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