Just got my first Mag!!!

[Loneassassin]

It arrived today - a like new ULE Custom w/ X-valve, lvl 10, intelliframe, ULT, etc...

At first I couldn't get it to fire more than a few shots, then the trigger pin would stick, and I wouldn't be able to get it to fire again until I degassed it and tried again.

After messing around with it for awhile, I decided to take it apart and inspect everything and lube it up. I lubed the part that slides into the bolt (I know, I'm a mag noob), because it seemed like there was some friction there. Then I lubed the o-rings on the ULT and also put a little oil to the piston inside.

After that, it was consistantly firing well!!! Plus, the bolt stopped on my finger just like I've been told!!

However, there was a little bit of shootdown when I really got going fast, and eventually, the ULT (I'm assuming) got stuck again - but it may be because I was running low on air.

I'm going to wait until I get my CP on/off tomorrow - the stock ASA keeps eating my o-rings - so I don't want to waste any more air and o-rings.

What causes the ULT to stick, requiring me to degass to get it to reset?

Edit: I discovered that if I stick my finger down the feeneck and push the bolt back a little, it resets everything. Obviously, that's not something I want to do in a game, lol. What is the cause of this?

[Ando]

Change your main spring out.

EDIT: It's not your ULT sticking. It's your bolt. Changing out your spring or going up a carrier will fix that. I'd do the spring first.

[Loneassassin]

Change your main spring out.

EDIT: It's not your ULT sticking. It's your bolt. Changing out your spring or going up a carrier will fix that. I'd do the spring first.

Should I change to a heavier/longer spring, or vice versa?

[Ando]

Should I change to a heavier/longer spring, or vice versa?

Anyone will do. Just make sure it's a good spring.

[Loneassassin]

One other thing - I've got an RPG feedneck I'd like to install, but I can't get the stock one off. Is it loktited in or something? I thought about heating it up with a blow dryer and trying again...I don't really want to use channel locks unless I have to.

[vf-xx]

Got mine off by using a thick necked hopper and shoving it in and twising.

Otherwise, now might be a good time to invest in some small strap wrenches.

[rawbutter]

One other thing - I've got an RPG feedneck I'd like to install, but I can't get the stock one off. Is it loktited in or something? I thought about heating it up with a blow dryer and trying again...I don't really want to use channel locks unless I have to.

I secured my body into a vice, wrapped the feedneck with a piece of rubber molding that I had laying around, and then torqued on it with a monkey wrench.

As for your bolt stick issue, you need to read up on tuning your Level Ten. At the top left of the automags.org page, there's the "resources" tab, and inside that there's a link named "Level 10 Guide." Read that. Then read it again and again. I think that for your problem, you just need to add another shim to the Level Ten. If it's already bouncing off your finger, you don't want to change the spring. You just need to help some of the extra gas vent out, and adding a shim will do that.

The Level 10 can be frustrating the first time around... and even the second time around. Once you finally get it tuned, though, it's good to go and almost never needs to be touched again. I haven't touched mine for years, literally, and the last time I did mess with it, it was only because I was changing all the orings in my mag.

Oh... and welcome to the family.

[athomas]

It sounds like you have bolt stick. Remove all the shims from your level 10 setup first. Then install the largest carrier that does not leak. Always use the same white carrier oring when changing carrier sizes. It doesn't matter what bolt spring you use, but I would probably start with the short gold one until I got the carrier size determined. Once you are using the largest carrier that doesn't leak, install the bolt spring that gives you the best combination of softness and consistency. Start with the velocity turned down so that the gun won't fire. Then turn the velocity up until it starts to fire. Adjust the velocity to 20fps above the lowest velocity that the gun will fire at. That is the optimum velocity for that bolt spring. If it is too low, use a stiffer spring and do it again. If it is too high, go to a softer spring and do it again. Don't worry about the shims. They only change how far the bolt needs to move in order to vent air and reset if the bolt encounters a breach blockage. The bolt usually moves far enough even without any shims installed.

[Loneassassin]

Okay, I will definitely take all of your advice. The thing is I don't even have a manual to tell me how to adjust velocity for crying out loud! I chronoed it today and it was in the 350fps range. I turned the adjuster all the way in and it was still at 350fps, then I couldn't get the velocity to go down by backing it out. Do I turn the adjuster in or out to lower velocity?

Another thing that happens is that I get shootdown when I go over about 11bps. It seems to work fine until I really get on the trigger. It's actually walkable, surprisingly enough, but I definitely get shootdown then. I just don't know if that's because the velocity is so high it's starving for air, or if it's some other problem. Would it be advantageous to run my air through the gas-thru grip to have a little reserve of volume just before the X-valve?

Sorry for all the noob questions - I really am quite knowledgeable on other guns like Cockers.

I can tell when I get this baby running top-notch it's going to be a head-turner. It's so light and low-profile - I didn't know Mags were like that!!!

[Sumthinwicked]

look up automag and tom kaye on youtube he has a 10 part video on mags that you should watch

[athomas]

The velocity adjuster is the large screw in adjuster on the back of the valve. Turning the velocity adjuster knob clockwise increases the velocity. Counter clockwise decreases it. You have to fire a shot to remove the pressure in the chamber after you decrease the velocity. The velocity change won't show up until the second shot.

[Adam45]

Okay, I will definitely take all of your advice. The thing is I don't even have a manual to tell me how to adjust velocity for crying out loud! I chronoed it today and it was in the 350fps range. I turned the adjuster all the way in and it was still at 350fps, then I couldn't get the velocity to go down by backing it out. Do I turn the adjuster in or out to lower velocity?

