The below info was comprised by the persons listed below.
Greetings folks. This text file will hopefully give you an idea of all
the things you can do with the Automag/Minimag made by Airgun Designs.
This article is a collection of descriptions, opinions, and explantions
of things that you can do with your marker! There are many many things
that can be done to this wonderful marker, things which enhance not
only performance, but feel and looks. Hopefully, we will cover just about
everything that is available out there for the gun, though no guarentee's are
made or implied (yea yea), and if we step on any toes in the process, sorry
but oh well!
The Automag.
The Stock Automag consists of an W.G.P. (M-16) style grip on an carbon fiber
trigger frame. Older models were made of aluminum. There really not much
difference between these frames, the carbon fiber design is slightly lighter
(not noticable to us). The automag also comes with a standard ASA back-bottle
adaptor, and a stock 11 inch aluminum barrel. The gun has a standard feed,
which is only available in a right handed configuration (meaning the feed
port is on the right hand side of the gun).
The Crown Point/Power Feed Automag.
the CP/PF Automag is the same as a stock automag, but adds a Power feed and
a Crown Point Barrel (also 11 inches long). This configuration usually
also includes a 12oz bottle in the purchase package. The powerfeed on this
model is a left to right configuration.
The Minimag.
The Minimag is functionally and (mostly) exactly the same as an Automag.
The gun has an Assault gun style body, built in powerfeed (the powerfeed
on most minimags is a left to right hand version, which some people
find a bit akward when you are right handed (i.e. you can't sight down the
left side of the gun easily)), and a built in vertical bottle adaptor.
The gun also comes with a short (9 inch) annodized aluminum barrel.
The combination of short barrel, assault venting, and vertical bottle adaptor
gives this model a compact look and feel. Most packages include a 20oz tank
with this gun.
Both the CP/PF Automag and Minimag have a powerfeed that goes from right to
left available by special order from Airgun Designs.
The Micromag.
The Micromag is a new body/trigger/barrel assembly that is made by Gun F/X.
The 1st generation of this gun was only offered as an add on to current
mag owners (you just had to drop in your innards from your mag into the
Micro, and you were set). The gun is now market as a stand alone product.
The gun features a built in powerfeed, built in ball detent (external),
45 trigger frame and integeral barrel (word is that they are working on an
interchageable barrel, Bud Orr type). The gun is not made to hook a bottle
directly to the gun. The gun must be hooked up to a remote type system.
The barrel that comes with the Micromag is basically a Crown Point barrel
(in looks, but it is very short). The body is made from Aluminum (which means
you can annodize it).
New things from AGD:
The trigger frame of newer 'mags are now made from a carbon fiber substance
which seems to be very durable (it was pictured holding up an 1800 lb car).
Functionally they are the same. Many people feel that the new trigger frame
has a snappier feel to the trigger, but I can't really tell the difference.
As of Novemeber, 1994, Word is that the mag is now being shipped with an
agitating loader (A VL2000?). This has only been half confirmed, we'll
be talking with AGD soon to check it out.
The field strip screw now includes a flat teflon o-ring to help prevent
the screw from backing out. The screw also now accepts an allen wrench to
help tighten it down better.
旼컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴�
쿟hings to do to your mag!�
읕컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴�
Boy, where to start, well I guess one way to tackle this is just to
start at the top of the gun and go down. Well, hopefully we can do this
justice!
The Loader: The Automag and Minimag comes with a Viewloader 100. This
loader is a standard flip top, 100 round loader that fits into
a plastic elbow which is included with the gun. While the Viewloader 100 is
a nice loader, it doesn't do the 'mag justice. Going to a larger loader (like
a Viewloader 200), is an option, as well as The Whaler (which is even larger
than the VL 200), but we feel (and see all the time), that the ONLY loader that
should sit on top of your gun is a Motorized loader, such as a VL-2000. These
loaders will keep balls in your elbow, and also keeps you from chopping balls
due to balls not feeding fast enough (remember that the stock automag can
shoot 7-8 rounds per second out of the box!). The old style VL-2000 was
a VL-200 with a agatiting motor and paddle added in with a sensor in the
neck, while the new style is a completely different design, with covered
electronics and sensor (also has a more streamlined look). This should be
the 1st thing that you purchase for your 'mag. The VL-2000 runs about
$70.
