smart mag & LvL 10 setup

[athomas]

When the "Magic Box" came out then the "Smart Mag" I had a sponsership and didn't pay a dime for either one. What it did was give us the same range as the autocockers, so we could go head to head and take them out. Before the SM and MB, autocockers firing from a closed bolt had range on those of us shooting Mags by about 15 - 20 ft. Afterwards we were on a par, in not a little better.

This myth has been beat to death and proven many times that there is no difference in range between two guns shooting the same velocity. It made no difference whether they were closed bolt or open bolt.

[athomas]

A paintball is a flexible membrane projectile. When it is shot (especially paintball circa early 1990's) it is deformed slightly. If you push it down the barrel hard, it well be more out of shape when it leaves the barrel. When you lower the pressure, as with the SM, that is exerted on the paintball while increasing the volume, the paintball will be less deformed as it exits the barrel. With less deformation the paintball returns to it's shape quicker thereby reducing drag on the paintball and increasing the distance it can go.

As this relates to autocockers and mags.... Autocockers fire from a closed bolt which means the ball is still when it is shot, which puts it at an advantage to begin with. This is because it is not just been jambed into the breech of the marker at the same time it is fired down the barrel. This plus autocockers operate at a lower pressure than Mags do, again you hit the ball with a lower pressure higher volume blast, the ball deforms less and therefore has less drag is more accurate and will go further. These two things made the Autocockers inherently more accurate with longer range at the same velocity as a Mag shooting without the "Magic Box" or Smart Mag".

Hope that helped.

If you measure the air pressure behind the ball from an autococker, you will find that it is actually a higher pressure than with a mag. Autococker pressure is around 100psi behind the ball, while mag pressure is only 60psi behind the ball. It is actually the higher pressure that gives the autococker better efficiency than the mag.

Even with a lower pressure in the chamber using a smart valve, the pressure behind the ball builds to approximately the same value as a regular valve before the ball starts moving in the mag. Because of the way the bolt of the mag is designed, to mimic the same response of the autococker, you would have to increase the chamber pressure rather than decrease it.

[Silverback]

Everyone has their opinion, mine is based on years of playing with the Automag LVL 7 in recplay, tournament play, speedball and woods. Then we (Texas Storm) got sponsored by Smart Parts and got the "Magic Boxes" put on our mags and then played with those and saw the difference in actual game and practice conditions. The difference was very evident to those of us who used both, or we would not have kept the mods, since they were not required in our sponsorship deal.

I (we) knew the modification worked then, I still have a Smart Mag that I continue to use to this day, along with a TAC-One Lvl 10, and E-Mag.

I don't have to stick my neck out on this, I'm just tired of all the theoretical B.S. used to show that something was crap when it wasn't.

Just like when MOST people playing paintball said the the AUTOMAG was an AUTO-CHOPPER (before the LVL 10) because they had the gun for one game and broke a couple balls because they didn't know how to shoot it. Those of us that shot cases of paint without breaks tried to tell people what the issue was, to little avail. Then TK released the LVL 10, and a few people were impressed but the damage was done by that point.

[Newt]

Hey SB,

Could you actually test that for us kids?
It'd be interesting to see a 285fps distance comparison with same paint, and body & barrel clamped so that the angle doesn't change, etc..., just swap out for a stock valve of same vintage and rechrono / remeasure.

Granted the whole velocity/pressure/range thing is beating a dead horse, but if you're certain of what you saw, perhaps SP stumbled on something.

[Silverback]

Hey SB,

Could you actually test that for us kids?
It'd be interesting to see a 285fps distance comparison with same paint, and body & barrel clamped so that the angle doesn't change, etc..., just swap out for a stock valve of same vintage and rechrono / remeasure.

Granted the whole velocity/pressure/range thing is beating a dead horse, but if you're certain of what you saw, perhaps SP stumbled on something.

NEWT, your just giving me a hard time because I'm not with the 6.FJR anymore aren't you...

But I will see what I can do with my schedule... I'm still trying to get pictures of my Pneumag stuff for a couple of guys....

[Newt]

You got me. Everything you say is now suspect.

Do post those pneumag pictures as well. Those are always fun to see!