$601-700 Category
This is really where guns can start to be considered “high-end”; if you want to be truly competitive and play in nationals or regionals, you should be reserving at least this much money just for the gun alone.
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Alien Paintball Remains:
ALIEN PAINTBALL - Light Years Ahead!
Essentially the same as the Interceptor except milled down to be a bit lighter and slightly more efficient. They are extremely light, rivaling even the SL66 line of Egos.
*Stacked tube air ram
*Autococker barrel threads
*Break beam eyes
*Clamping feedneck
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Bob Long 2k5 Intimidator:
Bob Long Technologies
This is the most basic of intimidators, which means it uses an LED instead of LCD, his different milling than the other 2k5 style intimidators, and a few other features are missing. It will still shoot pretty similar to an Alias or any other 2k5 timmy. Does not come with a bottomline.
*Stacked tube air ram
*Autococker barrel threads
*Break Beam eyes
*Clamping feedneck
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WGP E2 Karnivor:
Worr Game Products - WGP paintball markers and accessories
Arguably the best autococker ever. They’re relatively light, quite fast, and shoots like an autococker. Again though, it has the con(s) of simply being an autococker which could turn some people off it.
*Autococker operation
*Autococker barrel threads
*Reflective eye
*Clamping feedneck
*On/off ASA
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Smart Parts NXT Shocker:
smartparts.com
The latest version of the shocker, the last one being the “SFT”. New features include break beam eyes, higher grade aluminum (so no more anno fade supposedly), redesigned trigger and trigger frame, new NXT regulator (same as the Ion), and some other goodies. This gun is good enough to compete with guns up in the next category, so it makes sense that it just misses actually being in that category by a couple dollars. The feedneck is not clamping, it’s the same style as the stock Ion one.
*Spool valve
*Impulse/Ion barrel threads
*Break Beam eyes
*On/off ASA
$701-800 Category
The next step in high end guns, if you have a gun in this range you can feel comfortable that it will be able to compete at all levels of competition.
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Infinity Legend:
[Note: It is pictured with a CP reg, Hybrid grips, and Proto barrel, the later models are supposed to have their own style reg, grips, and barrel.]
INFINITY Paintball Products
A new gun from a relatively small company. There design isn't really new, it's actually a FASOR, sharing a similar operation as BKOs and Wraths. Like I said with the Fusion, this is not really a bad thing, the reason previous FASOR guns were unreliable was the manufacturing not the design. The difference between this gun and other FASORs is it's lack of an LPR, it only has a HPR. The pressure going to the bolt is the same as the pressure going to the solenoid. It is known to be light, and very fast. How reliable it is, is relatively unknown so far.
*Stacked tube spring return ram driven
*Autococker barrel threads
*Break Beam eyes
*Clamping feedneck
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ICD FS8:
ICDPaintball
The latest incarnation of the freestyle; Lighter, more efficient, faster than it’s predecessors. All reports and videos have shown it to be a very impressive gun. Too bad ICD still decides to use their notoriously poor LPR and HPR they’ve always put on their freestyles.
*Blowforward (Similar to spool valve but simplified)
*Autococker barrel threads
*Break Beam eyes
*Clamping feedneck
*On/off ASA
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FEP Quest:
First Endeavor Paintball
Size of a shocker, better efficiency than a shocker, from what I’ve seen more reliable than a shocker. A very nice little gun. Only downside is that FEP (First Endeavor Paintball) is very new, so how they are in terms of customer support is pretty unknown. I have yet to hear anything bad about them thus far though.
*Spool valve
*Autococker barrel threads
*Break beam eyes
*Clamping feedneck
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Evil Minion:
EVIL-PAINTBALL
Same exact thing as the PM6, but milled down a bit more and has metal eye covers, and come with an evil pipe for the stock barrel instead of the proto two piece the M6 comes with. Same exact performance, the choice between the two really comes two style preference.
*Spool valve
*Autococker barrel threads
*Break beam eyes
*Clamping feedneck
*On/off ASA
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Planet Eclipse Etek Ego:
Planeteclipse.com - Official Eclipse Paintball Products - Ego 7 (Ego7)
Like the PM6 is to the DM6, the Etek is to the Ego6. Main differences is the ram does not have integrated QEV’s like the Ego6 has, and the trigger is a spring return instead of magnet return; the board also utilizes a series of LED’s versus the LCD screen the Ego6 uses.
*Stacked tube air ram
*Break beam eyes
*Clamping feedneck
*On/off ASA
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Bob Long Alias Intimidator:
Bob Long Technologies
It’s an intimidator, nothing particularly special about it. Medium weight, fast, and efficient, but has some kick like all poppet valves. Does not come with a bottomline.
*Stacked tube air ram
*Autococker barrel threads
*Break beam eyes
*Clamping feedneck
$801-900 Category
There is an odd lack of guns in this price range, and the few that there are not worth listing. Moving on…
[continued in next post]