Pukin Dogs Paintball

 The PTEnforcer is one of a new trend in semi automatic paintball side arms.  It is basically an over/under blowback on the same principle as the Spyder type paintball guns except that it loads with a spring loaded feed tube and runs on 12 gram Co2 cartridges.

   I recently acquired a PTenforcer as a backup side arm.   I had read that the out-of box performance of this marker left a lot to be desired and they weren’t lying.  But being a tinkerer and being a fan on the simplicity of blowback markers I thought I’d give it a try.  Besides, it’s a sharp looking gun.

   The best velocity I was able to get out of my new gun was 190fps on a new 12gram.  Average velocity was running about 160 to 170fps cranked wide open (pretty dismal).  I immediately went to work on improving this.

Start with the obvious
  First I replaced the valve spring with a much lighter one I had in my parts box.  I went back to the chronograph only to find that it had no discernable effect.  Next I acquired a hammer spring from a Tippmann model 68.  This spring was heavier and longer then that in the PT.  I cut it down to just slightly longer then the PT’s but at the same time I made another change.  I wish now that I had done a chrono test on the hammer spring alone before made the second modification but such is life.

   This third modification is going to take some explaining so please bear with me.  One of the things I noticed when I took the gun apart was that the valve pin fit very loosely through the back of the valve.  The pin is shaved flat on one side the allow Co2 to pass into the hammer chamber for re-cocking much like that of a Spyder.   However there is also a tremendous amount of play around the valve pin as well.  I felt this was a bit extreme and that it might also be contributing to velocity problem (I’ll explain my theory later on).  To rectify this, and please don’t laugh yet, I took a spent 22 rifle cartridge and drilled a hole the same size as the inside of the cartridge through the back (I think I used a 13/64ths drill bit).  I inserted the drilled cartridge into the valve pin hole from the outside.  Then placing the valve, pinhole end down, on a flat surface I used a phillips head screwdriver and from inside of the valve I taped the open end of the cartridge flowering the end outward to hold it in place.  The fit was uncanny.  The cartridge fit both the pin and the pin hole creating a reasonably good fitting bushing.

Speculations and theories
   I’ve been told that others have tried replacing the hammer spring with little or no effect on the velocity.  If my theory is correct then this is quite likely.  It was on the evening that I’d received and first tried out the marker.  It was a somewhat cool and damp evening so you could easily see the Co2 clouds as the gun was fired.  It was then that I noticed that a lot of Co2 was escaping from the ball feed area.  This is what clued me into what I believe to be the guns primary problem.  If I am right, then the bolt of the gun was opening long before the paintball left the gun allowing to much of the Co2 to escape.  This would explain why just replacing the hammer spring would have little effect and to were the bushing comes into play.  It is my belief that so much gas was passing by the valve pin that the hammer and bolt were opening to soon, depressurizing the barrel.  The bushing in effect slowed down the cocking process by reducing the amount of gas passing into the hammer chamber allowing the ball to leave the barrel before the gun re- cocked.  Now adding a heavier hammer spring could have the intended effect.

The Wrap up
  The modifications I made to this gun not only dramatically improved the velocity but the efficiency as well.  From 19 or 20 shots when I first got it to 23 to 27 shots (depending on conditions) before the gun fails to re-cock.  In short reducing the Co2 passage into the hammer chamber created no re cocking problems but instead improved it over all.  Next I hope to address the oversized barrel/bore issue by inserting a sleeve.  Not only should this improve accuracy but may add additional velocity and efficiency by allowing less gas to escape around the ball.  I’ll let you know how it turns out.

   The following is a velocity test chart.  In this chart the first shot was dry fired to alleviate the inevitable hotshot that comes when a 12gram is first pierced.  The gun was then fired, reloaded and fired until it failed to re cock.

To help reduce the rocking of the link pin I placed a small screw inside the spring between the pin and the setscrew and tightened the setscrew down firmly.  You’ll have experiment to find one just long enough to put pressure on the pin but not so long as to let the setscrew stick out passed the top of the bolt.  Only time will tell how well this will hold up.  A more permanent solution would be to install a longer pin that doesn’t rely on spring pressure to keep it in place.  I also removed the rear-cocking knob.  I’ve long thought it a bad idea to cock a paintball gun by pulling on the back of the bolt.  This method puts a lot of pressure on the link pin since the firing spring is behind the hammer and you are pulling on the back of the bolt.  In this case I’m sure it contributed to the damage to the bolt.

I hope the information in this article is useful. Play safe, have fun!

The kit comes with a curved aluminum barrel and adapter, a plastic barrel shroud, several screws, a squeegee and a barrel plug. Installation is fairly straightforward and only takes a few minutes if you follow the included instructions. Operation of the gun remains the same after installing the kit. Physically, the gun is both longer and taller than it’s original form, although not substantially heavier, in part due to the fact that the largest piece is made of plastic.

