Markers You Remember

[Z-man]

What does that mean and what do I want in this thread?

tl;dr version

Gimme 3 things.
-Number of years playing
-Number of markers you have HONESTLY played a full day with or longer (estimate it's cool)
-List a marker(s) that in all your years of play has stuck out as one of the greatest to play with.

More info so you don't post what you think is the prettiest marker or the latest piece of crap that is 1000x better than last years model that was 1000x better than last years model that was 1000x better than last years model...

My 2 examples to give you the idea.


Years of play: about 9 years
Markers I have played with for a day or more: ~20

#1 Original GenE Matrix
(the one I used had either the Evolve 2 bolt kit or Aardvark Aardvark kit)
tl;dr reasons
Pros- AMAZING to shoot and very air efficient (see desc)
Cons- Big, high maintenance (lots of lubing needed), also really big.

Detail
It was big and bulky and tall and REALLY big (and also big) but MAN did it shoot nice. The marker was owned by a guy who I played with a lot at TAG paintball back when they were in Watsonvill CA. It was a giant marker that looked like someone has inflated the top half. This particular one had some Aardvark milled into the side and I swear the breach has a view port built in of Plexiglas or something.

What was it I liked? It shot like nothing I had ever fired before. I honestly cannot remember if it was heavy or not but aside from it being xBox box big, that gun shot like a Mag sounds when its out of air or chuffs a ball. It "poofed" out paint so gently that I just wanted to shoot it for the sake of shooting. You know when you are down to like 300psi in a tank and the marker will cycle but it just eeks out a little air and the noid does the rest? It sounded like that all the time. It was just a really fun gun to shoot but I remember having to stop part way though the day being told it was time to lube it.... guess there is always a price.

#2 AKA Excalibur
tl;dr reasons
Pros- AMAZING to shoot and very air efficient (see desc)
Cons- not much to look at, and very average size/weight range (nothing to brag about).

Detail
I swear I won't write another thread so I can describe this again. The Excalibur was the only other marker I found that was as pleasant to shoot as the Matrix was. Within the first 10 rounds I knew that it has many of the same traits that I liked. It was soft, unlike my beloved Mags that fired sharp and solid the Excal flicked the paint out with very little kick and without any apparent metallic pinging. Unlike the Matrix that sounded like it was chuffing the Excal was a crisp fire but (as I found out later) because it has to solenoids cycling opposite each other, almost all the net force was cancelled out making it one of the softest (in my hands) markers I ever fired.

When I think about all the markers I have shot these 2 are on the top of my list.

[Dark Side]

10 years of play.
Only about 6 markers. Makes it easy to figure out what I like best. :crazy:

#1. My first marker. A Tippmann Prolite. The thing is a beast. All I needed to do to maintain it was a bit of lube to the rings.
It just recently died on me. All I need is to change out its Orings.

#2. My Xmag with Xmod 1.8. I don't really need to explain do I?

[Foxworthy]

Years of play: I'm in my 11 year
Markers I have played with for a day or more: 8 [RT Pro, Rental Mag, Tippy 98, Tippy A-5, **-8, BE Raptor, E-99 Spyder, Phantom]

#1 Marker Automag RT Pro

I love my RT Pro. Light, nice trigger feel and its a blast to play with. A little bouncy sometimes but that's not a huge deal.

#2 Marker Phantom

I love this marker almost as much as my RT Pro. Seven years and until I got my Mag it saw play ever day I played.

[bryceeden]

I've played for 8 or 9 years, used probably atleast 50 markers probably alot more. A day isn't long and I've tested ALOT of markers

1.Spyder Rodeo, I love this marker I really wish I could still get one stock. Even though it was all of a $100 marker new its seriously number one on my list of markers I wish I had.

2.The Marq 6, it just feels great even though its alittle heavy by todays standards. I've never used a marker that feels nearly as good.

3.The P68SC-old and fun, my intro to stock class play.

[Ninjeff]

Years playing: 10+

Markers owned/played with: 10

Favorite: Emag
I was so so sad to let this thing go. Its a shame that life has to happen sometimes, and i had to sell her. I cherished that thing, and felt unstoppable when using it. Not because it was some awesome gun, but because i KNEW it, it felt perfect, sat right in my hands like i thought it should. Combine with x-mod and some decent paint and i had all bases covered. Still, im hopefull my new project (pneumag) will take its place, as it seems to be coming together nicely.

[tymcneer]

I've been playing since 1986-87, so about 20 years.

