Bearded Works Automag Detents Testing
superman, AKA Bearded Works, AKA Jake Berenyi sent me some of his new 3D printed Automag detents to beta test.
If you haven't seen his preview video I would recommend checking it out.
This is an ongoing review, and these are not yet in production. They should be for sale in the near future.
EDIT: They are now for early sale at $15 shipped for a 4 pack.
Most people know me as an Autococker guy. But the truth is that I like all sorts of older mech and pump guns and can build and tune them all. I own a few mags, but had to build up a classic body from my pile of parts to test with since my regular users were all cocker threaded. I am hopeful that this detent style will revive my love of twistlock setups which with smaller paint have been plagued by double feeds.
I decided to use this build with a Level 7 Bolt system figuring that would be rougher on the detent for durability testing.
Here is the vessel used to hold the detent:
A second loaner vessel:
Showing three sides of the detent.
As you can see there is some flash on them. This could be easily cleaned up, but I did not bother. This may disappear as Jake dials in his print process.
Installation was a snap. I removed the cracked barrel o-rings and rusted wire detent from this crown point barrel, cleaned it up, and slotted one in. The detents are press fit, and were a good fit in most barrels.
Current shot estimate on tester detent: greater than 15,000 12/17/23
Barrels I have test fit:
ACI Zero Gravity - Ideal fit
Smart Parts All American - Ideal fit
Custom Products - Ideal fit
Lapco Bigshot Stainless - Ideal fit
Smart Parts All American Stainless - Good fit
DYE Ultralite - Good fit, less tight
Crown Point - Good fit, on the tighter side
JJ Ceramic - Looser but worked fine
ANS Phase II - Looser but worked fine
PMI Perfect Bore Ceramic - Loose fit, used aluminum tape to hold it in place
Here you can see the location in the breach.
Here you can see how far they protrude into the breach.
I tested this setup with Valken Graffiti that sized right at 0.680. I had shot it through my .679 insert the previous weekend. I am shooting a level 7 bolt on a powerfeed setup. I have tested with both a rotor and a revy. This gun is not setup for high speed RT, but it shoots plenty fast.
6/17 I have shot approximately 750 balls through this barrel and detent with no double feeds, no breaks, and no unusual bolt interactions. There is minor wear on the square tip of the detent. This does not affect function and is a subtle rounding of the edge.
I will be taking this setup to the Invasion Beach game at Albany Paintball Experience on Sunday June 19th and intend to put a good deal of paint through it for testing. If you would like to see this detent system I will be happy to show you. I will update my review after the event regarding durability. My feeling is that if the detent makes it through a couple cases it will make it through many more than that.
Pricing has not been finalized, but the price point being floated is quite reasonable. While this review is not finalized I feel reasonably confident that this is a solid, easy to install product. I am delighted to be able to use a Rotor on a mag with a twistlock barrel and not double feed. There have been many times when even with a revy and small paint I had double feeds and I had stopped using twistlocks entirely due to this unpredictability. It feels great to be able to trust a twistlock barrel again and just not have to think about it.
6/19 - Played the ION game at APE today and put almost two cases on this detent today. That puts our shot count at an estimated 4500, plus dryfiring. No new wear appeared, and no double feeds today. The paint was small, sub .680 and rather brittle. I attempted to use my rotor but clipped some balls so I swapped to a revy. The detents held up just fine with the Rotor before I swapped.
6/27 2022 - I have done further testing with .680 paint and a Rotor. This time the balls were not so fragile and I did not experience breakage while using the rotor.
July 2023. - Missed some heavy use days.
But took my mag out again recently to MSG and but another 2500 balls through it.
At this point I give these detents a solid thumbs up. This puts twist-lock barrels back into my sphere of interest. There are still some problems with trying to force-feed small paint, but double feeds were no longer a concern. I think these are the best option available for twist-lock barrels at this time. I also think that they will last a good long time before needing replacement. I will continue lending these out and shooting them while keeping track of estimated shot counts. If a detent eventually wears out, I should have an idea of life-span.
