Who's happy with their Proto Rail?

tmeays8 · 09-12-2012, 06:18 PM

Hey guys, my friends and I use to play paintball about 3-4 years ago and got out of it till now...we are all getting back into it and I want to start new with a great gun. Im choosing between a couple of guns and just want your opinion on the Proto Rail.

Also feel free to post pictures and description on what equipment you use or modifications that have been done to it.

bdell1073 · 09-12-2012, 06:49 PM

http://youtu.be/OlMrooppyDA http://youtu.be/uT7YItqUeOQ couple videos. very happy with the way they perform.

Icon0clast · 09-12-2012, 09:56 PM

If you're going for a Proto Rail just pay a bit more for a Reflex, it is pretty much upgraded for you.

Syphorus · 09-13-2012, 08:31 AM

Buy equipment based on your budget. The Reflex is a nice marker but for the price you could easily pick up a used dm or nt. Unless you have to have something brand new.

The Rail brand new is $250 and for that you get a lot. You can probably get it for half that if u are willing to be patient and search the bst.

Dye4life5000 · 09-13-2012, 10:44 AM

I have proto rail with techt bolt bd other upgrades i love it. Shoots smooth as butter

tmeays8 · 09-16-2012, 04:55 PM

Does anyone have the Valken V-Max for their rails? Does V-Max work well with the rail?

ttimberlak443 · 09-17-2012, 09:48 AM

One of my friends has a 2011 Rail and it shoots nice, but it is not very efficient at all. Honestly what I think you should do is this.

- Proto PMR
- On/Off ASA (The CP ones work great and they're only $30.00)
- CP Barrel (Again, cheap and great quality)
- Halo Too (It isn't the best loader out there, but one of the best value ones)
- 68/4500 tank (Doesn't have to be 68 ci, but that is probably the most common size)

That should cover everything that is wrong with the Rail and fix it. The stock feedneck isn't the best, but it works well enough. The stock barrel and ASA are terrible. The biggest thing with upgrading the ASA is you will need to get new lines and fittings.

The PMR shoots great for the price and after fixing a few things, it will be a very worthy marker. It is also very nice that it is backed by Dye. Just be warned, it has A LOT of orings that need to be taken care of.

Dragon-88 · 09-17-2012, 03:34 PM

If your playing recreational then its fine. The rails shoots great. Is really smooth and is quite quiet. But in the long run you might end up upgrading it. There's a lot of extras on the Reflex that makes the gun much easier to deal with.. IE, On/off asa, clamping feedneck.

If your looking to play speedball, maybe go for something a little more air efficient. IE. Axe or Mini.

All in all, Ive had many players use my rail.. Its the back up gun and everyone loves it.. I have only done the simple upgrades(havent even done the bolt) but it still is one of my favorite markers.. Because we have an indoor rec field in BC, using the rail is really quiet and people can never tell where my balls are coming from. I dont know why, but I love using my rail for rec ball, I even prefer it over my BL V2 Vic.

Dye4life5000 · 09-17-2012, 05:00 PM

I switched the feedlock and the asa and got a techt bolt. Shoots perfects

tmeays8 · 09-17-2012, 05:10 PM

Thanks for all the info...I just ordered the Rail in Vitamin C on zephyr! But I got one more question...for a barrel, what diameter size would be the best because I see you can get .685, .689 and .693 for the CP barrels.

woodsplaya · 09-17-2012, 05:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tmeays8

Thanks for all the info...I just ordered the Rail in Vitamin C on zephyr! But I got one more question...for a barrel, what diameter size would be the best because I see you can get .685, .689 and .693 for the CP barrels.

I have not used any inserts in my freak larger than 682 this year...

Feloniousnick · 09-17-2012, 05:54 PM

Unless you get a kit, get an overbore. .689 will be able to shoot any paint you can possibly buy accurately and it won't be too small for any.

Dye4life5000 · 09-17-2012, 08:52 PM

I got a used freak kit and it works perfectly

inferno2inferno · 09-17-2012, 09:24 PM

In my opinion the Proto rail is the best entry level marker for anyone getting into speedball. It is light, easy to maintain and features one of the best bolt kits in the industry. It has all the tournament firing modes you will need, and a board that is very simple to program. The only drawback is that you always have to fire about 7 - 10 reset shots with every turn of the regulator screw to keep the solenoid in good shape. I have owned several editions of the rail and the 2011 is fantastic. If you are looking for great performance at an entry price. Best bang for your buck for sure.

masterofTHUMBS · 09-19-2012, 02:15 PM

2009 PMR. What a piece of ****. I loved this gun when I got it. It was my first electro other than a spyder that I had ever got. It worked well for that first couple of games then stuff just went bad.

