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| Palmers Pursuit Shop Blazer FAQ
By: Psycho Table Of Contents: I. Introduction / Credit to certain individuals who contributed to this I. Introduction You know - I just started writing articles and this is the part I hate the most? I mean - when you write an article - just what the hell do you put in an introduction. I get A's in English and still can't write a good one whenever I write about paintball. So guess what - here is my introduction - or thesis statement if you are an English Major: Welcome to the Blazer FAQ. There - that was easy enough. I am now going to take some time (and some of Neal's bandwidth) to thank some individuals who contributed to this article whether they know it or not. Glenn and Craig Palmer - without whom this article would not be possible II. The Blazer: What is it? The Blazer is the latest .68 caliber paintball marker released by the good folks over at Palmers Pursuit Shop. According to the manual - every gun they have made before the Blazer was actually a prototype for the blazer. Palmers claims the blazer is design criteria is as follows: User friendly, blazing speed, maximum effective rage and accuracy with reliability and durability that are second to none. From what I have found - this design criteria advertised by Palmers is very accurate. The gun is extremely easy to learn. I can pull the trigger as fast as most Mag owners (but I have a trigger job) and the range and the accuracy continue to astound me. The Blazer I personally feel is more reliable than any other gun in its league that I have personally fired. Durability is also excellent - but like any gun - you do not want to try and run over your Blazer with daddys pickup truck. III. How is it different from the Typhoon, Stroker, and Hurricane? First and foremost - the Blazer is a "production gun" like most guns are today. However - the Blazer is hand built and definitely has the quality of a custom built Semi-Auto when you add certain features which will I will mention later. Here are the main differences: 1. The Typhoon is the gun which most closely resembles the Blazer. It costs about $505 plus shipping stock. It is larger and heavier than the Blazer - but is custom built. It has a beautiful nickel plated finish and it a true work of art. A custom matched barrel is stock equipment on a Typhoon and you can also get your tank "california style" if you so desire. Typhoons are built to order so it will take much longer to get your Typhoon. However - many people feel the Typhoon is better than the Blazer. The Typhoon has hoses and larger grips than the blazer and has a front foregrip. The trigger is also longer - but quite a bit softer. 2. The Hurricane is basically a Typhoon with a wooden stock. I did notice the trigger was a bit longer on the Hurricane and you can add features not sold at Palmers which scenario game players tend to like (such as bi-pods). Obviously - the Hurricane is heavier than the Typhoon. Team Ironmen started their winning ways with Palmer Hurricanes! 3. The Stroker and the Typhoon are often confused. A Stroker conversion is simply a conversion to make a gun made by Sheridan a lot better. They should not be looked at as equals. The Typhoon and Blazer are stand alone guns. While some Strokers look similar to Typhoons - they really are very very different. If you would like more information on the Stroker vs. Typhoon - please visit the Palmer Owners Group (http://www.xsystems.com.au/pog) and check the articles section. The Stroker is not available "to order" - it is only available by conversion. IV. Pros and Cons: Pro's of The Blazer: Excellent Accuracy Con's of a Blazer: Bolt breaks often and needs to be loc-tited - sometimes replaced V. Options and Upgrades I should probably mention now that most of the upgrades for the Blazer are only available at Palmers Pursuit Shop. I have seen Exotic Sports sell Typhoons for lower than normal prices and I know Bad Boyz Toyz sells removable barrel variants of Typhoons - but these are the only places I know of other than Palmers where these guns can be purchased. I am sure there are other - but I don't know about them. Even though the gun is not as versatile as a Mag or Cocker - there are still many upgrade options available for it. I have listed all of them that I know of here with an approximate price. All prices are listed at what they were last time I checked the price list at P.O.G. All prices are obviously subject to change. a. Barrels The biggest "customization" choices you get are with the barrel. When you order - the barrel is one of the biggest things you can spend money on. Palmers offers such features as Spiral Porting, Custom Matching, and Nickel Plating for their barrels. This opens a wide range of selections. Remember - the stock barrel is 11" long and it is unnecessary to ever buy a new barrel for the blazer unless the stock one gets scratched. Order it right the first time and you will be very happy. Spiral Vented porting is extremely useful. It makes the gun very very quiet - the non-ported barrel is loud. The spiral port design also offers more consistent firing. However - the spiral