The BEST Co2 Gun ever made!??

[gabe]

Okay, let's not go off the rails into an imaginary world where CO2 just "didn't get enough development" because there's some "conspiracy" to sell more paint by using a more stable compressed gas. CO2 went by the wayside because it's a nightmare at anything over spyder speeds, can't be effectively regulated, and has wild pressure swings with temp.

Dr. Strange sees no alternative timelines on which CO2 lives past the early 2000's

[Chappy]

I miss the smell of co2 on the morning air. That was enough to make it the superior air source for me.

[SignOfZeta]

In industrial settings, co2 warmers do in fact exist. But in a paintball settings, I don't think the feedback loop would work well enough. Rapid firing would chill the tank, heater would turn on, but then you might get an overpressure situation. Seems like a liability. Smart Parts did experiment with a similar system. The SP Nerve was originally supposed to have an inline chrono that was linked to an electronically controlled regulator. But it didn't work and never reached market.

Likewise, I remember people fiddled with ideas like sleeves made from finned aluminium. Good idea, did not work well enough. Or maybe you could put the bottle in a larger bottle of water? Tanks are filled all the time sitting in water to control temps... but not really practical on a gun

These days you can buy a “PID on a chip” basically. It would have to be tuned correctly but it only has to heat, not cool, and it only has to reach 60F without hitting 90F, and people aren’t going to play a lot below 30F. If it’s always a 12g cart this seems extremely doable. You’d need like...a real product designer guy involved though, not some garage junk.

[Cunha]

I miss the smell of co2 on the morning air. That was enough to make it the superior air source for me.

It really is enough.

Besides the vastly superior form factor for renters who are often youngsters. A 12oz co2 tank gets way more shots and is smaller and lighter than a 48/3k rental tank.

I can understand the cost / benefit analysis for a field though, because a field 100% is going to be filling HPA, they gotta decide if a bunch of 45 dollar tanks using their existing HPA system are better than a bunch of 20ish dollar tanks using a separate co2 system.

I would try hard to keep co2 at a field if I was running it though, just because I like it so much.

[Jonnydread]

OSG paintball (one of my preferred Northeast fields) still has their CO2 setup and I'm very thankful. I can still run my procarb, thundercat & pumps happily without having to retune for HPA.

[Tinybear]

Sheridan stuff has to make a list for great Co2 guns being as that’s really all they can run. My PGP2K run 12g as good or better than modern pistols. Mine gets similar shots per 12g as my TiPX.

But as for absolute best I’d have to give that to the CCI Phantoms. Even though I didn’t keep mine too long was a phenominal shooter.

Lastly if I had to choose my favourite to use marker that loved Co2 (though I hav run it on HPA For more than a decade now) it is hands down the Tippmann Pro/Carbine. That thing shoots great. Was my first and still one of my favourites.

[Jonnydread]

Agreed! Procarbs are fun as hell to shoot, especially with CO2

[un2xs]

My personal experience is limited.

That said, my vote goes to ICD Cats... specifically the Puma. They are heirloom quality, light, and very adjustable. Can run back bottle, vertical, or a 12oz under barrel. Bonus points go to being able to run siphons.

Second choice has to go to the PMI III/VM68. Heavy sum beach, but very dependable. Bonus for being able to knock down trees and prop up small buildings .

[coyote]

My best CO2 experiences would be a stock class phantom or grey ghost.

For semi, PPS Typhoon, followed by the Blazer.

I have not shot a semi with CO2 since...2000 ish.

[Euphie]

This is a bit of a necro post, but co2 was the reason for me falling in love with the Shoebox Shocker I’m the first place. It was fast, accurate, and loved co2

there are a few reasons why it is so good but for me the big one was that you get plenty of tank pressure even in subzero temps due to the low pressure operation of the gun. I always played in the winter as well as the summer. Eventually I got everything running really well on co2 but the Shocker didn’t really need much help, any tank I had on my back was good enough and I just used a gas thru stock (and a Smart Remote for a bit)

I did use a .68 special for a bit but, the problem was I played outlaw ball and once my Siphon tanks were done the normal tanks would cause lots of recock issues, ideally a marker shouldn’t need a siphon or anti siphon tank, and with vertical co2 on my back it was just much simpler imo.

[Jonnydread]

Absolutely with you here. My first shoebox I ran off an anti-siphon 24oz co2 and it shot great in all conditions. Also one of the only ways you could shoot more than a bag off of 1 fill.

[coyote]

Y'all must have "the tank froze to my arm" stories.

[MrBarraclough]

My 68 Special always ran fine on non-siphon tanks, but I think that might be because a previous owner had removed the valve spacer entirely. Also might be related to playing in a very hot environment.

[rathbaster]

In my Opinion, any nelson based gun
They run very well on CO2

[XEMON]

Nelson Pump absolutely, but semi ... not so much ...

[Drcemento]

great conversation. I'm a Co2 Fan - thats what we used when i came into paintball in 94ish and thats what I still use today - intentionally keeping it there. we play outlaw ball up here with a tight group of like minded people - we like it oldschool, and love the fact that we can get our dream set-up from our youth for maybe $2-300 bucks and love the amount of fiddling and modd'ing that can be done to all those old markers. there is nothing exciting about any of the currently produced space guns

we have never hit a point where we found the limit of Co2 - we play mostly open pump, or when we play semi nobody is doing sustained shooting for the entire game, which is clearly where Co2 hit a wall. (thanKS for that post HP!) We are also in Cali where weather is just not much of an issue - change springs in fall maybe?

I got massively turned off by that "sustained fire" style of tourney play that trickled down to commercial fields - its a game of attrition. give me the woods and some space! give me 2-3 minutes before any kind of contact is made! give me a chance to get the flag back to our start point and end the game without eliminating the whole other team! For us Co2 works just fine and is in fact a little more ideal because of the yield from a single tank Vs HPA

As for the OP.... I learned allot from this! I Just restored a 68 Special and cannot wait to give liquid Co2 another shot.
as for the best single marker on Co2... thats a tough one. but I really do think that Palmers gets it some top honors for really tuning the guns to work with Co2 and squeeze an insane amount of efficiency from them. that said I want to give liquid another look and it might change my opinion.

[MrBarraclough]

A 68 Special will run on a non-siphon tank, at least if you remove the valve spacer and play in warm weather.

[Richter power]

Just in my opinion I think the Tippmann proAm / prolite
& the F-1 illustrator.

[Seajay]

Not ever talked about because it came so late, but the Spyder EKO valve I found to be very good with Co2. The MR1 with an EKO valve on Co2 could play a whole case of paint for a Semi-Auto.

[Euphie]

One of the reasons why the Shocker Sport did so well with co2 was the very low pressures involved, which makes me wonder has anyone ever took something like the Azodin Zero system and paired it with a maxflo and an antisiphon, in theory that should run really well. Maybe I just have stacked tube blowback on the brain though as I am building a Bob Long Millennium at the moment

[LudovicoSoldier]

I always was and still am on team Prolite!

[Brokeass_baller]

I just picked up a pair of Pro-Lites specifically for CO2. I've learned that if I replace the internal air line with braided steel, I should be able to run nitro on them as well. These will be my renegade loaners and my "well crap, the compressor is down again" backups. There's a reason they were used as rentals for so long.