Elbow: The stock plastic elbow that comes with your mag is going to wear out,
especially in hot weather. An Armson or similar elbow is what you
should replace it with, as these elbows have tightening bolts that will clamp
the elbow both to the feed and to the loader. The elbow runs about $6-$10.
Feed/Powerfeed. For the standard Automag, you should get an Aftermarket
powerfeed. Armson and Pro-Line both make a fine product.
The powerfeed does three things: 1. Gives you a shut off for the balls rolling
into the gun. This is very handy when you want to take off your barrel,
as it will keep you from having balls rolling out the front of your gun (and
help from keeping you slicing a ball in half as you give the barrel the
1/4 twist to remove it). It also acts as a secondary saftey. 2: The powerfeed
helps the gun feed faster by using the blow back from the gun to force balls
into the gun at a faster rate. Not only does this allow the gun to fire faster,
but it 3. reduces ball breakage (from balls not completely falling into the
chamber as the gun fires, which results in a chopped ball). Powerfeeds
are definately necessary for the 'mag. Powerfeeds run about $50 installed.
Barrels: Ohhh boy, this section is a hard one, since everyone and thier
little brother makes thier own barrel which they claim shoots farther
and more accurate than all the rest. One thing can be certain, replacing
the stock barrel on all three versions of the 'mag is a very good idea.
The stock Automag barrel seems to be picky on the brand of paint shot through
it, and the barrel is ugly as hell (flat black). The Crown point barrel
is not much of an improvement, as the barrel has never been well regarded
among owners, and it definately has a 'sound' to it. The CP barrel has a
distinct 'tea bell' ring to it when it is fired. This can be helped by putting
a barrel O-ring around the triangular vents at the end of the barrel. The
vents also seem to break paint. The stock minimag barrel is very loud, but
shoots fairly well and has an annodized finish which looks good. PCRI
(Paintball Consumer Reports International) rated the minimag as the most
accurate gun out of the box, and as the Gun of the year for 1993.
Popular choices for aftermarket barrels can be: Smarts Parts, J&J (brass
and Hard Chrome), On Target, Armson, Predator Line, AKA, Carter, BOA,
and Lapco. All of these companys make fine barrels. What's the best?
Who the hell knows!?!?! It's ALL a personal preference. We (the authors)
favor Predator Line or J & J Hard Chrome barrels. Barrels can run anywhere
$39 to $129, depending on the brand and style.
Bolt: There is currently only one aftermarket bolt available for the 'mag,
which is just coming out on the market as this is written. The Venturi,
made by B & M, TASO, and possibly others. The Venturi bolt design gets
rid of the foamy of the stock 'mag bolt, which has a tendancy to come off
of the bolt (which then causes you to break balls when you hop on the gun).
The foamy that comes on the gun is going to come off very quickly. It seems
that Airgun Designs doesn't do a very good job of putting thier foamies on, but
once you put on another one correctly, it shouldn't give you too much trouble.
The Venturi makers claim that more distance is achieved with the bolt, but
so far we haven't seen this to be true. The main plus of this bolt is the
elimination of the foamy. Prices on this bolt arn't quite set, but expect to
pay anywhere from $35-$45 for this product.
Pro-Mag upgrade: The Pro-mag upgrade, and other upgrades done to the regulator
and on/off assembly are done by many different people/compainies.
