This document has been updated to reflect changes in the newer model Autocockers.
The wOrr Games Products Autococker ranks among the best semi-auto paintguns on the market. In terms of range, accuracy, rate of fire, and the ability to customize it is hard to beat. Take a look at what the Pro’s are carrying and you’ll see Autocockers. High performance doesn't come without its price however. To a first time owner, an Autococker can generate an endless stream of set-up and tuning headaches. This article is written for the first time owner and deals with what to do with your Autococker the moment it arrives at your doorstep. Don't hold off until game day to do this, and don't expect to just pull it out of the box, gas it up, and have it work. This article assumes a basic understanding of paintgun operation and safe handling. Always observe safety procedures when handling a paintgun.
The Autococker began its life as the excellent Sniper pump gun. Its cocking system was added later. Because the cocking mechanism is a kludge, it takes some adjustment to obtain proper and peak performance. Many players cannot understand why wOrr Games ships out Autocockers that aren't fully tuned and timed. Primarily it is because it takes a couple of hours to do this for each and every Autococker. Adding that much labor would dramatically increase the cost you pay. Better to send the markers out in a ‘functional’ state and allow the player to complete the adjustment process.
After the customary damage inspection and some ‘shadow painting’ (Complete with sound effects) you should be ready to begin. Get out your tool-box. You will need the following things.
New Model Autocockers with Hex Head Cocking Rods
The first step is to
familiarize yourself with all of the parts. Read the manual, it’s short
and shouldn't be too painful for you to do this. Keep it open to the parts
list when done. The second step is to begin the bolt timing process. You
should not have run any paint through the marker yet, but always treat
it as if loaded. Put on some safety glasses, remove or plug the barrel.
Disconnect the tank and ammo box. Press in on the cocking rod to de-gas
the valve. This takes a bit of force. Tapping it gently a few times with
a rubber mallet is okay. Be gentle though.
Now the marker is safe to futz around with. You will begin to set the mechanical part of the bolt timing. The goal of setting the bolt timing is to insure that the marker cycles quickly without chopping balls and yet still cocks with 100% reliability. Grasp the grip frame, keeping fingers clear of the trigger. With your other hand, grip the cocking block. Now, while peering into the feed port, slowly pull the block back. This will not damage your marker while it is de-gassed. You may feel some roughness in its travel. Some of this roughness is caused by the lack of lubricant on the bolt and in the ram. If you read the manual you will have noticed that it said to apply a few drops of lube to the A.S.A. prior to use and periodically thereafter. DO NOT NEGLECT THIS! That oil will help keep the ram moving smoothly. A dry ram will die soon and will give you tons of headaches before it does. Be sure to use a lube that is formulated for use in paintguns. Petroleum based lubes are not a good choice. KC Trouble Free or other non petroleum based lubes are much better. Any metallic contact sounds or grating could be caused by the connecting rod or connecting coupler. If you detect this type of drag, inspect that area for points of contact. You may have to file or sand some areas of the channel in which the connecting rod resides.
First step is to establish a small gap between the cocking block and the body of the marker. Applying slight inward pressure on the cocking block inspect the area where it aligns with the back of the body. Does it make contact? This is not desirable. It makes the marker noisy and increases the tendency to buffet during firing. Back the cocking block off of the body by rotating it a full turn until a tiny gap remains. You will need to remove the bolt and cocking rod to do this. You should be able to slip a piece paper into the gap. Getting the smallest gap possible is best and may require adjustments to be made at the block and at the connecting coupler. Now reinstall the bolt and cocking rod.
Two factors control the maximum rearward travel of the cocking block: the ram, which actually moves the block via the connecting rod, and the cocking rod, which may restrict the travel. Ideally this travel is as short as possible while still allowing a ball to feed without chopping and properly engaging the hammer and sear. By keeping this rearward travel short, you reduce the marker's ‘Lock time’ and increase rate of fire. The cocking rod is the key to this puzzle. The knob at the end of the cocking rod is adjustable. It can be screwed inward or outward to increase or reduce the cocking block's travel. The two key factors governing your decision here are the distance the bolt must travel in order to reliably feed, and the distance the cocking rod and hammer must travel to reliably engage the sear.
