The Sniper was operated in a manner similar to pump-action shotguns in that it had to be manually recocked after each shot to load the next round. In , Orr founded Worr Game Products to sell the products he was developing, and by he was running the business full-time.
In order to stay competitive with the rising popularity of semiautomatic markers in early 90s, Orr added a pneumatic system onto the Sniper. The pneumatics automatically re-cocked the marker after each shot and in , the Autococker was born. There is a lot of controversy as to whether the design was stolen from Glenn Palmer who has repeatidly and publicly made and defended this claim and has given a detailed accounting of the circumstances or was actually Bud's innovation.
Although heavily criticized for reliability and a number of design defects, it proved to be an easy platform to work off of and aftermarket parts started to appear shortly after its inception. Only the Automag rivaled it in popularity until electronic markers appeared. Indeed, the autococker was so ubiquitous that its barrel threading became one of the most commonly-used standards on high-end markers akin to how firearm cartridge sizes are named for the first firearm that used them.
To this day, "autococker threading" can be found on higher-end markers. By the turn of the century, with the advent and increased popularity of electro-pneumatics, it no longer became profitable for specialized shops to produce custom autocockers, and they slowly began to disappear. By the early 21st-century, the autococker was no longer considered the top tournament marker in the sport. Serial numbers WGP marked every body it made with a serial number.
It is important to note that Autocockers and Minicockers had two different lines of serial numbers, i. Year Made - Sheridan adds a pump handle to their PG. Inspired by the Sheridan Valve Train, Bud Orr begins works on building a more rubust body to add a removable barrel to.
Note the 4 ribbed pump grip and Sheridan frame. I have with a square block, The highest I've seen was Many went back to Worr game and got the asa replaced to use the pin valves that had become standard by that time. Apparently tournament players complained about the number of turns needed to unscrew the barrels to clean.
Another major change was Bud shifting to extruded aluminum bodies. APG August ad The Sniper II, is easily recognized by its full-length integrated sight rail and quick release bolt hole in back block. In the early s, the WGP Sniper evolved into the Autococker when the front pump assembly was replaced by a pneumatics package that did the job of cocking the paintgun.
Optional carbon fiber gripframe. Ram, 3-way polished from factory. Prior to 2K, only STO models came with the non-slotted plates. On 2K models, the standard was the rounded non-slotted nickel plated STO trigger plate. WGP inline regulator standard. Front of sight rail sloped rear of sight rail rounded. Enlarged valve chamber. Short brass ram introduced. Polished, nickel-plated trigger plates. Angled "gills" in pneumatics shroud. All of the "upgraded" pneumatics were standard up until here recently.
Everyone was using pump guns and someone figured out a way to jerry rig the Sniper pump gun to self-pump. From its inception the Autococker was well designed and very accurate.
Other manufacturers wanted to jump on the bandwagon and produce self cocking guns. They worked furiously and produced markers that did not measure up. All guns since the Autococker have been blowback designs. They all have parts that slam back and forth and let out a lot of air. They use the air to shoot the piantball and recock the gun simultaneously.
The design is inherently flawed, yet the most advanced electronic guns of today continue to use this design. The Autococker is different. Firstly, it is a closed bolt system. This helps make the gun more air efficient and consistent. Secondly, no parts are shot around the inside blasting into adjacent parts.
An arm on the side uses some gas to recock the gun. An ingenious idea. No other gun works so well or is as robust. The Autococker is very robust durable and long-lasting. Nothing can really go wrong with the gun. And if anything does, it is a snap to correct. It was best-known for its Autococker line of paintball markers, which used pneumatically actuated closed bolt operations when most other markers used open bolt formats.
Because of this WGP gained a cult following that lasted until the company's demise in Bud started out making Nelson clone pumps, first the Commando and then the Ranger. He later decided to switch to a more versatile design, at which he started making Sheridan clones with removable barrels, dubbed the "Sniper. Through the 90s the paintball tournament scene was dominated by Autocockers and Airgun Designs' Automag. WGP released increasingly streamlined versions of its gun and secured its niche as a high-end manufacturer.
One of its marketing strategies was to tout the supposed accuracy advantage of its autocockers, owing to their closed bolt design. This claim came under fire by but the company continued to call the autococker the "most accurate marker in the world".
The popularity of the autococker spawned many aftermarket companies that produced markers and parts similar to autococker guns. As WGP trademarked the word "autococker" these guns became known as "cockers". Several well- known companies such as Smart Parts and Planet Eclipse released high-end upgrades for autocockers. WGP and its marker, the autococker, remained one of the dominant platforms of paintball marker through the s.
However, the gun and its company saw a slow decline as a result of the industry trend torwards simpler, lighter open bolt markers.
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