port design - like with smart parts barrels - makes the barrel a bitch to clean if a ball breaks. The good news is that ball breaks in Blazers - even with the worst paint - are quite rare. Spiral venting costs $32 extra. Custom Matching will give your barrel a lot more accuracy. Non-matched barrels are still very good - but custom matched barrels for blazers will make them as accurate as a Typhoon. The barrel is matched mostly to the valve of the gun - which Glenn feels is the best way to match a barrel. I couldn't agree more - my barrel shoots paint straight as an arrow with a very flat trajectory. I HIGHLY recommend this. It only costs $20 extra. Nickel plating is available to people who want to make their gun look pretty. Prospective buyers should realize that the barrel is NOT nickel plated on the inside. Glenn feels that brass is the best barrel making material one can use. I personally think that something stronger would be better - but the performance I receive proves he is probably right. Anyway - the nickel plating is simply a cosmetic mod. I did not order it with my gun - cause I have very limited funds. However - I have seen Blazers with nickel plated barrels and they are beautiful and cost $25 extra. b. Expansion Chambers / Remote / Secondary Regulators This is an area that has confused me as well as many other people. Glenn mentions in the manual that expansion chambers should not be used on the Blazer. I think he knows what he is talking about and his wishes should be respected. However - a remote is also an expansion chamber of sorts and it mentions that remotes are a-ok. This confuses me. First of all - I would NOT recommend an expansion chamber on a Blazer. If Palmer says you shouldn't do it - DON'T do it cause it may void your warranty if you do. According to the manual - expansion chambers destroy the CO2's natural ability to expand which seriously hampers performance. On the other hand - I have used the SmartParts SmartRemote for quite a few games on my Blazer with no problems. The SmartRemote does have an expansion chamber - but I have no idea how to remove it. My gun shoots fine so I am not going to fix something that isn't broken. I do recommend a remote for a Blazer. With a gun as light as the Blazer - it is a shame to waste all the work Palmer put into making it light by adding a heavy 20oz tank. Running the Blazer remote improved my game significantly - but it is all a matter of preference. Palmers also has two different kinds of Stabilizers available for the Blazer and I highly recommend either ONE OR THE OTHER. Both of them are not necessary. The vertical Stabilizer is very new and is to give the Unireg some serious competition. It screws in to your vertical ASA adaptor and I highly recommend it for players running remote. It improves your consistency in velocity significantly. The vertical Stabilizer runs $95. If you like running bottomline - I recommend the regular stabilizer. To be perfectly frank - I have never seen a better bottomline system made. It offers velocity consistency like the vertical does and is BETTER than the AA Unireg and other secondary regulator. Also - Palmer products work best with other Palmer products. The regular Stabilizer set to your Blazer in bottomline form costs $109. I recommend either the bottomline or vertical Stabilizer - whichever one suits your preference. c. ASA Hookups There are basically 4 different ways you can run your Blazer. You can run it vertical bottle, back bottle, bottomline, or remote. Here is what I say about all of these. Vertical bottle is the cheapest - as it is stock on the Blazer. If you want to run remote - forget about the others - this is the one for you. I said before that I recommend the vertical stabilizer for remote players - but once again - it is a matter of preference. With the vertical bottle there are no hoses. Back-bottle is something different. Back bottle moves the bottle to the back of the gun and is for players who want the rifle feel with maximum face clearance. This is a neat system if you like this feel - however - keep this in mind. If you run back-bottle you will have a hose and will need to buy a hex wrench set. On normal blazers you use a 3/16" hexagon wrench and with the backbottle I needed a 5/64" and was shipped the wrong one - twice. The hose connecting the back-bottle to my regulator broke the first time I took the Blazer out - but Palmers replaced it with a metal hose which never breaks (if it did - I would be in really big trouble - JT goggles don't stop shrapnel). This costs $40 when ordered with the Blazer. Bottomline hardware is simply standard bottomline stuff sold by LAPCO. While this is an excellent system and LAPCO makes quality products - if you are going to run bottomline - I highly suggest you get the Stabilizer setup. Especially if you are a tournament player - you will end up owning one anyway. Incidentally though - regular bottomline hardware costs about $36 last time I checked. d. Valve Options The only one available is for HP/LP valving for Nitrogen users. I should mention that Blazers are tuned to run best on CO2 so this is an option you would have to discuss with the folks