At least 30, probably closer to 40 markers owned and shot for a full day or more

Favorites:
1 - SFL Emag "Chimera"

Pros - It's an SFL, enough said
Cons - None to speak of

2 - Tippmann SMG 68

Pros - LOUD! Full auto, and scares the crap outta new players... did I mention LOUD!
Cons - Small magazine capacity (15 or 20 rounds) High cyclic rate (10 bps), at the time!

3 - Sniper, so long as it is properly tuned with a reasonable pump stroke

Everyone knows the pros and cons of snipers.

Ty

[ThePixelGuru]

Years Playing: ~5
Markers Used: ~10
Favorite: Minimag

Can't even say why, the Minimag just fit right. I found myself making shots with it I never thought I could make and using two balls for an elimination that would otherwise take me half a hopper.

[Z-man]

Keep em coming.

This was actually my hope to see happen. Look what we see here. Perhaps a bit early to make the call but does anyone else see what I see and find it very meaningful in how the equipment helps the player?

[Army]

Over ten years playing

I haven't counted all my markers, but at least over a dozen...I think.

My cherished custom MiniMag, which was also my first "serious" marker after the Spyder TL (which I still have, and still works fine). Z-grip, custom tank off-set, lowered feed, RT-valve, and I even Warped it for a while. After the disasterous debacle with Sins Customs and the worlds worst powdercoat job, it remains my go-to marker despite whatever flavor of Mag I had with me....and I usually take all my markers to the fields.

Always shoots smooth. Hell, it always shoots, never had it go down longer than a quick O-ring change. With the LX and ULT it is still the first gun I grab out of the case to play for the day. Lately though, I've been having a LOT of fun with my Sydarms. Something about going out to fight with only 20 shots (two tubes and one powerlet) with me, makes for a great game. Still the Mini is waiting patiently back at the truck :)

Haven't played with the Emag since I came home in '05. While I was gone, it became a parts queen for other guns....this was NOT my choice or decision :mad: I'll have to send it off to Scott, Rob, or AGD for a total rebuild (and just when I got the TunaBlade installed too......dammit!). Which really sucks, as it was PACT timer clocked at 26 balls out the barrel.

I scored a couple of gems from auction, including a BE Long Nightmare in great shape. But I won't see those until I get home again.

[Stygshore]

Number of years playing = 18
Markers I have played with = Around 40

Markers I miss:

Spanky Fishbone Sniper Pump ( 1999 - 2004 ) - It was a STO cocker I bought off someone from California that had sent it to Spanky to have fishboned - Black body with red inserts - I was told it was the only one of its kind by Spanky himself. The springing and pump were perfect on this thing and it shot darts - I shot people's barrels, their braided remote lines, even shot the profile of the visor on some JT goggles once! My cousin bought it off me when I needed cash, and taunts and shoots me with it a few times each summer.

F-1 Illustrator ( 1993 - 2000 ) Had a old school hard chrome brass straight rifled barrel from J&J when they made them by hand. This thing was light, got 450 shots on a 7oz CO2 tank, and I shot it like it was an extension of my body I was so familiar with it. My old roommate still has it, has not played for 8 years, but still wont sell it back to me

I feel twinges and miss a lot of the guns I have shot, but those are the two I miss the most.

Styg

[punkncat]

Been playing since around 97, actually full scale after 99, so I guess it would be best said around 8+ years.

I have honestly used well over 50 markers for a full day of play. It would be much less if you considered all of the same make as one. Just about every make of marker since the "semi" and "electro" rage happened.

Favorites for me are nearly impossible to say as it changes with mood for me. I will say that my 90 framed UL(ed) Mag is certainly among my favorites. Not only is it reliable, it looks and feels really good to me. It along with autocockers are the two brands I keep coming back to.

I also enjoyed my Matrix. I had a DM3 which as far as I am concerned was the pinnacle of that design. It was heavy and big, but so stable and accurate. I put an Evolve 90 frame on mine, a clamping feed, and left it alone. I lol at Zak's description of how they shoot....we called them bubble guns for the distinctive sound they made firing.

Current favorite for the electro field is my G7 that I have followed, hunted, and bugged every owner that had it almost the second I regretfully traded it away. Internally it and Vikings share a lot in common. Aside from what appears to be a very lacking parts market has been a very good marker for me. Topped off by the fact that it as well has a 90 frame, and superb efficency.

I could go on and on, for I often times find things I like about quite a few different markers.....

