Paintball

[Wolfman]

After playing the awesome (but incredibly muddy) Armo game yesterday (no footage afterall, sorry ) it got me thinking.
What is THE most reliable sidearm out there?
It doesn't need to be amazingly accurate, or quiet, or even easy to operate - I'm talking about that one pistol that will just fire shot after shot without getting gunked up, or springing a leak or just plain not working.

My vote's for the original NSG Splatmaster, mine isn't the most efficient (I get maybe 10 great shots and 10 decent shots from a 12g) but no matter how much abuse it gets it keeps on firing.

So, MCB, what's your thoughts?

[Timber_Ghost]

PGP original. Although I'm pretty sure an AGD Sydarm would work well too being as it is an automag.. And you wouldn't have to pump after every shot. I've had good luck with my tpx and micro phantom. Tiberius markers, not so much.

[Mal]

I'd found that pretty much every Nelson-based marker will shoot pretty much anything no matter what. I'd probably go with my micro Phantom, just because the only issue I've ever had with one was a material defect in the velocity set screw. It still shot too, just at a very low fps.

[skullcandy1993]

Most reliable semi-auto pistol?

In my opinion...the Zeus. Doesn't really matter which variation, I've owned a couple and they always put paint downrange. Not always incredibly accurate, but always fired.

Anything magfed is going to be picky about the environment.

[SpinDoctor15]

Originally Posted by skullcandy1993

Most reliable semi-auto pistol?

In my opinion...the Zeus. Doesn't really matter which variation, I've owned a couple and they always put paint downrange. Not always incredibly accurate, but always fired.

Anything magfed is going to be picky about the environment.

I'm glad you had a good experience with a Zeus, but I had exactly the opposite experience! The first weekend I attempted to use a Zeus, the magazine retention points (on the body of the marker) began to wear off/pean over. When I attempted to shoot, the kick/vibration of the marker would make the magazine pop off, making the whole thing completely unusable. It's too bad really, because I thought it had potential! Maybe it was an early production run with poor quality (it was like 2002...).

Having owned 2 Sydarms: they are very reliable, though not very efficient! I feel the Sydarms are some of the most well-built sidearms out there, you will definitely notice the quality!

I'm looking forward to trying a Tiberius and a TPX. For me it will be a "fly-off" competition for which one will become my trusty backup!

[PistolRogue]

Originally Posted by SpinDoctor15

I'm glad you had a good experience with a Zeus, but I had exactly the opposite experience! The first weekend I attempted to use a Zeus, the magazine retention points (on the body of the marker) began to wear off/pean over. When I attempted to shoot, the kick/vibration of the marker would make the magazine pop off, making the whole thing completely unusable. It's too bad really, because I thought it had potential! Maybe it was an early production run with poor quality (it was like 2002...).

That was on a new, out of the box gun? Because not knowing any better, I'd have assumed it was used and heavily abused for something like that to happen. I've owned several Zeuses, still own one, and that's never been a point of failure. And I use them heavily.

It's certainly been my most reliable marker over the years, the only tricky bits now is with such small paint and such a large bore I need to keep a bunch of different strength springs handy for chronoing in when the adjuster range is just not enough.

[Crimson Death]

Originally Posted by PistolRogue

That was on a new, out of the box gun? Because not knowing any better, I'd have assumed it was used and heavily abused for something like that to happen. I've owned several Zeuses, still own one, and that's never been a point of failure. And I use them heavily.

It's certainly been my most reliable marker over the years, the only tricky bits now is with such small paint and such a large bore I need to keep a bunch of different strength springs handy for chronoing in when the adjuster range is just not enough.

Send that thing out to get a threaded barrel on it!

[agentSmith]

'Reliable sidearm', I rank up there with dead livestock, friendly fire and other oxymora.

I've made a lifetime of fun out of getting to know pistols, in paintball and out. To me pistols ARE paintball, I would not play any other way and never have.

I have seen many different Rocksolid-Reliable individual pistols, never anything like a reliable brand or model from 1986 to now.

Jamming a marker, airsystem and hopper into the palm of your hand is just too hard.
Every single tolerance in every single direction is crucial in every individual pistol and the smaller they get, the harder it gets.

