What Type of Person Owns a Mag??

[AGD]

AO,

This little snippet of conversation from someone else came to me in an email. I think it is powerfull and interesting but can't quite get my head around it. I am interested in your comments.

AGD

"There seems to be a common attitude that is aquired with an AutoMag - specifically you get used to people cracking jokes about the marker, and you simply smile and go on the field and show them what it can do. Somehow, I think this breeds an overall mindset of not paticularly needing to get attention drawn to yourself, but rather the willingness to do what it takes to get the job done."

[Bulldog]

Bulldog

I have experienced that exact thing many times. Not a lot of people really know about the mag, but are impressed when they see it first hand.

[BTAutoMag]

Re: What Type of Person Owns a Mag??

Originally posted by AGD
not paticularly needing to get attention drawn to yourself

you do remember what the beast looks like?

[hitech]

Re: What Type of Person Owns a Mag??

Originally posted by AGD
...you get used to people cracking jokes about the marker..

Interesting. This does NOT happen to me. Quite the opposite happens. I get lots of VERY positive comments. Granted, they are generally from newbies.

Originally posted by AGD
...not particularly needing to get attention drawn to yourself, but rather the willingness to do what it takes to get the job done.

However, that EXACTLY describes my attitude when playing. I am just now getting use to people commenting on my marker/setup. I'm trying to be a better "spokesperson" instead of just saying thanks.

[Bad_Knees]

Underdog mentality..

It seemms to me we tend to take on the "Underdog" mentality. No one expects us to do much with a gun that is supposedly not worth the money or are POC. I went into a shop one day and they saw my Micro RT and said "WHOA! I thought those things only exist on the east coast. Good Luck on finding parts for it around here." Of course I looked at him and smiled and said "Lucky Me!"

[joeyjoe367]

The type of person who owns a mag knows the differance between real hard data, and perception.

I've hear TOOO many times, even from fairly experienced players, about people's 'cockers "out-ranging" other guns. Physics people, c'mon.

Up 'till the e-mags, and C&C X-mags, I'd have to say that maggers are also the type that put fuction over fashion.

[magman007]

Tom it is true, there are certain people who buy the automag. THere are spceific mag people out there. It is their choice in marker.

THere are mag specific people, and cocker specific, and angel specific and so on. I tihnk alot of the engineering types like the mag becuse it is KISS. I just like the way it feels in my hand

[Miscue]

My purchasing decisions in paintball are similar to my buying decisions in other markets.

I don't buy anything before I've done as much research as I can... I want to understand what it is I'm getting into... before I get into it.

My bottom line is, I want something that works well. If I can get it at a good price, even better. If I have to pay more for something I need or want and I think it's worth it, I will - I hate to skimp. But, I hate to pay more for something I don't need - especially with a limited budget.

A lot of times, you can't see what's going on for yourself until you start buying stuff. So, when you're a n00b... you gotta go by what other people have to say about things - until you can develop your own opinions based from personal experience. Opinions are like elbows, so I don't take anyone too seriously - but I do keep the words of someone who seems to know what he's talking about in mind. If I can get multiple people who seem to know what's going on (AO Members!), telling me the same thing via clear, sensible explanation rather than conjecture, then I become more confident in their opinions. If I buy something, and verify that what they say is true - I'm more prone to trusting what someone says a bit more blindly. I like it when I can ask someone, "RobAGD... Does this suck?" "Yep." And I don't have to ask why... I'd just be wasting my time verifying he was right.

I don't like to buy things solely because they are of a particular brand. I concern myself with particular models from particular companies. Is this model good? A company can make a lot of good things - and occassionally have something that sucks (Um... original superbolt? Hehe). Or... sometimes they can make stuff that sucks and occassionally they have a jewel of a product. If I find a company that puts out great stuff consistently (AGD!)... I'll go back to them all the time.

I love to buy things that only a few has heard of or use, knowing that what I have is really good.

For instance... I bought two ESX-Quantum ampliers. Is it Rockford, Kenwood, Sony, etc? Nope. "ESX? What's that?" Hehe. Most people have never heard of ESX before. The particular model I have was made by Zed Audio (Xtant), for ESX. Their regular amps aren't too stellar... but the one Zed made for them is something special. To get an equivolent class-A amp from some other company, I would have had to pay about twice as much. Good example where one particular model is a jewel... where everything else they make is so-so.

Computer parts: I love finding generics that work as well as more expensive stuff. Back in the day, there were particular BCM (who are they?) motherboards that rocked. Although some of their boards totally sucked.