Another thing that happens is that I get shootdown when I go over about 11bps. It seems to work fine until I really get on the trigger. It's actually walkable, surprisingly enough, but I definitely get shootdown then. I just don't know if that's because the velocity is so high it's starving for air, or if it's some other problem. Would it be advantageous to run my air through the gas-thru grip to have a little reserve of volume just before the X-valve?

Sorry for all the noob questions - I really am quite knowledgeable on other guns like Cockers.

I can tell when I get this baby running top-notch it's going to be a head-turner. It's so light and low-profile - I didn't know Mags were like that!!!

Turn the regulator nut at the back counter clockwise to turn down the velocity. The mag will hold a bit of pressure so firing it once doesnt immediately drop the velocity on the next shot. Keep turning the nut and firing till you have the velocity in the range you want.

If you are having a bolt stick issue you might try loosing the grip frame bolts a little. They should be just snug only and the back one that holds in your valve should be finger tight and then just a little more with a hex key. Over tightening them will warp the rail slightly and can lead to a bunch of problems that are hard to diagnose.

Add a couple of drops of oil, at the ASA or right into the fitting at the valve, each day before you use the mag but you dont need to grease the bolt. If you have to much grease on it, it may have the opposite result from what you want. Just the oil is plenty to keep it running very well.

If your getting shoot down you may want to invest in an adjustable regulator. The mag has a regulator built into the valve but to be certain you always have plenty of air flow most mag owners will run at 900 + PSI from their HPA. I run mine at about 1050 PSI on my Xvalve and 1125 PSI for my RT gets it really humming.

[Loneassassin]

Thanks for the advice everybody!!!

I think I've got her tuned!!!

I don't think my kit is complete - I actually have only one extra spring and it's about 1/2 inch longer than the one installed, and it kind of fits tight around the bolt - so I left the original spring in place.

I took apart the power tube and comared the carrier to the ones in my kit. The one I took out had no grooves in it, and I have two others each with a single groove, and another one with no groove. I compaired them all by pushing them onto the back of the bolt and quickly noticed the the two carriers with grooves slid a lot easier - so I installed the better of the two and went with it. Also, there were three shims installed and I left them in - I've learned over the years to only change one thing at a time, lol.

Aired her up and no leaks!

It was still shooting hot (around 330fps) so I kept lowering the velocity - probably a full turn from where it was, maybe a bit more. I finally got it down to around 285-290 and it stayed there for the last 40 or so balls I had - so I think it's golden!

While the trigger is soft enough to walk - I definitely short stroke it occasionally. I had a barrel break or two when rapid-firing and I think it was due to short stroking - maybe a ball didn't fire and then the next one hit it or something, but there was definitely no paint in the breech or on the bolt; level 10 bolt seems to be working the same as before, with no sticking whatsoever. Shootdown seems to have gone away too, unless I short-stroke. Is that the result of short-stroking?

So I think I'm ready to play with it. Any tips on the ULT or should I just leave it as is?

[athomas]

The carriers are designated with grooves and dots. Each groove represents a 1 and a dot represents 0.5. So 2 grooves and a dot (there may actually be 3 dots spaced around the outside) would be size 2.5. One groove and no dots would be a 1.0.

When checking carrier sizes by test fitting the carrier and oring on the bolt stem, always use the same white carrier oring. The carriers actually squeeze the oring and change the inner diameter. That is how you adjust the oring tension, which is why you need to use the same oring each time.

Barrel breaks can be causes by small balls rolling past the detents or by a barrel that is too tight for the balls being used.

Short stroking can cause shootdown for the shot being short stroked. Short stroking is caused when you pull the trigger too soon after the previous trigger pull is released. The chamber doesn't fully charge with air and the shot is fired without enough air pressure to properly push the bolt forward and it coughs.

for the ULT tuning, install shims one at a time until the bolt goes full auto or sticks. Then remove the shim that caused the problem.

[Loneassassin]

The carriers are designated with grooves and dots. Each groove represents a 1 and a dot represents 0.5. So 2 grooves and a dot (there may actually be 3 dots spaced around the outside) would be size 2.5. One groove and no dots would be a 1.0.

When checking carrier sizes by test fitting the carrier and oring on the bolt stem, always use the same white carrier oring. The carriers actually squeeze the oring and change the inner diameter. That is how you adjust the oring tension, which is why you need to use the same oring each time.

Barrel breaks can be causes by small balls rolling past the detents or by a barrel that is too tight for the balls being used.

Short stroking can cause shootdown for the shot being short stroked. Short stroking is caused when you pull the trigger too soon after the previous trigger pull is released. The chamber doesn't fully charge with air and the shot is fired without enough air pressure to properly push the bolt forward and it coughs.

for the ULT tuning, install shims one at a time until the bolt goes full auto or sticks. Then remove the shim that caused the problem.

Cool, so I do have all of the carriers. I'm not sure which one I used but it was probably the biggest one. I didn't change the o-ring in it though, but it seems to be working great. I made sure to put lube on all of the o-rings involved.

The paint I was shooting was quite old and has been sitting in my garage all winter (when it's -20*F outside, it's -15*F in my garage, lol.) Still only had 3 breaks in about 250 shots. I'm gonna have to go buy some Monster balls to tune my ULT - I'm down to my last bag of paint and they're Marbs - definitely not for tuning, lol.

I read up on the shims for ULT tuning so I think I'll add one or two. I also have a few extra lvl 10 shims I could use if my one ULT shim isn't enough. I definitely want to be able to rock on the trigger without short-stroking, but I don't want the RT effect. I'm pretty sure the short-stroking was not on my part - it was due to the ULT not resetting fast enough. Based on my understanding, the shims will make it reset faster, right?