New Tac-One quickly becoming a headache

[TAC-ELF]

I've been using my Tac-One now for about a month -- every weekend I've been putting a case or so through it so it "should" be broken in by now. I'm still experiencing a great deal of problems with it, and it is quickly becoming a headache. Here I thought I was buying a reliable marker with (as reported) great accuracy and consistency. Well so far I haven't seen any of it...

Quick setup info:
- New Tac-One, only a month or so old -- bought new from AGD, not a third-party
- XValve as standard on the Tac-One
- LVL10 w/ 2 shims and .5 carrier (1.0 carrier leaks down the barrel with the same o-ring)
- ULT w/ 2 shims
- Middle spring (the smallest one will NOT shoot and reset consistently)
- JT 14" 2-piece barrel (.688 back) with PMI premium paint (a good match for this barrel)
- PMI 45ci/4500psi tank w/ fixed 850psi regulator.

Problem #1: Even following the instructions for chrono-ing, I'm getting velocities ranging from 260 - 295 fps. I am using the smallest carrier that doesn't leak down the barrel when I gas up, the bolt is lubed and moves freely.

Problem #2: Occassionally the gun will go into triple-rapid-shot mode followed by a bolt-jam which forces me to reset the bolt by disconnecting the air (or push it back with my finger if I remove the hopper. Just this weekend, the gun was working reasonably well for one 15-minute game, the next it wouldn't do anything but this rapid-fire + jam mode. When I took the gun, bolt, and reg apart, everything seemed clean and well oiled. Nothing was out of place so I put it back together. This has happened to me many times in the last month, then for no reason at all everything starts working again.

I'm getting to the point where I'm thinking of returning this marker as it simply isn't near as reliable as my ol' Tippmann. Would someone who's well versed with these markers please step me through figuring out what is wrong?

Thanks in advance...

[alooney11]

First off make sure your feild strip screw and grip frame screw are equally tight. To find this, fire gun until bolt sticks, when it sticks, tighten the fieldstrip screw until the bolt recocks. You will have no more bolt stick. Also in my experience i have had much better performance with the ult and an adjustable tank.

[TAC-ELF]

First off make sure your feild strip screw and grip frame screw are equally tight. To find this, fire gun until bolt sticks, when it sticks, tighten the fieldstrip screw until the bolt recocks. You will have no more bolt stick. Also in my experience i have had much better performance with the ult and an adjustable tank.

Wait, you're serious? The torque of the frame screw (the one inside the trigger guard, right?) and the valve screw must be torqued the same? What kind of design is this and with no published torque settings -- plus getting a torque wrench in there would be a major pain if not impossible...

Sorry, that's a little suprising to me and I'm a bit frustrated... I will give it a try though.

[TAC-ELF]

Wait, you're serious? The torque of the frame screw (the one inside the trigger guard, right?) and the valve screw must be torqued the same? What kind of design is this and with no published torque settings -- plus getting a torque wrench in there would be a major pain if not impossible...

Sorry, that's a little suprising to me and I'm a bit frustrated... I will give it a try though.

Anyone else?

[stop whining buy a mag]

People who have never owned a mag before seem to have the most problems with the ULT. The gun is much easier to trouble shoot without the ULT. With that being said, if by any means you can get a cheap regular RT on/off assembly you may want to put that in for now. By doing this, you will know if your problems exist in the powertube or with the ULT.

From what it sounds like, you velocity issues are from the spring. Try using the longest spring. If you have the right spring in there you should expect velocities of +/-5 FPS at most with HPA.

The torque applied on the field strip screw and the front frame screw don't need to be perfect. As long as they are both close in tightness to the other you should be good. I recommend hand tightening both of them (yes, it is a little difficult with the small front frame screw, but you can do it) and then give it a 1/4 turn with your allen wrench. Maybe a little more for the front frame screw.

If you don't want to buy the RT on/off and definitely want to stick with the ULT then try adding/removing shims. If your getting a short rapid-fire you could be finding the sweetspot from the little RT that remains in the ULT. I'd suggest trying it with one shim and see how that works.

[TAC-ELF]

Not making any progress...

Ok, so I removed all but 3 shims on the ULT last night, put everything back together and gassed up the gun. Worked wonderfully. Went through a whole hopper of paint with no problem at all.

Tonight, I was going to chrono the gun and get it ready for this weekend. Gassed up and the moment I pulled the trigger, I'm once again back to rapid fire. If I put my finger into the breech, the LVL10 will NOT bounce off my finger. It just sits there leaking away. Please note: I am using the largest carrier that does not leak down the barrel when you gas up the gun.

This is getting ridiculous. I paid good money for this gun and there's a certain expectation that it works reliably. I'm starting to feel these guns simply are not the high-end, high-quality markers everyone is talking about.

If there's an AGD tech online here, I really wish you would speak up. Otherwise, anyone else have any ideas how I can make it shoot well and reliable? I cannot believe no one else is having this problem.

[11 Bravo]

#1 quit blaming the gun. You obviously dont know how to tune it. Learn how or find someone that can do it for you. Dont blame the gun for your lack of knowledge.

