WGP Karnivor review
WOW! I must say, of all the pictures I’d seen, nothing had prepared me for when I actually got my new WGP Karnivor. As soon as I took it out of the box, there was a certain something about it that just felt “right”. Maybe it was the smooth, comfortable reverse angled inline regulator, or maybe it was the weight, or, perhaps, a bit of both. One thing was sure though, it was a beautiful gun. For some people, the thought of owning any type of Autococker would cause them to be nauseated, but for me, I was attracted to the Karnivor because it is a cocker, and I have always been a cocker-lover. However, in several months using this gun, I had not a single problem with any part of the marker.
The timing stayed perfect the entire time, and the only thing I ever had to adjust while using this gun was the trigger, which I set up to my liking. The Karnivor has some very nice features which differentiate it from other cockers. First, is the ICS (internal cocking system), which gets rid of the cocking rod out the back. This gives the Karnivor a much cleaner look, and timing would be somewhat easier without a cocking rod to adjust.
Another thing you don’t really pick up on in the pictures you see is that the gun is actually a 2-tone color. Most of the gun is matte black but the small “fang” milling near the trigger frame is raised above the rest and is finished in a dust black. This really does look very good, and you don’t really understand it until you see it in person. The frame that comes on it, the Worrblade, is a wonderful frame, and can shoot as fast as you pull the trigger. It differs somewhat from the standard Worrblade in that it has a “fang” milled trigger, very much like the stock trigger, but for the fact that it is cut up the middle. For some, the trigger may be too big and too heavy, but for me, it was perfect. And if you don’t like the trigger, you can get a new trigger (both WGP and FBM have aftermarket triggers for the frame). My particular Karnivor had a Zero-B board in it, but many do not. The difference between the boards is small: the Zero-B has ramping modes, whereas the e1 stock board has only semi.
Another particularly nice feature of the Karnivor is that it came stock with a high-end barrel, the Kaner. Some earlier Karnivor’s came with an entire Kaner kit, but most have only a single barrel. However, if you decide that you want an entire kit, you can just buy the other pieces of the kit and add on to the stock barrel until you have the entire kit.
Most of the stock parts are excellent, including the STO inline regulator (+-3 fps consistency), the on/off asa (easy to turn and never leaks). The gun is also extremely easy to shoot as high rates of fire. In ramping mode, the marker is capped at 15, but in semi it is however fast you can pull the trigger (I got the Karnivor up to 18 bps with no bounce and no ramping).
However, although it is a great gun, there are always a few downsides. The first is that the stock twist-lock clamping feedneck does not work very well. It has a very small range of adjustment and for some smaller loaders (or loaders with shaved feednecks) it may not be small enough, and you would have to use the dreaded electrical tape. Aftermarket feednecks are available, but at the price you pay for a Karnivor, the stock should work better. Another thing I personally didn’t like about the Karnivor is the fact that it doesn’t take standard 2k+ bolts, you have to buy a special “evo length” bolt. This is not too big of a deal, as it comes stock with an excellent delrin bolt. However, the P-block design and the evo length bolt mean that you can’t buy aftermarket backblocks, and aftermarket bolts are hard to come by in evo length.
Overall, I would advise anyone who is looking for a new gun to seriously consider the Karnivor. If Autocockers didn’t have such bad karma (mostly undeserved at that), the Karnivor would be a much more popular gun. If you are tired of the egos, the DM’s (Dye Matrix), and the shockers, give this gun a try, it has a lot of things going for it. It is lighter than a DM, more efficient than a shocker (way more efficient! up to 1500+ shots off of a 68/45!), and it is cheaper and quieter than an Ego. I would give this gun a rating of 9.5/10, I loved the gun, and if you shoot one, you may just fall in love with it too.