Sydarm - Would you buy it?

[mpsd]

Hey, guys, how is it going?

I'm an Automag collector and player and now I have the oportunity to buy an original AGD Sydarm (very low serial number). The price seems to be good = low 400s but I never used one of these markers. If I really got to buy it, I'll probably use it once or twice a year and I'll probably convert it to a pump.

So, my question is: would you buy it?

I would like to hear opinions from other Sydarm owners and/or collectors.

Thanks,

Mendel.

[skyless]

sydarm to buy or not to buy

I had one for a while, it was fun but it has more issues then its worth. Dont get me wrong, it was lots of fun and served well, but you would do better building your own mag pistol from scratch, especialy if your going to pump it out.

The Good: All ready to go, load, air up and your good.
Super solid, Build a house with it if your hammer breaks
Pretty compact, balanced

The BAD: Freezes up when rapid firing unless its very warm or you run alternate air sorce
12 grams above valve, no room for it to expand, liquid flows down
A bit heavy, YOu Could make a super light pistol with ule parts instead
Twist lock center feed barrel, i had a hard time trying to find one.
has its own valve, different from other mags. No reverse valve
REALLY expensive for a pistol, But it is a collectors item

Im sure there are other goods and bads that i experienced but those are what i recall.
It was a super fun back up woods balll marker, I remember dual wielding an A5 and my sydarm shooting at 2 people at the same time it was great. Anyway I sold it cause i thought i could make a lighter, faster, more ball holdling capasity pistol using standard mag parts. Hope this helps.

Just for reference, I had my sydarm set up with a CA adaptor with a 4 oz tank mounted under the gripframe facing towards the barrel. This helped alot with rapid firing and it still fit the holster.

[mpsd]

Thanks for your input. That's the kind of answer I would like to have! Really thanks.

I went further in research and found that for the price of a Sydarm with a pump kit, I could buy a Carter or a Palmer's (in case of the Palmer I would even save some good money, since a Pug goes for US$ 250.00 easilly). I also could buy a nice duckslide Phantom and still save some money.

Anyways, if anyone else can give me some more input on that mather, I would appreciate that.

Thanks!

[Babylon 5]

I have one and love it for me I've never had problem with it freezing though, but some do. It is heavier than other pistols on the market cause it was built for military and police for close quarters training. For it's weight though it does feel sturdy and could take a beating if it had too.

In the end if your a collector I would say get it just as a piece of AGD history other wise I would go another route if you want a pistol/pump combo.

here's my baby

[flyingpootang]

Mendel, I own 2 Sydarms, a PGP, Warsensor WSP, & a SC feed mag. I mainly use these for in between games with friends where everyone use either a pump or pistol. Both of my Sydarms are set up for constant air, but ca be converted back to a 12g Co2 quickly. I can usally get 12-15 shoots of a 12g with the Sydarm and 10-12 off of the SC feed mag. Freezing is not an issue because of the limited amount of rounds you have. The Sydarms are more difficult to load and to change the 12gs out. As for cost you can build a SC feed like the one pictured below for @ 200-250. It uses a 12G adapter (18.00) , ASA (15.00) , mini dovetail (10.00), 32 degrees 45 frame (20.00) classic mag valve 35.00, ULE body (90.00) sear (10.00), rail (25.00) & phantom SC feed (30.00). All these items are available on ebay, CCI, Wevo, Whitewolf), or the classified ads. All in all on a regular field you will be out gunned, but against pumps or other pistol the fun factor is off the scale ....Richard

[BigEvil]

I greatly prefer the tac-8 over the Sydarm. easier to reload, easier to change co2s with also - and it just looks a whole lot better.

Oh, and much cheaper priced too.

[SR_matt]

Mendel, I own 2 Sydarms, a PGP, Warsensor WSP, & a SC feed mag. I mainly use these for in between games with friends where everyone use either a pump or pistol. Both of my Sydarms are set up for constant air, but ca be converted back to a 12g Co2 quickly. I can usally get 12-15 shoots of a 12g with the Sydarm and 10-12 off of the SC feed mag. Freezing is not an issue because of the limited amount of rounds you have. The Sydarms are more difficult to load and to change the 12gs out. As for cost you can build a SC feed like the one pictured below for @ 200-250. It uses a 12G adapter (18.00) , ASA (15.00) , mini dovetail (10.00), 32 degrees 45 frame (20.00) classic mag valve 35.00, ULE body (90.00) sear (10.00), rail (25.00) & phantom SC feed (30.00). All these items are available on ebay, CCI, Wevo, Whitewolf), or the classified ads. All in all on a regular field you will be out gunned, but against pumps or other pistol the fun factor is off the scale ....Richard

spiffy little thing you got there, bet you would get some more shots if you put a devolumizer in the tubing though (wire, weed wacker string, etc just something that takes up the space but wont cut the flow)

-matt

[flyingpootang]

spiffy little thing you got there, bet you would get some more shots if you put a devolumizer in the tubing though (wire, weed wacker string, etc just something that takes up the space but wont cut the flow)

-matt

Great idea Matt, I'll try it out.....Richard

[SR_matt]

i think 18 ga SWG (.048) is the largest that will allow it to work right though but that is what i remember being the largest i would want to use on the macro i had and it depends on the type of macro exactly