The purpose of the upgrade is more consistant velosity during rapid firing,
faster re-charge of the on-off, and better handling of liquid in the gun. This
mod tends to increase (as opposed to decrease), the velosity slightly when
rapidfiring. Supposedly this modification is no longer necessary on recent
production 'mags, as thier regulator holes have been enlarged. In practice,
it is still not known if the new regulators do not need the upgrade, it
will have to be seen out on the field. The upgrade can run anywhere from $20
to $60, depending on how much work is done to the on/off and regulator.
The Pro-mag is a good thing to get, as it is a definate performace booster.
Tourney Caps. A tourney cap is a screw on device that prevents the user from
tampering with the velosity of the gun once it has been set. These are usually
required at tournaments. Tourney caps usually cost about $10.
Back Bottle Adaptor: The 1st thing you should do is get rid of the back bottle
adaptor. Go bottom line, or vertical, or even remote. If you want to use the
back bottle adaptor, an anti-siphon or LCV tank is a must. These tanks help
prevent liquid from entering your system, and the one thing that the mag hates,
is liquid. This is not usually included with the tank, and must be installed
seperately (This addition/mod ususally costs about $10).
Sight Rail. Airgun Designs makes the slide on sight rail for the gun, which
allows for the addition of aftermarket sights. This sight comes standard
in grey aluminum, but also comes in annodized colors with the Airgun Designs
emblem on the side. Cost is anywhere between $20-$40.
The Body: There are a couple of things that you can do to your body to improve
its looks. 1st is get a minimag, because of it's assult style looks, it
is definately more eye attracting. You can also have your body polished to
give it a bright Stainless steel look, or a Teflon coating, which makes the
gun a flat black color. You can also get a Micro-Mag body, made by Gun F/X.
The Micromag makes your mag even smaller, and includes a fixed barrel, 45 grip
frame, aluminum body, built in powerfeed, external ball detent, and a grey
hard coat finish.
The Rail: The rail can be annodized and machined to look real nice. Gives
a nice touch to your gun.
Vertical Bottle Adaptor- The vertical adaptor is a very popular mod to the gun,
which allows the bottle to be attached just forward of the trigger frame.
The vertical position of the bottle helps keep liquid out of the gun and also
gives your other hand something to grip. Much much more comfortable than the
back bottle adaptor. The adaptor upgrade is $20, and the adaptor can be
annodized to give you an even more custom look. Expansion chambers and
pressure regulators are also fitted here (we'll talk about them later).
Foregrip: Adds a second grip vertically on barrel. Joy, haven't seen one,
haven't used one. Cost: $30 from TASO.
The Grip frame: There are 3 styles of aftermarket grip frames available.
The 1st is the 45 grip frame, which replaces the M-16 stype grip with a 45
style grip. Many people find this style more comfortable, but most feel that
it is basically a cosmetic item. Cost: $60-$80. Another grip frame
available is the Auto-responce trigger. This grip frame changes the action
on the trigger so that the gun fires once when the trigger is pulled, and again
when the trigger is released. This trigger assembly gives the gun a much longer
and harder trigger pull, and definately increases the firing rate of the gun.
We have noticed that until you get used to the pull of the trigger, you will
tend to break balls with it. If you want to be a paint hosing monster, this
is for you, at $120, it's an expensive option. the 3rd grip frame is one
that has an expansion chamber built into the grip of the gun, we have not seen
these grips, and don't know how much they cost. We'd just figured we'd talk
about them for completeness.
Grips: There are lots of grips out there, find one that you like and stick
with it. Cost: anywhere from $16-$50.
Bottomline: The bottom line moves the ASA adaptor to the bottom of the grip
frame. This allows easier sighting of the gun, gives the gun a nice balanced
feel (even with a 20oz bottle). An anti-siphon tank, expansion chamber or air
regulator is a must with this configuration. Cost: aprox $20 plus the cost of
hoses.
Stocks: Oh god.. Run for your lives! this is worse than barrels! Kinds of
stocks to look for: T-Stock, L Stock, P stock, Bent stock, smart stock,
wire stock, Euro stock, wooden gun stocks, Common Stocks, Prefered Stocks. . .
(oh god!
