Some of the older Spyder's came equipped with a short bolt and side cocking mechanism. This mechanism consiststed of a cocking pin that is threaded at the end and threads directly into the side of the striker through a slot cut into the left side of the marker body. There's nothing actually holding this pin in besides the torque that you put on it as you're screwing it in. At times this pin can become unscrewed and fall out during a game thereafter nowhere to be found. If you use a thread locking substance such as Loctite to retain it, it can become difficult to remove when breaking it down for a regular maintenance and cleaning schedule. Some paintballers may not like the side cocking mechanism at all and want to find an alternative to its present design. I will show you how to change your marker from a side cocking to a rear cocking configuration in this article. I will be using and old style power feed Compact Deluxe as an example.

Tools, Materials And Parts

To perform this modification you will need a drill, vice, 5/32" drill bit, a 10-32 tap and tapping handle, 3/8" drill bit, center punch, allen wrench, 2 - small blocks of wood, red and blue Loctite, a small file, sandpaper and Autococker cocking rod.

Drilling And Tapping The Bolt

Remove the bolt from your marker. Remove the bolt pin from the bolt by unscrewing the allen screw with an allen wrench. Heating it slightly will help soften the Loctite on the screw and make it easier to remove. This can be done by either using a lighter or immersing the bolt in a pan of boiled water for a short while. You may need to punch the pin from the bolt after removing the screw because it has Loctite on it as well. Be careful not to burn yourself.

Using the center punch, punch an indentation into the rear center point of the bolt as a drilling start point. Chuck the bolt into the jaws of the vice between 2 pieces of wood so not to mar the surface of the bolt. Using the 5/32" drill bit, drill a hole in the center point of the bolt through to the hole where the bolt pin was. If you do not drill this hole at an accurate 90* from the back surface, the cocking rod will be on a misaligned angle once you screw it in.

Using the 10-32 tap, tap the hole that you just drilled all the way through. Immerse the tap into some tapping oil prior to tapping. Turn the tap one full turn and back it up a half turn repetitively while doing this. It will make the task a bit easier and leave nice sharp threads as a result. Remove any metal burrs with a small file and sandpaper. Clean all oils from the tapped area with some alcohol so the oils won't interfere with the thread locking properties of the Loctite once applied.

Installing The Cocking Rod To The Back Of The Bolt

Dab a small amount of blue Loctite on the outer surface of bolt pin. Insert it back into the hole in the bolt that you removed it from. There is a small slot cutout in the pin. This should be facing the threaded hole where the allen screw that holds the pin in will be. Dab a small amount of blue Loctite on the allen screw that holds the bolt pin in. Turn the allen screw back into the bolt and make sure it fits into the slot cutout area of the pin. Torque it down a bit to be sure it won't work its way out from the jarring the pin takes while operating your marker.

Dab a small amount of red Loctite on the threads of the cocking rod. Screw the cocking rod into the threads that you just tapped. Torque it very slightly with a pair of pliers. Do not over torque it or you will strip the threads!

Wipe any excess Loctite from the now completely assembled bolt. Let the Loctite dry/cure on all parts for at least 12 - 24 hours before installing the bolt assembly back into your marker. If not, you may have to repeat this whole procedure once again because the parts loosened from the threads due to the continual jarring they takes during operation. I know you'll want to test this out as soon as possible but be patient.

Drilling The Back Cap

You'll now need to drill a hole in the back cap because the cocking rod will now protrude through the rear of the marker. You can either drill the center out of the top portion of the back cap or simply cut it off completely, your choice. Which you choose may depend on what type of Autococker cocking rod you've selected. Some have larger or smaller ends on them. I chose the smaller one because it seemed the best type for this particular application.

Using the center punch, make an indentation in the center of the top portion of the back cap. Using the 3/8" drill bit, drill a hole through the back cap. You might want to drill the hole progressively with a couple of smaller pilot holes to keep the final hole perfectly centered. File and sand any burrs or rough edges from the hole that you just drilled. To make things look clean, you can spray paint the rear cap to make it look a bit more presentable.

You might elect to fabricate a small oval shaped cover for the hole in the side of the body where the old pin cocking device used to be. I would suggest using a thin piece of aluminum or sheet metal for this cover. Cut it out, file and sand it, paint it and use an epoxy to keep it in place. This cover will prevent any unwanted debris like sand, dirt or paint from entering the lower tube of your marker.

All that's needed now is a little patience to let the Loctite and paint completely dry and you may assemble everything and test it out.

You may consider installing a beavertail on the back of the marker to protect yourself from getting whacked during operation by the rear cocking device you just installed. You can either install a stock Spyder beavertail or you can use an autococker beavertail and attach it to the rear trigger frame screw by using a slightly longer screw.

Technical Information