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NAVIGATION
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These are my personal guns and equipment. Sometimes I buy guns and sell them quickly, if so they will most likely not be shown here. However, I do have pictures of past guns I've owned, listed in a separate paragraph below.
Here is the current collection (PICTURES BELOW):
- Palmer's Pursuit Shop Blazer
- 2003 AKA Excalibur
- Bob Long GZ Intimidator
- Palmer's Pursuit Shop Hurricane
- CCI Phantom
- AGD MiniMag pump
- MacMurray Marauder bolt-action
- Bob Long Millennium
- Brass Eagle Talon
Gun Hoarder, n. Pronunciation Key (gn), (hoard"er): A person who accumulates a supply of weapons, (consisting of metal tubes from which projectiles are fired at high velocity into relatively flat trajectories), that are hidden or carefully guarded for preservation and/or future use. |
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Palmer's Pursuit Shop Blazer
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 When I bought my first Palmer's product (the Hurricane), I kind of went out of order. Hurricanes are completely custom markers, and cost a lot of money. Most people start with either a standard model brass paint marker such as the Palmer Typhoon or Houndstooth pump. Over time, Glenn Palmer took it upon himself to improve the design of the brass markers and create a minimalist, tournament-ready, high-performance and optimized paintslinger. Enter: the Blazer. The Blazer is a closed-bolt semi-automatic marker with an aluminum body and removable barrel. Several key changes in the design (ram and LPR are mounted "into" the body) as well as a change in construction material (aluminum body vs. brass) were necessary to create the Blazer. The first run of ~1000 Blazers is commonly called the 1k series. Rumor is, the first 50-60 were not production models, they were prototypes and modified models. The first production model started at serial number BZ057. After the 1000 serial number, the Blazer became the "2k" model and added some different improvements over the 1k model. The ram was lengthened, the bolt masterlink was upgraded, and the barrel length was altered ever-so-slightly. Performance-wise, both are equally accurate, with speed going to the 1k (surprisingly!). Many people enjoy the Blazer's ease of use, reliability, small size, accuracy, and "feel." I was hesitant to commission a special build when I got the itch for one of these, so I found a used one. The model shown here is my BZ497, a 1k model with blue anodize, 10" nickel-plated brass barrel, .45-frame, delrin bolt, ghost ring, female Stabilizer, and drop forward. For the price, this is one sweet little marker for me! I am in the process of changing out that monster drop, but other than that, it's decked out as-is! I used it extensively on POG Weekend back on 31 Mar - 1 Apr 07. It got about equal field time as the Hurricane. Having played paintball for over 11 years now, it was very easy to switch from my other markers to this one. Although most people who are used to JABBs (Just Another Blow Black) might not like the feel of the trigger at first and may have trouble with short-stroking (not pulling the trigger far enough to reset; sometimes results in chopped paintballs). This particular Blazer has a .45 frame with a really short trigger throw, so the chance of short-stroking is significantly reduced. I highly recommend one of these if you're looking for a really spectacular used marker. Make sure the marker is in full working order and doesn't have any leaks. Palmers get these in for tune-ups regularly though, so don't fear to send it in for some fine adjustments. Since the tolerances on these markers are very tight, they can be finicky to get 'just-right.' All in all though, these are superb paintball markers, and this has quickly become one of my favorite markers! |
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 AKALMP (aka AKA), the self-proclaimed "Low-Pressure Experts," have designed a marker that takes full advantage of precisely-milled tolerances and huge air passages to extract the maximum amount of efficiency from an HPA source. A "Viking" is the open-bolt version of this marker, and an "Excalibur" is the closed-bolt model. Most Vikings and Excaliburs can get approx. 1800 - 2000 shots (a case of paint) off of a full 68ci/4500psi high pressure air fill. Those are simply stunning numbers! When a back-player can use a 45ci tank and still get 1200 shots off, that says a lot!