Pull the cocking block rearward as far as it will go. Still applying a slight pressure to it, examine the face of the bolt where it is visible inside the feed port. Ideally here, the face of the bolt is flush with the rearmost edge of the feed port. If the bolt still protrudes past the edge you risk chopping balls. If the bolt is too far back, rate of fire suffers. It is better to err to the side of having the bolt retract too far however. Make certain the marker is not cocked. Now remove the cocking rod. Never remove the cocking rod from the marker when it is cocked. This can result in the mainspring kinking which will reduce velocity consistency.
We are ready to set the cocking rod timing.
For owners of the old knurled style knob use the following procedure to adjust the cocking rod. Using the padding material to protect the cocking rod and the cocking rod knob, clamp the locking pliers in place on the knob and on the rod at the base of the knob. Be extremely careful not to scratch or bend the shaft as this will negatively affect the markers ability to fire at a consistent velocity. The rod is adjusted by twisting the knurled head. Once the proper adjustment is made a drop of green Threadlocker will secure the adjustment.
For owners of the new hex knob use this procedure. Back out the allen screw at the end of the cocking rod. The rod is adjusted by twisting the hex shaped head. Once the proper adjustment is made re-tightening the allen screw will fix the adjustment.
The goal of setting
the cocking rod is to have it cock the hammer EVERY TIME, without restricting
the necessary travel of the cocking block. Ideally you want the ram
to travel the minimum distance possible to chamber a ball without chopping
it, and cock the hammer. Achieving this will produce the fastest
possible rate of fire. The ram does have a bit too much travel to
achieve this. In fact, there can be nearly a quarter of an inch over
travel. Careful setting of the cocking rod will prevent this over
travel and improve rate of fire. I recently purchased a once
used Autococker that had been 'professionally timed'. Upon checking
the marker out I discovered that while the trigger timing was perfect,
the bolt had 3/16ths of an inch over travel! This kills rate
of fire. Simply because the cocking rod had never been adjusted.
Pull back on the Cocking
Block and keep pressure on it. Check the bolt face visually. Then pull
on the cocking rod itself. It should not pull back at all, only wiggle
a little bit. Slip the cocking block closed, de-cock the marker, and repeat
this procedure several times until you are certain that the sear is engaging
every time. If the marker fails to cock even once, pull back just the cocking
knob a few times. If this fails to cock the marker reliably the cocking
lug on the hammer needs to be adjusted. Remove the grip frame and back
the cocking lug out slightly. If pulling just the cocking rod worked reliably,
then the knob on the cocking rod has been backed out too far. Screw it
back in slightly until the problem is remedied. Once you are 100% certain
that pulling back on the cocking block will result in the marker cocking,
secure the adjustment in the appropriate manner for the style of cocking
rod you have. It should need no further adjustment. In some cases
the cocking block itself may be positioned too far back as the result of
your previous adjustment, if so, screw it back in the minimum amount possible.
Now reinstall the cocking rod being careful to insure that the cocking rod is screwed in fully. Checking the cocking rod is something you should get into the habit of doing frequently. If it backs out during play your marker may behave erratically. Snug it down occasionally. If you find that this is a chronic problem for you, Lapco makes a stainless steel cocking rod with a teflon locking insert that prevents it from backing off. A bit of teflon tape wrapped around the threads of your factory cocking rod may also reduce the problem.
You are now ready to pressurize the marker. Reassemble it fully save for the ammo box, and plug the barrel. Now is the time to get that tank filled and put a couple of drops of oil in the A.S.A. Pressurize and listen for any leaks. There should not be any, but you never know. It is time to set the trigger timing.