There's never been a 'Top of the Line' production pistol and there may never be.
Even with Tiberius and Tippmann, no attempt has been made to make the most reliable pistol possible.
It's always been 'how reliable can we make it... AS LONG AS it's under price X!!!!'. Noone at Tiberius or Tippmann would deny this and I'm not criticizing them, they run their businesses as they see fit. I personally think they're missing a boat. As well, patents often hem a company in from all sides.

However no long term commitment to make the best possible pistol and just 'see how much it costs after', has taken place as it has to some degree in regular markers.
The Tiberius and Tippmann pistols are each one generation old now with the 8.1 and TiPX, I'll be watching the pics from paintball extravaganza with interest...
It's no coincidence that the first time 2 companies are competing for our pistol dollars we're starting to see them incorporate actual feedback.

I've seen my own beloved TiPXs that needed pretty much completely new guts before they'd work.
I've seen T8s that chopped orings out of mags like red hot cookie cutters. In one case I had to reshape the whole post, as the mounting hole for it was off angle.
I've had zeus' that showed every sign of demonic posession.
I've had a perfect looking P68SC, sheridan's 'Tournament Model' PGP, that got 12 shots a 12g and ate Orings like they were chocolate coated.

Back, back through the years all the way to a splatmaster that made me buy a Nelspot, a nelspot that made me buy 2 3357s and so on.

Given this environment and the increased degree of difficulty in pistol play, no brand's reputation for reliability is so great that I would pull a new pistol off a counter, chrono and play a game that mattered to me.

It's like we used to say in the Army "10% casualties doesn't mean everybody's 10% dead. Casualties are always 100% to those affected".
If you're trying to speedload a pistol with a newly missing pierce pin seal while 4 opponents crouch a dozen feet away with their backs to you...
You aren't going to care that ALMOST everybody with a pistol like yours is having a great time.

That is why my recommendation is that noone, even a first timer, choose a pistol based on it's 'reliability'.
Pistol play is HARD as you guys know. Having a pistol that fits you and your style can turn 'unpleasantly difficult' into 'pleasantly challenging'.
A perfectly reliable pistol that doesn't fit you will sit in the truck while you play with your finicky dream girls or worse yet a regular marker.

I'll give a design that I want to carry 2 chances, 3 chances, 4 chances...
Often another pistol of the same brand may not share the trouble I'm having. If it's something that's inherent in the design, I'll analyze it, research remedies and apply them.
I'd prefer to get the pistol that fits me best, even if I had to mail it to an airsmith for work before I ever played with it. Often the total cost at the end is comparable to a regular marker with hopper and tank, but I have exactly what I want(or close).


Rob

[Wolfman]

Really well put AgentSmith, I see where you're coming from. Yeah, the real reason I asked was out of curiosity of what people held as their marker when everything just seems to go to pot!
That last game I played was what got me thinking about this; literally everything that could have gone wrong with my Tiberius went wrong (yet any other day it would shoot like a dream) and it sort of made me realise that no matter how much money you throw at a particular rig or pistol, it means nothing if it isn't shooting!
I went from a Tib, 5 mags and a competent rig to nothing but the Crosman and a stock class wrist band to hand load the rounds with.

It's funny how I always find myself digging out the splatmaster as well from my kit bag at somepoint during a game, even if things are going great. I might take the time to see how well it fits...

Thanks for the input guys!

[agentSmith]

Been there myself!
As always I solved it with a judicious helping o' crazy!
I used to have 6 3357s to keep 2 running, but I was playing several times a week during those years.
When I wore a zeus as my primary and a T8 as it's sidearm, I had 2 of each plus 3 full sets of zeus internals.
Now that I wear 2 TiPXs, I bring 4 to a big game or scenario.

As for the question put that way... If I were in a pinch about to start a game for big money and could magically have my version of ANY pb pistol ever made, hands down it's my tan TiPX.
It shot over a case at the 90 degree monster game in july and shot over 20 mags plus a mag or 2 of dry firing in a 20min game while crawling around in 10 inches of snow at the 25 degreesF Christmas game. It's not only dependable but ridiculously accurate too, i'd play a game of H.O.R.S.E with it against any marker and anybody without fear of embarrassment.
It's longest stretch is 4 cases without a ball break.
Bearing in mind that what is reliable about a particular TiPX or T8 is that combination of internals, it isn't permanent. Plastic bodies are just plastic bodies in both cases, it's the guts that matter.
However my other TiPX pistols have been touched up the same way and are potentially just as reliable, I just happen to have worn the tan more often as my main.

Rob