Macdev Clone GT Review

So it’s been a while since any of us have posted anything on this blog. Since we’ve all been busy with our lives, but now I feel like its time to come back to it, at least for the time being. I have been blessed with the opportunity of jumping into a tournament paintball team that has been sponsored by a local field and proshop. Currently one of my teammates is the Macdev distributor for Canada so we have been afforded the opportunity to shoot Macdev guns. By no means does this mean that I ended up getting a whole bunch on Macdev stuff for free, but it was, lets just say, more affordable. So after buying a Macdev Clone GT, and using it for a whole season of tournaments and practices I’ve decided to put out a review on the marker.

To be honest my philosophy is that a gun is a gun, what defines a player is the person shooting it. A higher end gun in the hands of a skilled player does cause improvement, but it won’t make you into a superstar paintballer like Konstantin Federov. That being said the Macdev Clone GT is a superb shooting gun. Its integrated air regulation system allows you to ditch the macroline hose and makes the gun feel more updated, and worth your hard earned money. Features like an OLED display system, tool-less clamping feed neck, laser eyes, and tool-less pull out bolt/drive system make the GT a great gun. It is a very soft and quiet shooting gun. The Clone allows us to shoot the most brittle paint in cold conditions, and we’ve never experienced any major issues. I’ve tested most loaders on the feed neck and I know that it fits the Dye Rotor, Empire Prophecy, ViewLoader Vlocity, and the Virtue Spire without any problems.

 Photo was taken by Match Strike

 The gun comes ready to shoot straight out of the box. However, it should be noted that the gun comes with a 14in barrel with the .691 insert. Other inserts can be purchased in the shift kit and will be discussed further into the review. This marker shoots incredibly accurate, which allows for you to pull off those low paint situations with ease.  Unfortunately, with a lot of spool valve guns you tend to experience ‘first shot drop off’ issues in colder weather. For those who are unfamiliar with this, it means that usually in colder temperatures your gun becomes increasingly temperamental. Therefore, if you leave your gun alone for too long and it gets cold, the marker likes to not fire off your first shot and usually only enough pressure is released to have the ball stick in or barely roll out of your barrel. This problem can be solved quite easily by increasing your dwell. Brand new Macdev Clone GTs should be run at a higher dwell, usually around 12, and then as you shoot more cases of paint through it and break in the gun you can lower your dwell. From what I can recall the break-in period for the Clone GT is about 12-15 cases of paint. This means that after 12-15 cases the gun with run smooth and consistent with minimal change in the pressure for each shot. Purchasing a pressure tester to precisely fine tune your gun can also allow your marker to shoot more consistently, but it’s not that necessary. You won’t see significantly crazy gains, but if you are trying to fix your gun, it can be helpful and will also ensure that you don’t over pressurize it.

A lower pressure tank is recommended for the GT, but you won’t have to rush out to your local proshop just to buy the Ninja Super Low Pressure (SLP) regulator just yet. Most of my teammates, including myself used the normal ninja tanks and the GT shot without any issues. If you would like, you could always remove some shims from the ninja regulators to lower its output pressure (~450 to 500 psi). The efficiency of the Clone GT is quite standard. With most high-end guns you’ll end up shooting eight to nine pods with a true four thousand fill on a 68/4500 tank. At the same fill, Mike on techpb showed that you should get about 9½ pods. The Clone shoots as smooth, if not better than the luxe, which has been a highly debated topic, but the Macdev’s ability with efficiency proves to be the advantage over its competitor. Also the gun weighs in at 2 pounds 0.8 ounces, which makes it considerably lighter than other comparable markers.

Caring for the marker is a simple task. Maintenance relies on taking out your drive system to clean it and relube it. The best idea is to put smaller amounts of lube instead of coating your bolt. As long as your bolt orings are lubed, your gun should run fine. As a quick note the Macdev Militia lube should be fine, so you won’t need to go out and purchase an aftermarket lube. If by any chance you do need to take apart your regulator you can find a disassembly video here. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9OY7ddOVVOs&list=UUo9yY32JUhBx0NeuDgvtB_Q&index=4)

       

The  new GTi board which is stated for release during the 2013 season

So even with a high-end gun like this people will look for upgrades, and I am no exception. A lot of my teammates have placed aftermarket Violent Products scythe triggers on our guns. One of the problems with the stock trigger is that the return spring is too stiff so many people will just remove it complete so that they have a loose, free flowing trigger pull. The stock board is perfectly fine, but I think this season I’ll try the new Macdev GTi board that has just been announced. From the information that I have been given about the new GTi board is that it will allow for leak shootdown, and reg. creep to be detected. Also easy updates will be available through USB connectivity. Some people say that the regulator is slippery, but most people that own the marker don’t have this problem. I ended just putting on a regulator grip made by KM and never had my hand slip off the regulator. One of the most influential upgrades that you could probably make would be to purchase the pooty bolt core for the GT. It not only improves the efficiency by lowering the dwell to ~6, but allows for a lower operating pressure because the new drive core increases the average feet per second. The optional shift barrel kit is also a good investment because it allows many options for bore sizing without having to pay for aftermarket barrels. The shift kit is finely honed without any blemishes, which makes it extremely accurate.    

The only gripes I’ve had with the gun is that the bottom of the trigger is somewhat sharp, so it can be irritating when shooting with either hand. My solution was just to wrap some hockey tape around the sharp area, which solved it completely. A couple of my teammates and I have also experienced the OLED screens fading to the point where they are unreadable. Macdev warranties this so changing out the screen wasn’t too much of an issue, but it was something to be noted. The good thing about the Macdev board is that the screen can be replaced easily and the cost is minimal, without having to replace the entire board.

So here’s my verdict on the Macdev Clone GT. It has been an amazing, reliable gun that shoots amazingly in all weather conditions. It shoots very accurately and can be comparable to a LUXE. The weight of the gun makes it easy to hold, and maintain your gun in a shooting position. If you have the money and are looking to purchase a new marker this season I would highly recommend you go check out the Macdev Clone GT.