The Shocker
 

An Article by Jack Wood
We know, we know, we should have done this ages ago. Was it worth the wait? Jack thinks so...
What is this I see before me? No, it can't be so. My eyes tell falsehoods, they must! But by crikey they don't. After just under a year of promising you people that we were definitely, positively, absolutely going to get one of these babies to test out, we have at last managed to steal - literally - the model before you. Now some of you may think it's a bit stupid reviewing a product that's been around for donkey's, and yes, you have a very valid point. But you see, since that first tender promise of an insight into this electrickery gun, many things have happened - but that's been well documented in these pages and others, so we won't go into it again. The happy campers over at Smart Parts have not been entirely forthcoming in providing a test gun for us to review, but then what would you do if you were back ordered a thousand units and some scrote wanted one for free? Hence, we (yes, even us at the greatest mag in the cosmos) had to queue up and buy one just like everybody else. So without further ado, let's get into it.

The Shocker 4x4 by Smart Parts
History
When the Gardner Bros came up with the concept of the original Shocker they had some great practical principles, that they knew they wanted their gun to fulfil. Amongst this big list, if not at the top of it, was that they wanted a gun that worked at a very low operating pressure. People had been messing around with Cockers at 400 P.S.I. and lower for a while but those guns were limited and the design couldn't be adapted to go as low as they wanted. They wanted REALLY low pressure, like 175 P.S.I. That was far lower than anybody had ever gone before and seemed impossible using any of the existing mechanical designs. So, determined to have this low operating pressure as a key feature of their gun, the Gardner's persisted until they got the performance they demanded. With the firing mechanism different to anything before it, its control, via an electronic interface, could be built in at a grass roots level rather than as an afterthought or gimmick. With this completely blank canvas to start from and considerable backing from Smart Parts (in conjunction with Pneumatic specialists, Pneu Ventures), the resulting gun was tipped to be the be-all and end-all of Paintball guns. With bated breath the Paintball world awaited the arrival of the Shocker. When it eventually arrived it was obvious that it did have some extremely impressive features but unfortunately the complete package just didn't quite hit the spot. During the middle of last year Smart Parts and Pneu Ventures parted companies to continue producing their own low pressure markers. Smart Parts continued with the same basic principle of low pressure operation but with some major changes to the control mechanisms and they hoped that the short fallings of the original Shocker could be overcome to produce the world-beating gun they had always aimed for. With this target in mind, the Shocker 4X4 and 4X4 Sporting were released. And that, my jolly bunch, is exactly where we are up to now.

Basics
So you hand over your hard earned cash and what do you get? Well, quite a lot actually. The Shocker I received came with a gun-mounted CO2 bottle set-up and seeing as that is all they had then I can consider myself lucky 'cos that's how I would choose to run it. The actual choice available is between a gun-mount or remote set-up and between CO2 and compressed air. It's novel to have to make this choice when purchasing the actual gun, as with all other guns the choice is made after when fitting the nitro or CO2 system. The reason that the Shocker is individual in this fact is that the regulator unit that is used to control the velocity and regulate the gas supply is a separate unit to the rest of the gun. Unlike the Automag, RT or Angel, where the velocity controlling regulator is part of the gun, on the Shocker it can be mounted wherever you want. The regulator that is used to control the Shocker's velocity is an upgraded version of the old Smart Parts Max Flow that is designed to operate in the specific range that the Shocker runs at. All functional aspects of the regulator have been chosen to produce maximum flow rates and quickest recovery rates at the very low pressures required for the gun. The reg also incorporates a couple of additional features that the original did not have. The old Max Flow had the clever feature of a pressure creep vent where a small increase in the output pressure would cause the regulator to vent air to stabilise the output. No matter what the output was set at, in the event of a failed regulator seal the pressure would be kept within close tolerance to the original set output. This was, and still is, an excellent and unique feature of the regulator, but what it can't handle is the rapid surge of pressure which can occur when the reg is being gassed up. So to allow for this scenario, the new reg has a set pressure release valve that is designed to rapid vent if there is a pressure spike, to save the electric solenoids from damage. With the reg fitted with an output pressure gauge as standard, it is easy to monitor the pressure running into the gun. As mentioned above, the regulator is used to adjust the velocity, and adjustment of the regulator is by rotation of the large front cap. The cap is locked off by means of a locking ring which tightens up against the front cap and requires a large spanner to lock it securely enough to make it tourney legal. The fact that the front cover of the reg is so large and you can get such good purchase on it means that it is very open to abuse by unscrupulous people and judges are going to have to make it common practice to check that caps are securely locked down. The fact that there is a gauge on the reg doesn't help as it makes it pretty easy to turn the gun back to a safe velocity by checking the pressure out of the reg.

