I’ve been hitting the nostalgia hard by picking up some of the super high end electros of the mid to late 2000s that I could never afford as a teen but now I make 10x more money and the depreciated markers cost 1/10th as much. Picked up an 08 ego, 07 nxt shocker, Proto PM8, AGD Tac one, 05 angel speed, Tippmann A5, 2004 mechanical cocker, still have my 2001 pump cocker that was the first autococker I ever bought in 2007, and really splurged last night on an empire resurrection bnib. I think that might be the only new marker I ever bought other than my 98 custom.
Mike's the reason I love paintball. Punkworks is the reason I got into (exclusively playing) pump. I also have an autococker, primarily for the last couple games of the day. I'm just disappointed that no new content creators love or respect "classic" paintball. It was true when this video was published and it's true today. I find it interesting that I play with guns older than my opponents. Respect to you and your passion of this sport that doesn't get enough love.
Been doing the same but trying to stick to mechanical stuff unless i can find extra solenoids n boards n shit too. Really really really wanted an 05 angel speed back in the day.
yeah man, just starting to restore my fully upgraded ion from back in the day to get back into it. Also looking into custom building my own autococker because it's something I've wanted to do since 2000. Just trying to figure out whether to go full EBlade or stick with mechanical.
11/2023 I love the nostalgia of these videos. I started playing in 1995/96. The cockers and mags were unobtainable for me back then. Now I bring out my cocker or mag and hold my own and it impresses these young kids in the sport. I’ll get out my Dye M2 when I want to run and gun. Classics never go out of style.
Thank you mike and techpb all of the new players i have only been playing for 1 year we all thank you we will continue supporting you guys work very hard to keep the striving sport of paintball alive, thank you.
I really appreciate this vid. I started playing when I was 12, too. I played for 5-6 years, always upgrading my skills and my equipment. I stopped when I got my '99 STO cocker. But at that point, no one wanted to play if they didn't own an electro. I was witness to my local field closing because of no new players coming in, and many older ones leaving. Now I own a pump just to go out and actually have a good time. Everyone should own a decent mech, and use that when they are out for a fun day
The first autococker I had was one that I built from parts, someone stole it. Just went back to the game after six years away, got a red 03 prostock with an E1 on ebay. Also putting together a ULE mag since AGD still sells new x-valves!
I played in the mid to late 90's when I was a teen and mags and cockers where the shit. I used a heavy as shit gun called a VM-68 and loved it and the sport. I started playing again this year and decided to pickup an 68 Automag Classic and I have a few minor upgrades on it. First time I took it to one of the local fields I had stares from other players and the refs. They were trying to figure out what kind of gun I had and if Iit had some sort of silencer. Loved the sound it makes when it shoots and all the upgrades I can add to make it a very competitive gun. The game has changed to spray and pray and over kill, plus a ton of cheaters and sore losers. We still go as a guys night out but I don't enjoy the game as much as I did but I wont stop playing just yet.
mike, we need people like you to keep this sport going, man! maybe if people did a little research and not knock these guns before they try them, they would understand that cockers (and automag too) are some of the most enduring marker designs in the sport, and for good reason. don't stop doing what you're doing man, you are truly the man!
I own a Emag and Dm5. I don’t play, haven’t for 15 years. My nephew is now 14. I’m just thinking Mags, Cockers, and my Matrix ( hybrid AC/AM I call it ).
Great post. I remember in 1992 playing woodsball and thinking automags were killing the sport with their rate of fire over my old VM 68, now they are considered classics.
Much respect to you Mike. I only play for fun but have also seen many younger people hating on the guys with the old school equipment. I know better than to underestimate them and I'm never wrong. I may pick up an autococker and automag at some point but right now the oldest gun I have is an ICD Promaster I have no intention of giving up. Please continue doing videos for as long as you can take it.