 This is a 2003 AKA Excalibur (Excal for short), closed-bolt electro-pneumatic paintball marker. It's the last truly closed-bolt electro ever designed (after the old "Shoebox" shockers). These are only slightly slower than Vikings, although most users claim they are 'smoother.' The Excalibur uses the same electronics (W.A.S. Equalizer, Pandora, or Tadao boards) and has the same aluminum body extrusion that the Viking is made from (the Viking doesn't utilize the 2nd of two lower air passages, only the Excal does. The 2nd lower passage on a Viking is empty). With fast electronics, a break-beam eye system, double trigger, and a fast hopper on top, this thing just screams! I have only dry-fired at home so far, but I will be taking it to the field for a full test soon. This particular Excal is serial #407, and is the "full-mill" body style, meaning that AKA milled impressions all the way down the body. There are also "half-mill" and "unmilled" versions (the 2003 Viking, below in the sold section, has an "unmilled" body). Enjoy the pictures, I'll have more to report on later!
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 This is my Bob Long Ground Zero (GZ) Intimidator. Originally, this marker came in a dark blue matte finish. The anodizing began to wear off in areas, so I decided to have it re-anodized. I sent it to M.A.X. Anodizing, and they did a fade anodize from blue to silver and back to blue. One of the grip frame screws stripped, and I had to enlarge and re-tap that hole. It's now very solid, and doesn't detract anything from the looks of the marker, as the bore hole for the head of the allen screw is stil the same size, and I didn't affect the anodizing at all. I recently changed the grip frame to an Intimidator LCD clamshell, and I really like both the look and feel of it. The structure of the grip-frame mounting screws is highly-improved over the original design, and it mates up to the marker perfectly. I still have upgraded electronics inside, the Wicked Air Sports (WAS) Equalizer board. What a difference that makes! I think all older Intimidators should receive this upgrade, it's the single most important thing to do! I also added a Freak barrel, new Check-It Full Force V2.0 bolt, Twisted Paintball flame eye covers, Hybrid adjustable ram cap, a Custom Products (CP) volumizer, and Mythic Paintball pride trigger. Some of the upgrades were for aesthetic purposes, but all are functional.
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Palmer's Pursuit Shop Hurricane - The Tempest
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 This is a Palmers Pursuit Shop Hurricane. It's a custom-built semi-automatic paintball marker that is built on a Sheridan KP2 wooden stock and uses the original 'trigger group,' which consists of the rear cap with rocking safety and trigger with attached sear. If you send Palmers the entire KP2, they can do a conversion using the existing valve and brass tubes, however, the scratch-built option allows for more customization. You can find more information about Hurricanes here: http://www.palmer-pursuit.com/ When I received the completed Hurricane, it was shipped to me in the olive drab Army Signal Corps bag shown in the picture to the right. They also provided a barrel condom, patch, stickers, and plenty of good instructions (maintenance and operation). I named this Hurricane the "Tempest", after my favorite WWII fighter plane. The specifications of this Hurricane are: scratch-built right feed, 13" barrel, spiral porting, Sheridan muzzle break, sight rail, quick exhaust valve (QEV), rear velocity adjuster, and female Stabilizer regulator on ring mounts. Additionally, I had them powdercoat the entire thing with wrinkle-black powdercoat and custom engrave the name "Tempest" on the left side in Olde English Text MT font. I added a Butler Creek padded 1" sling with Uncle Mike's sling swivel mounts, it really helps to be able to carry this thing! I use a 68ci/4500psi on a remote line, and a Halo B hopper to feed the marker. However, I recently added a Q-loader mechanical loading system. I have used it once in this configuration, you can read the whole report here, in How-To # 02: http://www.freewebs.com/spindoctorpaintball/howto.htm One nice change is that I'm able to comfortably use an Adco 30mm E-dot sight, where before the Halo hopper got in the way. I used this marker exclusively during Oklahoma D-Day 2006, and it performed near flawlessly, only one or two barrel breaks all day. I shot just over 1000 shots, and the Hurricane sipped on the air, using just about 1900 psi of the available 4000. That's really great efficiency! Accuracy was stellar, even with white-box paint (standard field paint, nothing special). The weight of the marker is close to 10 lbs when fully loaded with paint and air tank, but I managed to lessen the load with both the use of the remote line and the addition of the sling.
