| PCRI Product
Evaluation
Scorpion Semi-Auto from Power Paintball
The Scorpion semi-automatic paintgun is manufactured and distributed by
Power Paintball Products of Irving,
Texas. The suggested price of the Scorpion paintball gun
 is just under $180.
Included with the Scorpion semi-auto is a bag of replacement parts and a
very nice owners manual. Also noteworthy is that the Scorpion come packaged
in a very attractive full color box (color on all sides of the box). This
is nice for store owners (other manufacturers take notes).
For more information on the Scorpion paintball gun call
Power Paintball at, 972-579-0566.
Design/Construction:
The Scorpion features a removable two piece "Accutip" barrel, 45-grip frame,
Hogue handgrips, bottom-line C02, ball detent, field strip screws, rear cocking
set-up, and a rear velocity adjusting knob.
The Scorpion weighs two pounds, eight ounces, and is eighteen inches in length.
The main body, ball detent cover, grip frame, and Accutip barrel end are
manufactured from aluminum. The rear end of the two piece barrel, velocity
adjusting knob, C02 fittings, and field strip screws are stainless steel.
Internally the Scorpion looks much like the Spyder in design. The aluminum
bolt is machined for lighter weight, and contains a connecting pin, and two
black rubber o-rings. The striker is made from stainless steel and contains
one o-ring. There is a striker spring (under pressure, be careful when
disassembling), and plastic striker spring guide in the rear of the Scorpion
as well. The rear thumb screw velocity adjuster is beautifully manufactured
from polished stainless steel, but has no locking screw. Velocity is controlled
by putting more or less pressure on the striker spring. There are two field
strip screws located in the rear of the Scorpion. These are also thumb screw
types which require no tools for takedown. The two screws contain rubber
o-rings around the base of the screw to help prevent accidental loosening.
The Scorpion has a nice glossy black hard coat anodized finish.
Design/Construction rating (4)
Accuracy:
Procedure: With a securely bench mounted paintgun we fire 200+ rounds
of three different brands at four target distances. At 100 & 125 feet
the target size is 22" x 22". At 50 & 75 feet the target size is reduced
to 8" x 11". All accuracy testing is performed indoors at temperatures of
60-80 degrees (F). For this test we used RP Scherer Marballizer, Proball,
and Diablo paintballs.
At a target distance of 125 feet using Marballizer paintball, the Scorpion
had an accuracy ratio of 39%. Proball's ratio was 43%, and it was followed
by Diablo at a ratio of 40%. At 100 feet the ratios improved to 69% for
Marballizer, 67% for Proball, and 62% for Diablo.
At 75 feet with the smaller target the ratios fell to 63% for Marballizer,
55% for Proball, and 59% for Diablo. The 50 foot ratios were 94%, 97%, and
93% respectively. Accuracy rating (4) Performance/Versatility:
The Scorpion is a gas C02 or high pressure gun--it's not made to shoot liquid
C02. However, we dumped liquid into the gun constantly without any problems.
Since the Scorpion uses a standard 45-grip frame, there are many aftermarket
products available, such as grips, micro-line hoses and fittings, cradles,
bottom-line adapters, etc. The air port into the gun is a standard size 1/8"
npt, so converting to vertical-bottle C02 would not be a difficult task.
The cup seal cap is the same thread size as the Spyder, so using Spyder low
pressure chambers should work on the Scorpion.
The Scorpion is a relatively new paintgun, so there is not a huge amount
of aftermarket products yet available for it. This should change with time.
Velocity Consistency:
All velocity testing was performed using gas C02. Read from left to right.
A sample of what we found...
283 fps 285 fps 281 fps
279 fps 280 fps 285 fps
283 fps 280 fps 281 fps
282 fps 282 fps 280 fps
average fps 282 fps
low fps 279 fps (-3 fps)
high fps 285 fps (+3 fps)
Maintenance of Velocity shows a gun's ability to hold its velocity
during rapid firing.
1st shot 280 fps--10th shot 283 fps
1st shot 284 fps--10th shot 281 fps
1st shot 282 fps--10th shot 278 fps
1st shot 283 fps--25th shot 277 fps
Ball breakage: During accuracy testing we encountered three ball breaks
in 1887 shots fired. While field testing the Scorpion we averaged one break
per 512 shots fired.
Air Efficiency: Using a twenty-ounce tank we got 905 good shots --the weather
was 51 degrees, and the gun was chronographed in the low 280's (feet per
second).
Versatility rating-- (3)
Velocity consistency rating-- (4)
Maintenance of velocity-- (3)
Performance test rating -- (3)
Maintenance:
Maintaining the Scorpion is a snap. You can strip the gun down to the valve
without using tools. Removing two allen screws will get you inside the grip
frame, and removing one front screw will provide access to the cup seal area.
For the most part, keeping the Scorpion clean and oiled will be all you'll
need to have a well maintained gun.
Maintenance rating (4)
Price:
At a retail price of around $180, the Scorpion is priced in the middle of
the pack of comparable paintguns. There are some higher priced, and some
lower priced. When comparing options from gun to gun, the Scorpion is a very
good value.
Price rating (3)
Conclusion:
The Scorpion paintgun form Power Products is accurate, consistent in velocity,
has a good trigger pull and feel, and is fairly priced. If you're looking
for a mid-quality, mid-priced paintgun, give this one a close look.
PCRI IS PLEASED TO AWARD POWER PAINTBALL'S SCORPION SEMI-AUTOMATIC PAINTBALL
GUN OUR THREE AND ONE-HALF STAR SEAL OF QUALITY. |
