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| SHOCKER SFT PARTS - FIRING ASSEMBLY |
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Tech index -> Shocker SFT -> Parts of a Shocker -> Firing assembly
The term firing assembly generally refers to the bolt and other firing components used in the marker. The Shocker's main moving part is the bolt itself, which interacts with three other components to fire the marker (making four total). There are multiple aftermarket bolt kits available, all discussed later.
The four parts of a Shocker stock bolt kit include the bolt itself, bolt guide, bolt sleeve, and fire chamber.
· Bolt - Thin, elongated piece with an o-ring at the rear, and some porting toward the front.
· Bolt sleeve - Large, flared component that slides around the rear of the bolt, and is what actuates the movement of the bolt back and forth.
· Fire chamber - Can-shaped piece which functions as a dump chamber to fire the paintball, through which the bolt slides.
· Bolt guide - Thin shaft that is inserted into the back of the bolt, onto which it slides. The bolt guide delivers the release of air to fire the paintball at the front end, and is threaded to screw into the Shocker body at the rear end.
Pictured above is a disassembled stock bolt kit, with the bolt in the forward position.
Pictured above is the assembled bolt kit.
Information relating to how the marker operates, design concepts, and other technical specs can be found on the Design & Theory page (refer to the Related Links section at the bottom of the page).
Aftermarket Bolt Assemblies:
Aftermarket bolts will increase your efficiency and aid in getting rid of FSDO in some cases (if you have it to begin with, that is). Needless to say, there are multiple differences between each of the available bolts, so each is explained below. If you have questions, head to shockerowners.com to ask other players who have used the respective kits.
So...which bolt is best? The answer is none of them. They all have their own advantages and disadvantages; different bolts will work differently in different markers. There really is no accurate way of predicting which bolt will work better in your gun without purchasing them all (and nobody wants to do that). No one kit will universally give you better efficiency than any others; they all tend to increase about 40% the efficiency of the stock bolt. Chances are you will be happy with your bolt no matter which you choose.
(Please note, this is my subtle way of saying "don't e-mail me asking which is best". Seriously...get whatever you want.)
· SP Turbocharger bolt, aka. HE bolt: This is the upgraded kit from SP. It is available in multiple colors and uses a sealed fire chamber design to increase efficiency. The HE bolt will work in all Shockers without exception. Includes a new bolt, fire chamber, and bolt guide; reuse your bolt sleeve. You may also reuse your current bolt guide if it's the Turbocharger version (most 2004+ Shockers come with them stock). See the animation above for an explanation of the HE redesign.
· NDZ Stinger bolt: The current version is v3. This is available in multiple colors and uses the same design as the SP HE kit to seal off the fire chamber and increase efficiency as a result. There are three kits available: standard (v3), ULP (ultra-low pressure), and milled body. Standard v3 works in only stock and closed bodies; ULP works only in closed bodies; milled body version works in all bodies. See the chart below for a body comparison. This bolt kit includes a new fire chamber and new bolt; reuses bolt guide and bolt sleeve. Operating pressure around 170-190 psi for standard and ULP kits; 180-200 psi for the milled body kit. Seen below are the standard v3 and the ULP versions (milled body version not shown):
· Evolve bolt: Current version is v2. This kit is available in multiple colors and uses a different design to seal off the fire chamber (see the above animations). There are currently two kits available: standard (v2) and ULP (ultra-low pressure); both work in only stock and closed bodies. Standard v2 kit includes new bolt, sleeve, guide, and fire chamber; ULP kit includes new bolt and fire chamber, re-use the bolt sleeve and guide. These bolts are made from a strong magnesium/aluminum alloy. Operating pressure around 180-200 psi for standard v2 kits; 170-190 psi for the ULP kit. Seen below are the standard v2 and the ULP versions:
· Freeflow bolt: This kit is no longer made (and therefore no longer available for purchase), however the last version available was the v3. The Freeflow bolt was also available in multiple colors and included all four firing assembly components. The design wasn't sealed though. I would NOT recommend purchasing a Freeflow bolt since there is effectively no support for their continued operation since the manufacturer went out of business (and therefore doesn't provide any support for the products, at all).