-matt

[mpsd]

Mendel, I own 2 Sydarms, a PGP, Warsensor WSP, & a SC feed mag. I mainly use these for in between games with friends where everyone use either a pump or pistol. Both of my Sydarms are set up for constant air, but ca be converted back to a 12g Co2 quickly. I can usally get 12-15 shoots of a 12g with the Sydarm and 10-12 off of the SC feed mag. Freezing is not an issue because of the limited amount of rounds you have. The Sydarms are more difficult to load and to change the 12gs out. As for cost you can build a SC feed like the one pictured below for @ 200-250. It uses a 12G adapter (18.00) , ASA (15.00) , mini dovetail (10.00), 32 degrees 45 frame (20.00) classic mag valve 35.00, ULE body (90.00) sear (10.00), rail (25.00) & phantom SC feed (30.00). All these items are available on ebay, CCI, Wevo, Whitewolf), or the classified ads. All in all on a regular field you will be out gunned, but against pumps or other pistol the fun factor is off the scale ....Richard

Hey, thanks for your input! I remember when you posted the first pics of your pistol Mag, even before you made that horizontal 12g changer. That's a nice looking pistol and, for sure, would accomplish the fun factor of the Sydarm.

I thought of buying the Sydarms because of the rareness of the gun and beacuse it would be the only one in this country (as I own the only pump mag now - but I bought a new pump kit from Jay and a new pump kit from Rainman229 so there will be three of them here - al mine ). Later on, I thought that even so, it would be to much money for it and, therefore, I just backed-off from buying it. Now I'm working on getting those two pumps running, one of them with a splash kit and a warp left ULE body and I'm also developing a new electronic trigger for my new UMF (yes, I've been buying WAY too much stuff on the last couple of months). I'll probably give some time, have all this guns in perfect working order and maybe later I'll either go with a pistol like yours, a Palmer's Pug (never had a Palmer's gun but love them all) or even maybe a half-blocked cocker pump (never had a cocker too).

Here in Brazil people don't use pumps much and there are no pump players league like in the US but, as I started playing back in 1991, I really like them and love to pull a pump from my paintball bag when at the field just to show off and play a little against some electros, for fun. I played the brazilian national paintball cup in 2006 but now I'm out of competitions, been working more on my collection and having fun with the things I really like on the sport. And, of course, AO is always great, as are the other PB forums like PBL and MCarterBrown.

Thanks to all of you who helped me taking that decision and showing me some other guns I could have for less money and still the same fun. Thanks to you too BE!!

[SR_matt]

dang, mpsd, are you native to brazil? cause if so your english is great... and if your just living and learned English as a first language just play it off.

-matt

[flyingpootang]

What I don't get is how do find time to play paintball with all of beautiful Brazilian women around you?

[mpsd]

dang, mpsd, are you native to brazil? cause if so your english is great... and if your just living and learned English as a first language just play it off.

-matt

Hey, thanks, man!! Yes, I'm native here. English is my second language. Portuguese is the first. Spanish the third (way worse than my english though)

I've started studying english at school, when I was around 12 but english at school isn't good. I usually say that I really started learning the language when I was 16 and started a course on an english school around my neighborhood. Later I went to Israel and spent nearly 3 months there, speaking mostly english (although I'm jewish, my hebrew is really weak as I just studied it at school). Right after that I entered college (production engineering) and stoped studying english. In 1999 I had my first opportunity to move to USA and become the general manager of a small IT company in Miami that my ex-father in law was studiyng to buy. He used to own a big Ford dealership in town and wanted someone he could trust to look at it for him. He backed-off of buying it and I came back to Brazil (the whole think lasted for about two weeks). That showed me that I loved Miami and also that I needed to improve my english. On that same year I've entered a big IT consulting company here as a consultant and also on that year my parents and sisters moved to California. I was 21, almost 22 then. On 2000 I finally went to the states but, although my father is american, he didn't registered me on the consulate when I was born so I was brazilian and not american. And already over 21. Being so, I needed a work visa to live in USA. I tryed it with my company but, as said before, it also didn't work out and I came back. Good thing is that I lived with my uncle in Miami for 4 months and there I finally got to learn English right. I took the TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) when I came back and only missed one single question over 200 . I came back to Brazil, to my old job, was promoted several times untill in 2002 I quit and opened my own consulting company. Today, I'm here, still working with IT (now I'm the CEO and 30 years old) and playing paintball . Now, to practice my english, I read a LOT of american magazines, like Car and Driver, paintball magazines and other car magazines, I read and write english everyday at the PB forums and I always speak in english with my sisters, one living in California with her american husband and other living in Florida, studying at UF. I also do some conversation english classes here at the office twice a week to keep speaking and to avoid loosing the correct pronounce. My mom is the official english teatcher here (my parents moved back in 2006).

Sorry about the long story. I tryed to minimize it but still kept being big

[mpsd]

What I don't get is how do find time to play paintball with all of beautiful Brazilian women around you?

Yeah... I almost stopped playing when I was around 21, 22... Now I'm almost married (we are living together) and have been with her for the last 6 years and a half.



And here I'm training for the Brazilian Cup in 2006 with my CF e-Mag:

[flyingpootang]

Ok now you just showing off . Great catch