[Cj R]

Hello everyone!
I was browsing ANS Gear and the MacDev Drone DX is reduced to 450$, making a real problem for me. I was looking into purchasing an Axe, seeing as I'm a Mini owner and love it. However now that the Drone DX is in the same price range, I'm really curious to see which is better. I'm not used to macro lines, or having a spooly. (Mini is macro line-less and in-line poppet). SO, my final question: Which is the best marker IMO? How's the CS? Which comes with the most out of the box? Personal experiences?
Thank you for taking the time to read this, and have a good one.

[Sydarm]

Macdev spools shoot so damn nice. I'd take the Drone at that pricepoint.

[Pump Player]

axes are ugly, although the drone isnt a beauty either... personally the axe ranks somewhere around tippmanns to me, bad feel, awkward and ugly, i'd say macdev because its hard to make a worse gun than the axe. *flameshield activate*

This post has been edited by Pump Player: 01 November 2012 - 07:14 PM

[soccer9kt]

Pump Player, on 01 November 2012 - 07:13 PM, said:

axes are ugly, although the drone isnt a beauty either... personally the axe ranks somewhere around tippmanns to me, bad feel, awkward and ugly, i'd say macdev because its hard to make a worse gun than the axe. *flameshield activate*

Axe's feel great IMO. Drone's do too.... Hm.... It's a toss up, so I'd go with the axe if you want it for long term, Drone for short because the axe will hold almost like a tippman and you can't resale for more than $350... A Drone won't hold up nearly as long but, will resale for at least $400.

[TheGreat]

soccer9kt, on 01 November 2012 - 07:25 PM, said:

Pump Player, on 01 November 2012 - 07:13 PM, said:

axes are ugly, although the drone isnt a beauty either... personally the axe ranks somewhere around tippmanns to me, bad feel, awkward and ugly, i'd say macdev because its hard to make a worse gun than the axe. *flameshield activate*

Axe's feel great IMO. Drone's do too.... Hm.... It's a toss up, so I'd go with the axe if you want it for long term, Drone for short because the axe will hold almost like a tippman and you can't resale for more than $350... A Drone won't hold up nearly as long but, will resale for at least $400.

Can you please provide proof that an Axe will last longer than a Drone?

[Pakistani]

soccer9kt, on 01 November 2012 - 07:25 PM, said:

Pump Player, on 01 November 2012 - 07:13 PM, said:

axes are ugly, although the drone isnt a beauty either... personally the axe ranks somewhere around tippmanns to me, bad feel, awkward and ugly, i'd say macdev because its hard to make a worse gun than the axe. *flameshield activate*

Axe's feel great IMO. Drone's do too.... Hm.... It's a toss up, so I'd go with the axe if you want it for long term, Drone for short because the axe will hold almost like a tippman and you can't resale for more than $350... A Drone won't hold up nearly as long but, will resale for at least $400.

talking out of your ass like a boss

BOTH guns are super reliable and great shooters.
i owned one of the first DDX's available to the public and it was great. I shot it over my luxe at tournaments because it felt much more bulletproof in the morning cold.

I tell people this:
get the drone if you want a traditional marker that has easy maintenance and shares a similar bolt design to any other blow forward marker.

get the axe if you dont mind the different ergos. A LOT of people are shooting axes nowadays and thats a huge plus. if anything ever happens to your axe, help and parts will be super easy to find.

lastly, if you get an axe, account for a couple of upgrades in with the price. they arent necessary, but most people seem to be replacing the feedneck, bolt, and barrel out of the box.

and one final note:
since they are currently the same price, id go with the drone. Its just a better value considering you get a better barrel and soft case out of the box.

This post has been edited by Pakistani: 01 November 2012 - 11:34 PM

[Paintball48]

Pakistani, on 01 November 2012 - 11:30 PM, said:

soccer9kt, on 01 November 2012 - 07:25 PM, said:

Pump Player, on 01 November 2012 - 07:13 PM, said:

axes are ugly, although the drone isnt a beauty either... personally the axe ranks somewhere around tippmanns to me, bad feel, awkward and ugly, i'd say macdev because its hard to make a worse gun than the axe. *flameshield activate*

Axe's feel great IMO. Drone's do too.... Hm.... It's a toss up, so I'd go with the axe if you want it for long term, Drone for short because the axe will hold almost like a tippman and you can't resale for more than $350... A Drone won't hold up nearly as long but, will resale for at least $400.

talking out of your ass like a boss

BOTH guns are super reliable and great shooters.
i owned one of the first DDX's available to the public and it was great. I shot it over my luxe at tournaments because it felt much more bulletproof in the morning cold.

