Merrill Dunes
Ammo Distribution 101
The regular Merrill Dunes Ammo Distribution system is aimed at quickly providing players with warm ammo when they need it and having a way to keep track of consumption that is clear to the player as well as to the field staff. Players do not need to worry about ammo security, and ball breakage in guns, due to cold ammo, is minimized.
When you yank a ball bottle out of the storage box, you need to be a bit careful that you do not snag the lower bottle cap on an upper cap - thus dumping the contents of the bottle you have reached for.
Same as above - When you yank a ball bottle out of the storage box, you need to be a bit careful that you do not snag the lower bottle cap on an upper cap - thus dumping the contents of the bottle you have reached for.
If the weather is cold, only have enough ammo out of the heater to keep things rolling. Keep the ammo hot for as long as possible. And encourage players to not load up unnecessarily. Ammo sitting in a cold gun will be prone to breakage when the gun is fired.
Have the client set the gun on the counter - no need for them to hold the gun with the hopper opening pointing up - and remove the lid elastics and open the lid.
Nice if the client can support the gun upright so you can focus on loading ammo.
Make sure there is no ball breakage inside the hopper. If there is, the hopper and contents will need to be cleaned before any new ammo goes in.
In a breakage situation we usually fit a new hopper and a new ammo load, which the client is charged for, and then we try to clean up the old load while the client keeps playing.
Pop the upper lid off the ball bottle and pour the balls into the hopper. We have a 100 ball tube and 50 ball tubes. You quickly get a feel for what will fit.
A totally empty hopper will take exactly 200 balls. Even a few balls remaining in the throat of the hopper will create an overload if 200 more are loaded.
Notice that this gun has a barrel plug installed. If clients fail to come in with a plug in place, send them back for a plug so that they know that this safety measure is vital. Watch guns that aren't plugged - your eyes are at risk. Tell offenders to keep the barrel pointed down.
Toss the empty ball bottle into a tote and be sure to leave the upper lid off so that reloading is simplified.
Snap the hopper lid closed and make sure two elastics are snapped in place. Replace elastics when needed.
Unless we are talking cash sale, snap the client's ball card to show that he has been given ammo. The card shown shows that 200 balls have now been put into this client's gun.