Ok, back to paintball... After doing research, I discovered that the Automag was that jewel of a product that I always keep an eye out for. Simple, not sparkling pretty (who cares), but worked like a champ (except for the bolt speed issues, which I just dealt with by choosing paint carefully... I was considering a cocker for a while for when my mag was chewing up paint... but L.10 is here now so...). That's all I cared. Now that time has passed, they're purty too! Even better.

I'm an AGD fan because I know how the stuff works, I know how other markers work... and I find that AGD's stuff is better from a technical standpoint (especially with L.10 - the annoyance of breaking paint is gone!). So people tease me for shooting a Mag... makes it that much better when you shoot them out! Hehehe. If AGD had the most expensive markers out there (of course they don't), I would still try to get one.

It's THE STUFF!

[lala]

The Mag is all busness. It just works all the time.

[Dayspring]

It's a very simple concept.

It just works!

There's only so many things that can go wrong on a 'Mag. Other guns- you have several regulators, hoses, pneumatics, cocking arms, rams... Tom and his R&D team were able to simplify the art of throwing paint, and then make it high quality. No elves, no fancy colors. People shot mags because they worked. I'm willing to bet that there are still original mags out and functioning today. Why? B/c they are damned near indestructible.

They are pioneers, but humble ones. They don't need big ads. Their markers and the players who use them are their marketing team.

It boils down to this-

QUALITY ALWAYS SHOOTS STRAIGHT!

[banzaimf]

Me, personally? I'm a geek and a bit of a yuppie.

A friend of mine in marketing says that I am a marketers dream or nightmare. I research what it is that I am going to buy. I figure out what is the minimum I need, what the best value is, and what is the best that is possible, then I go out and buy either the best possible, or the best value, and extoll the virtues of said product.

Why I bought the mag? Back in the day (1995) the mag was the highest rate of fire available. The cockers were still pretty tempermental and a mystery to many I knew. The mag was the best gun I could find. On top of that, I got a good deal on a used one. The same one I run today.

When people are looking for guns at my local shop (where I spend too much time) if they ask about mags (which aren't carried there) I can tell the father of the kid that's looking at a gun that I have had mine running for 7 years now. When I go out to the field, I can hang with the electro kids with my lowly mag, and now that I have a level 10, there is nothing that they can say bad about it.

anyways. enough rambling. I got the products I stick by, and AGD is one of them.

[gibby]

It's funny but true. However, I do get more compliments about my mag...more so than teasing or negative comments towards it.

I remember one time, I went out to play at the indoor field and they were picking teams. Of course the first time around, I was one of the guys picked last. All the players with the Timmies and Cockers were usually picked first. But that's kewl with me...no biggie...I just wanted to play.

The game started and I played really hard and took out most of the opposing team. People seemed to have noticed and it felt good that I was able to contribute. Funny...guess who got picked first next time they were picking teams.

But then again, guess who got picked off first next round...DOH!! HAHA!!

[dre1919]

I get this kind of thing all the time. I go out to the field and see these guys all running around with Autocockers and Angels, standing around comparing there new three way valve or their new Angel volumizer or some crap. It makes me wonder how many of these guys actually did any research into what makes the gun work and why, or just took the other route: "looked cool and somebody said it was the best." So here I come with my Hypered RT and I get these "You shoot a mag?", or my favorite: "Does you're whole team shoot mags?", in a tone of voice like I'm the outsider and their trying to figure out why I would display such deviant behavior in public. Makes me laugh when a few games later they're like "Wow, that shoots way faster than I thought it would!" It just goes to show you, most people are sheep. Personally, I like being the minority. I like the fact that after I show them what my gun does on the field, they come over and want to check it out...then I happily spread the word about AGD. I also think that description of the type of player that uses a mag is dead on too, because that's the kind of players my whole team are.

[Jerhew]

lets face it
the market is flooded with cockers, and electros...
they all look the same...pretty annodizing...and milling
and sure they do work and everything but i wouldn't be caught dead with a cheezily milled purple anno'd super electro blender...
it is obvious just from talking to others on the forum that we have a lot in common...
we don't hop on the bandwagon...we aren't clueless newbies who just buy what costs the most because price=performance...
we think outside the bubble
and all i have to say to the non believers is
actions speak louder than words...
you think my gun isn't as good as yours?
wanna find out?

[fearc7]

I get a bunch a good comments on how my 'mag looks better than others.