Paintball

[CJOttawa]

Background
I use a 25-gram milled hammer which requires a bit more hammer spring force to achieve field velocity, meaning the TPC has to be screwed in a bit farther, versus the stock, 40-gram Redux (CCI) hammer.

The other weekend, I added a valve diffuser which chokes gas flow somewhat, requiring more gas flow and even more TPC pressure.

After turning the TPC in, my Redux wasn't cocking; the hammer sear wasn't engaging the bolt when cocked.

Finding the Cause
I didn't put two-and-two together and figured I'd worn out my hammer sear or sear spring. (I got back on the field by using the stock hammer, BTW)

Today, I swapped the sear and sear spring between hammers: still not cocking.

I backed the TPC all the way out: BAM! Gun cocked perfectly.
Another symptom: the trigger has more slack when the TPC is screwed in.

EDIT - it was the powertube. I have a Lapco #6 installed, instead of the stock tube supplied with the DD68 Redux which was a #4 bored to #6 specs. The #6 was slightly longer than the stock tube.

I cut the #6 down about 3mm and it no longer interferes with the TPC, even with the TPC turned all the way in.

Conclusion
Be careful if and when you try other powertubes! Length needs to be short enough to not interfere with the TPC. Cutting the tubes down isn't a problem: 30 seconds on a rotary tool is all the time it takes.

Problems may not occur unless you have the TPC turned in so test any powertube with the TPC all the way in.