Electronic Resurrection: The Bushmaster is Back Author: Mister.44 Client: Paintball Magazine Publish Date: June, 2000 NOTE: This is the original copy submitted and does not reflect any editorial changes. © 2000 Steve Novak
Photo Shoot Images Coming Soon!

I arrive early at my favorite paintball field. The dew is still on the ground and the air has a fog in it from the morning. I walk to the clubhouse only to notice it is still closed. I chuckle to myself and mutter how the owner, Cris, must be having trouble climbing out of bed. Oh well, I shrug, it isn’t the first time I am the first on the field, and it gives me time to stretch. As I head back to my car, I notice an old beat up Bronco and Suburban parked by it. Five men have scrambled out and begin unloading gear. They were all dressed in tiger stripe camouflage. One of them unfurls a banner with the word "Highlanders" inscribed on it. Oh boy, I thought, another tournament team has come to check out the field. I had never heard of them, but they seemed friendly enough.

I approach them and start to make small talk. As always, when paintballers get together, the question is asked. This time a guy with a patch proclaiming the name ‘Mad Dog’ asks me, "So, watcha shootin’?"

"Oh, think I’m going to play with my Spyder."

"Spyder?" Mad Dog replies with a puzzled look.

"Must be one of the clones," snorts one of them with the name ‘Hawkeye’ on his shirt.

"Say, Buddy," pipes up a short one whose tag reads ‘Mouse’, "you ain’t playin’ in that shirt are you? You’ll stick out like sore thumb."

I look at my JT tournament shirt and shrug. "Hey, are you all looking for any more team members?" I inquire. "I have all my own gear and have been playing for about two years."

"Well," replies ‘Ace’, "you seem like a nice kid, but you really need a Bushmaster if you plan on competing with the big boys. Oh and you will need to have constant air. It’s a must! Here, take one of our spares, it even has a 100 round hopper. Try not to use it all in one game."

I am not sure what to say, but stare at this pump gun they had just laid in my hands. As they move toward the chrony area I just follow the team around, almost as if I was in a trance. Ace said that Cris told them they could practice on field five before the rest of the rec players arrived. They invited me for a little three on two. These guys were unbelievable. They moved like the trees weren’t even there and never made a single sound. It was surreal.

The game ended and I was alone in the woods. I called out to the team, but they must have headed back to their trucks. I went back to the parking lot, but only my car was in the lot. I turned to see Cris’ van coming up the hill.

I met him inside the clubhouse. "Wow, where’d you get that relic?" he asked pointed to my loaned gun.

"Uh, from this team that was here a little bit ago, but they left before I could give it back."

"Man, those Bushmasters really rocked! They were all we used on my old tourney team back in the day. Looks like they kept that one in mint condition! Hey, speaking of the Bushmaster – look what just came in. Looks like his big brother – the Bushmaster 2000. I tell you what, I think this Bushmaster might dominate the tourney scene like the old one did."

As I stood admiring the gun under glass, I asked the question, almost afraid of the answer. "Cris, ever heard of the ‘Highlanders’ and some guys named ‘Mad Dog’ and ‘Ace’?"

Cris grew somber. "Yeah, they were my old team mates back in 1989. We all got in a horrible 10-car pileup on the way back from a big tourney in Pennsylvania. I was the only one who survived." He rolled up his sleeve to show a huge scar to emphasize his point. "Why do you ask?"

"No reason." Mention that you owned a Bushmaster in the late ‘80s and you would have been revered as having one of the nicest guns on the field. It was the most popular tourney gun of the time, and one of the most cloned guns in paintball history.

While times have changed, things have come full circle with the resurrection of the Bushmaster name. At Skyball ’99, Indian Creek Designs, a company known for its well made low to mid priced paintguns, unveiled the Bushmaster 2000 as its flagship tournament gun. Jerry Dobbins, designer of both the Bushmaster 2000 and the original Bushmaster, created a reliable electronic gun with performance and quality equaling guns at twice its price. With its smart design and many features, the Bushmaster 2000 is well on its way to gaining the notoriety of the original.

Features and Points of Interest:

Looking at the Bushmaster 2000 you will see many features that you would expect to find on a gun of tournament caliber. Some of these features make excellent use of recent paintball technology. Other parts of it are pure innovation, tempting competitors to copy.

Vertical Feed:
Standard on the Angel and Rainmaker, and common on many custom Autocockers, the vertical feed has become the feed of choice for many tournament players. It allows balls from the hopper to feed into the gun a tad faster (which is important when a gun can reach near 11.2 BPS, the fastest gravity can feed balls into a gun.). It also gives the user a smaller "signature", meaning less of the hopper is hanging out in the air to be shot. Its draw back is that people used to sighting down the top of gun will have to make adjustments. People used to powerfeeds or sighting down the side of the gun will have little problems adjusting.