When I first received the marker, I was a little disappointed that it didn't work right out of the box as I expected. Due to the fact that this is a 'custom' marker and is handmade, there are tolerance issues and each marker is truly unique. Specifically, the 4-way valve was knocked out of place in my Hurricane. On an Autococker, the 3-way sits in a threaded mount in front of the trigger. On the Hurricane, Palmers mounts the 4-way hanging downward (it's the shiny brass thing just in front of the trigger). It's mounted to a Z-shaped bracket with a small 'pringle screw,' named for the shape on the top of the bolt, it's like a pringle chip versus the flat top to most bolts. This means that the bracket can swing side-to-side, and when it does that, it knocks it out of alignment from the trigger. It took me a few days and a few disassemblies to fix this the first time, but once I did it worked great!
Fast-forward to just after D-Day '06, and I had deja vu. The Hurc worked great during D-Day, but when I got home, the trigger would not actuate the firing sequence again! This was puzzling, as I had it working perfectly! I took it apart again and lo and behold, the bottom part of the trigger had broken off!!! The trigger is modified to work like a fork, with tangs that stick out and push/pull the 4-way. One of the tangs broke off and was floating around inside the stock. This was a repair I was not qualified to do, so I sent the marker back to Palmers for their warranty repair. This is where customer service counts! Palmers offers a 1-year warranty on their markers, and I took them up on it. They fixed it and I had it back within 3 weeks, what a great service!
This was a truly custom project, and I'm really glad that I decided to go for it. I had to sacrifice some of my marker collection, but it was well worth it. This is my scenario marker of choice, and will be for a very long time!
 
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 This is CCI Phantom serial #4. The original marker didn't have all the bells and whistles that this one has now! But Mike Cassidy (owner of CCI) looked this marker over himself about 4 years ago and confirmed that it's one of the oldest in existence that he knows. (L) The original unibody (no removable barrel) with a hopper attached. (R) Photo shows the current setup. I primarily use a Dye Boomstick barrel now though. The anodizing job was clearly re-done as the original version was black! This is truly an incredible markers. In stock class form (R), the paintballs are held horizontally, and you need to tip the marker slightly forward while pumping, in order to correctly chamber a ball. The pump stroke is slightly firm, as the design includes a Nelson-style valve. A Nelson valve is contained within a single tube, it's all in line (as opposed to a Sheridan valve, where the valve is encased in the lower tube, and the bolt is encased in the upper tube). This simple design has been copied over and over again, and enjoys use in this marker today! This is the quietest marker I own, it whispers compared to most other markers on the field. Accuracy is stellar, it's easily the most accurate pony in the stable. During recent test firing at the range, I hooked a 16 oz. CO2 tank to the input, and slapped the 15" Boomstick on the front end; at the range, I was pegging a 2" diameter target at 30+ feet an amazing 14 out of 15 shots. I can't even explain how simple it was to hit the target time after time. What makes it even more impressive is the fact that you need to re-acquire your sight picture after every shot (due to tipping the marker down to load it after each shot). If you want a great no-nonsense pump that is highly customizable and extremely accurate, get yourself a Phantom!
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AGD MiniMag with pump kit
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 This is the current setup of my pump MiniMag. 'Mags traditionally utilize a blow-forward semi-automatic design. When the trigger is pulled, the sear releases the bolt, which is pushed 'forward' by the air pressure, and when the bolt passes a certain point, the air no longer pushes against it, allowing the spring around the bolt to push it back to the resting position. This marker performs exceptionally well. The AGD Pump Kit was developed back in 1994, and was sold as an accessory, although several mainbodies came with a 'factory' milled pump slot. Essentially, the pump kit includes a spacer that allows the marker to fire one ball when you pull the trigger, but doesn't allow the bolt to fully reset (sear to re-cath). When you pump the arm, you are putting enough extra pressure on the bolt to reset the sear, allowing it to fire again. In summary, the pump allows the marker to "function through disfunction." Even though it's an odd setup, it works awesome. The pump stroke is about 1", but it's very smooth, and near effortless. The only resistance you encounter is in the last 1/8" of the pump stroke. When you hear a click, the sear is reset. It barely takes any effort at all, and is very quick! Plus, accuracy is spot-on. If you ever wanted to see a marker that allows 'one shot, one kill' eliminations, this is it.
