A few questions about my new Spyder E-99 Avant

[97 MPWR]

I am completely new to teh sport. My wife bought me a Spyder E-99 Avant for Christmas and 5 other friends got regular E99's.


I have done nothing but read reviews on my gun and try to learn as much as I can. I am going to play for the first time this Saturday.

I do have a few questions though...

In my reading, I found most people that have the Spyder E-99 Avant say they don't chop any balls. I can't seem to shoot 10 balls without chopping at least one. I gather this can be fixed with a new barrel and/or a new bolt???

Any suggestions on barrels and bolts for E-99 Avant?

I also lose alot of air when I remove the CO2 tank from my gun. I've read alot of people use the Palmer Stabilizer. Is this what I should get for my gun or is there another regulator thatn will work the same?

Thanks in advance for any help you can offer!!

[amzng_spyderman]

first, there's a difference between chopping and breaking balls:

chopping = the bolt closes on a half-fed ball, breaking it.
breaking = the ball shatters while traveling down the barrel.

if you have paint in your breech and all over the bolt you have chopped. get a fast motorized hopper to drastically reduce your chances of breaking. see the hopper forum's stickies for more info.

if all the paint is in your barrel, there are a few ways to fix this: get better paint, make sure the paint fits the barrel, or clean the barrel completely. see the barrel forum's stickies for info on paint/barrel matching.

besides getting an anti-chop bolt (which are out of production), a new bolt will do nothing to prevent breaks. see the kingman forum's stickies for spyder info and upgrade tips.

the palmer stabilizer is the best reg for co2, but it won't prevent losing all that air when you remove the tank. slowly unscrew the tank and fire (without paint) one shot every half turn. this will get rid of the excess air still inside the gun.

[Blacksheep]

Chopping is when the bolt hits the ball before it is fully loaded. This can be fixed by the fallowing:

1. Low-pressure set-up to reduce the spring tension to the bolt will bounce off the ball

2. Anti-chop bolt, check out the Kingman Forum, they are a custom job

3. Buying an electronic hopper (the easiest). A 12v Revvy w/X-Bord or Empire Reloader will work fine, they run about $50.00 or so, probably can get them cheaper used on E-Bay or our own Buy/Sell/Trade Forum.


Barrels, I wouldn't be too hyper to spend more than $55.00 for a barrel on a Spyder, I recomend a CP 1-Piece, J&J Ceramic, or a Lapco Bigshot, all work great and are very accurate. There are Smart Parts barrels as well, but I don't like the company itself and therefore, never recomend them.


The CO2 that comes out of the gun is actually the CO2 on the valve area already inside the marker. The best way to eliminate this and save your tank o-ring is to remove all paint from the marker and point the gun down and begin firing the marker as you twist the tank out.

Look at the design of the tank/ASA. The tank releases air when the pin is depressed. The ASA has a small protrusion that forces the pin down when the tank has reached a certain point. Generally, the o-ring seal remains tight a little bit past the point where the pin is no longer in contact with the ASA pin. So, any air that does escape is already inside of the marker.


The Palmer STabilizer is regarded highly, and often as the best regulator for CO2 (and a darn good one for HPA as well). If you have the money, I recomend them. This will allow you to drop your operating pressure as well for higher efficiency (add a Madman Spring Kit and check out http://www.ottersccustoms.com/spyder.html for low-pressure modifications).