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pbReview.com / MACDev Gladiator Regulator / MACDev Gladiator Regulator / MACDev Gladiator Regulator / MACDev Gladiator Regulator
MACDev Gladiator Regulator Reviews
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Number of Reviews: |
49 |
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Average Rating: |
9.1 / 10 |
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Manufacturer Website: |
Click here |
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Suggested Retail Price: |
$80 |
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| The 04 Gladiator is better than ever before - with higher flow, improved reliability and new 04 features! |
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| Product Availability | |
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| The MACDev Gladiator Regulator is newer, so it should be commonly available, both new and used. |
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| Places to Buy | |
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Period of
Product Use: |
| 2 years | 6 of 8 people found this review helpful.
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Paintball
Experience: |
More than 5 years |
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Similar
Products Used: |
Stock Bushmaster regs, Spyder reg, MaxFlo, Conquest, Sonic LPR |
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| Marker Setup: |
4th Gen BM2K with custom body work
Sonic Grip Frame
Sonic ASA Adapter
Sonic Ball Detent
Sonic RED valve
Sonic LPR
Low Rise adapter
Mac Dev Gladiator reg
Custom-fitted Teflon-filled Delrin bolt
Custom-made ergonomic drop
SP All-American barrel
Evo 2 hopper
Mac Dev Conquest |
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| Strengths: |
High flow
Fast recharge
Simple design, easy teardown
Tough as nails |
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| Weaknesses: |
Inconsistent (fixable)
Spiking (fixable)
Highly sensitive to adjustments |
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| Review: |
(Note: this review refers to the 2002 Gladiator reg) When I first got my Gladiator, it worked horribly. It would spike the pressure so that my valve was being held under by 850 PSI (screw-in tank pressure), and when it wasn't doing that, it would never offer consistency. Even my stock reg was better, and that's saying a lot, since the ICD regs are worth more as scrap than as finished product. Mac Dev gave the usual song and dance about a damaged or dirty seat, which didn't fly with me, since under magnified inspection, I couldn't find anything wrong with it or the needle.
After further inspection, I noticed that the valve needle had nothing to guide it to dead center at the piston head, and wear marks were forming on the piston that proved this. I mentioned this on the Mac Dev forum, and they told me I was wrong.
That was a mistake.
So, I fired up the lathe and machined my own piston with a little divot at dead center to ensure that the valve needle was always in perfect alignment with the valve seat, and voila: no more valve leaks. I posted again in the now defunct Mac Dev forum, and they unceremoniously told me that my fix wouldn't work, that my seat was still the problem even though the reg never worked before my revision, and hasn't failed since.
I switched back the old piston recently, and sure enough, it returned to its evil ways. It has since been modified with the same divot I put in my custom piston, and it works fine.
Inconsistency problems were fixed by lubing the piston and the seat o-ring with Dow 33. No other grease did anything for it, but as soon as I put that in there, it worked like a champ. Every so often, I put two drops of gun oil into the bottom to ensure a good seal at the valve seat.
Other Stuff: Don't overtighten the lower half of the reg or at the ASA, or you will have a bear of a time getting it open. Screw it in/together until it stops, and then leave it. It won't come undone, even with Dow 33 in the threads. |
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| Conclusion: |
Well, it works NOW, but most p-ballers don't have access to a machine shop and an engineering background, and therefore can't be expected to compensate for someone else's bad design.
One little fix though, has turned this reg into an extremely reliable piece of equipment. I never clean it, never adjust it, and I'm sure it has had plenty of dirt run through it since my gun often looks like it was dragged behind a plow after tournaments. It is more resilient to impure air being run through it than you've been led to believe. This thing's problem is elsewhere, and it ain't that big of a deal to fix. For liability reasons, I no longer offer advice on airsystem modifications.
I'm giving this reg a 7 due to the hassles I experienced with it. |
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| Rating: |
| 7 out of 10 | Last edited on Friday, March 23rd, 2007 at 12:03 pm PST |
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Period of
Product Use: |
| 3 months | 5 of 5 people found this review helpful.
