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An autococker paintball gun is a closed bolt semi automatic marker particularly noted for its customizability. Supporters of this type of paintball gun will also say that the design itself makes the marker more precise as compared to other markers since the bolt does not move upon pulling the trigger and also because the paintball is already inside the chamber at the moment of initiation for each firing cycle.
Bud Orr produced the very first Sniper pump marker in 1986. The original Sniper was made by carving a standard Sheridan PGP to allow for more space for a longer barrel. Orr established the Worr Game Products (WGP) in 1987 to market and to sell the products he had been developing. In 1990, Orr integrated the pneumatic system into his semi automatic pump markers. This pneumatic system mechanically re-cocked the gun after a shot is fired, that’s why it is called an Autococker.
The popularity of closed bolt markers has grown since the start of the paintball phenomenon. A lot of people would say that the Autococker, a type of a closed bolt marker, is more accurate than other types of markers, however, this is not true. The closed bolt marker has a low blowback, and that’s why it is considered to be more accurate than pump markers, blow backs and blow forwards. A low block back would mean a low kick, which translates into giving the user the advantage of shots that are consistently placed around the area he is aiming at without the bother of having the marker jolted out of his grip every time the trigger is pulled.
Consistency, together with a good match between your paint and the barrel plus a very reliable air setup, is the foremost factors in determining one’s accuracy. To get the best accuracy and consistency from your marker, use a good nitrogen tank as well as a pneumatic and inline regulator. Also, try to set up a good match between your paint of choice and your barrel. These items may be a bit pricey but they are sure to give your accuracy an added boost.
How does an autococker work?
The autococker is a two part closed bolted system that can be broken down into two parts for easier discussion and understanding.
- The Firing Mechanism. When the gun is at rest, the bolt sits forward and closes the chamber; hence the name closed bolt system. Upon pulling the trigger, the hammer is released and is driven forward by a spring going into the valve. The valve then discharges a burst of gas which drives upward onto the bolt directing it to the area behind the paintball, forcing the paintball out of the gun’s barrel.Â
- The Re-cocking Mechanism. The autococker’s pneumatic system performs the function of putting the hammer back into its original position to recompress the spring and load another paintball to prepare for the next shot. The two actions were performed by one pump in the original pump type marker. In the pneumatic system, both actions are accomplished by adding three components into the front area of the gun. First, there is the Low Pressure Regulator or LPR. The LPR brings down the pressure used for the pneumatic system. The second part is the 4-way valve. This valve directs the pressure toward the front or the back of the third and final component, which is known as the ram. The ram is the component that does the actual pumping.
The autococker is one of the more troublesome markers available today since it has a rather complex mechanism. If any part of the pneumatic system fails, one would often have a need for the services of an airsmith to fix the problem. The autococker will not spit out a paintball upon the first time the trigger is pulled, rather, it has to undergo the first cycle to put a paintball into the chamber first before it is able to fire out a projectile.
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