Essentially every manufacturer
or paintball pro shop has their own mid-priced high performance level paintball
marker. Much like electronic paintguns are becoming now, mid priced-high
performance markers embody a large portion of the paintball industry.
It is ironic, however, that with such an abundance of a product, a select
few rise above the rest in terms of quality and performance. These
paintguns usually feature similar traits including, versatility out of
the box, a high upgrade path, and the capability of performing as well
as the best markers on the market. It seems as though the Kingman
Spyder has become the most well known of this breed. While companies
such as Tippmann make a quality, user friendly, and well-supported products,
nothing has surpassed the Spyder in ever-changing race for thee very best
mid-priced high performance gun.
Recently, however, a new
mid priced high performance semi automatic burst onto the scene.
Manufactured and distributed by Pursuit Marketing Inc. (PMI) the Piranha
showed much promise and received a general consensus of being an excellent
and high quality marker. In the following, the "STS" model Piranha
will be reviewed. Through our test we will examine the Piranha STS's
appearance, features, on field performance, as well as personal opinion
of the marker.
Appearance
The Piranha STS resembles many other markers in its price range, such as the Spyder, Raptor, and Inferno. However, there is something I must mention that I feel places the Piranha much higher then the rest: the finish. There were no imperfections on the gun body of the test model. The entire finish was anodized with great care and with quality in mind. I also checked the weld on the powerfeed. My findings were the exact same as it was excellently welded to the gun body with no excess or unattractive material found on most other guns in this price range. Lastly, the screws holding the grip frame to the gun body were stainless steel. Many other companies use simple screws with a soft metal and easily strippable threads. However the Piranha featured stainless screws mentioned above, which not only enhanced appearance by giving it that "shiny" look, but should give the operator piece of mind that his marker is made with quality materials.
Features
The Piranha STS was the model tested and therefore it arrived standard
with extra features not found on a stock Piranha. The Piranha STS
sported a 13 inch STS barrel, venturi bolt with rear cocking feature, shark
gill site rail with built in anti tamper beaver tail, 10 degree angled
bottom line with gas through fore-grip, low pressure chamber, turbo valve,
thumb adjuster, .45 frame, and a light trigger pull. I must mention
that all of these products are of the "PMI Perfect" line so they are all
of high quality and excellent craftsmanship. While these are many
features, the stock Piranha still comes more than adequately equipped with
a rear cocking bolt, .45 frame, and a light trigger pull. And finally
the most impressive feature of the Piranha: the quick strip pin, found
on all Piranha models. By simply removing a pin, well secured by
ball bearings, one is able to remove all internal components of the gun
with the exception of the turbo valve. This is an excellent feature
and makes matenance a pleasure rather than a chore. This is an excellent
feature, hands down, I cannot stress this enough. The gun also came
with all necessary allen/hex wrenches, a barrel plug, loader elbow, an
excellent parts kit, and finally an exceptional manual that covers use
and disassemble. This manual is so easy to follow, with its diagrams
and photographs that any one should be able to care for a Piranha if necessary.
Performance
On the field the Piranha preformed excellently. The velocity was
very stable reaming in the +/- 10 feet per second range. However,
the velocity may very well gain more consistency if one were to add a secondary
regulator, such as the Palmer Stabilizer, Bob Long power regulator, or
Air America Uni-Reg. Diablo Blaze was used with the Piranha STS's
whose barrel measured in at a medium/large .690 id (internal diameter)
and was 13 inches long. With this bore size, one should be able to
shoot all brands of paint through the Piranha. In practice, the barrel
shot very well keeping acceptably tight patterns at short, medium, and
long range. One must note, however, that the Piranha is a VERY light
paintball marker, and so is the STS barrel. I am used to a heavier
more stable gun myself. I would see the advantage of adding a heavier
stainless steel barrel, such as a Check- it or Lapco barrel, not for an
increase in accuracy, but simply for an increase in weight. The trigger
pull of the Piranha was actually very good. While it was long, it
was very smooth and soft making the Piranhas rate of fire MORE than acceptable
in today's high rate of fire game.
I must add something.
While adding a low-pressure chamber to the Piranha STS may give an increase
in velocity, it does not actually make it a low-pressure gun. To
accomplish this, one would need a low-pressure valve, an efficient barrel/bolt,
and finally a regulator to actually lower the pressure. However,
it does not hurt the gun to have one and it is a nice feature if you decide
to low pressurize your Piranha in the future.
Comments/Opinions
In short, the Piranha is a very good marker, not just for the money, but
a good marker, period. It is VERY well made, is user friendly, and
sports performance that will keep you very happy for a long period of time.
The quick strip feature alone should make you consider this marker.
Therefore I must say, that even though it is still open to interpretation,
the Piranha may very well be the best mid priced marker.
The Piranha STS has an MSRP of: $209
The Common Store price: $169
Brian Speiser
MPN Columnist