I would probably start playing again IF electronic markers were banned. Back in the day of the autococker/automag things were fun. I didn't mind the shocker (the big one) and the angel so much. The problem came when ramp was introduced and just stupid rates of fire. The game turned into who could afford a case of paint a round instead of learning to shoot and move. Todays paintball is NOTHING compared to the old school. Man I miss the good ole days.
I just want to say THANK YOU! im a 12 year old paintballer and im just so happy that someone with this much of a voice in the paintball comunity is saying this, I mean what you where saying about the autocockers my very first gun was a autococker trilogy and I love it! so I just want to say thank you for saying to give us younger guys a chance! Peace -Erik
It's 2021 and I still use my Automag which still has the same valve from 1998, minus the level 10 bolt and ULE body. My modern electric gun just doesn't have any soul and hence it just collects dust.
I love you mike, seriously, this is a great message to everyone. I am 15, but have been playing since I had baby teeth, and truly believe that all ballers should respect one another. Mike, you should be ruler of the paintball world. BTW, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR NOT STOPPING PLAYING OR TECHPB!! HE DID NOT STOP IN OCTOBER!! TECHPB IS GOING STRONG IN 2009!!!
Iv'e played at ruff and tuff in opa laka, many many times. It's one of like 2 fields in Miami / Ft Lauderdale. I was really sad to see ruff and tuff close down. It's so hard to open a field in south florida, when one closes down, another one doesnt take its place. I grew up in cooper city, played with Nemesis & South Florida Vipersback from 1992 to 1996. I watched the amount of paintball fields shrink from like 12 to 2, now 1. It's a shitty year for paintball
I just got back into paintball and picked up an SLG UL.The last gun i had was a Spyder SE. I played at a field rite after i bought it and didnt change any settings... I couldnt wait to go back and put it on ramping and just watch the ropes go. Now that ive watched this im keeping it in semi and just going to have a blast and try to make it enjoyable for everyone.. Paintball is a great great great sport and it needs to grow again!
paintball guns tend to follow me home, I dont know how or why. Just this week I have a vice, protege, and marq arriving tommorow, along with the 6+ masks I ordered for the next show. Wait till you see the episode coming out early next week. Tournament in 10 minutes! It's going to be a documentary of how I prepare for a tournament, and I'll be playing SPCS this weekend
I went out to our local field last weekend and I've been playing paintball since 2001. and now it's very separated between speed balling elitist and your weekend rental rec-baller. and it was so sad to see the Rec ballers wanting to try speed ball and the speed ballers (which I am) just railing these new guys for no reason. I limited myself to semi one finger pulls just to try and even it out and the Rec ballers had a terrible day due to the just unnecessary aggression.
thanks for this video... i started in 98 with a tippmann and have worked my way threw with many cockers and mags... i love them both i still play with them some times...
I am new to paintball due to my nephew and you are so right. I love the classic guns like the auto cockers. I picked a new Tippmann A5 with electronic trigger and have added two old Spyders. The Spyders a blast to shoot, quiet and not as scary as my A5 when playing with new players.
I am 16 and honestly i am wanting to get a cocker.. my etek and mini are just mo-face guns and the get boring.. its either an Emipre Res or maybe a KP3 for a pump setup
+Connor Osborn damn good on ya! Another good option which will get ya really familiar with the cocker is to watch Mike's "Autococker show of death" in which he does a full teardown & timing of one, and then perhaps finding an older cocker used building it up to exactly what you want.
I'm 15 and i have a WGP autococker trilogy comptition, bought it off a friend of mine. I just started getting into the sport and i agree with you about what the people are like on the new guys...
Thanks so much Mike! Great to hear you say these things and you inspired me to make videos. I know you're not making as many as you did in the past so thankfully some of us have tried to pick up the slack...at least until we have kids also! In any case, at least people that love the sport or came back to the sport after years of not playing and want others to have the experience we had when it all started. That's our mission and we've had a lot of support as a result. You inspired me! THX!