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Paintball
Experience: |
4 years |
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Similar
Products Used: |
Stock Reg--OK Wasn't high flow enough
AA Vigilante- work great. Didn't like how the grip feel. Due to the inline for the tank is high on the regulator
Smart Parts horz max-flo - work great too. The reg is too bulky and heavy |
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| Marker Setup: |
BM2k s/n 7905
Sonic Grip, Sonic ASA, 2003 Gladiator Regulator, 2003 LPR
Vapor Valve, Vapor Bolt
Tantrum Chaos Max Chip, Tantrum skull pin
X-board Rev with RPM evil paddle
10' freak barrel
12' J&J ceramic barrel
Cross-fire 68/4500 srew in tank |
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| Strengths: |
High flow
in-line is at the bottom of the reg
milling |
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| Weaknesses: |
Doesn't preform well when dirty. Have to keep cleaning it. |
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| Review: |
I have the 2003 model of the Gladiator ($85). Some of the problems was fixed that the previous reg had (hard to clean, adjustment screw to sensitive). The new model has a new look with some cool milling done to it. It comes with an extra seat in the package, which is great because I had to use it this weekend. When this reg is clean and lube it is the highest flowing and consistency reg on the market. With my setup I get +/- 3 fps on the chrono,and I am running about 190psi to get 285 psi. Also with the inline from the tank at the bottom of the regulator, it makes a nice solid and steady grip to hold onto.
Ok for the bad. THIS THING HATES DIRT!!! So if you throw your gun on the ground often YOU might have problems! I play every Saturday and Sunday, and I clean and re-lube my reg once a month. Also I would recommend using a high flow tank to keep up with the reg, because before I got my crossfire tank I had a ACI Bulldog tank. With the bulldog I was getting drop-off when firing long strings of paint. |
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| Conclusion: |
I would recommend this reg to anybody who has a low pressure gun (400psi or below).
I have had any major problems with this reg. I would only suggest that you keep it clean and lube. Then you should not have problems |
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| Rating: |
| 9 out of 10 | Last edited on Thursday, June 26th, 2003 at 12:17 pm PST |
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Period of
Product Use: |
| Less than a month | 5 of 6 people found this review helpful.
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Paintball
Experience: |
4 years |
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Similar
Products Used: |
sidewinder, torpedo, vert maxxy, cp, Black magic reg, Gen-x 2
GLADIATOR IS BETTER THN ALL |
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| Marker Setup: |
2k3 Red to Black fade Bob Long Dragon Intimidator, MacDev Gladiator, 14" Ultralight, Red Halo b, MacDev Conquest 68/4500 |
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| Strengths: |
UBER CONSISTENT!!!!!!
looks great
externally adjustable
incredibly fast recharge |
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| Weaknesses: |
NONE |
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| Review: |
The 04 glad is the best reg i've ever used. it regulates better thn i ever thought possible. the worst it has ever been is +/- 1 fps. at the chrono the other day i got:
291,291,291,291,291,291,291,291...
9 out of 10 times i play it is +/- 0 fps!!!!
and it doesnt matter how fast u shoot. my max is 24 bps and i have never had shoot down. on the MacDev site it says it can easily shoot 30+ bps without shootdown. AND IT HASNT EVEN BEEN FULLY BROKEN IN YET!!!!!! |
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| Conclusion: |
dunt pay any attention to what that ignorant fool put about it being bad. if u want the best reg on the market then go buy this one. |
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| Rating: |
| 10 out of 10 | Last edited on Friday, January 9th, 2004 at 9:49 pm PST |
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Period of
Product Use: |
| Less than a month | 4 of 5 people found this review helpful.
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Paintball
Experience: |
6 months |
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Similar
Products Used: |
none- this is above all the rest |
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| Marker Setup: |
Macdev Cyborg
standard-lol comes with everything done
2001 cocker
dye 3 way
system X bolt
titanium pb longbow
dye stickies
04 glad
dye trigger frame
shocktech dropforwed
palmers stabilizer
standard internals
both on the same bottle- pure energy 88/45 |
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| Strengths: |
well on the crono i get eightyfive eightyfive eightysix. ........... enough said |
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| Weaknesses: |
weaknesses- i dont think mac dev know the term |
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| Review: |
awsome, comfortable and very very very reliable and extremely easily to adjust
and they look very nice
it was a bit hard to get through customs but it got here- to little old new zealand
and it needs to have the whole for the air at the top but i think the fact that it wouldnt fit is my problem.........well my shocktech dropforwed is to far forward but i fixed that |
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| Conclusion: |
buy it buy it but it
i usually dont give things a 10/10 unless they are perfect
this is perfect |
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| Rating: |
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Jay5tt5 |
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Monday, December 29th, 2003 |
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Period of
Product Use: |
| Less than a month | 3 of 4 people found this review helpful.