Cycle the marker once by pulling and releasing the trigger. Now wedge a thumb against the 3-way coupler. Keeping that coupler wedged down, slowly begin to pull the trigger. You are looking and listening to insure that the marker fires before the cocking block moves. Do this several times until you are certain just what happens first. After the marker fires, draw the trigger the rest of the way back. Look in at the bolt. Has it moved all the way to the back of the feed port? It should have. If not, re-adjust as you learned above. Release the trigger. The cocking block should close and the cocking rod should be in the cocked position. If you were able to establish a gap between the block and body earlier, that gap should still be present. Check it. If all of this happened, all is well with the trigger timing, you are done. This however, is unlikely.
Trigger timing is usually a little off in new Autocockers. What will happen is that the cocking block will start to travel rearward before the sear disengages and fires the marker. This murders the marker's accuracy and can cause feed problems due to blow back. This problem is corrected by adjusting the 3-way coupler. Early Autocockers had a smooth timing rod that was held in place with set screws. Newer Autocockers have a much easier to adjust threaded timing rod. The rod is adjusted by moving it forward or backward. Moving it backward will delay the operation of the ram, while moving it forward advances that operation. This operation must not begin before the marker 'fires' but should begin as soon as possible after that. Adjust the timing rod until you achieve this, testing for it as outlined above. The one modification I recommend that everyone make to their Autococker is to get a threaded 3-way coupler. This little jewel makes it easier to make the precise adjustment needed for good trigger timing and won't slip after being set like the stock coupler can. WOrr Games has finally begun to include these as a stock part. A threaded 3-way coupler is about $10, believe me, the best $10 you will ever spend on your Autococker.
With the timing set, little remains to get the marker ready to play. The stock sledgehammer regulator is self adjusting and it should be providing enough pressure to operate the mechanism if everything is timed properly. The Sledge is adjusted by removing it from the air block and turning an internal screw that is accessed through the air fitting. I have never had to adjust a Sledge and because they are so difficult to access, I hope I don't have to. My first Cocker pre-dated the Sledge, my current has the STO model. Should you acquire an older Cocker that has the manual regulator I recommend replacing it immediately. The manual regulator can easily over pressurize your system resulting in damage. It also doesn't work well in cold weather. I have used and highly recommend Palmer’s ‘Rock’ Regulator. It’s ease of adjustment and safety features make it a highly desirable addition to your new Autococker. If you must make due with the manual regulator, see the instruction manual for details on setting it. It will need to be adjusted at the start of any game day, and any time there is a noticeable change in temp or humidity, often several times during the course of the day.
A last few items. Check that all screws, including set screws on the 3-way coupler and trigger shoe are tight. Lubricate the marker according to the manual. I also put a drop on the exposed portion of the ram. The old manual suggests using Vaseline to lubricate the bolt. Don't do this. Use the same lube you are using for your internals. Just keep it wet. Vaseline is far to viscous and will dramatically slow your action. It also makes field stripping difficult and can freeze during rapid fire situations. I don't think the new manual still says this. Dry fire the marker a few times to get the oil worked through the system. The barrel may need to be cleaned with a mild solvent to get oil residue off its surface. I recommend going to a sporting goods store and obtaining a six inch down rigging clip. This is a fine metal wire with a clip on one in and a loop on the other used by fishermen for some mysterious purpose. Clip it through the hole in the bolt pin and, by backing off the rear frame screw slightly, slip the loop over it and re-tighten. This will keep the bolt pin handy should you have to strip the marker during a game. Remember to leave slack here as the cocking block needs it to travel.
You are just a stop at the chrono away from being ready to play. For stock Autocockers, set the velocity at around 285, for the Mini-Cocker’s 7 inch barrel, keep it at around 250-260. Most brands of paint can't take the acceleration needed to achieve 285 fps in such a short barrel without breakage. Good luck and have fun.
scarecrow.