Well said Mike, well said. First gun was a Stingray II... remember those recyclable guns? Needless to say I threw it away and got a Spyder compact, then an 68 Automag Classic, then my PM7. I tell you what, I still go out and play with my Mag every now and then to remember what paintball was really like when I started 11 years ago. Glad that somebody finally gave the Cockers and Mags their respect in this new world of e-markers. Keep up the good work Mike!
I would just point out that for a teenager in the "good ol' days" of the mid to late 90s who started to play paintball, that the deck was already stacked against newer players then. We used to go to fields and be given a cheap, run-down, spyder rental (if we were lucky) and facing these rich kids with customized automags / autocockers (who were usually friendly with the refs, talk about a fair fight). I guess it was fun trying to compete when you were outgunned, but has anything really changed? It's not like automag / autococker were cheap, entry-level back then and there was certainly advantage over other cheaper mechanical guns back then. I eventually got a 68 automag around 2000, still have it, but don't play anymore.
Those guns were much less accessible back then, and their capabilities weren't so lopsided relative to the rental markers of the day. A Tippmann 98 could at least shoot about the same ROF as a Cocker or Mag, and with a few upgrades, the two would be more or less on par. There is absolutely nothing you can do to a Tippmann, or other entry level mechanical marker that will make it hang with even the lowest of the low end electronic markers on the market today. Add in the fact that the age (and maturity) of the average player has trended downward, and you have a recipe for disaster. Low cost access to high performance markers, and putting those markers in the hands of players who (through no fault of their own) don't understand how their actions on the field are effecting other players' experience is a huge problem with bringing new players into today's game.
Paul Coenen so I know your post is a bit old but I wanted to mention that rental markers have also evolved over the years, the GoG eNMEy is a fantastic marker for dirt cheap new but it's harder to switch a WHOLE arsenal of guns over to another plus it's not fair to even suggest that players might be cheating because they are friends with the ref! I am a ref and a dedicated player at my field, but bonus balling... That's a tough one and it's hard to solve because once you reach that point when you can tear apart renters you need to lower the gun itself...which is MORE money you have to spend on another marker. I bought an Azodin KP for $125 and once they hear me pumping that fear of my scary gun melts away, it's horrifying to think Mike was going to leave the sport...
Still got the 99 autococker with nitrogen tank, bushmaster 2000 and Spyder TL 98 model markers, Mike. Bout to start paintballing again down here in the south so it's good to know that there is respect for the mechanical wonders.
my buddy has got a ZeroB Eblade'd Orracle, and i have an 04 red n' chrome prostock autococker that im upgrading all the time, a psychoballistics lightning cocker w/an orracle 3-way, sto ram, and dye lpr, aswell as a stock 2000 RF cocker (brass ram and 3 way!). we were just at the field yesterday, he was using the e-orracle and i was shooting the prostock, and we get so much respect and props from the refs and more knowledgable players its astounding. autocockers put the love back into pb...
I would love to get my hands on either one of these types of markers. Pure Classics. And incredibly consistent, I was surprised the first time I saw and shot both of these. I remember as I handed the Automag back to it's owner, I couldn't help but think to myself: "These must be cherished.. These are the Icons".
Good on you dude. I've got an upgraded 2004 Autococker that I use when I opt to play in the woods or against newer players so I don't accidentally ruin their day. Even when once in a while I play woodsball with my timmy, I still try to go easy on any newer players or mechanical/pump players. I remember what it felt like to get lit up by an experienced guy when well over 5 years ago when I was pretty new to paintball. It's not fun. Paintball should always be fun.
I started playing paintball back in 2004 and I've had my share of high end electronic guns and still have 5 Egos. Three years ago I picked up my buddy's '08 Black Magic when he stopped playing, and to go along with it I picked up an American Flag annoed original Black Magic. Being a big car guy it's cool to hear Mike referring to these guns as the classic cars of paintball... I will be restoring my Black Magic to its former glory right along side my 1972 Firebird!
Mike I started playing when I was 12 also....that was back in 98. I absolutely fell in LOVE with automags and autocockers. They are timeless and just pure Gawd Dang sexy looking guns.
