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WGP '97 Autococker

The ‘97 Autococker, manufactured by Worr Games Products (WGP) is the latest factory version of the original WGP Autococker. The ‘97 Autococker features a ten-inch aluminum barrel, beaver-tail, molded grips, stainless steel cocking rod/knob, and pump rod, Cooper-T type ball detent, lightened bolt, Sledgehammer regulator, in-line regulator (limited to special sale), trigger shoe, machined shroud, and integral sight rail. The suggested retail price of the ‘97 Autococker is $435.

Design/Construction:

The ‘97 Autococker is eighteen inches in length and weighs three pounds. The barrel, barrel shroud, vertical-bottle adapter, main body, beavertail, and back block are manufactured from aluminum. The grip frame is a carbon fiber material. The same type used in the manufacture of the 68 Automag grip frame.

Under the barrel shroud are the gun's "brains". The ram (cocking cylinder), three-way valve, and Sledgehammer regulator are found here. These components are basically used to replace the manual pumping required when the gun was a pump-gun (WGP Sniper). The Sledgehammer regulator is not user adjustable as were the original regulators. Here's how the Autococker works.

How the Autococker works: The Autococker is a closed bolt auto-cocking paintgun. It is not a semi-auto, but it's rate of fire is comparable to the best semis on the market. When the trigger is pulled, the three-way valve is activated allowing the gas to enter the RAM (cocking cylinder). This pushes the cocking block, bolt, and cocking rod back approximately one inch. This opens the bolt, allowing a paintball to drop into the breach (chamber). The hammer sear latches at the same time. The cocking block stays in the rearward position until the trigger is released. At that time, the three-way enables the gas to vent from the front of the piston, pulling the block forward to close the bolt. The gun is now ready to fire. Pulling the trigger fires the paintball and begins the cycle again.

Design/Construction rating (4)

(Editore Note: We did not use the in-line regulator during any of the testing of the ‘97 Autococker. )

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 "Platinum", and Brass Eagle paintballs.

Out of the box the Autococker shot only in the 180 fps (feet per second) range. We unscrewed the cocking rod to access the velocity adjuster, and easily got the velocities into the 290's (fps).

At a target distance of 125 feet Marballizer had an accuracy ratio of 60%. Proball Platinum hit the mark at a rate of 66%, while Brass Eagle's ratio was 55%. At 100 feet the ratios increased to 79% for Marballizer, 75% for Proball, and 71% for Brass Eagle.

With the smaller target of 8" x 11" the ratios were 75% for Marballizer, 81% for Proball, and 70% for Brass Eagle. All 50-foot ratios improved. Marballizer's ratio was 96% and was followed by Platinum at 91% and Brass Eagle at 93%.

125 feet hits/shots

Marballizer 107/179 60%

Platinum 110/166 66%

Brass Eagle 95/]172 55%

100 feet hits/shots

Marballizer 135/171 79%

Platinum 131/174 75%

Brass Eagle 124/175 71%

75 feet hits/shots

Marballizer 126/168 75%

Platinum 147/181 81%

Brass Eagle 125/179 70%

50 feet hits/shots

Marballizer 182/190 96%

Platinum 165/181 91%

Brass Eagle 179/192 93%

Observations: During accuracy testing we encountered no ball breaks or any other problems in the 2129 shots fired.

Accuracy rating (4)

Performance tests: (field testing, maintenance of velocity, consistency, etc.)

Velocity consistency: All velocity consistency testing was done using a regular (gas) twenty-ounce C02 tank. Read from left to right.

A sample of what we found...

286 fps 287 fps 284 fps 282 fps 285 fps 287 fps 289 fps 285 fps 288 fps 289 fps 286 fps 283 fps

average fps 286 fps

low fps 282 -4 fps

high fps 289 +3 fps

Maintenance of velocity shows a gun's ability to hold it's velocity during rapid firing.

1st shot 287 fps 10th shot 285 fps

1st shot 289 fps 10th shot 287 fps

1st shot 285 fps 10th shot 288 fps

1st shot 286 fps 25th shot 286 fps

Observations: During field testing we had an average of one ball break per 1195 rounds. The gun performed flawlessly in all conditions. One of the surprises we encountered using the ‘97 Autococker was how well the gun handled liquid C02. That doesn't mean you should use a siphon tank with your gun though. The ‘Cocker definitely performs more consistently on "Gas" C02.

Like it's predecessor, the ‘97 Autococker shoots through ball breaks very well. You'll lose some accuracy but at least the gun will fire. On the field you can quick clean the gun by removing the bolt retaining pin, and running a pull-through squeegee through the entire gun body and barrel. Adjusting the velocity requires you to unscrew the cocking rod which is somewhat of a pain.

Performance test rating (4)

Versatility:

This is one of the strongest points of the Autococker. It one of the most versatile paintguns available. Let's start with aesthetics--the mainbody of the Autococker is like an all-aluminum billboard. It can be anodized, machined, polished etc. Since it's mostly flat, it's a great place to put your sponsors' stickers too. In addition, there are a few companies that make fancier shrouds that will spice up the look of your ‘Cocker.

In terms of performance upgrades, there is an incredible number of third party accessories for the Autococker. You can find replacement grip-frames, hand-grips, barrels, three-way valves, cut/lightened blocks, cocking rods, valves, etc. There are a few outstanding Autococker technicians that will do trigger work and other neat stuff to make your Autococker sing as well.

Your Autococker can easily be converted to high pressure, although adding a second regulator is recommended.

Versatility rating (4)

Maintenance:

Learning to maintain your ‘97 Autococker will be the difference between having a tournament quality paintgun, or a four hundred dollar paperweight. The Autococker requires an above average amount of care and maintenance, but the rewards are great. A properly "timed" Autococker will give you great performance. Most ‘Cocker problems are caused by a mis-timed gun. You'll also need to learn to adjust the bolt/cocking rod, and cocking block/ram settings. These things are not difficult once you've put your time in and learn how to do them correctly.

Cleaning the Autococker is pretty simple. Lightly lube all moving parts or metal-to-metal parts after each outing. Clean your ‘97 Autococker's internals with a 50/50 water/alcohol solution often as well.

Maintenance rating (2)

Price:

At $435 the Autococker is priced in the middle of the retail spectrum. It's a case of you do get what you pay for however.

Price rating (3)

Conclusion:

The ‘97 Autococker is by far the best stock Autococker ever offered by Worr Games Products. It has a nice trigger pull, shoots through liquid C02, it's very upgradable, accurate, reliable, and fairly priced. What more could you want in a base tournament paintgun?

PCRI IS PLEASED TO AWARD WORR GAME PRODUCTS' 97 AUTOCOCKER OUR FOUR STAR SEAL OF QUALITY.

1st Runner-Up, Paintgun of the Year

Explanation of rating: The out of the box ‘97 Autococker is an outstanding paintgun. The only area that this gun falls a bit short on is maintenance. Like all ‘Cockers, you'll need to learn how to "tinker" with the gun. Otherwise, the ‘97 Autococker is as good a stock gun as we tested in 1997.

Order the Autococker Survival Guide!

Autococker Survival Guide: The Autococker Survival Guide is 56 pages and is packed with information, close-up photos, and diagrams. Learn how to "time" the Autococker, upgrade it internally and externally, troubleshoot it, and disassemble it down to the smallest components. This is a must for Autococker owners.
PRICE: $13.45