Carmatech Engineering SAR 12 and Milsig Update

       Ok, I've decided to be a news outlet once a year for the paintball expo, just for the sake of the next two posts.
       I have a few updates regarding the last post about new Milsig products. First regards the internals and the construction of the M17: it sounding like there will be no charging handle on either the new Paradigm or the M17, and that they will be blow forward systems. Another interesting development is the HEAT upgrade for the K-Series MKII; this will let current owners of MKII's operate at lower pressures (about 500-600psi), and it does away with the side air tube for the MATS and CATS stocks, air goes directly into the back with the new internals.
       Now for some prices: Doug Brown of Psi Ops has been posting on the Milsig Owners Facebook page with a few figures like: FXR kit: close to 200, HEAT upgrade: 125, M17: 550 (no word on accessories included at that price). I was also incorrect on my assumption about the M17 being a cast aluminum receiver, turns out it is actually molded polypropylene which should help keep the cost lower than the all metal counterparts. There is no word on the pricing of the new Paradigm, but if the change in price of the original M-series if anything to work with, it could be as much as $2000 CAD!
       In related news, a new contender is stepping into the mag fed realm: Carmatech Engineering. They're ramping up for a September 2012 launch of their marker, the SAR 12. It's the first mass production bolt action paintball rifle on the market and it's quite the beast of a marker, if not a little niche. The rifle can also been changed to fire in semi auto mode without tools in a matter of seconds which is a pretty cool too. Carmatech is currently designing a number of accessories for the marker like new front ends, stocks, one of which will take 13ci tanks which the rifle will achieve about 170 shots off of. It will take first strike rounds in a stacked fashion in the mag, and when you run out of shots, you flip the mag around and use a second stack of rounds on the other side which is a pretty clever way to get the most out of a huge mag designed to look like the real thing. Price point looks to be $1000 US, and they're asking 150 for preorders!

Here's Carmatech's site