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The Label on the box reads MK Custom Jeff Orr Series C1. This one is actually from the 3rd series to be released.. Serial number is 20 of 30. Color is olive body with black parts. The basic marker is a mid-block autococker with an E2 frame. It comes with a standard one piece black barrel with custom milling and a custom Kaner back with matching anodizing marked .684 and a black front. Functionally it is almost identical to the Black Magic with a some parts differences and the custom milling. I also have an 05 Black Magic with the select fire grip that makes it very easy to put them side by side for comparison. In many ways, the signature edition is a mid-blocked Karnivore with different custom milling to set them apart. Any of the 3 markers will do the job if they are properly taken care of.
The main differences between the SE and the Black Magic are not that many. The slot for the sled is cut through the body. The feed neck is not as nice as the Black Magic clamping feed neck. Being a geek, I like the extra buttons and things on the E2, but the Select Fire grip on the Black Magic also works. The ram has built in QEV's so tuning could make a big difference on the speed. It also has the adjustable LPR. Just a turn of the knob rather than grabbing an allen wrench to adjust the LPR. I'm in the set it and forget it crowd with the LPR so so I don't consider it much of a feature. I've seen enough cockers messed up and read about so many autocockers that really just need timed correctly that the "if it ain't broke don't fix it" rule applies. Other than that, the Black Magic is a very close relative.
Poorly packaged in a plain white box, it arrived with no obvious damage. It is almost stealth packaged compared to the Black Magic and it's colorful retail box. Boxes don't make a marker good or bad, but if it was sitting on a shelf, it would be very easy to overlook.
So the first thing I did was pull it out of the box and loaded a battery in the grip. The E2 grip boots up and shows the firmware to be version 1.10. This is the ZeroB E2 and has semi, classic, PSP, Millenium, CFOA, and training modes available. For those that don't know, the ZeroB can be tournament locked as the mode menu has been moved to the setup menu accessible only by opening up the grip. Otherwise, the ZeroB is identical in operation to the earlier E2 firmware version and the differences are noted on a small supplement to the E2 manual. The WGP logo barrel sock had 3 allen wrenches in it and is enough to set the velocity but you still need the smaller allen wrench to open up the grip. It also came with the E2 manual and the generic Autococker manual that lists Black Magic parts but really doesn't cover the signature edition. An eratta sheet for the ZeroB firmware changes and a note about using the regulator to adjust velocity were also in the box.
The next thing I notice is the ram is loose. So far the out of box experience just took a 2nd dive. Upon closer examination I noticed that none of the threads on the cocking rod were loctited. The marker must have been test fired as the body has a ding where the cocking sled hit the body and the sled itself has worn anodizing where it was hitting the body. WGP seems to deserve the bad rap they have been getting in recent years. I disassembled the cocking rod assembly and removed the ram and then put it all back together with blue loctite on all the threads including the ram after making a small spacer to lock the ram where I wanted it. On this, the Black Magic and some other mid-blocked cockers, the ram stops the cocking rod and sled travel so a thread or 2 of space between the sled and the front of the body opening is about right to make sure the bolt is lined up in the body correctly. To far back and air ports don't line up causing blow-back up the feed tube and into the hopper with extreme cases causing the sear pin to hit the body and doing damage there. Get it to far forward and it dings up the body and may damage the sled. I had to do almost the same work with my Black Magic so I wasn't really surprised that this one had a similar problem.
The other problem I had was the ball detent goes to far into the breach. This was fixed by adding a standard washer about .020-.030 in thick from my electronics junk drawer. I had to do the same thing to my Black Magic and I understand this is a common problem with cockers. I use washers for spacers because they always give a positive stop. In the case above with the LPR, I carefully sanded it down to make the exact fit that I wanted. If I change the ram I would probably have to make a new washer. The washer stopping the ball detent can be any washer. as long as it keeps the ball detent threads away from the bolt. You can easily tell if the ball detent is to far in by feeling for the threads with the bolt out. If you feel a ridge where the ball detent threads in, back it out until you don't feel a ridge. The bolt in my Black Magic has a bit of wear from the ball detent being to far into the breach Since the fit isn't very critical find a washer that is about that thickness, tighten it down and check to be sure you got it right.
Ok, so I finally have the marker to the point where I feel it is safe to air it up and not do any further damage. Everything is tight and double checked that nothing is going to come loose. Give the low pressure regulator a couple turns so it won't cock, and slowly allow it to air up. No leaks so I turn on the grip and test fire while I turn up the LPR. Everything is working smoothly like it should and the ram pressure is light enough I can still pull the bolt back manually. The QEV's seem to allow a lower cocking pressure which will save on air. I had previously set the grip for Millenium ramping mode and after turning the eye off, I let it rip. It managed that without any problems. All that is left is to mount the hopper and start feeding it some paint. It uses the Karnivore regulator so once it is broken in, it will have the same consistency as the Karnivore, Black Magic and several other models that use the same regulator. No need to cover that.
I aired it up, shot about half a hopper of paint through it and no breaks. This marker jumps a little more than my Black Magic mostly because it is nearly half a pound lighter. I found it very easy to manage single shots as well as ropes while ramped. It is a tack driver as expected. I also noticed that the SE seems to be a bit more quiet than my Black Magic. All I need to do now is change a few more settings in the grip and there is no doubt it will shoot paint faster than I really need it. The last item will be setting the velocity at the chronograph and until the regulator has worked through at least a case, I'm not going to worry about how consistent it is.
The weight of the SE with the black one piece barrel and a battery installed is 2lb 9oz or about 2.56Lbs. By comparison, my Black Magic weighs in at 2lb 15oz or about 2.94Lbs with the stock barrel. Looking closely at the body, you can tell where a lot of the weight went. A lot of metal is missing when compared to the Black Magic body. While a little over 2.5 lbs isn't in the featherweight division, it is still not bad for a full size body. Keep in mind, the typical 68/4500 tank will add about 3lbs and the hopper with paint a few more.
While they are still available, some may want to get the marker just for the E2 grip. The limited edition aspect might make a few want to collect them. Regardless of the reasoning behind purchasing one, after a good once over by a a good cocker tech, the marker should be a good workhorse for a long time.
I gave it about a 3 because I had to fix it before it could be safely used. It is sad that a limited edition marker couldn't be assembled and packaged better. All I should have had to do was put a battery in the grip, add a hopper and air and go shoot. I know if I put my name on a marker, I'd be sure that every one of them was assembled correctly and met my own personal high standards for quality before it went out the door. My A5 and my SP-8 did not require any work other than setting the velocity at the chrono. This didn't happen with the Jeff Orr Signature Edition. Some re-assembly may be required.
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