The RT has been replaced by the RT pro and AGD sells them on their site. Essentially it's the same gun just with the air line not routed through the body and the valve is all aluminum.
I start playing when I was 11, and I really hated getting destroyed by guys with EGOs and X7. After months of saving I got a DM6, put a Virtue board in it, and a DM13 bolt(for only $350 total). By the way TechPB this is one of the best videos you have ever made!
Awesome video! I have been playing on and off since like 2003, I've had cockers, mags, Impulses, Initmidators. Just ordered an ANS GX-4 which actually just arrived as I was typing this! Can't wait, old school will live on.
i had a automag rt all chrome 10"dye barrel for speedball , i put alot of money in it and i had a bushmaster 2000 with an 18" barrel , i sold both when i was 19 , im 32 now and thinking about playing again. the new guns ive checked out are so fast. I regret letting that automag go , it was by far my fav gun , all mechanical reliability and durability. Can u still buy parts for them?
i always respect the pros for giving support to newer players. ive been playing for 3 years and every time i see a rental i try to make it as enjoyable as possible for him. thumbs up of you agree
im 15 years old, have been playing paintball for 2 years, and i totally agree with you! if i ever got a backup gun i would definitely buy a autococker off ebay. i just play woodsball (as i live in montana lol) so i dont really need a huge amount of firepower. keep making the vids!
I shot a Bob Long Defiant for a while too and really liked that as well, so the "upgrade" to an electric will be as much for nostalgia as anything else. God do I not miss the tourney scene.
Never give up on paintball Mike! I know its 2013 and you're still at it but you're right about the attitude of the sport. There are players, like myself, and many others that don't give a shit about being agg and just look to have a good time and not exclude new players. Tournament, scenario, or rec shouldn't matter. The real players will be behind you forever.
i started the sport with a tippman 98 custom that i bought at a yard sale for $20. i put a response trigger on it. i then went to skirmish dday. sold it, and bought a psychoballistics lightning. i currently have a new front block, hero barrel kit, clamp feed neck, and double trigger, with a modified bolt. i love it. i cant wait to play, mech guns all the way.
Thank you for the info, Any thoughts on where I can get my Micromag repaired so I can use it again? I do have spare parts but can’t figure out why it is not working. Thank you
nice respectful vid mike i plan on getting an auto mag soon hope to play with you once before you quit this great sport i think if you do play paint ball its your job to get the younger people on the field in the game i got shot out and gave my a-5 with a super responce trigger and freak barrel to a kid with a rental 98 as a walked off it was nice to see his face light up he ended up haveing a good time and thats what this sport is all about haveing a good time
man i agree totally but there are a couple guns you forgot to mention the bras eagle rainmaker and the led angle intilifeed revvie all the way. and i still have my custom 99 right hand feed cocker and i love it
I started playing paintball in 91' and I am 30 now. I played a lot thru the 90's and it was awesome, but once all these electronics came out it did screw it up. I still have my custom 95' WGP minicockers and they still rip! I took like a 6 year hiatus and played last year at SC Village. The crowd really was a lot thinner then I remembered but a lot of people loved my gun and asked a lot ?'s. I had fun and it was good to see more people were using pump cockers but I would just watch the people with electro and just wasting all this paint.
i think autococker/automags are great guns. i have played with both, i like the uniqueness of the automag, that elbow welded on, the hardlines, etc. good guns. also, ill buy that autococker, what model is it? im lookin to build a pump sniper(cocker)
I am kinda new to paintball,I played it at a friends birthday about 2years ago but wasn't that into then, I just bought i think an 03 autococker off a friend, and its is fun to play with, and your right the older players do come down hard on the newer players
I LOVE Autocockers, they have always been my favorite type of gun. Its just something about all those little moving parts exposed on the outside, and how incredibly accurate the guns are, and the history behind the gun that really sells it for me. I plan to own an Orracle if I can find one that meets my criteria.