at Palmers. I do not run nitrogen and am notorious for being short on cash (nitro is expensive for those who live in a cave). I am quite sure this option costs about $45. e. Trigger Work The biggest complaint about any Palmer guns is the trigger. These complaints are made mostly by people who like the trigger so short and soft it could be pulled by the wind on a blustery day. There are currently two trigger options offered at Palmers Pursuit Shop. The first option is the trigger job. This softens the trigger significantly and I would HIGHLY recommend it over almost ANYTHING else except the matched barrel. The stock trigger on the Blazer is comparable to the stock trigger on the Pro-Lite - very heavy. The trigger job makes the trigger a lot more manageable. The price of the trigger job is $40 - but there is a rumor it may have changed to $80 (they probably got mad cause I recommended it to so many new buyers). The other trigger option is the two finger trigger which also involves removing the trigger guard. This mod is also recommended cause the trigger is still kind of stiff with the trigger job and it will increase your ROF if you have two fingers working the system. BEWARE: Some people do not like two finger trigger mods when they buy them. Consider this mod permanent and make sure you like it before you get it. This is definitely a matter of preference. Should you choose to get a 2 finger trigger - they cost $50. f. Cosmetics Another complaint about the Blazer is that it is not visually appealing. This is because the Blazer is made to perform well in the field - not look pretty in the dead zone. However - if you absolutely must be different - your Blazer can be "smoke" anodized for $50. I am sure Palmers also offers other custom anodizing jobs - but I am unsure as to their cost at this time and am disinterested anyway. The only other cosmetic mod there really is - is the nickel plated barrel which I mentioned earlier. UPDATE: In the Warpig photos for Zap - there was a realtree Typhoon from our friends at Palmers. This may also be available for the Blazer - you will have to ask when you order. g. Other recommended hardware The only other hardware I can recommend for the blazer would be a Viewloader 2000 with an ProTeam Elbow (the one with screws - this will save you hassle). The Blazer has VERY little blowback to agitate the balls and this mod should be considered necessary. It will save you a lot of grief. Shredders are unnecessary I think - my VL2000 had no trouble keeping up with me - but if you feel the need for one - be my guest - most tournament players like them. In conclusion - you should be able to get a fully decked out Blazer for under $650. VI. How does the gun handle CO2, Loquid CO2, and Nitrogen. I will be honest - I hate talking about how guns work on gas because I think it is boring to read and it makes me sleepy. However - I will write about it simply because it is something a lot of players like to know about. The gun is tuned for CO2 and works best on CO2. The gun will tolerate liquid - but it is a bad idea unless you are playing SnowBall in weather under freezing. The gun will tolerate CO2 - but feeding it CO2 constantly is a bad idea. If you run straight backbottle or bottomline with no secondary regulator and don't run remote - make sure you have an Anti-Siphon tank. Just remember NEVER put an anti-siphon tank in the vertical bottle position or run it remotely. I think Palmers will custom make an Anti-Siphon tank to your gun for around $60-$70. As far as Nitrogen goes - I many people love it. Make sure you talk to the people at Palmers about it before you order though. You may need some additional hardware - including HP/LP valving. I have heard the gun works better on CO2 - and this should be taken into consideration. I like CO2 better because it is cheaper than compressed air or nitro and more fields fill the bottles. VII. Is the gun tournament ready? How is it out of the box (stock) This is one of very few guns I would feel comfortable going into a tournament with straight out of the box. However - there are some features the serious tournament player should look at. These include: 1. Matched and Spiral Vented Barrel On the other hand - out of the box - this gun beats the 97 Autococker by far. I have personally attended two major tournaments with my Blazer and have never felt outgunned. My Blazer has a Matched and Spiral Vented Barrel, Remote, and trigger job. I don't like the two finger trigger too much and I am short on cash for the vertical stabilizer (next thing I am buying). Still - the gun performed top notch. Even players with $1200 AutoBazookas thought it shot nice. I feel confident I will do just as good with it in my 3rd tournament in 3 weeks. VIII. Tinkering This gun is not for the tinker freak - and tinkering will void your warranty. Just don't do it. Cleaning the gun can be done by simply removing the bolt. Disassembly is not required. See more about cleaning the gun later. To every law there is an exception and to every exception there is a law. Some people have been able to install trigger stops to shorten the pull even more on their Blazer. If you want to try - be my guest - just don't expect sympathy from Glenn if you mess it up. Also - the biggest problem I have had with my Blazer is the bolt knob coming undone. When it does - the bolt flys out of the gun and hits me in the face (once it cracked my lens). The pin falls out and you have to look for it (sometimes under fire. To make matters worse - this also will break a ball and cause the gun to feed twice all at the same time. I suggest that once it starts unscrewing - immediately go buy some blue loc-tite and loc-tite it back in place. If you do not - you are asking for trouble. This part of the bolt is the one thing I hate about the blazer - it breaks a lot and is dangerous when it does. IX. What not to do 1. Thou shalt not mess with it 'Nuff said. This FAQ is getting long X. How is it compared to other tournament level markers? I think it matches up quite nicely to other markers. I actually wrote an article on how it compared to the Autococker. I truly think that you should do fine against about any tournament level gun with a Blazer. The gun shoots like a Cocker - but has a different trigger. The gun shoots about as fast as a stock Mag (thats how fast I can shoot it anyway). XI. How should I clean it? The best cleaning agent for your gun is warm water. I also use some other things though. Here is what I use when I clean my gun: 1. Warm Water in a large sink or laundry tub Here is how I clean it. 1. Remove bolt, paintballs, tank, etc from gun XII. What should I do if it breaks/screws up Don't try to fix it yourself and don't let the local autococker tech play with it. Send it in to Palmers Pursuit Shop immediately and let them fix it. This will insure that you will always be covered by the Palmer warranty and your gun will always be in the best of hands. Since like all guns it does break sometimes - I recommend a backup. I use a cocker - but then again - I wanted both. A good backup gun might be a Spyder, 68 Carbine, or even a Stingray. At least you will get to finish your game with those - and a Spyder and a 68 Carbine are both VERY GOOD guns. Palmer ships UPS so if there is a strike looming - ship it to him Fedex and request he return it Fedex. I ship mine next day delivery cause sometimes I get it back by the next weekend - but this is rare. If the problem you feel it minor - try the Palmer Owners Group (http://www.xsystems.com.au/pog) or the rec.sport.paintball newsgroup. Just don't believe everything you hear - even from me ;) XIII. How do I order The Blazer is exclusively available at Palmers Pursuit Shop and you may contact them via the following methods. Palmers Pursuit Shop When you order remember there is a 5% credit card fee and they will not ship your gun until the check clears the bank. From personal experience - send a Money Order or a Cashier's Check. The current backlog on Blazers as of 9/18/97 is two weeks plus shipping time - it took me 28 days to get mine. IXV. About the Author Jason "Psycho" Van Dyke is team captain of "The Virtuoso of Violence" paintball team and shoots a Blazer and an Autococker. He swears by Palmers Products and his team thinks Glenn should hire him to sell the Blazer - cause he does a damn good job of it. He frequents the Palmer Owners Group and Rec.Sport.Paintball quite often. He has no web page because he is lazy and sucks at computers (even though he owns a computer consulting business). He always complains he is broke - even though we know he is loaded (if you have a Blazer AND a Autococker and bought them 4 months apart from each other and still have money to play - you are loaded). He plays at Hell Survivors and Silver Lake Paintball. He subscribes to Action Pursuit Games. His favorite paintball web page is "Ravi Chopra's Homepage." He is currently 17 and has been playing for 3 years. He writes articles because he thinks he knows everything and viciously flames people who cross him or think differently of him. As a team - we think he is a better team captain than a player - unfortunately - we can never seem to outplay him when we play "every man for himself" at the end of practice (he hates losing although he claims otherwise). Overall - he is a good guy in person (even though we are sure you in the online community think that he is an egotistical maniac - so did his ex-girlfriend). You can find him at most Exotic Sportz events - usually with us or some other people as he never plays alone anymore. He also plays at Silver Lake - although when we play with him there we never enjoy ourselves because he bitches about the paint prices inceasently. At least he tends to be nice to the newbies which we think is surprising. If you see him on the field - please shoot him for us cause we almost never can before he rains balls on us during practice and screams "check yourself" innocently. All this having been said - we give kudos to our captain - because he does his job well. You rule Jay! - Team VoV NOTE FROM THE WRITER: I let them put that in there cause I lost a bet. Sorry for writing a novel. See you in the field - and in the dead zone - after I am done. --Psycho All Material (c) Jason "Psycho" Van Dyke 1997-98 pog site design and contents Copyright pog members |