So once you have decided what bottle and gas system you are going to go for, it all comes completely set-up and ready to go. Gun mount systems come with the regulator fitted in a cradle with an A.S.A. adaptor to take a standard bottle thread. The cradle is mounted to the bottom of the grip frame via an angled wedge and this leads to the bottle taking an approximate 10 degree downward slope that makes targeting easy and the general feel comfortable. The big bore PVC hose from the regulator carries the gas directly to the back of the gun, and all these hoses are provided and are already fitted. For those of you that are paranoid (for whatever strange reason) about these PVC hoses, there is absolutely no need in this case as the max you'll get in this one is 200 P.S.I. - bugger all really. The remote version is complete with the reg in a similar cradle to the gun mount version so that the reg sits on top of the bottle in the buttpack. From the reg runs a remote hose of the same PVC type as the gun mount hose, but is longer and curly like a Mamba hose. On the remote version a large, back-checked snap connector is provided to attach the hose to the gun and the now standard downstream bleed valve (or slide check or anything else you all call them) is done away. Due to the low pressures being used the back-check is more than sufficient to hold the pressure in the hose when is it disconnected form the gun. On the remote version the option of a stock is definitely one of the things I would take up, as it is almost impossible to fire any gun accurately without one and the Shocker is no exception. As there are no moving parts on the back of the Shocker, it is probably best to go for one of the adjustable types that can be shortened when you need to get tight.
One other neat little feature that now comes as standard on all Shockers is the fitting for the air assist feed, in the side of the main body is a small tapped hole where a burst of vent gas is released every time the gun is fired. With the optional assist feel elbow, this burst of gas can be utilised to push the next ball into the breach while the bolt is open. Clever. As far as barrels go, you could not ask for a better tube to be supplied as standard with a gun. Mine came with a 14" All American barrel in gloss black to match the gun perfectly. These barrels are top notch, combining light weight, accuracy, range and quietness. A great all-round tube. On top of that the Shocker comes standard with a 45 frame and rubber grips. The 45 frame has pretty much come to be expected on top-of-the-line guns and Smart Parts have not skimped in this department either. On the standard gun the frame is fitted with a single trigger but due to the massive popularity of double finger triggers these days Smart Parts offer the purchaser the chance to have a factory fitted double trigger frame.

