Carter Buzzard
The Carter Buzzard was a custom .68-calibre pump-action paintball marker made by Earon Carter through Carter Machine. It used a Nelson-derived action and became associated with stock-class paintball. A spring 1989 feature in Paintball documents the Buzzard name and identifies its namesake as Jay Jackson.[1][2]
Development and design
[edit]The early Buzzard developed alongside Rob Smith's Termite Gun. Daniel Bacci's examination of surviving markers and interviews with participants documents overlap between the two designs, including examples with similar pump arms and receiver assemblies.[1][3]
The Buzzard used a breech-drop layout and twin pump arms. Early examples used a rear 12-gram CO₂ changer. Later stock-class configurations included a vertical gas connection, and Carter Machine also offered direct-feed and constant-air options. VintageRex documents changes to trigger frames and the mounting of the feed tube over the life of the model.[2]
Competition
[edit]WARPIG reported that Buzzards were among the commonly used markers at the March 1996 Earon Carter Stock Class Invitational. The winning Combat Crew team received blue Carter Stock Buzzards as prizes.[4]
References
[edit]- Daniel Bacci, Restored Early Carter Machine Buzzard History, Paintball History, including the spring 1989 Paintball feature
- VintageRex, Buzzard
- Daniel Bacci, A Chronology of Rob Smith's Termite Gun and the Carter Machine Buzzard, Paintball History
- Bill Mills, Earon Carter Stock Class Invitational, WARPIG, March 1996