Recommendations for a Loaner Pump

[MrBarraclough]

Why not get a cheap used Trilogy and throw a pump kit on it?

[SignOfZeta]

Listen guys…I love Snipers but they have like 10 times as many parts as a Nelson and way too many adjustments. If it didn’t come with autotrigger it’s a major PITA to get it going. They are great if you just bought a brand new CCM but if you’re talking about getting some junk from some guy’s garage going again then Nelson is the choice. It’s a loaner gun, you don’t want to spend all day working on a loaner gun.

The only thing you need to stop rollouts is black electrical tape or nail polish. A freak barrel alone costs as much as a good used Trracer.

The idea that noobs “have a problem with the pump stroke” is absurd. Millions of players started out with a Nelson. It was the gun that birthed the game. Noobs can work them fine, don’t insult noobs.

After the apocalypse we’ll all be driving Civics and Escorts, not Ferraris and Range Rovers. That stuff is completely unworkable beyond the Thunderdome.

[glaman5266]

Good points. 👍 But I must point out that snipers have 4 adjustment points, 3/4 of which are set & forget. Reg (set & forget), cocking rod (same), hammer lug (same) and the IVG. And there’s one fewer total if you use a non-externally adjustable stock WGP reg or spring it for straight bottle pressure.

Set it up & it’s got one adjustment point. More to set up but functionally the same once you do.

[djeclypse]

I've only used 3 pumps, a PMI Trracer, Phantom and Sniper. I have way less pump experience and knowledge than most who have posted already , but out of those 3, the Trracer was by far the easiest, most user friendly and reliable I've had. A little nail polish detent in the barrel and you are good to go.

[Chuck E Ducky]

I went the Phantom route each of my boys will be introduced to pump starting with VSC Phantoms shooting dad in the backyard. Seems you are dead set against them from a past bad experience. Im sure it wasn’t setup properly whatever the issue was. I find them to be the most refined reliable Nelson valve markers to date. I’m not really sure what Extreme is doing today they seem to be having some teething issues as of lately. But when it comes to Nelson’s I still think the phantom is hands down the best option. I feel this way about the phantom as a Loaner or Primary regardless of platform. But limited to just a Nelson for me it’s no question.

The only thing Snipers are better at then the Phantom is open class. But it’s not like the Phantom is bad at open class. At the same time the Sniper really don’t do Stock Class all that well. But the Phantom performs beautifully in both categories and it’s so modular it can be setup in infinite ways to suit play style. So it can grow with a player as they figure out what they like and don’t like about pump play. You can do this with some sniper platforms but man it’s a lot harder.

If you know the Trracer you could always get another. They shoot great. But I still think the Phantom is a much better marker. With the exception of being breach drop something that has never been an issue for me but a lot of people get hung up about.

If you’re looking for a Trracer there is one with a bottom line kit for sale here it went up a few days ago. But it looks like you already seen it.

[procarbie]

I don’t think Phantoms are bad markers by any means, you can tell all the thought and care that Mike put into their design. But I feel like historically there has sometimes been a tendency for them to get misrepresented as a sort of “universal pump” (similar to how these days everyone just recommends Emeks to new players looking to buy their first marker). I just think they aren’t as versatile as they’re made out to be, and they have some definite quirks and unique design choices (that I’m sure many people really dig, but just aren’t my thing) that in my mind run counter to that notion of ubiquity.

Put simply, shooting a Phantom feels like shooting a Phantom to me. I want to have a loaner that doesn’t need to be negotiated quite so much, for what would be a lot of folks’ first time playing pump. Especially since I’ll try out open class with them first.