GOGGLES ON

History

In late 1986, Bud Orr created the original Sniper pump marker by carving the works of a standard Sheridan PGP into an aluminum block that would accept a longer barrel. The Sniper was operated in a manner similar to pump-action shotguns in that it had to be manually recocked after each shot to load the next round. In 1987, Orr founded Worr Game Products to sell the products he was developing, and by 1988 he was running the business full-time. In order to stay competitive with the rising popularity of semiautomatic markers in the late 1980s, Orr added a pneumatic system onto the Sniper. The pneumatics automatically re-cocked the marker after each shot, and in 1989 the Autococker was born. There is a lot of controversy as to whether the design was stolen from Glenn Palmer (who has repeatedly and publicly made and defended this claim and has given a detailed accounting of the circumstances) or was actually Bud’s innovation.

In the early 1990s the Autococker quickly rose to become one of the most popular markers used by top professional teams, used by such teams as Bob Long’s original Ironmen. Although heavily criticized for reliability and a number of design defects, it proved to be an easy platform to work off of and aftermarket parts soon appeared shortly after its inception. One of the most fundamental and important upgrades was the Palmer “Rock” low pressure regulator (LPR) to replace the troublesome stock LPR. With a variety of options appearing for parts, Belsales in the UK became the first company to build WGP-certified aftermarket cockers, called “Evolution” in 1993. Throughout the remainder of the 1990’s, dozens of shops ranging from large notables such as Dave Youngblood Enterprises (Dye), Shocktech, Planet Eclipse, Belsales and FreeFlow down to small one man pro-shop operations made a business of servicing and customizing Autocockers with price tags of nearly $2000 for high-end models. A combination of performance, upgradeability and cosmetic options made it one of the top tournament markers of the 90’s. Only the Automag rivaled it in popularity until electronic markers appeared. Indeed, the autococker was so ubiquitous that its barrel threading became one of the most commonly-used standards on high-end markers (akin to how firearm cartridge sizes are often named for the first popular gun model or manufacturer to use them). To this day, most high-end markers, and many entry-level as well, accept barrels with “autococker threads”.

By the turn of the century, with the advent and increased popularity of electropneumatics, it no longer became profitable for specialized shops to produce custom autocockers, and they slowly began to disappear. Though the introduction of partial-electropneumatic conversion kits in the early 2000s by companies like Planet Eclipse extended the autocockers’ popularity by a few more years, the availability of fully electropneumatic markers that required less work to maintain caused the autococker to lose favor with tournament teams, and eventually, casual players as well. Newer Autocockers with integrated, solenoid-controlled pneumatics remain available, boasting lesser maintenance and tuning. “Classic” Autococker models retain some popularity with recreational players, some of whom “revert” the design back to the pump-action “Sniper” concept for use in stock-class play.

“Autococker.” Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Web. 06 Aug. 2010. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autococker>.

The Automag was first introduced in 1990. At that time it was one of a handful of semi-auto paintball markers that was set to revolutionize the sport. The Automag was the first marker to introduce several new innovations to the paintball world including:

• Blow forward valve system
• Regulator integrated into the marker
• All stainless construction
• Twist lock barrel
• Power Feed which was widely copied in the industry

The 68 Automag went through a series of improvement from Level 5 to Level 7 which corrected initial problems. Now original Level 5 markers are very rare and sought after by collectors.

“Airgun Designs – Virtual Museum.” Airgun Designs. Web. 06 Aug. 2010. <http://www.airgundesignsusa.com/museum/Automag.htm>.

The Impulse was released in the year 2000 and was the sister design to SP’s other marker available at the time, the Shocker Sport. Over the course of its lifetime the Impulse became one of the most popular markers available, and was notable for following many trends for parts, style, and features in the paintball industry on the turn of the century.

Impulses had a similar appearance to the Shocker Sport, however they were internally quite different; Impulses were based on the common “stacked-tube” hammer/valve layout (two bore design, bolt on top with the hammer on bottom). In contrast to the Shocker Sport, Impulses were capable of faster fire rates, were more lightweight, were cheaper, and also experienced greater tank efficiency. As a result the gaining popularity of this product over the Shocker was foreseeable. Impulses were one of many stacked-tube electronic markers developed around the same time by opposing companies. Markers such as this were considered to be the top-end by many players (typically those involved with tournaments), and as a result the cost for upgraded versions was quite high ($1000+).

In 2001, Smart Parts released a variety of upgrades and enhancements to the Impulse line, including the Vision eye system, upgraded bolts, improved valves and internals, and other smaller upgrade components. The Vision electronic eye system was particularly popular since few other markers were available with such a part from the factory (this has since changed, and the feature is a near-requirement from manufacturers). In 2002, the electronics were redesigned to the “Cricket” version, which involved a more reliable circuit board that also used more developed programming.

The other growing trend that Impulses followed were the addition of stylish milling patterns and designs, suited for different retailers and sponsored teams. This has become a popular trend for the more expensive markers of today. There were over 30 customized body styles and parts available before the marker was discontinued. Contingent to this was the growing number of parts and accessories available for the Impulse line as well, from various manufacturers and developers, which allowed nearly every part of the marker to be swapped for an “aftermarket” version. Smart Parts released a limited edition version known as the Toxic Impulse. Not many of these markers were produced. The serial number of the marker is located on the right-hand side towards the back.

In 2009 Smart Parts released another Impulse, a high-end marker that used the ram driven operation of the Ego and Intimidator. It incorporated several features used by Smart Parts’ highest-end marker, the DLX Luxe, such as an internal gas system.

“Smart Parts.” Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Web. 03 Aug. 2010. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smart_Parts>.