| Yes, the venerable Autococker. In the world | | | | Also, many of the stock parts weren't of |
| of paintball, few other guns have the same | | | | extremely high quality, leading them to be |
| level of legacy that the Autococker has. As | | | | replaced by aftermarket pieces. However, all |
| a marker, it has spanned all eras of | | | | this made the Autococker amazingly popular |
| paintball history. Starting out as a pump | | | | with tinkers, who took the gun as a platform |
| gun in the form of the Sniper, and evolving | | | | for their own custom creations. |
| all the way up to a a high end, tournament | | | | |
| grade gun with todays high precision | | | | It was the aftermarket that really helped the |
| electronic versions. In this article, I will | | | | Autococker take off. After a few |
| outline the basic steps on how this | | | | modifications were made, the Autococker |
| transformation occurred, and how it has | | | | became a fast, accurate, and decently |
| changed the game of paintball. | | | | reliable paintball gun. |
| | | | |
| In the beginning, there were pump guns. One | | | | This helped it pick up momentum among |
| of the most well respect of these pump guns | | | | paintball enthusiasts. Worr Games noted this |
| was Bud Orr's Sniper. With it solid, robust | | | | popularity, and quickly began to improve the |
| design, the Sniper proved to be a force to be | | | | quality of the stock Autococker, which helped |
| reckoned with. Even in the pump gun days, | | | | boost the guns popularity among recreational |
| the Sniper developed a reputation for | | | | players. The Autococker had secured its |
| accuracy and reliability. | | | | niche in the paintball world. |
| | | | |
| Of course, the era of pump guns didn't last | | | | However, things were changing in the |
| forever. With the advent of semi automatic | | | | paintball world. With guns such as the |
| paintball guns such as the VM-68 and the | | | | Angel, it became clear that electronic |
| Automag, it was clear that the days of pump | | | | markers offered a serious speed advantage to |
| guns in the mainstream of paintball were | | | | serious players. The Autococker was slow in |
| numbered. Bud Orr, ever inventive, set to | | | | comparison, and began to loose ground among |
| tinkering. Since he already had a solid | | | | professional players. Of course, the tinkers |
| design with his Sniper, he set out to convert | | | | weren't unauware of this problem, and began |
| the design to a semi automatic. | | | | to create electronic triggering systems for |
| | | | the Autococker. At first, these systems were |
| To accomplish this, Orr devised an ingenious | | | | plagued by ball chopping problems, but with |
| pneumatic system that would automatically | | | | the advent of electronic anti chop eyes and |
| actuate the pump on the Sniper when the | | | | high speed loader systems, these problems |
| trigger was pulled. It was this system that | | | | were quickly solved. Electronic Autocockers |
| gives the Autococker its name, as it is | | | | became a common site in the professional |
| simply an automatically pumped pump gun. Orr | | | | circuit. |
| refined his design, and put it into | | | | |
| production. | | | | As time went on, simpler electronic markers |
| | | | began to dominate in many areas. However, |
| When the Autococker was first released, it | | | | the Autococker is still used by many who |
| quickly developed a reputation for being | | | | enjoy its unique feel, sound, and limitless |
| unreliable. This was due mainly to the | | | | configurability. It should be interesting to |
| complexity of the pneumatic system, which | | | | see what the future holds for this venerable |
| required a skill mechanic to set up properly. | | | | marker. |