Cocker for a first gun...

[rhetor22]

I'm trying to keep my freind from spending more money than he has to, all for a giant pain in the bum. This friend has never played paintball before, the only gun he has shot is my automag. He has never seen the insides of a paint gun or anything either. I wouldn't say he is a big tech/mechanical guy either. At first he was going to get a mag. I told him he really should get a model 98 or similiar gun, because he told me he wouldn't be playing for more than 3 years (college)

Then he wanted a mag because he got more money i guess, now he wants a cocker. He is determined to get one. I try to explain how horrible of a first gun an autococker is, and that it will cost a lot of money to maintain. He is going mainly on the basis of looks, and i'm afraid that will cause a problem. He won't listen to me or my friends who all scream TIPPMANN!!! at him for hours at a time. He'll be spending about $450, enough for the cocker (he wants a 2k2 blue cocker, vertical feed)and a tank(co2), mask, hopper, that sort of stuff. He could get a nice used mag with a decent nitrogen tank for less than that.

What do you guys think?

[rpm07]

The worst think anybody could do is buy a cocker for a 1st gun. Right of the bat he will want to take it apart to see how it works and that will be a mistake. I dont know where you guys live buy if you get cold weather co2 sucks even if you use a mag so first off he should get n2. Show him pics of mag all done i think you can get them to look pretty good. Tell him that cockers are me2 guns everywhere you look you see one and does he realy want that. Also sho him the support you get with AGD on their guns. I would rather see him buy a spyder for a first gun that a cocker.
Good Luck talking him out of a bad move.

[Nitroduck]

Cockers make GREAT first guns...

Of course, your friend will probabally buy a second one a week from the day he has his 1st problem and did $100 in damage to it.

Tell him IF he seriously is considering a cocker, he needs to go pick up a Cocker manual or find someone near him who knows all the stuff about a cocker.....And get him to talk to him about them.....

BTW. tell him this....

A Mag has 30parts....And you really dont need to mess with/know them....

A Cocker has somewhere near 80 parts....And you NEED to know every single part if you want to touch any part of it in an attempt to take any part of the gun apart....

I love Cockers....But getting one as a first gun is sheer stupidity.

[Magic37220]

Show him the flatline/mag package at PbGear. Then show him a zgrip. Hehe, that always works.

[[NA]WARLORD]

Hey let him buy it, then when he screws up the timing and cant play with it, you can light him up at the same time yelling "I told ya so, I told ya so", hehehe, J/K. Or wait till he goes to sleep, make tape that repeats "Tippmann" Over n Over, like a subliminal message. The only thing I can see is that he has some money, talked to somebody about a Mag, they probably used the "Cocker is a Tourney gun, Mag isnt Theory" on him, Now he's brainwashed on Autocockers,And hes trying to impress you with his new found Bull Shirt/ knowledge......... Go with him when he makes the purchase, Ask all the questions he possibly has no clue on yet, then let him make his own decision, even if he has to learn the hard way.

[Magic37220]

AWWWW! I wanted a bull shirt, i've been lookin around for onw al over the place! Hehe, jk, i know you ment to do that. :P

[deded]

have him go to www.paintballravi.com, and check out the cocker infosheet.

Look up the troubleshooting section, the one with the timing article.

Then go to www.airgun.com, and find the mag manual.

This is one of the reasons that I got a mag before a cocker. I have a cocker now, and I like it when it works... but I would have been screwed if I got it for a first gun.

[rhetor22]

thanks guys, I know the cocker isn't a BAD gun, its a great gun, but a HORRIBLE first gun especially for some one with limited rescources/technical know how. The paintball store near us just sucks. They don't know ANYTHING about guns and can't fix them for crap. I've seen the same autococker on their "to be repaired" rack for over a month. They also overcharge like they think they are part of DYE or something.

I'm probably the only one that knows much about paintguns, and i don't know that much. I've never even owned a cocker before. Well we'll see. If he gets it, he will have made a big mistake. I think he should get a tippmann (maybe one of those anod ones so it looks good) and a barrel then save the money.

The thing about a cocker is that its expensive in the first place, when parts break its expensive, and if you want to get anything new for the gun that actually does something you will have to pay a lot. with a mag you can get a retro or something, its an investment but it works wonders. With a cocker you need a new bolt a new 3way a new ram... all that stuff-> it ads up.

[bornl33t]

honestly a cocker doesn't make a very good beginner marker...
most beginners are so infatuated with the sport and the equipment that they feel the need to take things apart... Cockers are good guns but are a little iffey about how the parts work together... might not be a good idea...? But they ARE nice guns

[covadsucks]

I bought a cocker -didn't know a thing about them, but because I am an "engineer" by trade, I thought I could figure it out inside of an hour. Biggest mistake of my life. I still have that cocker, but it's been rebuilt time and time again. Once as a lowpressure monster, second time as a hotrodded color coordinated POS -now it's a bone stock cocker. Don't let him follow the path of the darkside, make him buy a Spyder, let him modify the daylights out of it and once he's done with it, then look into a cocker. Spyders have endless mods, and are cheap. Cockers are so overpriced it's not funny.

[rhetor22]

i would push for a tippmann, only because i am obsessed.

Well he now just thinks you guys are bias... well i guess he will find out when he gets it. Too bad for him i guess.

[StanBo]

I am in the same situation and have been in it before. Your friend will get the model 98. He will see someone play with a high end marker and will get the bug again.

Let him get the cocker. It will make him happy. It seems that friends do want advice but deep down inside they still want what they want.

I have stopped telling people "no". I get asked should I get a new front assembly for my cocker cause my 3-way is leaking. I tell them do what will make you happy. Get the whole front end. Get it in blue green red whatever. You don't want to hear my true opinion.

[Russ]

GET THE 'COCKER!

The gun of which you speak 2k2 blue cocker, vertical feed is a great beginner's gun. The first thing your bud will need to understand, though, is that it IS a great gun, and doesn't need to be modified, adjusted or otherwise tinkered with. Just play with it and have fun!

As his experience grows, the 'cocker will make a good platform for upgrades, BUT you gotta play with it for a while brfore you really understand what makes the gun work better vs. what looks pretty (and what others say you can't live without!)

Stock pneu's and bolt are great! The trigger frame works well, too! No need to replace 'em. Want to throw some money around? Get a Revy and nitro system. Got a lot of money to spend? Get an adjustable output nitro!

Sometimes 'Cocker's share in the same myths and misinformation as do 'Mags. Like manike says..."DON'T BELIEVE THE HYPE!"

[Wild_Osiris]

I finally got a cocker and although it is not my first gun I do recommend it. If he really wants it let him get it. Tell him though not to take it apart for a while. If he gets it and takes it apart the first day I am convinced he will not be able to make it work probably for a while. take it apart if there is a reason only period

[alf]

im with deded

i ALSO looked at paintballravi.com...the troubleshooting manual is 26 or so pages long...my head was spinning with the terminology, and the 2-3 times that ravi said (paraphrasing) "youre screwed if this happens"...i thought, well, if no one knows how to fix this...im stuck with a 300-400 dollar paper weight...and man, will i catch crap for that...."you paid THAT much money for a gun that doesnt even shoot???"

so, i thought, if i get a gun and it breaks, i need to be able to fix it MYSELF in a few minutes between games...knew about the mag from a few years ago, and ordered one...

been happy ever since...NEVER had to sit out a game because my mag was "busted"

-alf