I have played Recreational Paintball for a while now and I don’t see it wearing out on me anytime soon. It’s great to just go out there and relieve stress, have fun and have a slight workout at the same time. The games are never the same. It’s always something interesting and it’s always a different challenge.
Everytime we stop for rest or to fill up pods and air up, I always see the speedball field being populated. I hear the countdown to “game on” and all I hear is just a barrage of paintballs and people shouting out locations of enemy players. I saw the fast paced gameplay and different levels of teamwork and a different play-style.
I came to realize overtime that I can improve my skills in Woodsball if I try speedball and train to be good at it. That way I know how to make myself a more difficult target in any situation. If there is any type of training that I can use to improve my movements, speed and overall skill, it would be speedball. So I did what most people would do in order to start: try out guns from other players so I can see for myself what I am comfortable using.
After trying some impressive guns, I eventually decided that the Empire Axe was the best choice for me. Both the price and the effectiveness was more than enough to help me make my decision.
After about a week, I received my gun in the mail. I could not be any happier with my initial test of the Axe. The air efficiency was excellent, the disassembly was very simple, the accuracy with the stock barrel is decent, and the gun just looked nice. Aesthetics is a big thing with me. One thing that really caught my eye as I was testing this gun prior to buying it was that fact that it had no line from the ASA to the handle. It looked more like a gun than most high end paintball guns.
Another thing I liked about the gun was the fact that the bolt removal is tool-less and it is completely internal. Meaning: there is nothing sticking out of the frame that exposes part of the bolt. The gun looks sleek with very little near-sharp edges except for the feedneck. It also not as loud as most paintball guns I’ve tried. It has sort of a muffled pop and I can freely maintain it in my garage without making too much of a racket and wake up the neighbors.
The ASA is another thing that I like. It’s a lever that you full back to air up the gun. You don’t have to turn dials or anything. Just pop the tank in, pull back the lever and your gun is aired up. When not in use, push the lever forward and the gun is no longer aired. Another plus because of the way this gun is aired up is that the bolt can’t be removed when the lever is pulled back (with a tank installed of course). This prevents the bolt from accidentally flying towards your face while out in the field.
At first look, this gun is extremely well made, Quite the bang for your buck. And as I have used it over the past few months, it proved to be very reliable.
Another thing I liked about the gun was the fact that the bolt removal is tool-less and it is completely internal. Meaning: there is nothing sticking out of the frame that exposes part of the bolt. The gun looks sleek with very little near-sharp edges except for the feedneck. It also not as loud as most paintball guns I’ve tried. It has sort of a muffled pop and I can freely maintain it in my garage without making too much of a racket and wake up the neighbors.
The ASA is another thing that I like. It’s a lever that you full back to air up the gun. You don’t have to turn dials or anything. Just pop the tank in, pull back the lever and your gun is aired up. When not in use, push the lever forward and the gun is no longer aired. Another plus because of the way this gun is aired up is that the bolt can’t be removed when the lever is pulled back (with a tank installed of course). This prevents the bolt from accidentally flying towards your face while out in the field.
At first look, this gun is extremely well made, Quite the bang for your buck. And as I have used it over the past few months, it proved to be very reliable.
Fast forward to today, I have been using the Empire Axe for about 4 months now and I’ve never had problems with it and its internal mechanisms. Keep in mind that I have been playing speedball every Sunday since I decided that I wanted to try it. I have also joined a local team in order to fully solidify my goal to get better. I practice with them and I usually go into the snake side which is one of the more difficult areas to go to as a speedball player because you get laned hard. So I had to practice diving into the snake almost every practice. So the gun has had its share of good and bad dives. But, so far, I have not beaten the gun up to the point of usability.
As far as firing modes go, it’s very simple to switch from on to the other. The initial act of doing so may prove to be a little complicated since I have the latest version and most tutorials online are for the earlier versions. Once you figure out how to do it, it’ll be simple to switch it around.
As far as firing modes go, it’s very simple to switch from on to the other. The initial act of doing so may prove to be a little complicated since I have the latest version and most tutorials online are for the earlier versions. Once you figure out how to do it, it’ll be simple to switch it around.
Now onto the cons.
As an amateur in the field of speedball, I have very little complaints about this gun. If you’re using the stock barrel, the sound of its fire is low enough to NOT make an agitated hopper react to it. So you’ll be hitting your hopper ever now and then to feed the paintballs through.
I also have an issue with tweaking the Axe’s dwell, firing modes etc. Since you are looking at blinks and light colors, it’s difficult to do emergency maintenance out on the field while a game is going on. Paying attention to the lights makes you not pay attention to your surroundings. This can be remedied by buying an upgraded board like the Redline Grip from Empire so that you have an LED screen telling you what you’re doing to it. But that’s an extra $150+ that I won’t spend simply because the board is “better”. My opinion is that if I can shoot you out with a regular board, why would I need an upgraded one?
Other than that, I have no complaints about the gun itself and its performance. It has not let me down yet.
I also have an issue with tweaking the Axe’s dwell, firing modes etc. Since you are looking at blinks and light colors, it’s difficult to do emergency maintenance out on the field while a game is going on. Paying attention to the lights makes you not pay attention to your surroundings. This can be remedied by buying an upgraded board like the Redline Grip from Empire so that you have an LED screen telling you what you’re doing to it. But that’s an extra $150+ that I won’t spend simply because the board is “better”. My opinion is that if I can shoot you out with a regular board, why would I need an upgraded one?
Other than that, I have no complaints about the gun itself and its performance. It has not let me down yet.
I have upgraded the gun with a derlin bolt and a Freak Barrel kit. Though the barrel kit made it so that the sound of the gun firing is louder, it still isn’t as loud as most guns out in the field. I have also tried using dual barrel kits (Freak and TechT) on it. I would sometimes use a .682 TechT sleeve and attach a .684 Freak barrel sleeve and the results would be nothing short of awesome.
I plan on upgrading my Axe a little bit more soon. Probably a different spring and a different trigger. But those will come later.
I plan on upgrading my Axe a little bit more soon. Probably a different spring and a different trigger. But those will come later.
All in all, the gun is awesome based solely on the price and reliability. You’re not gonna get a better gun for the same price. It looks sleek, it fires more quietly than most other guns, it’s easy to maintain and is just the right size. I’d recommend this gun for anyone who wants to venture into speedball or even those who just want to use a good gun for recreational purposes.
I’m done.
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I’m done.
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