HomeHistoryLine SI Wire Stocks and Welded Feedneck 1987 Bushmasters

Line SI Wire Stocks and Welded Feedneck 1987 Bushmasters

Two Line SI Bushmasters with wire stocks.
Two Line SI Bushmasters with wire stocks.

Here is a photo of two Line SI Bushmasters with wire stocks somewhat similar to the Line SI Sliding stock in the video I uploaded yesterday.
Top is a December 1987 welded feedneck / welded sight rail model (Bushmaster text not engraved on the body). The wire stock on this model Bushmaster is thick steel and screwed into either side of the frame. This is not the wirestock sold by Nelson but a thicker model, made by Line SI or Skirmish or the previous owner?
Bottom is a California Bushmasters’ “Line SI Factory Team” engraved post 1990 long Snub model. This later model has a nearly identical stock made of Aluminum that fits the grooves of the frame rail and is screwed on with allen screws.

These were both purchased off ebay several months back. They were listed at the same time by different sellers in the Thousand Oaks/ Newbury Park area of Southern California. And both sellers confirmed they bought them at estate sales but one seller couldn’t remember the location.
I have been looking for a welded feedneck model Bushmaster for a long time and I would imagine both Bushmasters could have belonged to the same original owner, a player on the California Bushmasters.

California Bushmasters' Line SI Bushmaster from same seller. I did not purchase this marker. It features another variation of the wire stock.
California Bushmasters’ Line SI Bushmaster from same seller. I did not purchase this marker. It features another variation of the wire stock. Photo from ebay.

A second Line SI Factory Team engraved Bushmaster pump (which I did not purchase) sold by the seller of the post 90 snub Bushmaster featured another variation on the wire stock model (pictured above).
The two sellers each sold other Line SI models as well as a couple misc pumps. A Nelspot purchased from the same seller of the Welded feedneck Bushmaster had “Grouch” sharpied onto the inside of the grip panel.
I asked Danny Guardado and Gilbert Martinez who both played for the CA Bushmasters, about who Grouch might have been but they weren’t sure, likely a player before their time on the team.

Left side of welded feedneck Line SI Bushmaster. Wire stock removed in this photo.
Left side of welded feedneck Line SI Bushmaster. Wire stock removed in this photo.

Some Welded Bushmaster History

Looking through old APG magazines scans on Tom Boyer’s Old Paintball Magazines page I came across an excellent write up/ interview in the June 1990 issue by Randy Kamiya with the creator of the Bushmaster, Jerry Dobbins and owner (I believe) of Indian Creek Design. Dobbins and Kamiya establish a timeline for the introduction of the Bushmaster and Line SI’s various models including the welded feedneck model and lever changers.

And here is a link to Tom Boyer’s Old Paintball Magazines page with Randy Kamiya’s write up on the history of the Bushmaster in the June 1990 issue of Action Pursuit Games.
Kamiya writes, “December, 1987: Forty eight Bushmaster SI guns were made for Skirmish the Store. All 48 were anodized black…”

Right side of welded feedneck Line SI Bushmaster. No wire stock attached in photo.
Right side of welded feedneck Line SI Bushmaster. No wire stock attached in photo.

Kamiya also writes that the next model, introduced in March of 1988 would be the first weldless model, “March, 1988: Eleven-inch Tournament paintguns were built upon Nelson frames. These featured the now famous Lever Quickchange and field screw screws. First introduced at the New York Open, these were the first to feature the weldless direct feed, dual pump arms and engraved “Bushmaster SI” logo. Team Navarone used these paintguns to win First Place at this event.”

I am guessing that the New York Open mentioned by Kamiya is Jerry Braun’s Air Pistol Open, which took placed in June of 1988 and would have required players use 12 grams. The Skirmish breech drop model was sold by Ross Alexander before selling the Bushmaster models and likely was sold between 1987 and mid 1988.

More on these Bushmasters in the future and find more Line SI articles here.

And Line SI parts for sale here.

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