I tell people this:
get the drone if you want a traditional marker that has easy maintenance and shares a similar bolt design to any other blow forward marker.

get the axe if you dont mind the different ergos. A LOT of people are shooting axes nowadays and thats a huge plus. if anything ever happens to your axe, help and parts will be super easy to find.

lastly, if you get an axe, account for a couple of upgrades in with the price. they arent necessary, but most people seem to be replacing the feedneck, bolt, and barrel out of the box.

and one final note:
since they are currently the same price, id go with the drone. Its just a better value considering you get a better barrel and soft case out of the box.

[mustangs]

From what I researched and went by, I was stuck between these 2 guns also. But I chose to get the drone dx for mainly for 4 reasons. Everything about the axe and drone is pretty much equal except for a few things. The axe has better grips, ASA and a better trigger. Howvever you can get a violent trigger for the drone. The ASA for the drone is fine the way it is unless you don't like the puff you get when airing up the gun and the grips are eh but I upgraded from an envy so anything better is fine with me. You can also get the clone grips with a clone board which is awsome.

Ok so the 4 reasons why I decided to buy the drone are:

The drone has eye covers so it's easier to clean a chop. Where as the axe you have to pretty much take the whole gun apart to clean the eye entirely. But both don't chop that much (on a side note the drone uses the same bolt engine as a geo)

The drone has a serviceable reg. I'm sure the axe's reg barely breaks but I'm unsure about the whole if it breaks you have to send it to Kee and I'm not confident enough to take about myself.

You'll never need the change the barrel for the drone. You don't need to change the barrel on the axe either but so many people do it. The drone has a better 14" 2 piece barel

I wanted to be different. The field I go to has the usal tippmann owners but there's also a lot of ego, luxe, geo, etek, axe, dm/nt owners. I wanted to get something that will stand out from everyone else that not many people see. So I chose the macdev

Well anyways that's why I went with the drone dx. Overall both guns are great and very similar but I just figure I show you specific things and reasons why I chose to get the drone dx. I shot an axe and thought it felt awsome in the hands and the trigger was nice, but my gut said drone dx. Hope this helps you

This post has been edited by mustangs: 02 November 2012 - 11:25 AM

[cybermaniac15]

I'd be happy with either, but is rather get the drone. Macdev spools shoot like no other..

[Cj R]

So I'm reaaaally leaning towards the Drone now haha. Thank you everyone so much for your input, especially mustangs and Pakistani for your in-depth replies. Still open to anything anyone has to say about this, so keep them coming if there's any more out there

[TheGreat]

You'll love the Drone, it shoots smooth as hell and I've had no problems with mine whatsoever.

[slipknot414]

My friend has an Axe and loves it, It has a great shot. I personally love how it feels in the hands..

[EMPIRE EMPEROR]

Am I the only one who thinks the Axe looks great? Might just be because I own one??

Anyways, I chose the Axe due to the locked in potential in the marker. It will cost $35 for a Boss or Luker bolt ( Boss XSV is my fav ) This simple upgrade works wonders on this marker, its like a common tuner car, everyone has one because its the best platform to improve on. The Drone has almost no upgrades available, the Axe has an insane amount of possible upgrades. Sure you get to be the only one on the field with a Drone, but nobody will be able to fix it or give you tips. The Axe may have less than ideal ergos, but the Drone has hard plastic grips... I'll call that a draw. The Drone also has an external hose.

The Drone is an amazing marker, no doubt about that. But it is not very popular for a reason. It very well could be better out of the box, but that performance level can't get any better because there are no upgrades available.

The Axe on the other hand, has the best bolt options out of any marker on the market, a new barrel will greatly improve noise and weight if you get CF, and you can get a better feedneck, LED board, or anything else on it too.

The Drone will be great for someone who doesn't like to mess with their guns settings and leave everything stock.