Man you were 100% spot on with your video! I absolutely couldn't agree more!.. In fact I quit playing a year or so ago after over 10 years of playing because it just got flat out ridiculous with all the new players and their guns. I recently bought a pump and am in the process of building a new cocker from scratch. In fact many of the older players in the area are coming out and dusting their older mech guns off and playing some good ole fashion ball!
I'll admit when I first started playing 10 years ago when I was 12 I wanted the flashy high end markers but I shot my first automag at Paintball Charleston and I was amazed at what they can do. I wish I could get my hands on one now but like Mike said they're extremely hard to find. I feel like I've missed an important part of paintball's history.
I've been playing since 2002. I started with a Spider 2000. And from there I graduated to my mag that I've invested almost $1000 into in upgrades and advancements. I, for some reason, refuse to play with an electronic marker. Partly because I love being able to take my mag apart and know exactly how to put the whole thing back together w/o needing some degree from Brown or MIT... Cockers are hard to maintain yourself, but man, the old school cockers are GORGEOUS!!
The funny thing is mike some of us old school players LOVE the game. I fell in love in around 1995 and have owned just about every gun from then to now. Tippmans spyders Micro Mag RT Custom Cockers, Angel LED, Strange Impulse, Lasoya Timmy, Dye DM4,Egos and now Geo 2.1. I have quit paintball a few times since 1995 but always come back. I love paintball and its the rush the push the shit talk the pain you feel the team work and there is only one paintball enjoy it while you can. LiveFree.
Respect. Excellent. Played in H.S. years ago, just grabbed a '99 STO 'cocker to start up again. This vid made me feel even better about my choice of marker and gameplay style =]
Seriously truest video ever, when I started playing I made sure I got a tippmann then my second gun a spyder. I could have got an expensive gun but chose not because I knew I wouldn't appreciate it if I got it right away. Now I can't wait to play w the autococker I just got!
Great vid! My first marker was a micromag from penny saver and after learning to play (year or so) I was able to hang in air ball/speed ball with other players who had shockers and dm4 at the time. Beat several teams with all dye gear in my camo hunter pants and safari shirt lol . Automags r freaking awesome mine micro still rips. Ill post vid soon
does super stocks and prostoicks are good?i know about karnivors and dc's but from what year does the karnivors are good?im buying a 2005 i think is that good?
this is a great video. I personally dont use a mech, but i do something similar. I use my phantom pump. I try to use it more than my m6 simply for the fact that it is a rush. This man has a point, and to you sir i want to say; thank you for your videos, and please keep making them.
Word techbp! I've been in it for about 12 years. I still have my '96 spyder compact, my second marker (first was a stingray). It's all stock, still shoots and still rocks. I take it with me every time i play and use it when most of the people on the field are shooting the rentals... mechanical spyders like the 07 xtra or the TL. The kids look at me with my shitty old single finger trigger gun and laugh, and we always have a great time shooting each other. Thanks for this vid.
Great vid. When I go to play with newer players, or are just at the field and not playing, I loan out my Marq or Timmy and use my ULE 'mag or 01 Outcast.
Firstly, valid point about the old school marker disrespect. Secondly, our sport of paintball was born in the woods, so people should play at least occasionally in the woods. And finally, you're welcome for watching the video. I enjoyed it.
I would love to be able to buy a cocker or a mag but like you said its tough to find one these days....plus i just dont have the money for it...maybe when im older
I don't know how anyone could diss a 'Cocker or a 'Mag. They're both friggin' awesome markers. I just recently picked up a shelved 2003 ANS GX-3 off a guy I knew in a forum. I'm just about done restoring it to its full (and upgraded) glory. I'm absolutely in love with the thing. I'm also rebuilding a Dye Reflex 'Cocker for a buddy of mine. Which is also a really sweet gun. I can't wait to play with these on the field next weekend!
so, you think the Jeff Orr series and Karnivores are garbage? what about an 05 prostock? What about a good shooting trilogy-which is the ultimate cocker for new players (you can't mess em up, unless you really try to)...my bro has a VERY nice shooting trilogy sf, and it performs close to the best e-bladed cockers I've experienced...