Two Finger Grip:
Formally for only ultra tricked guns, two finger triggers are becoming standard on more and more paintguns. The Bushmaster 2000 is no exception. Many enjoy the leverage that the two-finger trigger provides. It also allows for faster shooting for many users through the use of the two middle fingers.

The grip on the Bushmaster 2000 is a .45 grip (which has replaced the Lonestar/M-16 grip as the grip of choice for most paintballers), and comes with standard rubber plates. However, it is compatible with wood, ivory, Houge, or other .45 grips on the market. What sets the Bushmaster apart from other guns, is its unique design of the two-finger grip. It keeps in mind the user who still only wants to use one finger. With the way the trigger guard is shaped, it can be used with one finger very comfortably. In fact, if one closes their eyes and shoots with one finger, it would be hard to tell that it even had a two-finger grip!

Trigger Adjustment:
No need to send the Bushmaster 2000 off to some fancy tournament player and pay him big bucks. The Bushmaster 2000 comes standard with two set screws that allow custom trigger adjustment. The top screw adjusts where in the pull the gun fires. Screwing the screw in will make it fire sooner, and screwing out will make it fire later. If you screw it all the way in, it will constantly be "on". If you screw it too far out it will not fire at all.

The second, bottom screw, sets how far the trigger moves. Screwing it out will make a long pull, in will make a short pull. With only five minutes of work one can come up with an insanely short trigger. Note: A tad of blue locktite may be needed to prevent the set screws from wiggling loose through use.

Trigger:
The trigger itself is light and soft. No one should complain about its feel. It does have some side to side wobble, however this does not effect performance it all as it does in some mechanical guns.

Ball Detent:
The Bushmaster 2000 features an Autococker style ball detent. This tested design prevents double feeding.

Bolt:
Bolts, next to barrels, are the one item most often replaced on stock paintguns. There is no need to do so on the Bushmaster 2000! The Bushmaster sports a white Delrin, o-ringless bolt with a wide open inlet hole. This will increase the airflow in the gun and results in a lower operating pressure. It also has an integrated push ball to hold the bolt link pin in place.

Low Pressure:
Speaking of low pressure, the gun operates on 225 – 275 PSI, categorizing it as a "low pressure gun". While the benefits of low pressure are not fully understood, most low-pressure systems will result in more efficiency, meaning more shots per tank.

Built in Regulator:
The Bushmaster 2000 comes standard with an input pressure regulator. The regulator takes the air from the tank and brings it down to around 225 – 275 PSI. It can be easily adjusted with a slotted screwdriver or quarter on the bottom. Another nice feature is the standard tournament cap, which doubles as a contoured fore grip. One thing to note is that it does not attach via a standard ASA adapter. Any other regulator will need an adapter to attach to the Bushmaster. The regulator also sports a handy pressure gauge.

Low Pressure Regulator:
On the front of the gun is a low pressure reg which is used to adjust the amount of pressure sent to the ram that moves the hamer and opens the valve. It is adjust able from the front with a coin and is used in the fine tuning of the gun

Gas Recommendations:
The Bushmaster 200 can run on CO2, but it was really designed for N2 or compressed air. If one wants the best out of the gun, invest in an N2 system. In the manual it recommends a system that is adjustable to deliver 350-500 psi into the gun. This means that most of the lower end systems (Crossfire, Micro-Reg etc.) are not recommended. However, in talking with Indian Creek Design, they said that these non-adjustable systems would be fine, but that the efficiency of the gun may be less than normal.

Safety:
While lacking a mechanical safety, it has an electronic one. With a flick of the switch on the side, the gun can be rendered "safe" or "live". While this is handy, it should NOT replace the most important safety feature of any paintgun – THE BARREL PLUG.

Electronic Panel and DIP Switches:
The main electronics panel is housed in the grip frame and can be easily accessed with the removal of the left grip panel. Inside are the DIP switches that adjusts the rate of fire (13.1 – 6.5 BPS ), and between the various fire modes (semi, 3 round burst, 5 round burst, full auto). The manual comes with clear instructions and there is little guessing on how to adjust the settings properly. A dental pick or small allen wrench come in real handy to adjust the DIP switches.

