Stroker conversion by Palmer's Pursuit Shop

In late April of '98 I learned that Palmer's Pursuit Shop could convert certain pump guns into semis. So I boxed up my PGP and sent it in. About 2 months later I got it back and I must say, it was well worth the wait.

This is PPS's newest Stroker mod. I asked Glenn in an email how many he has done and he said about 50 so far. Most people probably don't see the sense in spending $355 on a mod for a $80 paintball gun, put hey, it's a semi auto PGP!

The Stroker conversion that I picked was the bottomline setup. A back bottle setup is also available but the vertical bottle isn't because the bottom tube doesn't allow enough room. The conversion includes the following: "UltraQuik Strip, Velocity Adjuster, Ball Feed Détente, Performance Valving, Battle Handle Grips, Sight Rail, Matte Nickel Plating, and lots of TLC." (Taken directly from the Palmer catalog.)

The craftsmanship in the gun is outstanding. The work that must have gone into the gun boggles my mind. Knowing what the gun looked like before and seeing it now gives me chills. The nickel finish is better than my BBT Typhoon and the welds/solders are better too. The sight rail on the Stroker is also on straight were as on my BBT Typhoon it is crooked. I assume that was BBT's fault though.

Performance wise it is similar to my BBT Typhoon being that they are both based on the same basic design. The trigger pull does feel different though. It is quite a bit stiffer compared to my Typhoon. It took a little getting use to, but I eventually managed to get about 4-5 shots a second (I'm no speed demon in the trigger pull department). I was thinking about sending it to Palmer's that winter for a trigger job, but never did. The trigger has a nice fat trigger shoe on it that makes it feel nice. The grips are rather wide also because of the bottomline. I have medium sized hands and the grips feel just a hair to big. I heard that getting PMI rubber grips would help with this.

With a full VL2000 on the gun it feels a little lopsided. It's not unbearable, but it's definitely noticeable. After putting on a 20oz. and it doesn't feel so lopsided. For the extra money I would have considered getting a centerfeed instead.

A stock PGP is well known for being a very accurate gun. So I kind of wondered what would happen when I had the conversion done. And after shooting it I can say that the accuracy is pretty much the same. This really amazes me considering that the ball only travels about 5 inches until it's out the barrel. I never did ask Palmer's if they did any work with the barrel while they had it. If they didn't, I would have considered sending it back for some work (like honing).

With the small profile the PGP Stroker has it allows you to tuck behind cover easily. It is a handgun after all. But for its size it is very heavy. However, that is to be expected being that it is made of brass.

The PGP Stroker is a real eye catcher too. I had a lot of people ask me about it when I went to a big game. Most people thought that it looked like a PGP, but weren't sure. I was asked why I spent $355 for the conversion, after all it was just a PGP. Well, there are a few reasons. First and fore most I wanted a semi auto handgun. That above all else is why I did it. Second, I wanted a unique gun and there are very few PGP Strokers around. I also wanted another Palmer gun because they are just all around excellent guns.

Overall the PGP Stroker is a great gun. I'm happy with it and enjoy playing with it. And most importantly it performs well. The conversion isn't for everyone though. $355 is a lot of money no matter how you look at it. But if it's something YOU want, go for it.

Update- 10/09/98
I did a little practicing with the PGP Stroker and can now get 5-6 shots per second (closer to six). The trigger is starting to get more and more comfortable. Also on another note, I tried the Ravi Stage 1 trigger job on the Stroker and was rather surprised with the results. The trigger pull was a LOT softer. The stock trigger has a sort of mechanical sound to it also. And by doing the "trigger job", the sound was eliminated. Although the trigger was softer, I left it the way it was originally since I have gotten used to it now.

Chris
POG 24
03/26/00