That perfect shot...

[DavidBoren]

What makes a marker shoot "just right"?

With everything capped at 10.5bps, the speed at which the marker can shoot no longer defines it.

What determines shot quality?

Obviously the answer is going to be different from person to person.

What makes something a good shooter to you?

What has the best shot quality in your opinion, and why?

[autococker04]

75% the paint.
25% some combination of a stacked tube gun with a good bore to paint match and an ASA that puts the tank in just the right position.

[Grendel]

When you just start doing and stop thinking about the tool in your hand and you get done what you were trying to accomplish. It is more then just the marker it is the marker configuration that meets your playing style and you develop the associated muscle memory. I've had a few that met those conditions when I was playing almost every weekend.

• my first Fixed crown point barreled Phantom with Six-Pak and Whaler loader (sadly gone)
• my 2K Sniper with HPA and 9VDC Revvy (still have it and if having issues with other markers it is my go to to finish out the day)
• my Pyre with HPA and Whaler Loader from the Phantom first in my list

"Lately" I've been playing stock class with various Phantoms and none of them are "just right" I have to think about them too much.

[Interl0per]

The one where the ball breaks on the intended target. I've even had it happen a couple of times.

[lew]

To sum it up, the marker should feel like an extension of my hands. I have monkey arms, so I like guns with the pistol grip further forward- old-school Shockers, Cockers, even Angel LCD's- and I like the foregrip tight or close to the front of the pistol grip. After that, elements like trigger pull, smoothness of the reciprocating parts (Shocker wins here bigly); air supply consistency; operating pressure, valve train, and the barrel and their combined impact on noise and shot signature. Paint quality is a given; shit paint will ruin any marker.

I vastly prefer my Shockers as I just point, pull the trigger, and I have a reasonable expectation of where the paint is going to land. ROF is fine for today's rules, and maintenance is a breeze.

[Memornix]

My primary marker is an early Sniper 2 that looks like crap on the outside but is absolutely dialed on the inside. It has become such an extension of myself on the field that I am terrible with almost every other marker I try. I have been a pump player since the early 90's so I have never even considered rate of fire on any marker and I know I am a worse player when using a semi. I can't quite explain it, but the action of cycling the marker while come up for a snapshot somehow always puts me on target.

It probably also helps that my Sniper is extremely consistent and is only limited by the paint I am shooting.

[DavidBoren]

Ergonomics and natural pointability are both definitely huge factors in how something shoots.

Do you think operating pressure or reciprocating mass has a larger affect on shot quality?

[lew]

Ergonomics and natural pointability are both definitely huge factors in how something shoots.

Do you think operating pressure or reciprocating mass has a larger affect on shot quality?

All of the above are more or less co-equal, but, if that marker's jumping around like a bucking bronco with each shot, that's not much fun for me. So, reciprocating mass and the manner in which moves is certainly a major consideration.

[Memornix]

I prefer a heavy marker for consistency rather than a lightweight marker for maneuverability. As far as reciprocating mass, I think this part of the reason pumps are perceived as more accurate. They are really just as accurate as anything else, but it is staying still while you shoot it.

[Jonnydread]

In the same spirit on what others are saying I think it really varies from person to person, and day to day. The newer space guns have a very 'soft' shot, but how perfect it is will depend heavily on the user and a whole buttload of other factors. I had a Geo for a while that shot great, but I couldn't hit the broad side of a barn with it because I had no muscle memory for it.

My LCD with a stick feed seems to teleport paint to my targets most days, but put a hopper on that sucker and I can't hit a damn thing.

[wunderbarsafari]

1) it functions reliably
2) shoot it a lot

[Axel]

Weight and ergonomics. I remember going head to head against an electro with my Phantom on a t-stock, and I had this Zen moment where I realized that even though he could splatter me with 15 BPS or whatever, I had to ability to snap out from the bunker and put a single ball on target 1/4 second faster, because I wasn't lugging a tank and a forcefeed loader full of batteries.

[Memornix]

This ^^^^^

Then again, there was that day when the electro guy yelled at me for overshooting him when I was doing a run through on the speedball field with my stock class buzzard.

[gabe]

There's a delicate balance between a nice snappy responsive shot and having a gun that doesn't rock around too much when shooting. I've really liked the DM3 and DM7 for this as you can really tune bolt speed to exactly how you like the gun to feel. Recently I've picked up an LV1 which is absolutely the nicest shooting gun I've shot, EVER.

Consistency
Shot quality (subjective)
Ergonomics (less subjective)

These are the 3 things that make a gun "click" for a user. For me I really like a gun with a fairly low cyclic speed but not so low that it's noticeably laggy. Something in the 16-20ms dwell range seems good. A more "mechanical" feel like the LV has is a bonus although the immediacy of the DM guns without the extra drama is nice.

Mainly if I have a good day with a gun or have that magic moment where I'm stacking bodies on the field, that's the shot that I like

[lew]

My LCD with a stick feed seems to teleport paint to my targets most days, but put a hopper on that sucker and I can't hit a damn thing.

The problem here is clearly with the mush-headed operator.

😝

😁🐀🍻

[Carlito[]

I believe the perfect shot is the one you don't aim for but still make. In other words just a quick reaction that somehow hits its intended target. No thought went in to it, just pure muscle memory. I'm sure this can be done with all markers. For me personally it's got to be a cocker based pump. 10.5bps is not required.

[OpusX]

Had that with my favorite sniper this weekend. Didnt think just snapped 1 ball for a 30 yard shot and eneded up surprised that it hit just were I was looking for it to be. Familiarity is key.