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**Botch** · June 26th, 04:17 PM

Hey, I'm new here, just getting back into the game. When I first started playing a few years ago all my buddies played pump. We had Maverick/Trracers, Hammers, SL-68 II's and even a couple of Tiger Sharks. Now it looks like all these low to mid range pump guns are gone. The only thing you can still get seems to be Phantom. Don't get me wrong, I love my Phantom, but is pump even less popular now than it was a few years ago? I have a great ACI Maverick that I bought about five years ago that I'll never get rid of.

***Barber*** · June 26th, 04:29 PM

Pump is a lot less popular now. All of the semis and electro kinda killed out the pump days. There are still some nice pumps you can get. The Maverick is still available in some places. The Phantom is definatley the most common pump there is. But the sniper II and the CCM pumps are the best you can get.

**TequilaBird** · June 26th, 06:31 PM

I ran into the same problem when I got back into paintball a few years ago. I was looking to save some wear & tear on my Spirit, and was really disappointed in the pump market.

BE still makes pumps, but they are very low grade. Phantoms are still available (and probably the easiest to find), but I never liked them back in the day, and there really aren't any noticeable refinements. Sniper 2's are still around, if you're into those. If you want to spend way too much on a pump, there's still Palmer's guns, and someone made a new Illusion that was ridiculously expensive. Rumors have floated around for the last 5 years that Lapco would make an updated Grey Ghost, but Colin has never really seemed to get it out of the idea phase.

Your best bet is probably to just check ebay periodically for a top-end (for mid-'90s) pump in good condition. My Lapco is still on par with new Phantoms, pump technology basically dead-ended. To get a new well-made pump (that doesn't feel like a mediocre mass-produced gun) you'll spend more than you would on a decent electro.

**Botch** · June 26th, 08:47 PM

Well, I'm not into spending huge bucks for a pump. I've got my first gun, a Maverick, which at this point is actually made from parts from several other Maverick/Trracers and it's rock-solid and accurate. I also got a Phantom back from a buddy of mine that I sold it to years ago and have been slowly adding upgrades to it. I can't imagine paying anymore for a pump gun than what you pay for a Phantom now, and personally I'm very fond of those and Jack Cassidy is a great guy to deal with. I was just somewhat distressed to see that there weren't that many cheap-yet-decent entry level pump guns. I guess I could see the beginning of the end when I quit playing; when you could get electros for almost as cheap as you could get a standard spyder when I first started.

**Spyder3188** · June 26th, 10:14 PM

Pump play will die for you only if you let it. My friends all have nice guns like Ecockers and impulses, yet most of the time we play with pump guns because we have a lot more fun doing it.

***Barber*** · June 27th, 06:28 PM

You can find Kingman Hammers on ebay. I just found 1.

***D_Smalls*** · June 27th, 06:42 PM

yeah sadly ive been neglecting my pump lately, brought it out today.. but was having to much fun destroying with the cocker, it was actaully good to me today.

but yeah, times are definitely changing and more and more players are coming right into the sports with electros since spyder and piranha are making decent ones so cheap now.. and lots of players go right into speedball now... and get caught up in the speedball hype and forget about the woods, and forget about the pump way more.. i love showing up playing stock class though, the looks ya get and the laughs, until you start bunkering them.

but yeah tis a shame.

and really no pumps are being bought new, most are second hand.. or 3rd hand..

Alpha · June 27th, 07:29 PM

I'm still looking to buy a decent pump. I want to get an SL 68 SO bad. Can't find em.

**Misfit** · June 28th, 04:24 PM

Don't be so quick to give on up pumps, guys! The pump scene is alive and kicking, if you look in the right place. It's true, the low-mid end pumps are mostly out of production (your SL's, Traccers, PGP's etc), but in the $200-$400 range there is alot of choice. Phantoms, Sterlings, Ilusions, Sniper 2's, and some of Palmer's base models are still experiencing great sales. The performance and quality of these markers is on par with the mid rangte semi market, which is far from cheap nowadays mind you.

Plus, who cares if you would spend the same on a good pump as you would a mid range electro? From a purely functional point of view, the only difference is rate of fire, and that's a moot point in my book. I for one would rather purchase a marker that was simpler, more reliable, and more efficient than a marker that comes with the latest gimmicks, doodads, and gizmos that simply cannot substitute for skill.

**Botch** · June 28th, 10:19 PM

You are right Misfit, but the attraction of the Hammers, Trracers/Mavericks, et al was that they were pretty good markers that could be had for cheap. I just bought a batch of someone's old stock of Kingman Hammers at cost and distributed them to my friends, none of whom were willing to spend much more than that to get started (around $50 with a tank). I'm a Phantom owner and have always dug the Sterlings and Snipers, but sadly most kids, when looking in that price range, get all starry-eyed and go for the electros.

After doing much asking around I think I might finally be generating some interest in pump games in the town I'm currently in, but even most of those guys are like, "Man, I haven't pulled out the old pump in a while." My fondest memories of paintball aren't from playing speedball with a Shocker (which was still fun, don't get me wrong) but playing pump.

**2ffu** · July 5th, 04:30 PM

there are alot of small custom shops that have th option of building your own very custom phantom

**lifeforce4** · July 5th, 07:58 PM

I went from BE talons to a CCM Series5 Pump. I always liked pump guns better. Mainly because you use less paint and need skill to use them.

Kyle

**Bodman** · July 28th, 06:01 PM

Nah pump is comming back, at the field i go to, everyone who is skilled has a pump, screw electros, they break down after a year if not earlier, always having to replace parts and charging batteries, its all about the strong pumps like phantoms, can take a beating, and are way lighter. esp when stock, so u can get more speed at the flag.

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