Mechanical Paintball Marker

I've been using a Tippmann 98 custom for the past seven years and I've been thinking it may be time for an upgrade. I really love the thing. It is utterly reliable and inexpensive. The only time I had problems getting it to fire properly was when it was missing BOTH the screws that hold the power tube to the frame. For anyone reading this that isn't familiar with the Tippmann 98 Custom Field Manual, that means that pretty much all of the moving parts inside the marker were no longer attached to the frame in any way. This occured during tournament play and believe it or not, the thing would still fire! I just had to pull the bolt back after every shot. Basically, without those screws, my ol' 98C was just a straight-pull, bolt action paintball marker. As soon as I found ONE of the screws it was back in action and working perfectly.

To put this feat in perspective, imagine removing everything that attaches the engine block to the car frame and having the vehicle still work flawlessly... other than converting it into a manual transmission. Pretty impressive, huh?

Anyway, I've always disliked using technology (such as electronic markers) as a crutch because it seems like it prevents me from actually gaining real skill in the game of paintball. By constantly shooting 15 balls per second at their bunker, any idiot can hold off a seasoned paintballer... at least for a few seconds. But what I've always loved is facing a seasoned 'baller with my old 98 Custom and either eliminating him or forcing him to work his butt off to eliminate me. I've never minded too much the snickers of other tournament teams when they see me walking onto the field with a stock 98C. And I never held it against them when they were walking off. I mean, how were they supposed to know who they were dealing with?

In the past, teams I've been on were small time teams. Those teams were not necessarily hoping to gain fame or fortune by dominating every single tournament. We just got tired of mopping up the local fields every weekend and were looking for some stiffer competition. In that environment, my 98C worked fine. It shot when I wanted it to at a rate of around five paintballs per second. It performed well enough in tournaments. I mean, after all, I usually played as a frontman and didn't need to shoot super accurate strings of 35 paintballs. I counted on my skill to get me in a good position to eliminate an opponent and refused to use firepower as a crutch.

Well, now things are different. I'll soon be on a very serious and competitive paintball team. Not only that, but I'll be leading it. And I'll be needing every bit of help I can get. Although the skills I built while playing with a 98C in tournaments will definitely help, I would like a faster firing and more accurate marker.

...Here's the thing. I want the marker to function mechanically because I hate having to rely on batteries. It seems like there's always at least one person sitting out during every game because his marker needs batteries. This is unacceptable. Also, electronic markers seem very finicky and fragile. There's always someone sitting out during games trying to tinker with their marker to get it to fire right. Also, playing in the rain is not an option with some electronic markers.

Well now. Hear this... I've never had to sit out a game because of my marker not working and I'm not about to start now. Ditto with bad weather. If it won't work in a downpour, I don't want it. When I pull the trigger, my marker had better fire. Period.

What I'm looking for is a mechanical marker that will work with C02 OR high pressure air. I want it to be strictly semi-auto, none of that three-round-burst crap. It needs to be simple with the least amount of moving parts possible. It needs to be rugged enough to survive hasty and sloppy superman slides. It needs to function in the rain. Batteries are a no go. It needs to have a firing rate of at least 8 rounds per second while walking the trigger. A frontman or midplayer should not feel outgunned with it in competitive tournament play. I also want to be able to fully disassemble the thing with one or two tools on a tailgate. I should be able to field strip it with no tools. And it should be less than 300 bucks.

Is that too much to ask?