The Axe is for the person who wants to upgrade and tune their gun better than everyone else on the field.

My Axe has a DeadlyWind Fibur barrel, SS Freak Inserts, XSV Boss bolt, and I have future plans for a Nano feedneck and Violent series trigger. I invite anyone to pit their Drone against my Axe, my marker will smoke it.

[TheGreat]

EMPIRE EMPEROR, on 03 November 2012 - 05:07 PM, said:

Am I the only one who thinks the Axe looks great? Might just be because I own one??

Anyways, I chose the Axe due to the locked in potential in the marker. It will cost $35 for a Boss or Luker bolt ( Boss XSV is my fav ) This simple upgrade works wonders on this marker, its like a common tuner car, everyone has one because its the best platform to improve on. The Drone has almost no upgrades available, the Axe has an insane amount of possible upgrades. Sure you get to be the only one on the field with a Drone, but nobody will be able to fix it or give you tips. The Axe may have less than ideal ergos, but the Drone has hard plastic grips... I'll call that a draw. The Drone also has an external hose.

The Drone is an amazing marker, no doubt about that. But it is not very popular for a reason. It very well could be better out of the box, but that performance level can't get any better because there are no upgrades available.

The Axe on the other hand, has the best bolt options out of any marker on the market, a new barrel will greatly improve noise and weight if you get CF, and you can get a better feedneck, LED board, or anything else on it too.

The Drone will be great for someone who doesn't like to mess with their guns settings and leave everything stock.

The Axe is for the person who wants to upgrade and tune their gun better than everyone else on the field.

My Axe has a DeadlyWind Fibur barrel, SS Freak Inserts, XSV Boss bolt, and I have future plans for a Nano feedneck and Violent series trigger. I invite anyone to pit their Drone against my Axe, my marker will smoke it.

That's a cute argument. You can throw a CF barrel, and Clone LCD screen, or A Violent/Critical trigger on the Drone. The feedneck on the Drone doesn't need to be replaced because it never had any problems with it coming off, and the bolt works fine, which saves you about $40 on a useless upgrade. But hey, if you feel like pouring money into needless "upgrades," go ahead.

[Paintball48]

[/quote]
That's a cute argument. You can throw a CF barrel, and Clone LCD screen, or A Violent/Critical trigger on the Drone. The feedneck on the Drone doesn't need to be replaced because it never had any problems with it coming off, and the bolt works fine, which saves you about $40 on a useless upgrade. But hey, if you feel like pouring money into needless "upgrades," go ahead.
[/quote]



This is so true thank you for clearing this up to everyone that hates on macdev

[Pakistani]

EMPIRE EMPEROR, on 03 November 2012 - 05:07 PM, said:

Am I the only one who thinks the Axe looks great? Might just be because I own one??

Anyways, I chose the Axe due to the locked in potential in the marker. It will cost $35 for a Boss or Luker bolt ( Boss XSV is my fav ) This simple upgrade works wonders on this marker, its like a common tuner car, everyone has one because its the best platform to improve on. The Drone has almost no upgrades available, the Axe has an insane amount of possible upgrades. Sure you get to be the only one on the field with a Drone, but nobody will be able to fix it or give you tips. The Axe may have less than ideal ergos, but the Drone has hard plastic grips... I'll call that a draw. The Drone also has an external hose.

The Drone is an amazing marker, no doubt about that. But it is not very popular for a reason. It very well could be better out of the box, but that performance level can't get any better because there are no upgrades available.

The Axe on the other hand, has the best bolt options out of any marker on the market, a new barrel will greatly improve noise and weight if you get CF, and you can get a better feedneck, LED board, or anything else on it too.

The Drone will be great for someone who doesn't like to mess with their guns settings and leave everything stock.

The Axe is for the person who wants to upgrade and tune their gun better than everyone else on the field.

My Axe has a DeadlyWind Fibur barrel, SS Freak Inserts, XSV Boss bolt, and I have future plans for a Nano feedneck and Violent series trigger. I invite anyone to pit their Drone against my Axe, my marker will smoke it.

again, im not saying the axe isn't a great marker.
but by your logic, the ion is the best marker on the market.

