The Cooper-T Products
PGP2K Bolt Review
By Eric A. Six
I
was surprised on a late November day when my wife arrived home from work with a
package addressed to me from Cooper-T Products.
Some time back I had contacted Chauncey at Cooper-T Products about picking up
an aftermarket bolt for a PGP that I had picked up on eBay. During the call, I
discussed with Chauncey several things about the PGP, and PGP2K. We discussed
the problems with the new model PGP2K breaking paint and at that point, I had
already done some “Garage” bolt fixes using the base information generously
provided by Punisher’s Customs concerning the problem with the design and
solution. I then offered to produce a schematic for Chauncey of what I had come
up with for the fix using the information provided by Punisher, and what I was
able to come up with in my own little shop.
What arrived in the package was a sample production piece of a Cooper-T
bolt specifically designed for the PGP2K that fixes the problems with breaking
balls that is so common with PGP2K.
At
the expense of being redundant, I feel it necessary to review the original
problem. Do to an oversight in design at
Crosman Sheridan; the PGP2K model paint pistol has a design flaw. Punisher did the homework on this one and
came about the realization that when the gun is cocked back and a ball loaded
into the chamber the paintball rests on, or very close to the valve port where
CO2 enters the barrel of the gun from the valve tube below. Unfortunately, the turbulence caused by the
flow of gas from the valve tube into the barrel results in frequent ball
breaks. The solution to this problem was
generously provided by Punisher to the paintball community at large in a post
he made on the PGPOG addressing the issue.
The solution being: To modify the
bolt to push the paintball further forward in the barrel clearing the valve
jet.
I
shared this information with Chauncey at Cooper-T during my phone conversation
with him and offered to him a schematic of the garage mod for the bolt that I
had come up with in my little shop, and had built using the information
provided by Punisher.
The bolt main body is constructed of Delrin material. It incorporates the same
ball barring locking lug mechanism that initially, was invented by Chauncey at
Cooper-T and is used in the new model PGP2K.
The rear of the bolt is composed of a flat steel colored lug with a
plunger that travels the length of the bolt (through the delrin) to the front
of the bolt face. When the bolt is in
the rearward or open position the piston is retracted into the bolt face and is
flush with the face of the bolt. When
the bolt is pushed in the closed position, the lugs project from the side
locking the bolt into place and the plunger projects a tad over 1/8” proud of
the bolt face. The result is that the
ball is pushed forward of the valve jet and results in 0 ball breaks with good,
well sized paint. Furthermore, in my
garage modified bolt I had a problem with bolt blowback initially; Chauncey has
brilliantly taken care of this issue in using the Delrin material for the main
body. The plunger seated in the Delrin
is air-tight resulting in combating the problem with bolt blowback.
Bolt
Open Position:
Notice, the
plunger recessed into the bolt face.
Bolt Closed Position
Notice, the plunger
proud of the bolt face by 1/8”.
After I looked it over a bit, I had to try it out. I removed the stock PGP2K
bolt and the new bolt slid in without a hitch. I attached the pump arm and dry
fired it a couple times. It was a bit dry, so I lubed up the front o-ring a
bit. After some lube, the thing operated slick! I went out in the back yard and
fired off several rounds to test it out. In over a hundred rounds not a single
ball break was to be found. With a little use, the bolt loosened up a bit and
operated flawlessly. The steel piston seated in the Delrin body is air tight,
not a single problem was encountered with bolt blowback.
In short, this is an awesome bolt! After testing it out, I called Chauncey at
Cooper-T to thank him for sending me the sample bolt and to let him know that it
worked great. Chauncey said that he had produced about 150 of them so far, and
that the price on them would be $26.95
I love this bolt! I like it for more than just it functioning beautifully too.
This aftermarket part breathes new life into the new model PGP2K. With this,
you get a great aftermarket bolt constructed of Delrin - and you need no longer
fear the dreaded problems associated with the PGP2K. The PGP2K is an iron-horse
of a paint gun - much like the originals. For those of you out there who have a
PGP2K and have had problems with it, or have not picked one up because of the
problems associated with it, this product is a God-send, and is very reasonably
priced.
I strongly recommend this product to anyone with a PGP2K. It solves the problem
with the model PGP2K breaking paint, and allows people the opportunity to pick
up a reasonably priced stock gun to play with on a budget. The PGP2K is one of
the few stock guns available for such a cheap price. Tack on the expense of this
aftermarket bolt and you still have one of the cheapest, most reliable guns
available on the market.
The PGP2K with the Cooper-T PGP2K bolt is a win-win combination for the stock
class / pump paintball community. It can
be used as a main stock gun, or as a rugged and reliable side arm. This aftermarket part allows anyone to have
rock-solid and reliable PGP2K very much deserving of the Sheridan reputation of solid
reliable construction and reminiscent of the PGP’s of old…