Mac 1 Annihilator

```mediawiki The Mac 1 Annihilator, also known as the McMurray & Son Annihilator and later advertised as the Annihilator 88, was an American custom pump-action paintball marker developed by Tim McMurray. Based on Sheridan and Pursuit Marketing markers, it combined a lengthened barrel, centre-fire bolt, anti-blowback pump, gravity feed and optional constant-air system.[1][2]

Unlike a standard factory model, the Annihilator was assembled in several configurations from Sheridan-based pistols. Contemporary reporting described it as a limited-production marker occupying a transitional position between early modified paintball pistols and later purpose-built competition markers.[2]

Development

McMurray & Son was originally an airgun business. The company entered paintball equipment development after contacting Pursuit Marketing founders David Freeman and Jeff Perlmutter in late 1984 and obtaining Sheridan/Pursuit paintball pistols.[1]

Early work addressed the limitations of Sheridan-based pistols and rifles, including barrel length, magazine capacity, blowback and the operation of pump and gravity-feed systems. McMurray & Son credited Steve “Gunner” Tetz, then an equipment supplier at Sat Cong Village, with developing an early workable combination of pump action and gravity feed.[1]

When Sheridan considered disposing of approximately 200 partly completed paintball rifles, McMurray & Son attempted to purchase them and borrowed US$14,000 for the proposed transaction. The sale did not proceed, but work undertaken during the project contributed to the development of a retrofittable Delrin anti-blowback pump.[1]

McMurray & Son also developed a magazine-extension adaptor which was subsequently sold to Sheridan. Further work with Sheridan and Pursuit Marketing produced a centre-fire expansion-chamber bolt and an approximately 12½-inch barrel. Installing this barrel arrangement on a Sheridan-based pistol led to the Annihilator.[1]

Design

The Annihilator was built around a Sheridan-type stacked-tube action. Documented base markers included the PMI-1, PMI-2 and Sheridan PGP.[3] Its principal features included:

a lengthened, honed barrel;
a centre-fire bolt;
a Delrin anti-blowback pump;
a direct or positive gravity-feed system;
a scope or sight rail; and
either 12-gram CO2 operation, constant air, or a configuration capable of accepting both.[1][2]

McMurray & Son initially experimented with feed tubes held by set screws, but found that the screws could deform the tube. A friction-fit feed arrangement was subsequently adopted. Constant-air development was informed by feedback from players, particularly Bob Mariotti and the Wolf Pack.[1]

Because each Annihilator was a customised marker, specifications varied. A basic model photographed in 1987 had a 12½-inch precision-honed barrel, three-inch Delrin pump, positive feed and sight rail. A more extensively equipped example had a five-inch pump, side-air fitting, 10-ounce constant-air bottle, shoulder stock, Herrett grips and an Armson OEG sight.[1]

Contemporary performance reports

A 1987 Action Pursuit Games equipment survey reported that only a few hundred Annihilators were then in circulation. Its example used a honed 12-inch barrel, centre-fire anti-blowback bolt, extended gravity-feed magazine, Delrin pump and constant-air system. The magazine reported consistent five-inch groups at 75 feet, with the marker's velocity kept below 325 feet per second.[2]

These figures describe the configuration tested or reported by the magazine rather than a universal factory specification, as Annihilators were assembled from different Sheridan and PMI base markers.

Annihilator 88

A 1988 Skan-Line advertisement listed an Annihilator 88 with the following equipment:[4]

Feature	Advertised specification
Barrel	12½-inch precision-honed custom barrel
Feed	Direct feed with 12-inch gravity-feed tube
Pump	Four- or five-inch Delrin pump
Bolt	Custom centre-fire bolt
Air connection	Side-air connection
Sight mounting	Dovetail scope and sight rail
Additional features	Cobra Boost internal velocity regulator and quick-disassembly bolt system
Advertised price	US$339.99

The same advertisement placed the Annihilator above the less expensive Mac 1 Avenger, which shared several of its design features.[4]

Reception and use

The Annihilator appeared on the cover of the first issue of Action Pursuit Games in 1987. The photographed marker was fitted with constant air and a sound suppressor.[2]

In a 1994 retrospective, Action Pursuit Games contributor Ken Gilder described an Annihilator made from a PGP which he had used since June 1989. Gilder reported that the marker remained in tournament use during the early 1990s. He recorded one 1991 tournament in which an Annihilator produced chronograph readings of 297, 296 and 296 feet per second before a game and 295, 294 and 294 after approximately 200 shots.[3] This was an individual account rather than a controlled product test.

The same retrospective stated that the Florida Annihilators took their team name from the marker.[3]

Relationship to the Avenger

Following several years of modifying the Annihilator, McMurray & Son used the experience gained from its production to develop the Mac 1 Avenger. The Avenger retained the centre-fire bolt, Delrin pump and positive-feed arrangement but was designed to offer comparable reliability at a lower price. Some later Avenger developments were also incorporated into Annihilator configurations.[1]

References

Tim McMurray and Dennis O'Flaherty, “The Avenger Story: A History of Paint Gun Development”, Front Line, November 1987, pp. 13–15.
“High-Tech Paintguns: Will They Revolutionize the Sport?”, Action Pursuit Games, Volume 1, Number 1, 1987, pp. 5 and 30.
Ken Gilder, “Classic Report: The Annihilator”, Action Pursuit Games, June 1994, pp. 70 and 87.
“Annihilator 88 / Avenger 88”, Skan-Line and McMurray & Son advertisement, Action Pursuit Games, October 1988.

External links

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