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Paintball
Experience: |
More than 5 years |
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Similar
Products Used: |
Air America Messiah, Stock HPR, Gas through Grip |
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| Marker Setup: |
Blue B2K, Gen7 w/X Milling
Upgraded 03 internals with PDS (the eye), Battery now in Grip
ICD brand ASA Adapter for after market Regulators or Gas through grips
04 Gladiator HPR
Mac Dev 03 LPR
Vapor Valve
Zenitram Magnetic Trigger Frame
Black - Twister Low Rise
Orange Kapp 300psi Guage
Black - All American 14 Barrel Back (Matching Blue - AA 14 Front and 16 Front)
Black ICD threaded Total Freak Kit with AA 14 Black Front
Kapp Delrin Ball detent
Dye Sticky Grips
Shocktech Drop Forward
WGP 70ci 4500psi Adjustable
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| Strengths: |
High Flow, Efficient, Ergonomic. |
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| Weaknesses: |
So far I see no weaknesses. |
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| Review: |
Gas is hooked up to the bottom of Reg rather than the side. This gives it a huge advantage in terms of feal as the reg now becomes your grip. My gun was shooting +-3 right out of the box! Without even breaking it in. I cant wait to see the results after I get a few cases through it. |
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| Conclusion: |
It is the best Reg I have ever used or seen. Buy it, you will not be disappointed. |
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| Rating: |
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Period of
Product Use: |
| 1 year | 3 of 6 people found this review helpful.
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Paintball
Experience: |
1 year |
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Similar
Products Used: |
Stock ICD Bushmaster HPR. Let's just say that I could throw the paint farther.
And yes, I did have air and reg settings adjusted properly..... |
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| Marker Setup: |
Vapor Bushmaster 2000:
12v Revy
14" AA Freak Barrel
Max Flow 88ci 4500 psi
Vapor valve
Vapor bolt
MacDev Gladiator HPR
Sonic ASA Adaptor
Sonic LPR
MacDev Ball Detent
Dye micro gauge
Black Dye Sticky Grips
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| Strengths: |
I like this regulator in particular because it matches well with a black Bushmaster body and looks really slick. It makes a really nice foregrip and gets the air hoses out of the way by having the air inlet on the bottom instead of the side.
Works really well with an ASA Adapter and it's one of the more affordable regs out there at around 80 bucks or so. Shipping time from Australia to Wisconsin was 3 days. |
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| Weaknesses: |
Maybe I just got a bad one, but this regulator is REALLY inconsistent. It jumps more than +/- 20 fps regularly and on a good day will stay within +/- 10. Chrono readings similar to 262, 274, 285, 279, 272, 290 are pretty common for me. Even after being broken in and cleaned throughly, it still gives me these readings using a finely tuned marker and max flow tank.
The adjustment screw is really sensitive like many people say. You can jump a few 100 psi with a quarter turn if you're not careful. |
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| Conclusion: |
I don't expect to have my readings within +/- 1 or 2 of each other, but this is pathetic. I know that readings like that are really hurting your distance and accuracy, even though I still manage to shoot well. If you own a Bushy, I'd recommend against getting this regulator just because of my experiences with it. |
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| Rating: |
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Period of
Product Use: |
| 3 months | 2 of 2 people found this review helpful.
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Paintball
Experience: |
1 year |
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Similar
Products Used: |
Stock Ion Reg |
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| Marker Setup: |
Macdev 06 Cyborg
Smart Parts Ion
Empire Reloader B
Macdev LegionAir 45/45 |
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| Strengths: |
Consistent
Fast Recharge
Easy Maintenance
Short Break-in |
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| Weaknesses: |
Threads are tough on first open. |
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| Review: |
Performance speaks for itself. 299, 299, 299, 299, 301, 299, 299, 299. I thought something was wrong with the chrono.
No drop-off ever.
Only difficulty I had was removing the bottom section for the first time... once I got it open though, I put some lube on the threads and now it's fine. Apart from that, extremely easy to clean. Only takes a few minutes, don't need any tools, just some lube and a cloth. |
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| Conclusion: |
One of the best regulators out. |
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| Rating: |
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Period of
Product Use: |
| 3 months | 2 of 3 people found this review helpful.