Performance
Upon shooting the Flatline for the first time, you’ll notice the almost eerie floating effect of the balls. At a given velocity, the balls do fly with a flatter overall trajectory, as opposed to the pronounced “dropping arc” seen from standard barrels. This translates into a greater range without drop, and without the need to aim high and “lob” the ball for long shots. Aiming the Flatline is an odd experience for anyone used to a regular paintball gun. At first you may find yourself habitually aiming high for long range targets, but with the Flatline, things are much more “line of sight”.  The downfall to this greater range is that the ball slows substantially as it heads beyond “normal” paintball ranges, which could lessen the chance of a break on a soft target.

Accuracy of the Flatline system is overall better than the stock Model 98 barrel. However, that isn’t saying much since my experience with the stock barrel has been somewhat less than amazing (see the accuracy test in the Comparoarticle). Accuracy at “normal” ranges falls short of other well-set-up guns as far as consistency is concerned. Although relatively tight groups of 3 or 4 consecutive shots can be attained, the Flatline produces an unusually high number of “zingers” which fly well off the intended target. At longer ranges it’s difficult to compare the Flatline to other guns, since other guns simply cannot reach those ranges without aiming high above the target.

A few notes about using the gun;

1) It is fairly dependent on using good paintballs – the more consistent the paintballs are from a physical standpoint, the better the gun shoots.
2) The Flatline does not shoot well above 300 fps. If for some reason your Flatline is shooting “hot”, you will know it, because it tends to produce a number of balls that will actually climb as they sail to their target, making aiming very difficult. Flatline users have no incentive to “cheat the chrono”. We have recently found the best results actually come when using the gun in the 260 to 270 fps range.
3) Holding the gun in an upright position improves accuracy. Leaning the gun over can produce a curving shot – although it is an effect that can be used to advantage if you are creative.
4) The stock Model 98 is not very stable in terms of maintaining velocity (again, see the Comparo article), and as I’ve found out since first writing this review, addressing this fault does improve the performance of the Flatline system.
5) As with most paintball guns, paint in the barrel can play havoc with performance. However, the squeegee provided with the kit works very good, and as a matter of fact I have started to carry it with me regardless of which gun I am using.

Opinion
On the field, using the Flatline is an experience that’s hard to translate into words that will do it justice. The very first word that comes to mind is “fun”. The ability to drop paint on opponents at an extended range surprised both my opponents and me. It often lead me and my team mates to laugh out loud, as someone who thought they were in a safe position at an extended range suddenly found themselves exposed to Flatline fire. With the liberal use of the trigger, it was quite easy to eliminate opponents at ranges beyond where normal guns could go. This was especially true in wooded portions of the field, where the overhanging canopy made lob shots difficult for other players. With the Flatline, you simply shoot straight through. And even though there were times when balls didn’t break on opponents, the threat of a break was still enough to chase them from their position, allowing my team to advance.

Is the Flatline the perfect gun? Certainly not. I personally wouldn’t want to have it as my only gun, but I really like having it around when needed. It works in certain situations, and is suited to a certain style of play. There are probably better (lighter and smaller) guns for short field speedball play, and on any field where opportunities for long range fire are non-existent, the Flatline is excessive.  However, other situations beg for the Flatline. Although in print, or off the field, the performance of the system may be the subject of controversy, on the field where it counts there is much less debate. During the first scenario game in which I used the gun, there were over 300 players, and I personally saw over a dozen of them using the Flatline. People on both teams took note of “the guys with the Flatlines”, calling on them to make long shots, and warning team mates of a Flatline user on the opposing team.

Due to an overall lack of consistency, the Flatline is not the magic answer to the long range, single shot sniper’s dream – the gun does not inspire enough confidence to be used in that manner. However, in the right type of game, a determined player willing to spend some paint and use the Flatline effectively can certainly have a positive impact, not to mention a lot of fun!

The home made paintball loader is one of the most convenient things to have around the campsite during scenario games. It allows easy and fast loading of balls into loaders, and best of all, was cheap to make. There are lot of ways you can make something like this work. The following is how Pukin’ Dogs member Johnny Bucy did it.

Parts List;

• heavy duty 2-inch muffler clamp
• 2 couplers which fit the muffler clamp thread
• 2 screws for the couplers
• a metal band
• 2 springs
• water cooler jug

The Final step is to mount the loader some place where it can be used. Johnny mounted the ones we use on wooden boards using duct tape. The board has metal brackets for hangers on top, which allows the unit to be hung on the inside of the awnings we use at the campsite. We hang the units where the legs of two back-to-back awnings meet. A small wooden block can bee seen at the bottom of the wooden board, which allows the unit to stand vertical against the leaning legs of the awnings. A belt strap holds the wooden board tight against the legs, which makes for a secure mount and allows one handed use of the unit. The belt strap also hold the legs of the two awnings together.