Compact, durable, accuracy, quiet, simplicity, ease of use, fast for a mech
Disadvantages:
Single trigger (can be upgraded to double with electronic grip)
Recommend to potential buyers:
yes
Full review
I have never owned this gun but i have used the airgun designs paintball minimag. I had been using it over 3 months because me and a friend decided to swap markers for a while, he leant me this minimag and i leant him my mechanical autococker. I loved it! it was laugh to shoot due to the fact it was mechanical and quiet (i would be hidden in the bushes sniping people out due it being so quiet, i have stopped doing scenario play now because i do supair which is on open fields with blow up bunkers). You can buy mini mags second hand off www.p8ntballer-forums.com (am i allowed to say that?) they can varie in price due to condition and date made. I have had alot of experience with paintball guns (check out my other reviews!!) heres the following i have used and owned:
This marker was reliable in the 3 months, i never had a problem apart from air effiencey. There was not many shots to the bottle compared to the average marker on the market at the time (i will go into the amount of shots later). This marker is compact and very sexy aswell (well at the time of release). It is more durable than a tippmann and there is next to nothing in maintanence (just oil the orings on the bolt). There are no batteries involved with a mechanical marker (but once you get the electronic trigger frame you will need them) which is handy because you need to worry about running out of battery half way through a game! YEAY! You will never chop paintballs if you buy the level ten bolt (an upgrade available at most minimag dealers). Very durable!
Speed: The speed of this gun is quite fast but once you get upgrades it will be VERY FAST!!!! Stock, this marker will shoot about 13 balls per second (bps) but with the RT (Retro) Valve it will allow perfectly smooth and light trigger pulls and allows a very high ROF (Rate Of Fire) about 13 to 27 bps (depends how much you tweak the regulator and pressure valve).
Accuracy: The accuracy is very good but i feel the mechanical autococker is alot more accurate. Also accuracy is effected by what paint and barrel you have. But stock the gun still has great accuracy, even though the stock barrel bore size is pretty big (the bore size of barrel in most guns is around .68 calibre but it varies by 0.01 to 0.05 below or more). Even though all of those tests that show that open bolt vs closed bolt doesn't matter (whether the bolt is forward or back when the paintball is loaded into the gun chamner). For some reason I feel like a autococker is more accurate than a blow-forward minimag.
Comfort: The AGD rubber grips on the MInimag are by far the best grips I have ever felt. They are as good as Dye Stickies and better than hybrid grips (although i prefer the design of hybrids). The gun fits your hands perfectly. The size of the gun is perfect for my hands and everything is where it should be. All very good!!! The feed neck is slanted so you can view over and aim. The bottle comes right into my shoulder and fits comforatbly, but i still dont like the fact it comes stock with a single trigger (it can be corrected with upgrades though). All-round good comfort! But not quite very good, could be lighter although very light already (not as light as my sexy planeteclipse ego though).
Noise: This gun is very quiet. Even with the stock barrel with no porting its still a alot quieter than my ego05 with shaft barrel. It makes this little ching noise during the shot but it doesn't really bother me (it sound quite nice actually). I would say its half a Spyder's noise and they operate at about the same pressure. Being quiet this is very good for the person who likes to be unheard when going in the woods sneaking up to the enemy. To make it even more silent i would recomend getting a better barrel with porting (holes) and a neoprine tube to put the barrel through (if it is allowed in the game you are playing).
Size: Very small, hence ''minimag''. Nothing much to say apart from it being half the size of a tippmann without barrel. Trust me you wont find anything smaller (unless its a paintball pistol). Not as heavy as a tippmann but if you buy all the available upgrades it will become significantly heavier. Since the gun is made out of pure Stainless Steel, it is heavy. However the weight is perfectly ballanced therefore it gives you a good steady feel of the gun. If people think this gun is too heavy to hold they need to get stronger and go to the gym and stop whining.
Air effiency: This is where the minimag doesn't do so good. I get about 750 shots out of my 68ci 3000psi tank which isn't horrible, but on my smartparts ion i got about 900 shots. I can tell you the air effiency is about the same as a tippmann which is meant to be an air hog (sorry minimag but that means you are an air hog too).
Maintanence: This gun has very few visable moving parts. Even on the inside of the valve they are not that many moving parts. The gun is soo easy to clean. It even has a spot on the valve where it says oil, and you put some oil in it every like 5/6 games and your fine. I would not recommend leaving it without maintanence like every gun (its not a tippmann which can be left out in the rain over night and will be fine next day).
CONCLUSION: Overall good marker! Can be bought very cheap second hand off decent english paintball forums such as: www.p8ntballer-forums.com www.walkonzone.com www.combatgames.co.uk Second hand they can be scooped up very cheap at aroung £80 upwards to around £200 maximum (dont pay anymore than £200). There are not many places left which sell mini mags new but im sure you will find a store or website. I would recommend buying one if you are interested but if you are not sure just look at the newer markers like the ion (or if you are willing to spend lots get an ego05 or a shocker). Great all-round classic marker!
More details
Comfort & Portability
Good
Price
£150-£300
Rate of firing
fast
Evaluate this review
How helpful would this review be to someone making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