One other thing to note is that the electronic panel can be easily removed. This means if there are ever any hardware upgrades through advances in technology, replacement should be a snap. Also, the last DIP switch is reserved to turn the LCD feature off. This is interesting, because there is no LCD feature for the Bushmaster 2000 at this time. Gazing into a crystal ball, it should be safe to say that Indian Creek Designs is thinking ahead for the future.

Firing Modes:
As with most electronic guns the Bushmaster 2000 has a wealth of firing settings. Along with adjusting the maximum BPS on single fire mode (from 13.1 to 6.5 BPS), it can be set for 3 or 6 round burst and full auto mode. All burst modes and full auto mode have a safety feature built in where it will stop firing when the trigger is released. i.e. if it is on 6 round burst, one can shoot twice and release the trigger and it will cease firing. Also, the rate of fire on burst and full auto mode is maxed out at 9 BPS.

Battery:
Unlike some other electronic guns, the Bushmaster 2000 does not use some fancy proprietary battery. It uses a standard 9 volt. While it is not rechargeable, you have little fear of forgetting to charge a battery and not having one to play with. Any two-bit gas station will have a 9V. Just put in a fresh one before the big game or tournament and you will be fine. According to Indian Creek Design, a battery should last you 30,000 to 40,000 continuous shots.

Barrel:
The stock 12" barrel is microhoned with a muzzle break, step-bore, spiral porting, and an o-ring to keep it in place. While many people toss stock barrels aside, field testing showed that you may want to keep this one in your gear bag. (more on that in the field-testing section)

Field Stripping:
By pulling out the top bolt link pin, the bolt slides out and allows the barrel and breach to be cleaned at once with a squeegee.

Simplicity:
While reviewing the Bushmaster 2000, its simplicity of design is something to be admired. While the Angel has over 200 parts to it, the Bushmaster 2000 weighs in with only 37 major parts. Wow.

Field Testing:

Benchmark Notes:
The Bushmaster 2000 tested was provided by Indian Creek Designs. It was the same as any stock Bushmaster, except it had some minor milling, was polished, and had a coat of clear anodizing to make it a pretty. Because the Bushmaster performs best with 350-500 psi going into the gun, and a Crossfire system was used, a Palmer Stabilizer regulator was used to bring the pressure to the gun regulator to down to 450 psi. A Revolution loader was also used. Factory setting of the DIP switches were used as were the factory setting of the Low Pressure Regulator. The high-pressure regulator delivered about 350 psi into the gun.

First Looks
After reviewing the seemingly endless list of features and points of interests, it is time to take the Bushmaster 2000 out to the – well – er – bush. Inside its box is the Bushmaster, its barrel, two allen wrenches, and manual. The manual is easy to read and quickly tells the user what they need to get started.

Picking up the Bushmaster 2000 for the first time and you will notice that it looks sort of like a Spyder with an extra block of metal between the grip and body. It would be more accurate to say that it looks like a Promaster. The Promaster was the first successor of the Bushmaster pump gun. It came out at about the same time as the F1- Illustrator as was one of the first blow back semi autos on the market. Its body is basically what they Spyder was cloned after. However, as an interesting side note, the Bushmaster 2000 does owe its roots to the old Promaster, using the same extrusion dies in its construction.

As you look the gun over you can tell that each part is a piece of quality machined metal. The interior tubes are microhoned to a high polish. The internals are heat-treated stainless steel and high tech Delrin for the bolt. Not one part on the Bushmaster 2000 looks or feels cheap or shoddy. You can really tell that time and thoughtfulness were used in the design of the gun.

Adding a tank and hopper to the gun adds to the weight, but it is still a remarkably light gun. Finally, the body even has some extra "meat" to it, allowing custom milling to parts of the body, something that most electronic guns lack.

How does it Work?

Putting it to the Test
After drooling over the gun for a bit, it was time to put it together. First the battery needs installed. Use a 9V name brand alkaline battery. From experience with powered loaders, good name brand batteries will not leave you hanging like cheap ones will. The 9V battery is in a tray above the grip frame. Take off the left grip plate to expose the DIP switches and electronics board. Note the blue wires that are looped. These wires allow the necessary distance between the grip and upper body to change the battery. Remember to make sure the loop is still there when you reassemble the gun. Now take apart the grip frame from the body by removing the four screws holding it together. Be careful of the wiring when doing all of this. Now, replace the battery and make sure the wires face down and that the battery is all the way forward in the tray. Put the body and grip back together, careful not to pinch any wires. Turn on the main switch and make sure the LED is on. Then turn it off and replace the screws.

Next, the barrel is screwed on. Then the loader is added. A motorized loader is recommended. Simply screw the loader on in a clockwise direction. It is a tight fit, but it keeps the loader on during play.

