The gun debate rages on. We see Mag vs. Cocker, Stingray vs. Cocker, Pro-Lite vs. Spyder, and the list goes on and on. While I will not dispel all of these raging battles - I will try to help one out in this article now. In February of 1997, Palmers Pursuit Shop released "The Blazer" - a new production closed bolt paintball gun. In late 1996, Bud Orr at Worr Games Products released the 1997 Autococker. Palmer is most well known for making custom paintball guns at very reasonable prices. Bud Orr is most well known for the Autococker - one of the top guns in todays tournament circut. This article will review the pros and cons of these two excellent markers in the eyes of a RECREATIONAL player. I will break down the comparison in the following areas:

• Accuracy
• Trigger (ROF)
• Reliability
• Warranty and Repairs
• Price and Upgradability
• Versatility
• Extras that I liked/disliked

Accuracy:

Accuracy was the first thing I noticed with regards to both guns. Both have had very good reputations at being accurate and having a long range. When I tested the Blazer - I was able to hit a target at 30 yards 9/10 time and with the Autococker 97 I was able to hit the target 6/10 times. I used RP Schuer Premium paintballs. While the Blazer was more accurate than the Cocker - I attribute this to the barrel making abilities of Palmers Pursuit Shop. I feel that Palmers Pursuit Shop makes the finest quality brass barrels in the industry, but also feel that more tournament players would use their barrels if they were stainless steel or chrome.

When I screwed a DYE barrel on the Autococker I was able to hit the target just as much as I could with my Blazer. As far as stock accuracy goes - I denote the Blazer as the winner. However, when a barrel that is of similar quality to a Palmer barrel is added on to the Autococker - the accuracy is about equal.

Rate-Of-Fire:

One of the first things I didn't like about BOTH guns was the trigger. I would compare the stock Blazer trigger to a Pro-Lite. The Autococker had a much better stock trigger than the Blazer - but it was also a longer pull. The Autococker had a long but relatively smooth trigger pull. The Blazer had a very short - but very stiff trigger pull.

I have seen Autocockers go amazingly fast with trigger jobs (espically the ones done at P&P Paintball). On the other hand, with a trigger job I could easily get my Blazer firing as fast as an AutoMag and most of the Cockers. Since every trigger job on an Autococker is different I cannot accurately rate how they would perform against each other here.

For this category, I think the Autococker deserves to be given the winning category for this review. I have seen Autocockers fly amazingly fast and they are still decent triggers in the stock form. The Blazer stock trigger needs some work.

Reliability:

My OOBE with the Blazer was not as nice as I would have liked it to be. My first time out the hose broke and I am still waiting to get my Blazer back since the bolt pin broke. Palmers is experienceing some growing pains with regards to making a production gun at this stage - but is still able to fix EVERYTHING in a timely fashion. Since I was able to fix the bolt problem with a bit of teflon tape anyway - I really don't think it is necessary to carry a backup gun if you own a Blazer.

My OOBE with the Autococker was different. I found there are a lot of things that can go wrong easily with the Autococker. They are delicate and require lots of patience and care. Sometimes they go down unexpectadly for no reason at all. I also noticed the Blazer is MUCH more forgiving with liquid CO2 than the Autococker - with which I suggest a rock regulator at the very least. I also suggest you carry a backup gun (maybe a Sniper-III or Spyder) if you choose the Autococker. Cockers can go out of time at embarassing moments and it not as self contained as the Blazer.

The winner in this category is the Blazer. While I had some problems with my Blazer - I think the Cockers maintenance problems are far greater than the ones I had with my Blazer.

Warranty and Repairs:

Both guns offer a one year warranty. Palmers takes it a step further by vowing to ALWAYS stand by his "babies" no matter what. However - there are things that should be known about BOTH warranties.

Blazer Warranty: The actual warranty here beats the WGP warranty because while it is a one year warranty - you can expect Palmers to be more customer service oriented than WGP. However DO NOT mess with the Blazer. Period. Do not send the Blazer to anywhere BUT Palmers Pursuit Shop for repairs. If you do, it will void your warranty. Tinker freaks beware. WGP Warranty: Let me start off by saying WGP is not the most customer service oriented business in the industry. There are over 30,000 of these guns out there and you can expect to wait AT LEAST 3 weeks to get your Autococker back if it breaks. However - the WGP warranty has something going for it the PPS warranty doesn't: Almost every paintball custom shop has airsmiths who know the Autococker inside outside upside down and backwards. It is sometimes nice to be able to take your gun to a local store as it usually doesn't take as long.

For this category I am not going to declare a winner. It is an obvious tie. WGP Repairs take longer at the factory but you can almost always find a local store that can do the repairs. PPS has a better warranty but its repair scheme is not as convienient. You - the player - must decide which scheme you like better. I don't particularly like or dislike either one.

Price and Upgradability:

The price for both of these guns is almost universally the same at around $400 plus tax and sometimes shipping. However - what you get in the stock configuration for these guns is very very different. Since a paragraph will be hard to read for this comparison - try this chart:

For the price category - the winner is most obviously The Blazer. You will get much more bang for your buck out of the Blazer. However upgradability is something very very different.

The winner for the upgradability category is the Autococker. The Blazer should be considered a done gun when you get it. The Autococker I will need to make quite a few upgrades to it before I feel comfrotable with it in a tournament setting.

Versatility:

This is a big thing for speedball players espically. The Blazer I
found was a smaller than average semi-automatic that was very light (1.9 pounds). It was well balanced for the most part - but somewhat back heavy with a VL2000 filled with paint and a back-bottle installed.

The Autococker is VERY heavy for me compared to my Blazer. It is noticeably front heavy. I find it harder to make the quick moves required for speedball with my Autococker.

For both guns I recommend running remote. It allows you to move much quicker and balances out the gun a little.

The winner in this category is the Blazer. The Blazer is lightweight and more balanced than the Autococker. The Autococker is heavy and front-heavy.

Extra's I liked/disliked:

Blazer Likes:
The quick bolt pull on the Blazer is very cool.
I like the location of the verticle bottle ASA
Velocity adjustment is in an excellent place.
Stock configuration
Comfrotable grips
"Sleeper" or "Stealth" design
Only one hose

Autococker Likes:
Front foregrip
Comfrotable Grips
Room to "tinker"
Actual design of the gun

Blazer Dislikes:
Lack of a front foregrip
Trigger
Lack of tinkering availbility
"Ugliness" of Brass

Autococker Dislikes:
Complex, easy to break, parts
Lack of reliabilty

There is no real winner in this category. I was simply adding it for the information of you - the reader.

WINNER:

Accuracy :	Blazer
Trigger:	Autococker
Reliability:	Blazer
Warranty/Repairs :	None
Price:	Blazer
Upgradability:	Autococker
Versatility:	Blazer
Overall:	Blazer

Overall - with the stock configuration I feel that the Blazer is a better gun as I would feel more comfortable going into a tournament with a Blazer out of the box. However - with all the upgradability options - I feel the Autococker is the better "in the long run" gun because of its upgradability. In any case - I feel both guns will give a recreational player lots of enjoyment as long as they play this great sport.

If you have any questions or comments regarding this review - I can be reached at Psycho1810@aol.com.

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