[Paintball48]

Yep

[EMPIRE EMPEROR]

TheGreat, on 03 November 2012 - 05:32 PM, said:

EMPIRE EMPEROR, on 03 November 2012 - 05:07 PM, said:

Am I the only one who thinks the Axe looks great? Might just be because I own one??Anyways, I chose the Axe due to the locked in potential in the marker. It will cost $35 for a Boss or Luker bolt ( Boss XSV is my fav ) This simple upgrade works wonders on this marker, its like a common tuner car, everyone has one because its the best platform to improve on. The Drone has almost no upgrades available, the Axe has an insane amount of possible upgrades. Sure you get to be the only one on the field with a Drone, but nobody will be able to fix it or give you tips. The Axe may have less than ideal ergos, but the Drone has hard plastic grips... I'll call that a draw. The Drone also has an external hose.The Drone is an amazing marker, no doubt about that. But it is not very popular for a reason. It very well could be better out of the box, but that performance level can't get any better because there are no upgrades available.The Axe on the other hand, has the best bolt options out of any marker on the market, a new barrel will greatly improve noise and weight if you get CF, and you can get a better feedneck, LED board, or anything else on it too.The Drone will be great for someone who doesn't like to mess with their guns settings and leave everything stock.The Axe is for the person who wants to upgrade and tune their gun better than everyone else on the field.My Axe has a DeadlyWind Fibur barrel, SS Freak Inserts, XSV Boss bolt, and I have future plans for a Nano feedneck and Violent series trigger. I invite anyone to pit their Drone against my Axe, my marker will smoke it.

That's a cute argument. You can throw a CF barrel, and Clone LCD screen, or A Violent/Critical trigger on the Drone. The feedneck on the Drone doesn't need to be replaced because it never had any problems with it coming off, and the bolt works fine, which saves you about $40 on a useless upgrade. But hey, if you feel like pouring money into needless "upgrades," go ahead.

Actually, the Axe feedneck has been fixed. I only want a new one on my Axe because the Spires feed neck is very, very short and the stock Axe feedneck is long so I would get a lower profile by an inch with the new feedneck. An inch I know...

Bolt works fine on the Axe too, just makes it better than the Drone with a new one. Worth $35 for me, very useful btw.
They are as needless upgrades as upgrading to a Luxe over a PMR.

Pakistani, on 03 November 2012 - 07:06 PM, said:

EMPIRE EMPEROR, on 03 November 2012 - 05:07 PM, said:

again, im not saying the axe isn't a great marker.but by your logic, the ion is the best marker on the market.

I never said having the most available upgrades makes it the best, it has to be a good PLATFORM. Tell me one gun that has a greater improvement in performance with a bolt switch than the Axe.

I'll try to explain in simplistic car terms because its easiest for most people.

Two cars, both cost the same and are pretty much equal in every area. Lets just say ones a Honda and ones a Nissan.

The Nissan and the Honda create the exact same power. But the Nissan has a Turbocharger and direct injection and all this crap on it but it performs the same as the Honda that's engine has nothing on it, it was just engineered better.

So the Guy who has the Nissan can't do anything to his engine to make it better because it already has everything, but the guy with the Honda can still put a turbo and GDI and crap on his engine and smoke the Nissan.

This makes the Honda a better PLATFORM to work on. The Axe was made great in every area ( shot wise ) except the barrel and bolt so if you change those it will kill the Drone. But changing the barrel or bolt will do hardly anything on the Drone.

[Pakistani]

EMPIRE EMPEROR, on 05 November 2012 - 12:32 AM, said:

TheGreat, on 03 November 2012 - 05:32 PM, said:

EMPIRE EMPEROR, on 03 November 2012 - 05:07 PM, said:

