Autococker - Criticisms

Criticisms

Reliability: Due to their large number of moving parts, Autocockers are popular with tinkerers. Since even seemingly unimportant aspects of the marker, such as how far the back block is screwed onto the pushrod, can affect Autococker performance, minor tinkering with the marker can compound over time and lead to failure. It is not uncommon for an inexperienced owner to try to fix an Autococker that is not broken, frequently with disastrous results. As a result, rumors of Autocockers being unreliable have circulated the internet for years. If an owner doesn't know how to tune an Autococker, then it is not "Time to un-pimp ze Autococker". The reality however, is that Autocockers are extremely reliable once set up properly. Experienced owners that understand how each of the parts in the marker interact are consistently able to modify and upgrade the marker without causing problems. Since new Autocockers are designed to work "out of the box," new owners are usually advised to not tinker with anything until they fully understand how the marker works.

Gas Efficiency: Although the Autococker operates at lower pressures than many of its contemporaries, such as the Kingman Spyder and Automag, the forces and pressures at play in the firing and recocking mechanisms must be balanced for the greatest effectiveness at the desired shot velocity, something that does not have to be done (at least to this degree) in any other marker. This is generally known as "sweet-spotting" the marker, or more specifically the marker's high-pressure regulator or HPR. If the HPR is set at too low a pressure, the marker will get insufficient pressure to fire the ball at the desired velocity or even to operate. If set too high, the pressure against the back of the valve will work against the hammer opening the valve to fire the paintball and again reduce velocity. Either way, the consistency of shots and the gas efficiency of the marker are reduced, and a common complaint among inexperienced Autococker users is that they do not get many shots from a full tank of air or CO₂. Balancing the marker requires firing several shots over a chronograph to find the "sweet spot" of the HPR (the point at which the velocity is highest, then adjusting the hammer spring tension to increase or decrease velocity, and re-adjusting the HPR to find the new sweet spot, until the marker is firing at field limits with the HPR at or near its sweet spot. The LPR controlling the pneumatics must then be adjusted to use the least amount of pressure necessary to move the back block fully rearward. This process requires access to a shooting range with a chronograph, and significant time, air, paint and patience, which many casual players do not possess.

Slow rate of fire: In an era where electropneumatic markers are prized for their high rate of fire in both tournament and recreational play, the slower mechanical operation of the Autococker (at least in entry-level models) is looked upon with some disdain. The first production E-cocker conversion was the PMS mark 3 system in the late 90's, which met with minimal success but paved the way for offerings by Sandridge (fully electronic and one of the first electro's to use eye technology) and the centerflag Uprising (partial conversion). Next generation frames from Racegun and Eclipse (with multiple fire modes, fully electronic sear and pneumatics) were the first frames to find broad use and the Eclipse E-Blade became the standard for electro-cockers but was discontinued in 2006. WGP's own electropneumatic system, based on technology licensed from Planet Eclipse, is now standard on many of their new Autococker models.

Short-Stroking: On mechanical Autocockers, the trigger both fires the marker (by releasing the sear) and re-cocks it (by pulling the timing rod and activating the 3-way). The pull of the trigger accomplishes first one, then the other, in a precisely timed operation, making it necessary for the player to fully pull and release the trigger each time. Only partially pulling the trigger, known colloquially as "short-stroking", will alter the duration of time the pneumatics are actively operating the recocking mechanism, or may eliminate the re-cocking cycle altogether. Short-stroking can thus cause many malfunctions related to one or more steps of the recocking process not being performed. For instance, if the back block does not move fully rearward, the hammer may not be caught by the sear, and will be released into the pin valve immediately upon the back block moving forward again. If the back block is not kept rearward long enough for a paintball to drop fully into the chamber, a "dry fire" or a "ball chop" may occur, the latter being extremely frustrating as it drastically affects accuracy of future shots until the barrel, breech and bolt are cleaned. The need for a full trigger pull on mechanical Autocockers also results in a slower rate of fire.

Sear Trip: Even with an electronic trigger, the Autococker still relies on a hammer and spring valve for firing. The electronic trigger controls the recocking pneumatics, and a sear solenoid. Thus, even electronic Autocockers have an amount of recoil and rate of fire some find unacceptable for serious play (though Autocockers are still seen in serious tournament play). In early 2006, the first fully electronic (valve and recock) electronic Autocockers were seen, made using the "mQ valve" (named after their inventor Mike Quinn). The valve only had a limited release cycle however, and became tied up in production and legal issues. A lack of steady supply of mQ valves caused prices to skyrocket on eBay, even for used or damaged ones. In mid-2007, the original creators announced that they had resolved the production issues and are now making new "mQ2 valves," which are mQ valves redesigned for greater reliability, flow, and consistency.