Electronics
However, it ain't that easy these days and things are not quite what they seem anymore. It would be far too simple for a grip frame to be just a grip frame; you tend to find every little nook and cranny filled with wires, diodes and capacitors in these superguns, and this one's no exception. On the Shocker the grip frane doubles as the battery housing, with the battery being accessible by removing the fixing screws and lifting up one side of the rubber grip plates. One thing that makes this gun different from the Angel is that the batteries are not re-chargeable, and it differs from the original Shocker in that it doesn't even take standard batteries. By some divine providence it appears the new Shocker only takes Smart Parts batteries. Coincidence or what? Another thing that the new Shocker does not have is a battery isolator switch, which doesn't in itself sound a big deal until you point out that you have to disconnect the battery after you've finished playing. And that involves removing the grip plates. Leaving the battery plugged in after playing does use battery like, and I'm sure that is no coincidence either. In fact Smart Parts could do very well out of this battery lark! It is actually quite a large turn around since the first Shocker, which had two isolation switches (a bit excessive), but to do a complete turn-around was a bit much. What was wrong with one switch? I'm sure we could have handled that! The other, more serious, consequence of having an electronic on/off switch is that you rely on people using the standard cross-bolt trigger safety catch, which is notoriously unreliable. Add to that the fact that if you remove the grip frame from the solenoid housing, the absolutely minute ball and spring that tension the safety catch fall straight out, you can see a problem arising. I don't know what the theory behind not having an electric isolator is, it seems silly to me, but to have such an easily defeated primary safety makes it downright stupid. This is by far the biggest complaint I had of the gun.
Anyway, the battery is connected to the circuit board that is sat in what is called the Solenoid Housing. This is the part of the gun that houses, yes you guessed it, the solenoids. It has the grip frame attached to the bottom of it and the main body to the top, and is basically like a bath tub inside. The circuit board is now a digital unit and looks a lit tidier than the old one as all the components are now of the surface mounted type. The controls for the timing and firing cycles are also to be found on this board, and take the form of switch banks. This type of control should make for easy adjustment as there are not a million different combinations to get confused with, but obviously that is at the expense of flexibility. A handy hint is to note down on a piece of paper the factory settings that the gun had when it arrived in your sweaty hands. You can bet your life that after a couple of pints when you and your mates get back from the pub, some bugger's going to start flicking those switches and that'll be the end of that. It'll save your life, I'm telling you!
The actual solenoids themselves are attached to the main body of the gun but can very easily be disconnected from the circuit board with one plug, allowing the body and the Solenoid Housing to be completely separated. The screws attaching the solenoids to the body are very fine and I would avoid removing them at all costs. On the front of the solenoid housing, depending on what model you have, you have one or two things. On my UK model there is a low battery indicator. As your batteries run down, the light begins to flash. When they desperately needs changing and performance starts to get impaired, then it glows constantly. If, on the other hand you live in the US, you are privilege to the Shocker Sport 4X4 SF...what a mouthful that is. The SF denotes Select Fire and in the case of the Shocker that consists of Semi-Auto, Fully-Auto and of course 'Three-Shot bursts' (but still no 'off'). The SF is supplied with a tourney cap to prevent mid-game tampering and insure that in relevant tournaments you stay semi only. So in the electronics it's only the solenoids that need an explanation now, and that is quite hard without explaining how the gun actually operates.

Cycles
Inside the main body is where all the mechanical action goes on and the solenoids attached to the body control that action. What makes this gun different from the other hi-tech electro-pneumatic guns of the moment is the sheer simplicity of its internal mechanism and the small number of moving parts. This simplicity is mainly down to the fact that there is only one regulator. The one regulator controls both the cocking and the firing mechanism and because of this the number of internal components, as well as the complexity of the overall gun, is greatly reduced. In the body there are two chambers where all the mechanical things happen, and one transfer port that runs from front to back just supplies the regulated gas to the rest of the gun.

Bolt
At the top of the gun is the bolt chamber which (again, you've probably guessed) hold the bolt. The bolt is controlled by one of the solenoids and does a very simple job. Each time the solenoid cycles the bolt is switched from its forward position to its rearward position. At this point a ball from the feed falls into the open breach. To complete the cycle the bolt is moved forwards again, loading the paintball into the barrel. This paintball is now ready to be fired. Each time the bolt travels backwards and forwards the gun loads a ball into the barrel. It's that simple. The Shocker bolt is very similar to that of a Sovereign in that it is not just a bolt but a ram as well. The bolt is controlled by one of the solenoids which shuttles gas from the front to the back of the bolt to move it backwards, and this is one of the main differences over the old Shocker. The old system used pressure differentials on the ram with one side of the ram being under permanent gas pressure and a greater force exerted to the opposing side by way of a larger piston surface area. With the new system working more like a Cocker bolt and being controlled by a 4-way valve, the cycle rate of the bolt system has been greatly improved.
So that is all that the bolt and its respective solenoid does, it doesn't do anything at all to propel the ball. Whilst still on the bolt, you would probably expect to find a venturi head in this level of gun and in fact the old Shocker did have one. The new one doesn't due to the fact that it is hard to achieve the necessary flow of gas through a venturi head at this low pressure to achieve consistently high velocities.