Bolt/Body Compatability:
If you are confused as to which bolt will work in your Shocker body, here is a chart that shows the combinations:
| Shocker model: | Turbocharger: | NDZ v3 standard: | Evolve: | NDZ ULP: | Freeflow: |
| Base model | yes |
yes |
yes |
no |
yes |
| Sealed bodies: Nasty Dynasty Strange Octane Toxic Tonton |
yes |
yes |
yes |
yes |
yes |
| Milled bodies: Dark Shocktech Freeflow Hybrid |
yes |
no |
no |
no |
yes |
Firing Assembly Maintenance:
The main portion of the regular maintenance schedule for the Shocker involves cleaning and lubricating the bolt and related parts. See the related links section at the bottom of the page for instructions.
Bolt Bumpers:
There are two bumpers that are used on the Shocker, to help stabalize the movement of the bolt back and foth. One of them is placed on the bolt right in front of the sail o-ring (16/70), the other is placed on the base of the bolt guide. The bolt guide bumper is a urethane disk that can only be bought from SP.
The bolt bumpers, though, are different for different bolts.
· Aluminum SP bolt version-1 (grey, blue, green) - Uses a specialty square bumper on the bolt. This isn't a regular o-ring, and in mose cases can't be replaced with one. Square bumper available only from SP. I have found that a small o-ring used here will also work, however they are very difficult to install. The size I suggest is a 10/70 or an 11/70. Go no larger. This is the same for stock or HE bolts.
· Aluminum SP bolt version-2 (silver clear-coat) - Uses the bolt guide bumper and a regular 15/90 o-ring on the bolt. Same for stock or HE bolts.
· Evolve bolt - Uses no bumpers.
· NDZ bolt - Uses the same bumpers as the SP bolts (square bumpers on the old ones, 15/90 on the new ones). Newer version bolts have the ability to use two bumpers on the bolt, which can replace the bolt guide bumper if necessary (meaning, one on each side of the bolt sail o-ring).
· Delrin stock bolt (no longer in production) - Uses no bumpers.
Stock Firing Assembly Production Changes:
The internals of the marker have changed several times. Information for the previous ones is here.
· Bolt - Shockers originally came with white delrin bolts, which were redesigned once or twice, and replaced entirely with dark green/gray/blue/bronze aluminum versions coming into 2004 (around s/n 3900). These aluminum bolts had a slight redesign to allow them to utilize a special bumper (and some other changes), and were used until early 2005. At that point the bolt was redesigned to allow them to use standard o-rings for bumpers instead of the specially-made ones. These newer bolts are slicker in surface finish and are silver, clear-coat anodized.
Bolt sleeve - Shockers originally came with black-anodized aluminum sleeves but SP switched to white delrin versions around August 2003 because the delrin material is more inexpensive. The bolt sleeve was then switched back to the black aluminum ones in late 2004, because they tend to hold tolerances better than the delrin versions (also less interactive with temperature changes).
Bolt guide - The original bolt guides were used until January 2003 (s/n 3900), when all markers were upgraded to use the Turbocharger/HE style guide. This includes all private label markers as well, which sometimes use custom-milled backplates. There is no performance difference when using any bolt other than the Turbocharger; the bolt guide with the depression must be used with the SP Turbocharger bolt, however all the others don't matter.
Overview:
· The Shocker's firing assembly consists of the bolt guide, bolt, bolt sleeve, and fire chamber. The bolt is the main moving part of a Shocker; it also acts as the valve for the marker. The bolt sleeve is what moves the bolt. The fire chamber houses pressure to fire the paintball. The bolt guide stabilizes the movement of the bolt and times the release of air to fire.
· The bolt requires a proper dwell setting to fire correctly.
· Solenoid inserts are used to direct air from the solenoid to the firing assembly.
· Delrin bolts are no longer used, they've been replaced by more reliable aluminum versions.
· There are multiple aftermarket assemblies available, although none of them are uniquelly better than all the rest.
· Some aftermarket firing assemblies won't function with specific private label Shockers.
Related Links:
· Stock bolt manual scan
· Shocker Design & Theory
· Firing assembly maintenance section (o-ring diagrams can be found here)
· Solenoid inserts
· Solenoid
Navigation:
Tech index -> Shocker SFT -> Parts of a Shocker -> Firing assembly