[wolf13]

time playing: 15 years
Gun types shot: probably in the 20 range not counting cocker varients (lots of Pre electro stuff (cockers, mags, palmers blowbacks, pumps etc), none of the newest electro's after the viking days really). thing is though, the ones that I think of most are all autocockers.

memorable guns:

Sandridge Tiny T on twister lite body: I sold this gun and I regret it. Sandridges are still my favorite electro to shoot, although very finicky. I think this gun spoiled me on electro's. After it, all the rest feel the same and I just can't get excited about other electro's.

Gary Noblett Aftershock Cocker: That is probably the most perfect autococker trigger I have ever felt.

Shockteck SFL cocker: I love this gun. its not as fast as some of my others, but still up there. thats not the reason I love it though. This gun reminded me why I loved paintball and kicked me out of a burnout on the day I took it to put it and my other gear on the wall at a local field/shop. I got convinced to play one more day and I had fun again. Thats why this gun is priceless to me.

Westwood Cocker: Not the ones I own specificly, though I do love mine, but being at a little tourny and having one of the teams shooting the prototype westwoods clinched it. Getting mine was a dream come true.

[SocialD]

Year playing: 12
Marker used/owned: 8 Rental Tracer, Automag, Micromag, RT, Phantom, custom 'cocker (later added E2), RT_Pro w/ Y-frame (later added Hyperframe).

#1. My Classic RT. She and I have been through a lot together and she has never let me down. The only time that it chopped paint is when I outshot the hopper.

#2&3. It is a close call between the RT-Pro and the custom 'cocker. Both have E-frames and neither have chopped a ball. They both feel good and are fun too shoot. I think that the cocker might have a slight edge because there is not any first shot drop off.

#4. The micromag. It was just plain and simply a good marker. I wish that I didn't sell it.

#5. Phantom. This made playing in open games a lot more fun back when I was pretty good. Back in the day, it was almost unfair to go out and play with either my Micromag or RT. Playing with the Phantom really made me play a lot better with out throwing a lot of paint.

[Steelrat]

Any/All AGD products-Simply because they self-destruct in my hands. Even the unbreakable Kila SFL broke in my hands. I am kryptonite to Automags.

AKA excaliburs-I started out shooting Vikings, but once I shot the excal, there was no going back. Smooth as buttah, cocker-like closed-bolt feel, distinctive pinging noise, easy to walk and shoot. Reliable as hell. I love em. The perfect electro.

Palmer's Blazer-Should have never sold it. It's what I want now. Closed bolt mech without cocker headaches. Runs well on CO2. Small and handy. The perfect casual marker. Sell me yours!

[10-shot kid]

11ish years I'd guess. First scenario was in 99. I owned 2 bushmasters SI's (package, gave one away), a PGP, a m98, then upgaded the PGP to a stroker, then bough a P68-SC (palmerized), then a Kp2 (palmerized it, sold it), then bought a hurc (little bro has it), then a sydarm, and just traded the sydarm and p68-SC for a 15-shot typhoon.

My main has always been since I bought it my 10-shot pgp stroker. Only thing that sucks about it is that it has a fixed barrle. This kills the gun with the smaller and smaller paint coming out but I still love it. Now it has a K-frame wich has a lighter/smoother trigger than the original and makes it feel awesome.

My secound favorite is the 15-shot typhoon because I hate hoppers. While it's more consistant than the old PGP it is too long for me and just doesn't feel right after running the PGP as my main for so long. Still it's a great backup gun and I like it for night play.

[Bob Roberts]

Been playing since '01
Markers owned =20 give or take

1:would be Led Trix so simple yet at the time it straight killer (still are thats why I bought an NYX) Fast and accurate.
2:Would be my E-99 w/ 18 inch boomtick. It was my first E-gun and It was awesome. Nothing is better then blowing a team up using a spyder (even 7 years ago the agglets could not handle losing to teams with considerably cheaper guns)
3:Tie between my ND freestyle and Nerve both light, fast, and consistent. While still having a frame that wasn't made for a 10 year-old.

[JAM]

cool topic, one of my favorite streets is Memory Lane.

Years playing - 18 (1990)

Guns Owned - 18


Splatmaster- Classic. When everyone had these the gaems were really fun, but when you tried to go against a VM68/etc, it wasn't that great. :rolleyes:

Bloodsucker- my first "real" paintgun. the amountof "firepower" the autotrigger gave me was awesome. this thing was a tank, before i knew anything about barrel sizes, etc. It always seemed to work. I rocked this with the 90 round viewloader (banana).