Firing Chamber
This is where the serious bit happens. From this chamber the gas is released that is actually used to fire the paintball down the barrel. The whole firing mechanism is controlled by the second and last solenoid. This solenoid is identical to the bolt one in size, shape and operation but just controls a different part inside the gun. Inside the firing chamber there are just three moving parts that all move together as one unit. These three parts are the firing piston, the firing rod and the fill poppet. The rod merely connects the action of the piston to that of the poppet. The way this bit works is as follows. In its normal state the firing piston, rod and poppet are all in the rear position. The fill poppet is open allowing the firing chamber to be filled with air and the gas is shut off to the bolt, allowing no air down the barrel. This results in the firing chamber, which is a fixed volume, to be completely filled. When the firing solenoid is actuated the firing piston is thrown forward and a couple of things happen. As the piston moves forward so does the rod and the poppet, with the poppet shutting off any further gas getting into the chamber from the gas supply. With the poppet closed and the piston forward the fixed volume of gas in the firing chamber is released. And guess where it all goes? Yep, down the barrel to fire the ball out. The timing of the electronics should be set sot that the piston is forward for long enough for the chamber to completely empty. Once the piston has been forward long enough to empty the chamber completely the solenoid shuttles the piston rearward again, closing off gas access to the barrel and pushing the rod and poppet back to let the chamber re-fill. And that's your lot from the firing chamber.
Togetherness
So the last part of the process is to explain how these two systems work in conjunction with each other and discuss the overall firing cycle. Well it could not be easier really as the actual firing cycle is identical to that of an Autococker - and even if you don't know what that is it's still pretty simple. Each pull of the trigger actuates a micro switch which starts off a chain of events that are controlled completely by the circuit board. There is no mechanical interface between the trigger and any of the internals. When the trigger is pulled the first thing that happens is the firing mechanism is cycled, firing the ball that is in the barrel, out of it. When that cycle is complete the bolt cycle begins to load another ball into the barrel. And that's it. The gun fires and then it re-loads. Now obviously the clever bit is to get all that timed to perfection just the same way you would time an Autococker, and that's where the switch banks on the circuit board come in to it. The gun that I received appeared to be perfectly timed and I could not fault the set-up of the firing cycle. I think the only problems are going to occur when people try to 'fine tune' the cycle themselves.
Overall
You probably think that I've been going on for far too long by now, but I thought you had all waited too long for this and I'd better give you your money's worth. When I started this article I stated that the leading factor for the principle of this gun was to be able to run very low pressure. What I didn't do was to explain why. Well for those that don't know, the advantage low pressure offers is extremely low ball breakages due to the low levels of force exerted on the paintball. This also leads to improved accuracy as there is so little force exerted on the ball to affect the shape or stability. Another plus is that the gun becomes extremely quiet as there is no longer any rapid expansion of gas to atmospheric pressure; it is a far more subdued expansion. The only downside of running such low pressure is the fact that to do so you use such a massive volume of gas for each shot fired. This not only leads to above average gas consumption but also it slows down the cycle rate because the valve must be open for longer to release the volume of gas required. And indeed this was one of the major problems with the old Shocker. However, Smart Parts came up trumps with the 4X4 and have definitely improved vastly on the old one. The gun is ultra quiet and very accurate and in all my testing I did not have a single burst or chop. It is considerably faster that the old Shocker with a claimed 10+shots per second, but I didn't feel it was quite as fast as the Angel of RT. What's also noticeable is how much lighter this gun is compared to the old one as well as being shorter. The body is a little bit too high and with a standard right feed and hopper full of paint, it felt a little top heavy to me. On the downside it is very gas thirsty and even using a 63 cu. in. tank with CO2, it was quite easy to get the tank frozen. Even with the tank very cold the single shot performance was not impaired, with the reg still giving 180 P.S.I. But during rapid fire the reg could not recover quick enough to maintain velocity. Please note, this condition only occurred when the tank was heavily frozen, NOT all the time. Overall, Smart Parts have done an excellent job to breathe so much life into the Shocker Sport 4X4. They must be congratulated on doing a great job, and to do all that at such an amazingly competitive price is just outstanding. I'm sure the only problem they are going to have is keeping production up with demand. So is this the best gun in the world? Well, it's certainly a contender.

Shocker 4X4
Hits
o Superb accuracy
o Very quiet
o Fast
o Consistent
o No ball breaks
o Comes with top of the range reg and barrel
o Runs on air and CO2
o Amazing value for money
Misses
o Above average gas consumption
o No battery isolator switch
Jack Wood
* Smart Parts Can be contacted via their web site or call the number below.
Ph: 412-539-2660