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I saw that one also and was like whoa that's fancy lolFeedback: https://www.mcarterbrown.com/forum/b...ova-s-feedback
WTB: ICD stuff, single trigger electro frames, Gloss lime and purple parts, smoke hoppers -
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It's obviously an Ion, but if I didn't take a good look I'd think it was a PL NXT Shocker.Comment
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Used to own a punisher Ion I pieced together, their very rare to find complete. Was interested in it until i saw it was local pickup only lolComment
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Ya pretty sure that’s a punishers. Especially since it’s located in Slippery Rock, PA. Punishers was in Pittsburgh. Slippery Rock is ~ 45 - 60 min from the store location at the time these were new. The vast majority of however many were sold probably stayed in the Pittsburgh region.Comment
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As an Ion enthusiast, I deem that Ion to be a “clean af” build.Comment
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So I won the auction for this. I thought it was a NXT but after digging deeper and finding this post I’m a little sad it’s an Ion.
Should I try to back out of it? They offered to ship it since I bid on it before I saw it was local pickup only. Not sure if I could parlay this into a Shocker or a different marker. From what I have read the Ion was pretty polarizing.Comment
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Not reading the description is on you. However, the Ion was fine. This one is fully custom and in my opinion if you put this one against an SFT/NXT Shocker you'd be hard pressed to find the difference. They're both spool valve guns without LPRs that run around the same pressure and capable of the same rates of fire. Assuming all are in good service. I'd even argue in some ways this is better than an SFT Shocker at least. Break beam eyes (Ion) vs a reflective eye (SFT Shocker) and a trigger frame with a larger trigger guard.
The big draw backs of the Ion in stock form its accessories were kind of crap. Notably the feed neck, ASA, trigger and power button. Fix all of those and you had an easy to use marker that could hang with the best of them. It's why they sold so many of them. In the right hands it was perfectly capable of being on the field with guns 2-4 times its price. For the low, low price of $200. Even at launch, for $300 it was a steal.
The SFT and NXT Shocker weren't amazing top of the line guns out of the box either. Even they required some upgrades to be easy to live with. The SFT and NXT often shipped with ASAs known for destroying the threads on your tank regulator. The boards on both were a bit of a pain to use. Both had crap feed necks stock. Crap triggers stock. Hmmm noticing a theme? Lol. While the Ion wasn't an amazingly efficient gun on air, it stomped the SFT (which was downright abysmal on air efficiency without an aftermarket/HE bolt) for sure, which required you buy an aftermarket bolt to keep up. Aluminum and anno quality on the SFTs wasn't amazing either.
The biggest draw back, however, especially in stock form, the Ion was an ass pain to maintain because it required you completely disassemble it to get the bolt out. This was fixed with an aftermarket body that allowed you to take the bolt out of the back. If that marker has a bolt out back body you're golden. I feel this was a large reason these guns got a bad rap. Cheap price, marketed to and purchased en masse by teenagers who likely didn't know how to or could not maintain them and because it's a spool valve they did require somewhat frequent disassembly to lube up the bolt. Having to take the whole gun apart which was kind of finnicky to do in the hands of a teenager that doesn't know how to use tools often didn't end well.
There's other gripes about the Ion. Like the stock body being plastic and cheap looking/feeling. And the stock board being a bit of an ass pain to use/program. But it was perfectly functional. Besides, this one is all aftermarket. Any "fixing" that needs to be done likely has been. Aftermarket for these things was huge back in the day to where you could build an Ion entirely out of aftermarket components.Last edited by hot karl; 12-30-2025, 11:13 PM.
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Heh yeah still waiting for the seller to ship it. Regret is setting in.Comment
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I use Tapatalk which does NOT display comments. If you want me to see it, make it a post not a comment.
Feedback
https://www.mcarterbrown.com/forum/b...323-s-feedbackComment
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hot karl - thank you for the detailed reply. I really appreciate it.
I’ll post more pics of the guts once / if I get it.Comment
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Oh well, the seller returned my money and said they were unable to ship after all.
Im out $2 since PayPal doesn’t refund fees for G&S. I had a feeling the price was too good to be true. More money for Mags and Cockers now…maybe even an ETek 5.
Thanks all for the advice and help.Comment
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