Which automag to get

[afatboy]

Been playing scenario paintball for awhile and lately Ive had my eyes on an automag. Just wanted to know if they are really quiet and dependable as everyone says they are in the big games. Also which automag should i get for scenarios?

[Burphel]

Dependability is as good (or better) as anything else out there. With the Level 10, you may need to do some tweaking to get it just right, but once you do, cleaning and oiling is about all you need to do. The golden rule of Mag maintenance is that if it ain't broke, don't fix it.

As far as sound signature, the barrel makes a bigger difference than the valve. Heavy porting will always be quieter, but it'll also be less efficient. If you can find a good barrel with 8-10" unported and 4-6" porting and you can get the best of both worlds.

And speaking of efficiency, that may be the Mag's down side. While not particularly inefficient, there are a lot more gas efficient guns made today. What this means is that, unless your field has consistant high pressure fills, you may need a bigger tank than the other people you play with. If you're getting solid 3k-4500 fills, you can probably run a smaller tank, but if you play at games where they don't have their logistical ducks in a row and get down to 2k by the end of games, you're gonna be annoyed by the number of air runs you have to make. I don't shoot too much (1-2 cases for a 24hr game) and I had to upgrade from a 45/45 to a 45/68 because I kept getting lousy fills at games and needed the extra volume to keep shooting.

Overall, I wouldn't trade my Mag for any other semi (I play a lot of pump, so there will always be that qualification with me). Good balance of weight, size, ROF and reliability, with just a little larger tank than I'd like.

[afatboy]

Im pretty use to a 68/45k tank so i dont think that will be a problem. But what is the amount of shots you get for a tank that size. Plus should i get an RT or are the .68 classics still pretty good?

[Lupis Fidelis]

Scenario mag

I play with an Automag RT Pro. I picked mine up about a year ago and have been to four scenarios since.
Reliability is way up there with my marker. I did not have any problems until the other week in the snow. My level ten started to leak but that was easily fixed. It is wonderfully easy to adjust velo. at the chrono. and is very easy to maintain.
As far as quiet goes.....It's not that. I have a dye ultralite 12" it is a lot quieter than the stock (J&J I think) and the lapco big shot. The efficiency is really only slightly affected by the porting. The thing about a mag is that you will loose some air efficiency but not enough to make it a miserable marker, you just get used to it. I use a 45/88 (you can use a 45/68 though. I have a tendency to get myself into no-mans land and want all the help I can get out there).
The best thing about the mag is all the upgrades. I recently picked up a TAC-ONE body for it. I now can run a sling (so nice for scenarios) and have put a red dot on for ambushing from a stable platform......It works!
I would HIGHLY recommend a TAC-One.

[jacobeid]

Tac One is their biggest scenario marker.

[PumpPlayer]

Reliability is probably your biggest concern in a scenario marker. Without getting something custom/expensive/hard to find, you've got two choices: AGD and Tippmann. Lots of people grab up the tippmanns because they have a more mil-sim look to them. I would argue that the 'mag is a bit faster and deffinitely smaller. If you don't really care about having a mil-sim looking marker, grab for a 'mag.

(Though, I have seen some EXCELLENT conversions of automags that have been made to look like Thompson WWII guns. Bolt a stock where the rear ASA adapter goes, bolt a fake magazine where the foregrip goes and hose clamp a hand grip to the barrel. If you want to get really fancy, get some duct sheet metal, bend it and wrap the body and valve to be more square-shaped and then engrave the shroud. Bolt the shroud right to the rail. You can easily get wooden grips for the old carbon fiber grips frames, too.)

As for sound signature, you can always help yourself out by getting a longer, more ported barrel. If you really want to get near-silent, look for an old BOA concealer. Made by barrels of america about, oh... 6 years ago. I believe they were discontinued because, well, silencers are illegal. I can vouch first-hand that these things work like magic. I suppose if someone wanted to make their own, they could get some 1.5" PVC, two end caps and a ported barrel. If you drill the end caps to the outside diameter of the barrel and then make sure the chamber covers all the ports, it might make it really quiet... not that I encourage this or have done it myself, mind you. You could also use a loosely tied ACE bandage as a diffuser for the air if you didn't want the PVC on there.

PS: Good luck finding a BOA concealer... hardly any at all were made and most of them were unlaquered brass, which has corroded over time.

[MidnightRider]

Automag as a Scenario Marker

Check out this thread over at specialopspaintball.com.

Thread about 'Longbow' mod for the Tac-One


You will have to get to page 3 of the thread but this company is coming out with a mod-ed (is that a word?) Tac-One. Either read the thread or get the April issue of APG. Page 17 is the page the ad is on.



Have fun. If you get any 'Mag, you won't be disapointed.



Peace

MR

[afatboy]

Thanks all, I have a .68 classic coming in and hope its as good as everyone says

[Burphel]

Unless you got it used with one already installed, I would strongly recommend getting and installing a Level 10 kit. It raises your costs a bit and takes a little critical thinking to install, but once you get it tuned right, you can pretty much leave your squeegie in the trunk of your car.