Am I the only one who thinks the Axe looks great? Might just be because I own one??Anyways, I chose the Axe due to the locked in potential in the marker. It will cost $35 for a Boss or Luker bolt ( Boss XSV is my fav ) This simple upgrade works wonders on this marker, its like a common tuner car, everyone has one because its the best platform to improve on. The Drone has almost no upgrades available, the Axe has an insane amount of possible upgrades. Sure you get to be the only one on the field with a Drone, but nobody will be able to fix it or give you tips. The Axe may have less than ideal ergos, but the Drone has hard plastic grips... I'll call that a draw. The Drone also has an external hose.The Drone is an amazing marker, no doubt about that. But it is not very popular for a reason. It very well could be better out of the box, but that performance level can't get any better because there are no upgrades available.The Axe on the other hand, has the best bolt options out of any marker on the market, a new barrel will greatly improve noise and weight if you get CF, and you can get a better feedneck, LED board, or anything else on it too.The Drone will be great for someone who doesn't like to mess with their guns settings and leave everything stock.The Axe is for the person who wants to upgrade and tune their gun better than everyone else on the field.My Axe has a DeadlyWind Fibur barrel, SS Freak Inserts, XSV Boss bolt, and I have future plans for a Nano feedneck and Violent series trigger. I invite anyone to pit their Drone against my Axe, my marker will smoke it.

That's a cute argument. You can throw a CF barrel, and Clone LCD screen, or A Violent/Critical trigger on the Drone. The feedneck on the Drone doesn't need to be replaced because it never had any problems with it coming off, and the bolt works fine, which saves you about $40 on a useless upgrade. But hey, if you feel like pouring money into needless "upgrades," go ahead.

Actually, the Axe feedneck has been fixed. I only want a new one on my Axe because the Spires feed neck is very, very short and the stock Axe feedneck is long so I would get a lower profile by an inch with the new feedneck. An inch I know...

Bolt works fine on the Axe too, just makes it better than the Drone with a new one. Worth $35 for me, very useful btw.
They are as needless upgrades as upgrading to a Luxe over a PMR.

Pakistani, on 03 November 2012 - 07:06 PM, said:

EMPIRE EMPEROR, on 03 November 2012 - 05:07 PM, said:

again, im not saying the axe isn't a great marker.but by your logic, the ion is the best marker on the market.

I never said having the most available upgrades makes it the best, it has to be a good PLATFORM. Tell me one gun that has a greater improvement in performance with a bolt switch than the Axe.

I'll try to explain in simplistic car terms because its easiest for most people.

Two cars, both cost the same and are pretty much equal in every area. Lets just say ones a Honda and ones a Nissan.

The Nissan and the Honda create the exact same power. But the Nissan has a Turbocharger and direct injection and all this crap on it but it performs the same as the Honda that's engine has nothing on it, it was just engineered better.

So the Guy who has the Nissan can't do anything to his engine to make it better because it already has everything, but the guy with the Honda can still put a turbo and GDI and crap on his engine and smoke the Nissan.

This makes the Honda a better PLATFORM to work on. The Axe was made great in every area ( shot wise ) except the barrel and bolt so if you change those it will kill the Drone. But changing the barrel or bolt will do hardly anything on the Drone.

fair comparison but heres the issue: out of the box, the drone and axe aren't on the same level.
out of the box, i'd say the drone is the best mid-end marker on the market. nothing needs to be upgraded. no corners were cut. no plastic or throwaway parts. on top of all that, the parts that come on it are actually great parts by anyone's account. the matchstik barrel has been a great barrel since the mid-2000's(not a cheaper, remilled one either,but the same one they've been using for years), the gladiator regulator has been tested to be one of the best regs for close to a decade, the on.off is a high quality part that was a huge improvement when it debuted on the droid, and lastly a super high quality feedneck that i think is the same as the clone feedneck. there aren't a lot of upgrades for the drone because you just dont need the damn things. anything you buy wouldn't be an upgrade at all.


while after upgrading everything on the axe you might have a better gun than the drone, you still had to upgrade those parts to get it that way when you simply shouldn't have to considering they retail for the same amount.

so you can spend $450 on the stock axe, $30 for the bolt, $60+ for a better barrel, and $30 for a feedneck for a gun that's only arguably better than the drone you could've just bought for $450 outright.

[EMPIRE EMPEROR]

@ Pakistani

Yes, that's all true. Only thing that I would replace on the Drone is the Plastic grips IMO.

Again, The Drone will be great for someone who doesn't like to mess with their guns settings and leave everything stock.

The Axe is for the person who "WANTS" to upgrade and tune their gun better than everyone else on the field.

Some people can't help but upgrade their guns ( Tuners ) The Axe gives them that option. Sure it will set you back more in the long run, but for me, tuning is just as fun as playing and I'm clearly not the only one.

2 different guns for 2 different people.