How nice, it just submitted my comment without letting me finish. I was going to ask where do you even get parts for that gun? Or upgrades? Mine is in bad shape but I've been trying to fix it up. But for the life of me I can't take off the valve, I feel like it's stuck because it's in such bad condition. So because of that, I can't clean the insides
funny you mention that, i have a couple of paintball guns i've collected over the years. DM4 etek ego, dp fx, omen, and a bob long but i fell in love with my oracle and its just about all i use these days. Ill let my friends use the newer stuff frankly i dont think any of it is as fun as my oracle.
im also 15, but i LOVE my 5 automags!!! i love customizing them, loving them, and hitting people with!! people get so pissed when i hit them with a mechanical gun when they have those ecectro guns!! nice vid!
im so happy i still sport my 03 wgp autococker!! i just love the feel of them! rugged and heavy! and as fast as i can pull my trigger, the balls will come out just as fast! thats all i really need! but i would like to replace my bolt with a delrin bolt! haha! great vid!
Right on Mike. I played for about 7 years and haven't shot in the last 3 but I am thinking about getting back into it just for something to do. It's weird having money and playing paintball. I still have my 2000 Shocktech 'cocker customized by Danny Love himself. I can't even count the number of people I have shot with over the years. But I still feel the need to upgrade to an electric, just to keep up the little punks, who were around even half a decade ago.
I'm from AUS and i fully agree with you, i played as a new guy by myself and with a semi auto stingray modded 13 years ago, i'm now nearly 30 and when i went out as soon as the comp guys new i was a semi auto (day players had tipman pumps) i got groin shots, back of the head on purpose 10 metre goggle shots so i had to replace the glass all the time i was out there for the sport, i even marked a comp guy and he chased me at 16yo trying to hit me with his gun. i'm glad i pwned him :)
Nice video. I bought my first gun, an Spyder, in 1996. I used it for a year and saved up $575 to buy my Automag in 1997 and have been using it ever since. This was before paintball stuff was readily available on the internet. Now I can buy an Automag on ebay for $80. This sport has really changed...
i feel u mike im 13 and i have full respect for older guns and newer guns and i understand what u mean by using a a older gun or mech against newer players but i have a suggestion for players that cant find or afford guns like that just try and gain a lot of trigger controll or cap ur gun
wassup mike. im 16 and ive only played for 6 years but 4 months ago i traded my 09pmr for a pump ans x5 and i was so happy i got one. you are right more people need to set down their xball guns for a day and try out a classic for once
I'll be sharing this woth my team. We're lucky that our field has a lot of mellow, laid back players, the owner does fun events, and new people are coming in. Just had a lady's day, and i brought my 66-year old mother, my sister in law, and some other first timers. They played, we made them lunch, amd it was a great day for them, the field, and our team.
Those are my two favorite guns. I started out with my cousin's old classic automag, then went to a plane jane autococker. I could hang with anyone and it required actual skill. You had to worry about being able to shoot quickly yet accurately, chopping balls etc. Being able to play with a mechanical gun and really contend does require skill. Now unless you can spray paint you're going going to have a hard time.
I with some friends that are new to the sport last weekend. I let them use my good hoppers, and I used a simple gravity feed (sure it was with an a1) but i was shooting like 3 shots then none then 3 shots, etc. And it was probably the most fun I had playing in a while playing.
I miss the classic guns. My first gun was a spyder back in 1995, I bought it from the local paintball store in Mantua NJ by the name of "National Paintball", which was then bought Empire, and now its KEE Action Sports. I miss the good old days where you went out with a C02 tank and case of paint, which was $100 good or bad paint, there was only like 2-3 manufacturers then anyway. I then upgraded to the Ion, and I am once again looking to upgrade....