Tipp 68 Special- one of my all time favorites. it was loud and looked awesome. Plus, you had to run it with a siphon tank and it would shoot out huge clouds of CO2.

Tipp ProAm- light and reliable... one of my favorites.

PGP- never really used this, in the early days of semi, stock was not interesting to me.

Automag- my favorite of all time. i worked really hard to buy this gun. Level 7, with the new powerfeed, i had it setup so nice in the end- J&J brass barrel, Air America Whispering Death... awesome. I even got the body coated in a black finish (my uncle ran a machine shop and did it for me). It looked and worked awesome.

Minimag- I always liked the minimag body.

Tipp Prolite- cheap and always worked well for me.

EMag- Awesome gun, heavy as hell though. I only had this a little while before the XMags started showing up and then I needed one of those. ;) my first Nitro tank. SO much better than CO2

UL Automag- my "get back into the game" gun. It was cool to hook it up with all the 'new' automag gadgets- lev10, intelliframe, UL body..

XMag- All silver from batch 2. awesome gun. it was a cool feeling to be part of the X club, but it was still a mag and didn't really excite me.

Angel Speed- got sucked into the angel game for a little. this gun was unbelievably fast. SENSI sucked. The little speedometer LEDs were cool.

Orracle E-Cocker- cool looking gun. this gun convinced me that cockers CAN be electro, but i don't think they should.

Works mech Cocker- the way cockers should be... this is the 2nd gun i really miss. It was setup perfectly for me and never let me down.

Chipley Series 5- the gun I bought when I missed my Works. It's been awesome too. recently changed it back to a single trigger slide frame- this is the way cockers should be setup.

Proto Matrix- my jump back into electros. I love how quiet and smooth it shot. but i hated dealing with Orings so often. And it wasn't terribly efficient.

Etek- I liked electros, but didn't like the spool valve, so i got one of these last year. It is a GREAT gun. super reliable, as fast as I'll need, efficient and easy as heck to maintain.

Ego8- this i got this year because my experience with the etek was so good. it has so far been great- quite a bit more effiecient that the etek, super light, easier to manage modes/etc with the LCD.

At the end of the day and through all my gun transactions, i've come to realize that any decent gun will do. it really is the player's skill. We are getting slight improvements in weight and efficiency but that's really it.

-j

[Z-man]

cAt the end of the day and through all my gun transactions, i've come to realize that any decent gun will do. it really is the player's skill. We are getting slight improvements in weight and efficiency but that's really it.

-j

We have a winner folks.

[Raven]

I've been playing since 84.

First marker was a Nelspot I think. It was at a field that had the national survival game franchise in Ontario. Nice marker paint was expensive and the CO2 cartridges didn't last long.

Next two were also rentals the SL68 and the Razorback. I seem to recall that I actually liked the Razorback better.

Bushmaster pump. I really liked this little marker. Unfortunately by nephew found it and the police confiscated it and never bothered to return it.

Back to rentals, Pro Am. Nice for the time but what a ***** to chrono.

My next owned a VM68. What a tank. with two CO2 tanks it gave you muscles.

My first real marker a regular Mag. Loved that thing but it was one of the early ones that had the starving issue. Sold it after six months.

My next real marker a PT Micro Mag with the removable barrel. Had a lot of fun with that thing too. Shot 2E and a bunch of other with it. Eventually I let it go because the screws to the power feed kept stripping

My next real marker was the good old Auto Cocker. Loved that thing too until I farked up the timing. Sold it

Bought my second Mag a powerfed Smart Parts powerfed teflon body. Great marker despite who sold it. Still have it and still play with it.

Bought a Mini Mag as a back up for the team I was on at the time. Never really liked the mini body but the marker is alright. Still have it too.

Decided I needed a pump back in my life and got a Phantom. Nice and light. I have it set up for stock class but can change that if I have too. Think I have an old viewloader that holds 50 rounds...

My last marker another Mag, an RT ULE. I like this a lot but to be fair to the ** mag, I alternate their use.

[Dirtybird]

Playing years: 17 (1991)
markers owned: waaaay to many to list (currently have 16)
1: Cherry splashed mellenium cut Freeflow Autococker
-nicest looking, shooting and feel everto me. I miss it
2: Red Shocktech Timmi with Evil parts thruout
-straight up machine gun with looks, miss that as well
3: Pewter Shocktech SFL cocker (current)
-close to the Freeflow but just not there