The bolt tip oring would somehow stretch and expand so that it would get caught in the breech and make the bolt get stuck forward. This happened twice over the maybe 10 total games I played. First time was with the stock oring, second time was an undersized oring. Unacceptable.

In the design, they jam an oring between the body and the vertical ASA adapter rather than having a groove for the oring to sit in. That's nice in theory but when it airs up and there is either too much or not enough force on the oring, it slips out and air blows out.

Whoever at Dye that designed those damned ribbon eyes should be fired. I went through two pairs of these things just from regular use. Every time you would open the frame for changing settings, the grips would push down on the tab of the ribbon harness. Over time this damages the little copper traces and the connection is severed. Awesome. I bought the part again because I couldn't find wired eyes that fit. Fast forward a few months, I decide to clean out the eye covers. Putting them back on would push so hard on the LED leads that either the lip around the edge of the LED would shear off or the leads would push through the sorry excuse for PCB and the connection would be severed. I ended up saving them but couldn't screw in the eye covers all the way without damaging the eyes which would allow the covers to get loose and fall off.

The only things I did like was the hyper 3 and the barrel. Everything else on that gun was garbage. When I get a gun, I expect the gun to work well without buying a ton of upgrades, not fall apart after some light usage. Sold it earlier this year for a rotor and some cash (approximately $200 which is what I bought it for a year earlier). I'll never buy a proto again. Maybe a DM but never a proto.

I joined my college's NCPA team this year so I needed a new gun (can't play with a mech autococker) so I got a mini. What a nice gun! I have had no issues so far other than me messing around with the reg and blowing it. Bought the flip on/off asa. Had some solenoid stick. Took about 5 mins to clean up. This thing rips. It is so small but works flawlessly (basically now a tiny axe). I foresee no problems what so ever in the future. The mini is about a thousand times better than the Reflex will ever be. You can get a new mini right now for $325 on ansgear right now (got mine used for $180. Damn son, look at that savings), throw that piece of **** proto in the trash right now.

ttimberlak443 · 09-19-2012, 03:06 PM

If you are looking at used Rails, the PM8 is amazing from what I hear. Many people feel it is one of the best Dye/Proto markers ever made.

masterofTHUMBS · 09-19-2012, 11:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ttimberlak443

If you are looking at used Rails, the PM8 is amazing from what I hear. Many people feel it is one of the best Dye/Proto markers ever made.

PMs aren't really rails. They use the same design as the DM. They weren't necessarily the budget model but were the experimental model for later DMs. I think the PM7 had a bunch of features that were then brought out for the DM8. PMs are really the only decent thing Proto has ever had it's name on.

nonameputs · 09-21-2012, 06:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ttimberlak443

If you are looking at used Rails, the PM8 is amazing from what I hear. Many people feel it is one of the best Dye/Proto markers ever made.

+1 to that. Just bought a PM8 off the bst for $250 which should be here next week. I also have a 2008 Rail SE which shoots great. Not the most efficient gun in the world, but by no means bad, and if you're playing at a field that has all day air then it really doesn't matter. Probably get 3-4 more pods out of a PM8 from what I've seen online. The PM8 will also be able to shoot much faster, though the 15ish bps mechanical limit of the new rails (not reflex rails) should be more than fast enough. If you really have to shoot faster than that to hit something then maybe you should work on your aim lol.

If it were me it would depend on whether or not you want a used gun. If you definitely don't want to buy used, get the rail and be stoked about your sick new gun. If you don't mind buying used (pre loved), then look through the bst and see what you can find.

Syphorus · 09-23-2012, 07:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nonameputs

+1 to that. Just bought a PM8 off the bst for $250 which should be here next week. I also have a 2008 Rail SE which shoots great. Not the most efficient gun in the world, but by no means bad, and if you're playing at a field that has all day air then it really doesn't matter. Probably get 3-4 more pods out of a PM8 from what I've seen online. The PM8 will also be able to shoot much faster, though the 15ish bps mechanical limit of the new rails (not reflex rails) should be more than fast enough. If you really have to shoot faster than that to hit something then maybe you should work on your aim lol.

If it were me it would depend on whether or not you want a used gun. If you definitely don't want to buy used, get the rail and be stoked about your sick new gun. If you don't mind buying used (pre loved), then look through the bst and see what you can find.

Minor correction in your statement. The 15 bps limit on the 2011 Rail is not mechanical. That is the board limitation.

amazonforce20 · 09-23-2012, 07:40 PM

what can there be done about the efficiency?? im stuck between new rail or used mini...

Syphorus · 09-23-2012, 07:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by amazonforce20

what can there be done about the efficiency?? im stuck between new rail or used mini...

Not much can be done for Efficiency of the Rail. The bigger question is have you shot both markers? If you have I would recommend going with the one that you like the most if you put cost aside.