[Boski51]

#1 quit blaming the gun. You obviously dont know how to tune it. Learn how or find someone that can do it for you. Dont blame the gun for your lack of knowledge.

That's going to make him keep trying!!! Good Motivation. Point is, he needs help, not bs that doesn't get his gun working.

Suggestion: Get a hold of Rouge Factor in the Dealer section and see if he can help. You may need to send your marker in and pay a little bit of cash, but he is good.

I wish I could help you, but I would not have anything to add other than what has already been stated in all the other posts like this.

Do a search and check it out.

[TAC-ELF]

That's going to make him keep trying!!! Good Motivation. Point is, he needs help, not bs that doesn't get his gun working.

Suggestion: Get a hold of Rouge Factor in the Dealer section and see if he can help. You may need to send your marker in and pay a little bit of cash, but he is good.

I wish I could help you, but I would not have anything to add other than what has already been stated in all the other posts like this.

Do a search and check it out.

Thanks Boski51, I do appreciate the comments. I've got a similar mail out to AGD so I will wait for their reply before going to a third party.

As for tuning this gun: There are really only a few variables that should have any impact for such a new gun (yes, I'm assuming everything is high quality and undamaged right now): The shims on the ULT on/off, the carrier and shims in the bolt, the spring on the bolt, the tightness of the rail/field strip screws, and the velocity adjuster. I have been following everyone suggestions and reading everything I can (posts, owners manual, etc) about how to "tune" the gun and still haven't found a solution. But you're right, I haven't quite figured out the chain of events that happen when you gas up, pull the trigger, or release the trigger -- these are distinct functions, each with their own chain of events that occur.

Fact is, there isn't a single resource that can teach you how to "tune" the gun unless I'm missing something here. A new owner should not be expected to read years of posts just to figure out how to make the gun operate correctly. It should work out of the box with only minor adjustments required. Tuning and maintenece should be well-defined and documented in a consumable fashion -- would likely prevent all these posts you see from 'mag-newbies like me.

If you 11 Bravo have such a resource why not share it? Put up or shut up.

[11 Bravo]

Sorry if you didnt like what I had to say. I was just irritated that you where blaming everything on the gun. I think it was good advice.
Your gun should have come with a cd that explains the Level 10 and how to set it up.

[TAC-ELF]

Sorry if you didnt like what I had to say. I was just irritated that you where blaming everything on the gun. I think it was good advice.
Your gun should have come with a cd that explains the Level 10 and how to set it up.

It did, and I followed it to the letter. Overall, it was pretty simplistic and didn't give any detail on how the the rest of the gun functioned. Not what I would call a technical manual. And the ULT instructions were a joke. I went through all of this before I even came to this board. Since then, I've been reading several years worth of posts and still do not have a clear picture of what's causing these problems. That's why I asked for help...

The gun is more than just the level 10...

[grominou69]

i you bought it brand new ... the middle spring shoul be the one they put it in at the factory .... my emag was like that ....
i found that the lvl10 was a little bit too hard when i stick my finger in it so i swapped the middle spring for the longest one ... guess what ?? it worked ....
all my xvalved mags are running the longest spring and they all work fine ....
my brand new 1000$ emag came from factory with some wrong settings on the lvl 10 but i was able to readjust it after the break in ....

i suggest you find someone that know mags and lvl10 near the place you live to show you how to properly tune em' ....
it so easy to learn that once you learn how to maintain and tune a mag that i'm 100% sure you will love your mag after that

hope that you will finally enjoy your new tac-one ...

[Cow hunter]

ive had the same problems as this guy with my RT and no one was near as helpful...... both my mags have given me such headaches.....but i would never sell them.........

[TAC-ELF]

ive had the same problems as this guy with my RT and no one was near as helpful...... both my mags have given me such headaches.....but i would never sell them.........

Thanks all for the kind words. The loyalty people have to their 'mags has to mean something about the quality of these guns. Nowhere in my research did I find a more loyal group of owners, it seems.

As I've come to see, these guns are built around a concept of balance -- between air pressures, spring tension, and mechanical motion (even you Emag guys). Get outside that balance too far and things stop working in a predictable manner. That's probably where I'm at, and I don't know what the symptoms are telling me.

I consider this just a hiccup along the road to 'mag wisdom -- often times it takes someone's help to make that leap in understanding.

I'm speaking with Rouge Factor tonight, so I'll let you know what happens.

[TAC-ELF]

i you bought it brand new ... the middle spring shoul be the one they put it in at the factory .... my emag was like that ....
i found that the lvl10 was a little bit too hard when i stick my finger in it so i swapped the middle spring for the longest one ... guess what ?? it worked ....
all my xvalved mags are running the longest spring and they all work fine ....
my brand new 1000$ emag came from factory with some wrong settings on the lvl 10 but i was able to readjust it after the break in ....

i suggest you find someone that know mags and lvl10 near the place you live to show you how to properly tune em' ....
it so easy to learn that once you learn how to maintain and tune a mag that i'm 100% sure you will love your mag after that

hope that you will finally enjoy your new tac-one ...

Mine came stock with the smallest spring. Interesting...