as more of a way to save money and time refilling 20oz. CO2 tanks at games. I changed my MiniMag setup from a vertical tank to a bottomline, and for the past couple months I have been using compressed air, I have been EXTREMELY impressed with the better performance of the gun I affectionately refer to as my "Field Superiority Weapon." The gun I fell in love with years ago is even better now with the compressed air. The reason is that CO2 is a "wet" gas, unlike compressed air.

Of course, the dryest of the three gases is definitely Nitrogen, and as much as I would love to upgrade to Nitrogen, it is just too expensive. Compressed air is a great option for you because you can buy an 80cu. ft. SCUBA tank for around $150, and you will get free refills of that SCUBA tank at any dive shop any time it runs low. So for the money and the added performance of an already awesome gun, I would go with compressed air. :)

I love the MiniMag!

[meloco14]

wow thanks a lot, I'm sold... now I just have to decide what to spend money on, getting an HPA tank or saving up and getting both the HPA and the x valve...

[Big Unit]

No problem! Have fun buddy!

[xen_100]

I dont know what scuba shops you have, but all of them around here charge about $3 to fill a scuba. not much, but still not free.

[Big Unit]

I live in South Jersey and have been SCUBA diving for 20 years now. All of the dive shops in South Jersey give free air.

If you are paying for compressed air refills, you are getting ripped off.

[xen_100]

bummer, I am getting ripped then.......cause all the stores around here charge for air.

[Quackman71]

IF Your Field fills compressed air then go for it. Most fields do nowadays, I remember a time when compressed air was rare, well just saying that if you find your C02 freezing your gun or messing up your consistincy then its a sure fix. But if you gots no problems then why change? I had a spyder that never choped ans was a good gun, i traded it for a screwed up cocker, costed me lots of money, now i have mag that cost me lots of money. WHY?

[Dover]

now I just have to decide what to spend money on, getting an HPA tank or saving up and getting both the HPA and the x valve...

I've just heard about the exchange program where you get $100 off the x valve. Can someone help me out and explain how much the x valve is?

Also Airgun Designs had a program running called "Go ReTro" where you could send in your older A.I.R. valves for ReTro valves, but I don't think they are doing that anymore.

Anyways to get back to your question, the ReTro or x valve will definitely be an excellent upgrade in terms of rate-of-fire. But save up your pennies and go to compressed air first, you will definitely love it!