I recently picked up "The" purple gargoyle (I didn't check for serial #, but it is the only purple one, so that should sum it up).
It just so happens that Rodney lives a couple towns over from me (well, from my hometown anyway). I am in the Navy, and was going home for Labor Day weekend, so I had the pleasure of picking this up directly from Rodney in person.
We met locally, and he showed me everything I need to know about the marker and more. The list of features is astounding. So begins my review.
Note: I would just like to say I have only used this once. Although I didn't put it down once that day. I had a new PMI 1 I planned on testing out as well, but I could not put the Gargoyle down.
Trigger & Trigger Frame:
The trigger is extremely smooth. It is without a doubt the smoothest slide trigger I have ever used. The grip frame is comparable to the "Titanium" anodized Carter Buzzard that many have seen floating around MCB at one point or another. It has the "hump" on the back with makes it extremely comfortable to grip. The grips are comfortable as well. I have no complaints here. I plan to switch them out in the future for a different pair, but not for comfort by any means. Honestly it is just to personalize the Gargoyle that tiny bit more.
The trigger is fully adjustable so if you feel like having an almost "mouse-click" style trigger pull it is capable. I found that I enjoyed the trigger pull as it was tuned from Rodney.
My Experience With The Gargoyle:
Now as said, I was only home for labor day weekend, so we played all day on Saturday in the woods area my family owned. We didn't have a chrono, but a fellow member from MCB (greenmtnphantom) had the following readings in his review:
Temp - low 60's
Total shots taken - 34
Data -
Chronograph speeds - 288, 297, 291, 000, 309, 273, 289, 279, 285, 289, 276, 303, 278 285, 301, 286, 288, 290, 282, 280, 300, 271, 280, 260, 276, 277, 259, 244, 237, 206, 000, 000
000 means I did not get a reading.I was using Brass Eagle 12 grams all day (supplied by a friend), as I was not able to order better 12ies on such short notice and when I would only be playing over one short weekend for now. I don't remember how many shots I was getting out of each 12 gram, but I changed them after each game just in case, and was only carrying a 4 ten round tubes on the field with me.
Overall Feel:
The tolerances are no less than perfect with the Gargoyle, it was machined with precision. Each part fits seamlessly where it belongs. For weight comparison, is heftier than a phantom (comparable to a Buzzard IMO) but feels better in my hands than both the Buzzard and Phantom. I have never owned a Phantom, only used for a couple games. I owned a buzzard though for a few months (it wasn't for me I found).
Overall, I have not one complaint. It pumps like a nelson, so don't expect to compare to your T2's pump stroke. Although I was told the pump stroke would only get better with use. I have no complaints about the pump stroke as is anyway.
A couple of my favorite features:
This deserves a special mention:
As you can see in the embed youtube video, the gargoyle is easily broken down and put back together in seconds. It would not be hard to take out the internals, give it a clean/lube and be back on the field in a couple minutes or less.
Also, the feed cap had an unexpected twist. If the stock ball retainer failed for what ever reason or went missing, the feed cap has a ring milled into it. A bit of it is milled all the way through. This way, an O-ring can be inserted into the groove as a makeshift ball retainer. Another way to keep you out of the staging area and on the field.
Not only does this make cleaning and breaking the marker down incredibly fast, but think of the possibilities for add ons in the future ;]
Customer Service
Rodney is great with this. As soon as I walked up to him he hands me a 20 dollar bill for picking it up instead of shipping. That caught me off guard (didn't even realize he factored it into the price. It was a excellent surprise.
As he was showing me all the features of the Gargoyle, he realized he had forgotten the O-ring around the barrel and insisted on getting me one by the end of the weekend. I wasn't worried about it, but I got a text and a message on MCB asking where to send/meet. I still need to reply to that (Sorry, I have been busy, I will PM you soon).
There is so much more to this gun, but for that you can refer to Remember The Ronin and check out the features. Another excellent source for information is the RTR Gargoyle Q/A's.
This is the first marker I have owned out of 28 that I can give a 10/10 and I could not be happier.
All in all, I am proud to say I now own one of my dream paintball guns. It is everything I hoped for and more.
I will update the next time I manage to get back home to play. Sadly it couldn't come back to FL with me at the moment...