Now the air system of choice is added. The Bushmaster 2000 has holes tapped in the grip to accept standard bottomlines and any number of N2 system cradles. It also has a stainless steel nipple to attach a quick disconnect line to the reg.

Finally, add paint and go to town! Turn on the hopper, turn on the gas, turn on the gun, and pull the trigger. With the first pull, you will feel a very soft and light trigger. A very light trigger. Extra caution should be taken with the Bushmaster 2000, as it is easy to bump the trigger and fire. When shooting it, it definitely feels and sounds similar to an Angel.

Shooting over the chrono, the Bushmaster 2000 was found to be very consistent. On average there was a +/- 5 FPS difference in shots. Since most regulators need a few cases to get worn it, this is an excellent showing of a brand new regulator.

Taking on the target range, you begin to get the feel for the rate of fire and accuracy of the gun.

Most gun reviews don’t really mention stock barrels much any more. Popular consensus is that most stock barrels work better at keeping your broken hatchback up than shooting paint through it. In fact, talking to Jerry Dobbins of Indian Creek Designs, he even said that the stock barrel was nothing to crow about. However, after testing, Jerry may want to stop being so hard on himself. While it may not look as fancy as some of the aftermarket barrels out there, it is nearly as accurate! At about 50’ distance, it kept as tight of a grouping as a custom Autococker with a $100 barrel on it. While you may be able to squeeze a bit more accuracy with a certain barrel/paint match, the stock barrel has exceptional accuracy.

It was passed around the shooting range for some of the other players to try it out. Everyone liked the short smooth trigger and the ability to rattle off a string of paint with little effort. Even though many of the lower end guns on the market come with lighter trigger pulls than in the past, nothing can compete with an electronic trigger.

Testing during actual game play was pleasantly uneventful. It was about 40F most of the day with little wind. It wasn’t the best condition for paint, but the Bushmaster 2000 was unaffected by the weather. It painted whatever you were shooting at. Users used to the long pull of Autocockers and other guns had a bit of a time to adjust to the short tap of the Bushmaster‘s trigger pull. But it allowed even the newbie to tap out a quick three shot burst. The accuracy seen at the range was again reflected on the field. One user felt that he was more accurate because he didn’t have to concentrate at all on pulling the trigger correctly or hard enough, he just had to sight in his target and fire.

After playing a few games, it was back to the range to test the different firing modes. Using the DIP switches and the simple instructions, it was easy to change to 3 round burst, 6 round burst, and full auto mode. When the gun is in one of these modes, it is maxed out at 9 rounds per second. As mentioned before, if the trigger is released in mid burst, the gun will cease firing. Everyone loved to shoot the burst and full auto modes. There is just something about the rapid "WHACK! WHACK!" of paint hitting targets that people love.

Through out testing, one ball was broken at the very last game and a few were broken in full auto mode afterwards in range testing. If the gun full auto rate of fire was taken down to a lower rate of fire, it fed fine. Upon close examination and a quick look at the trouble-shooting guide, it was determined that a sticky ball detent was the culprit. It was replaced and after that it shot flawlessly at any speed. Even with the faulty detent, it shot extraordinarily well.

Nitpicking:

Over all there are no actual design flaws that were evident in the design of the gun. However, there are a handful of possible changes we would like to see in the future. The first is easier access to the battery. Possibly there could be a hatch on the side of the gun that is closed with one screw. This would make changing batters considerably easier and pose less risk of damaging a wire. The other feature we would like to see is the ability to change firing modes with out removing the grip panel. While this does effectively prevent cheating in tournaments, changing the modes on the fly would be useful in rec games that allow variable fire modes. A tournament cap would be utilized for tournament play. Finally an LCD function would be nice, but rumor has it that the Bushmaster will have an LCD variant within a year.

Is it the Right Gun for You?

The Bushmaster 2000 is an excellent value. Tournament and rec players alike will want it for all of its cutting edge features and winning performance. What makes the Bushmaster 2000 a good choice? Electronic trigger, quality construction, ease of maintenance, simplicity of design, implementation of advanced features, and its price, make it a great value. However, the gun really does need N2 to perform well, which is an added (yet worth while) expense to consider. However, we feel that if you are looking for a reliable electronic gun that performs, and will leave you enough money to buy some paint, this may be the gun for you.
Special thanks to Jerry Dobbins of Indian Creek Designs for the use of the Bushmaster 2000 and for providing us background and technical information on the gun. Thanks also to Cris Backman of Krazy Kris Paintball in Manhattan, Kansas, for assisting in field-testing and providing test paint.