Well, I've actually managed to do it.
For whatever reason (read: I thought it sounded fun to do), I've hopped up a Talon to the extent that it appears to be a pretty fair pump gun. What I did:
I haven't had a chance to chrony the results yet, but just plinking a few rounds in the back yard impressed me. It's visibly faster. Reasonably accurate (I put 3 of 5 balls on top of each other at about 20 yards). And a fair bit quieter than a stock Talon.
No, it doesn't compare with the better guns, but it's good enough to shock the hell out of anybody who doesn't take it seriously because "it's just a Talon." Heh, this should be fun!
Next Saturday the Talonator (as I've dubbed it) shall be baptized in "blood"!
Today myself and about 13 friends drove up into the local mountains to play a few games. In brief, I was pleased with the Talonator's performance. In long....
The other guns on the field (so you've an idea as to the environment):
Hmmm...that doesn't add up to 13. Oh well, I don't remember the other guns.
At the chronograph: The gun was reliably clocking between 260 and 280 fps. Not bad for a Talon! Also note that we use 280 as our upper limit to keep things a little closer to fair for our guests who end up with the loaner guns (IE, Talons).
1st kill: The other team had a Tigershark equipped guy who was a pretty good sniper. Luckily, I saw him from 50-70 meters away trying to sneak up (on his belly the whole way, of course) on my wife, who's backside I was covering. I anticipated his route and set up in a spot in which to snipe the sniper. Eventually, he moved into a location in which I had a clean shot at his head and shoulders. The range was probably about 20-25 meters so I aimed quite a bit high since I'd not had the chance to fire the gun at those ranges. I fired, and of course, the shot whizzed over his head. He slid back behind the bush he'd just emerged from and I watched him closely through the scope. Thanks to the magnification I was able to track his movement behind the bush (I don't think I could have done it with naked eyes due to the thickness of the brush.). Thus, when he popped his head out a few feet away from where he disappeared my crosshairs were already on him. This time I aimed at his forehead.... I don't recall the *EXACT* information from him, but he admitted that I nailed him in the face. Good enough!
2nd kill: My wife pinned down two bad guys with her Griffin while I tried to move into position to get a shot on one of them. Knowing what was happening, he made a break for it. I tried to get him on the run but missed. Clearing the area my wife could cover, he dove behind a bush. I kept up a steady rate of fire to keep him in place long enough for me to find cover. Alas, I realized that there really wasn't any good cover for me (IE, diving for cover would ruin my shot) so I took the time to take a *good* shot. I could see his mask through a break in the bushes. I took careful aim and fired. Later he said that I hit his chin. To be fair, he had a Talon and I was beyond the accurate range of a stock Talon...probably about 20-25 meters. Still, on paper he should have had the advantage (Talon Vs. Talon w/ cover).
3rd kill: Hearing a firefight, I tried to sneak around to get behind a bad guy. I was being patient and taking my time as by the sound of it, two guys with semis had each other more or less pinned down in a stalemate. Just as I was in a short open stretch the bad guy walked right into my view at about 20 meters. For a brief instant we each had the "deer in the headlights" moment of shock. I recovered first, raised my gun and put one on his right shoulder.
4th kill: A bad guy (Kill 3's partner, actually) with an M-98 was advancing on me under a steady fire. I was retreating quickly back towards a teammate with a semi hoping to get some help. Suddenly I heard the distinctive "fart" of a gun that's just run out of CO2. I turned and started chasing the guy who only moments before had had me on the run. He tripped. Or maybe he dove. I don't know, but he ended up on his back. I nailed him from about 20 meters. Note that he later stated, "I'd already pulled the pin on the grenade when you hit me...."
5th kill: Well, OK, this one wasn't really a kill but a surrender. Suffice to say that working with a teammate who had an M-98, I'd managed to get within 5-10 meters of a bad guy with a Stingray. Due to the cover, neither of us had a shot at each other. I decided that I would wait until she fired a volley at my partner, pop out of cover, and take the shot. She fired her volley, I popped out, and just as I was raising the gun she raised her hands and yelled "HIT! ...I'm out of ammo."
Overall: I'm quite pleased. The gun appears to be a quite servicable pump with better accuracy than a stock Tigershark (Keep in mind that we're talking about a Talon here!). The scope definately helped in two of the kills nor did it seem to get in the way for the later kills in which a scope wasn't required. The only downside was that my modifications to the trigger ruined the autotrigger capabilities. In making the trigger pull lighter, I made it release sooner on an autotrigger. This means that the hammer spring isn't fully compressed and the velocity on the shot is pitiful (IE, the ball hits the ground about 10' in front of you). Fortunately, I have the spare parts to repair the damage (and in fact, already have).
In addition, for those who would put gun performance on more "tangible" results: While I got 5 kills, I was only killed myself 3 times. Once by the sniper mentioned in my 1st kill (I never knew what hit me!), and twice by finding myself in a prolonged shootout with a semi at medium range.
Due to the fact that I had a pump and the vast majority of the other players had semis, I did my best to keep at arm's length. The last thing I wanted was to get into a short-range firefight where rate of fire is paramount - especially when one's pump action gun has no autotrigger! Thus, the tendency for longer-range kills.