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 MacMurray Airguns (MAC-1) has been producing high quality airgun products for decades. In fact, Tim MacMurray & Sons still run their airgun business in California! They produced several Sheridan-based airguns and conversions in the 1980's, many of which can be found on eBay and various Internet forums. They are pretty highly regarded, and fetch a decent price whenever you find them. This particular model originated as a pump pistol, but some enterprising individual put it into a KP3 stock along the way and added a super-cool bolt action! Additionally, a friend of mine named Wharf Rat did the nickle-plating design himself before he sold it to me. After a trip to another airsmith named Scarecrow (www.scarecrow-paintball.com), who is somewhat of a Sheridan guru, it finally works! The bolt action is tightly sprung, as there is not much travel in the bolt mechanism, but this thing is FUN to play with. The bolt action is very realistic: you raise it (approx. 1/4 turn), crank it backwards, push forward to load the paintball, and then drop the handle back down to the position it is shown in on the right. Now, you're ready to go! The Marauder is very accurate. So accurate in fact that a friend of mine used it all-day against semis and electros during a weekend scenario game. He just couldn't put it down! I also ran an air line into the "constant-air" fitting shown on the lower right side of the body of the marker, and put a 4 oz. tank in the bracket on the underside. That made it much easier to deal with. 12 gram CO2 cartridges were not fun to change out, as the plunger would get very snug and would take many, many turns to be removed. With constant air and a 50-rd hopper, you're set for a fun day of play. This marker is kind of an oddity in my collection, but it's really unique and definitely turns some heads! |
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 This is a Bob Long Millennium. It functions exactly the same as a Spyder, blow-back semi automatic action. This is the first real quality semi-auto paintball marker that I purchased. It has all-aluminum construction, a venturi bolt (with cyclone spiral insert in the tip), an aluminum velocity adjuster, an expansion chamber, low pressure regulator, and 12" aluminum barrel. While a lot of those upgrades don't really mean anything (except for the velocity adjuster and expansion chamber), the marker is really nice. It is surprisingly accurate, even when using the stock barrel. Currently, it doesn't function, as I stripped the hole that holds the front block into the marker, and when I went to re-tap the hole, the tap broke off in it (how's that for luck?). I purchased a new front-block, but the air passage is too small to allow correct airflow, and it won't re-engage the sear when fired. I will be modifying the block by drilling more air passages. I don't think I'll ever sell this one, the amount of money I would get for it would be next to nothing, and wouldn't be worth the absence of the memories I've had playing with this marker! |
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Previous Markers I've Owned
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The gun hoarder is an elusive species, one who salivates at the thought of buying a marker, shooting it once (if at all), and then selling it, either to make a profit, or simply move on to the next intriguing marker. A gun hoarder will sell most equipment for the chance at owning something else, anything else... Below you will find the lucky pieces who are now sloppy seconds to my pocketbook. I've added a line in each caption that tells of the fate of the money I acquired from each sale. Enjoy!
caption: 2003 AKA Viking. Oh man, I sold this one too!
caption: 2004 AKA Viking. I sold this merely to get some cash. Sometimes we all need a buck...
 
caption: (L) AGD Sydarms #102 and #518; (R) Closeup of the serial numbers. I sold these to generate some cash flow. I will likely buy up more paintball stuff with the cash though!
caption: Sheridan KP2, "The Club!" I used the stock/trigger group from this KP2 for my Hurricane, the Tempest. I bought some new trigger group pieces and a new stock and put this puppy together pirate-style! I sold this to fund my purchase of the 2-Viking package.
caption: WGP Sniper I. I didn't think I would sell this one, since it's so rare and has such a history. Truth be told though, I never used it. It was louder than a shotgun and droves tacks, one on top of the other, but other than its debut at Hollywood Sports Park, I never used it. Oh well, hopefully the new owner will find some love for it!
caption: WGP 99STO Autococker. I traded this and $100 for an XBox360. I just couldn't satisfy my hunger for Halo 2 any other way...
caption: 2x Nel-Spot 007's. These are the original 'tree-marking' guns that started the sport. I sold these to fund the TS-1 Sniper project.
caption: TS-1 Sniper. I sold this to fund my Hurricane. I liked the tactical aspects of it, but it's a very high maintenance marker...
caption: WGP Autococker serial #6997. I sold this to fund my Hurricane. This one took a lot of adjustment to the hammer in order to get it cycling right, it works now though!
caption: WGP 99 STO Autococker. Part of the sweetest eBay deal I've ever bought. I traded the gun plus $75 for my first Sydarm (#518).
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Jason Spindler © 2005
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