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Paintball
Experience: |
3 years |
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Similar
Products Used: |
CP reg, Angel Minireg, Shocker Max-flo Vert reg, stock 04 Cocker reg, WGP Orracle reg. |
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| Marker Setup: |
2004 cocker with eblade and a bunch of accesories im not gonna try to lsit. |
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| Strengths: |
When working, consistent.
Looks good. |
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| Weaknesses: |
Broke on me alot.
Need to read instructions for putting on a macro fitting. |
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| Review: |
Well I first got this reg back in June 2004. I thought it was a pretty good reg considering I had heard good things about anything MacDev relating to air. So I went to slap this on my gun. My first thought was how cool it was. The second was, why the hell did they make it so you have to take the bottom off before putting in the fitting? I found it really annoying because mine seemed to be stuck so I had to spend 30 minutes with a wrench trying to take the bottom off. When I finally got it on my gun, it worked for about 5 minutes before the relief hole leaked. I thought it was overpressuring so I trried turning down pressure, quieting down the leak a little, but not fixing it. Low and behold, 3 months later I have the same problem on my hands, even after sending it to my retailer and getting a spare parts kit from MacDev. In early Sep. it worked for about a week where I got a chrono reading of +-4. Then it broke, and now it decorates my room. |
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| Conclusion: |
Its a good reg no doubt but mine had a bunch of problems that will make me avoid MacDev. I would give it a 5 because of the performance I got from it whe nit worked but seriously I cant say this reg was average. My stock 04 reg was better! |
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| Rating: |
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The accuracy of this review is disputed. Please see discussion on the comments page.
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Period of
Product Use: |
| 3 months | 2 of 3 people found this review helpful.
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Paintball
Experience: |
More than 5 years |
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Similar
Products Used: |
stock cocker eg, sidewinder, palmer stab, torpedo reg. |
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| Marker Setup: |
Black 2k2 custom milled with tons of crap on it |
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| Strengths: |
looks cool.
cheaper than the AKA. |
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| Weaknesses: |
inconsistant
finicky
*edit* sucks |
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| Review: |
okay, I've had the reg for a few months put many a case of paint thru it, and taken care of it to the best of my ability. but this reg really does suck. it's dreadfully inconsistant, bleeds, and is way too picky. today for instance, the thing wouldn't break 200, turned all the way up. but first shot after loading up between games, i shot 425+. i was lucky to get the reg inbetween 195 and 160.
*edit:*After rebuilding the reg, it finally settled down after a slightly longer than usual break in period. it worked well, holding +/- 2 at the chrono the whole one day that it worked. then it started to creep again.
I guess thats a good thing because it forced me to play speedball with my phantom for a whole team practice, which I'm sure improved my skills*edit*
On top of that, i had to notch my trigger guard just to get access to the output adjuster. |
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| Conclusion: |
don't buy this, save up and get an AKA sidewinder. |
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| Rating: |
| 1 out of 10 | Last edited on Wednesday, February 11th, 2004 at 9:04 pm PST |
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Period of
Product Use: |
| 3 months | 1 of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Paintball
Experience: |
3 years |
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Similar
Products Used: |
Stock |
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| Marker Setup: |
'03 Bushie w/ PDS
'04 MacDev Gladiator HPR
'04 MacDev Sonic LPR w/ Ram Gauge
'04 MacDev Sonic RED valve
MacDev micro gauge
Zenitram 15 degree ASA
Bonebrake quick disconnect wiring harness
14' CP classic one piece
Apache
92/45 Crossfire LP |
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| Strengths: |
Looks good. Very efficient. |
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| Weaknesses: |
If anything, cost.....but you get what you pay for. |
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| Review: |
Reg works great. It is very efficient, easy to adjust, and looks good. My bushmaster sounded like a hand cannon before I put the Mac Dev Gladiator on it...... now it is one of the quieter guns on the field.
If there was anything I would complain about, it would be the cost. But as previously mentioned, you get what you pay for. |
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| Conclusion: |
A must if you're upgrading your HPR. |
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| Rating: |
| 10 out of 10 | Last edited on Monday, June 21st, 2004 at 9:29 am PST |
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| Places to Buy | |
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