If you haven't seen his preview video I would recommend checking it out.
EDIT: They are now for early sale at $15 shipped for a 4 pack.
Most people know me as an Autococker guy. But the truth is that I like all sorts of older mech and pump guns and can build and tune them all. I own a few mags, but had to build up a classic body from my pile of parts to test with since my regular users were all cocker threaded. I am hopeful that this detent style will revive my love of twistlock setups which with smaller paint have been plagued by double feeds.
I decided to use this build with a Level 7 Bolt system figuring that would be rougher on the detent for durability testing.
Here is the vessel used to hold the detent:
A second loaner vessel:
Showing three sides of the detent.
As you can see there is some flash on them. This could be easily cleaned up, but I did not bother. This may disappear as Jake dials in his print process.
Installation was a snap. I removed the cracked barrel o-rings and rusted wire detent from this crown point barrel, cleaned it up, and slotted one in. The detents are press fit, and were a good fit in most barrels.
Current shot estimate on tester detent: greater than 15,000 12/17/23
Barrels I have test fit:
ACI Zero Gravity - Ideal fit
Smart Parts All American - Ideal fit
Custom Products - Ideal fit
Lapco Bigshot Stainless - Ideal fit
Smart Parts All American Stainless - Good fit
DYE Ultralite - Good fit, less tight
Crown Point - Good fit, on the tighter side
JJ Ceramic - Looser but worked fine
ANS Phase II - Looser but worked fine
PMI Perfect Bore Ceramic - Loose fit, used aluminum tape to hold it in place
Here you can see the location in the breach.
Here you can see how far they protrude into the breach.
I tested this setup with Valken Graffiti that sized right at 0.680. I had shot it through my .679 insert the previous weekend. I am shooting a level 7 bolt on a powerfeed setup. I have tested with both a rotor and a revy. This gun is not setup for high speed RT, but it shoots plenty fast.
6/17 I have shot approximately 750 balls through this barrel and detent with no double feeds, no breaks, and no unusual bolt interactions. There is minor wear on the square tip of the detent. This does not affect function and is a subtle rounding of the edge.
I will be taking this setup to the Invasion Beach game at Albany Paintball Experience on Sunday June 19th and intend to put a good deal of paint through it for testing. If you would like to see this detent system I will be happy to show you. I will update my review after the event regarding durability. My feeling is that if the detent makes it through a couple cases it will make it through many more than that.
Pricing has not been finalized, but the price point being floated is quite reasonable. While this review is not finalized I feel reasonably confident that this is a solid, easy to install product. I am delighted to be able to use a Rotor on a mag with a twistlock barrel and not double feed. There have been many times when even with a revy and small paint I had double feeds and I had stopped using twistlocks entirely due to this unpredictability. It feels great to be able to trust a twistlock barrel again and just not have to think about it.
6/19 - Played the ION game at APE today and put almost two cases on this detent today. That puts our shot count at an estimated 4500, plus dryfiring. No new wear appeared, and no double feeds today. The paint was small, sub .680 and rather brittle. I attempted to use my rotor but clipped some balls so I swapped to a revy. The detents held up just fine with the Rotor before I swapped.
6/27 2022 - I have done further testing with .680 paint and a Rotor. This time the balls were not so fragile and I did not experience breakage while using the rotor.
July 2023. - Missed some heavy use days.
But took my mag out again recently to MSG and but another 2500 balls through it.
At this point I give these detents a solid thumbs up. This puts twist-lock barrels back into my sphere of interest. There are still some problems with trying to force-feed small paint, but double feeds were no longer a concern. I think these are the best option available for twist-lock barrels at this time. I also think that they will last a good long time before needing replacement. I will continue lending these out and shooting them while keeping track of estimated shot counts. If a detent eventually wears out, I should have an idea of life-span.
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