Piranha EXT PRO 2k3 - A higher preformance gun. not quite the same as far as dead on reliability goes.
Marker Setup:
Stock PMI EForce EXT PRO 2k3
SP Progressive 12" blk
Ricochet AK
PMI Pure Energy steel 68 ci 3k tank
Recommended Upgrades:
none, if you absolutely wanted to upgrade it though, I'd say throw on a drop and use N2
Strengths:
Nice barrel
good looking
Xchamber for CO2
no external parts
Weaknesses:
Takes too long to field strip
no vert feed 4 those who want it
Review:
The F4 line has been around for alot longer than most guns, since the F1 this series has been reliable and a great preformance gun. I have dealt with a few blowbacks, and a can defintely say this is one of the if not te best one out there. Only problem I have with it is to totally field strip it you must insert a pin into the top. On the plus side though it is impossible ot get dirt in there. There are no vert feeds on this particlar gun though, that is one thing many ppl dislike.
Then there is this model which has all the things you need to have a good gun. THe accurate barrel and an Xchamber for CO2. Although the F4 handles CO2 very well by itself. It is also a very effiecient gun.
Conclusion:
The F4 is a great gun, now you can buy it with all the great upgrades you need for a decent preforming gun! It's eas to use and hardly breaks down.
Rating:
9 out of 10
Last edited on Thursday, July 17th, 2003 at 6:19 pm PST
Tippmann Model 98/98 Custom, ACI Griffin, ACI Griffin LCD (custom made, electric, comes out in some time now but have connections), Normal ACI F4 Illustrator. This is second only to to the Model 98/98 Custom.
Marker Setup:
ACI F4 Illustrator DX. This is the one I am reveiwing. It comes with An ACI 4-Stage Sub-Zero Expansion Chamber, 12" ACI Zero Gravity, Bottom Line feed, Etc.
Recommended Upgrades:
Get a venturi bolt for sure. This gun alone will get a lot of ball breakage if your Velocity is too high and you do not have a venturi bolt. Also get a high volume cell. It will help with the Shoot Down when using CO2 which is what basically everyone uses on this gun.
Strengths:
Well I did the math and you get about 88 balls per Ounce of CO2. Now that may not seem like much but that is about 1,000 shots per 12 oz. and about 1,600 shots per 20 oz. I will play all day with one 20 oz. and still have masses amount of CO2 left. If you don't want to buy several tanks or want to run out in the middle of a game, this is the gun for you. And this gun has great accuracy, great range, and if you get a venturi bolt you will have very little ball breakage as long as you get an electric hopper so you can feed the balls faster.
Weaknesses:
Without a venturi bolt and an electric hopper you will break a lot of balls. And the barrel that you will get with this gun has a bore size of about .685 so only small bore balls will work to the guns full potential. One more thing is the trigger pull. If you have it over the velocity of about 285 fps the trigger pull is not that great. I can shoot around 8 balls a second with it but I have a great trigger finger
Conclusion:
You want an excellent beginner gun or great step up gun if you just began go get this. But because they do not make these anymore you will have to pick up an F4 Illustrator TP. It comes standered with the Venturi Bolt and the high volume cell. And you can get a double trigger for it which will make it more comfortable and you will be able to shoot faster.
Tippman 98 (The tippman was more reliable in cold weather)
Cockers (Not worth the price, the F-4 was just as good out of the box!)
Angel (this gun is electronic, no comparison)
tipman 98 ,spyder genesis , aci griffin, f4 illustrator ,sting ray 1 and 2 and aci maverick
Marker Setup:
i have two f4 illustators one is just basic and the other is a dx with the aci zero gravity barrel and a expansion chamber ,
Recommended Upgrades:
expansion chamber an aci zero gravity barrel,
Strengths:
this gun is light shoots good and hard and is very easy to fix if it breaks down
no tools needed if you need to do something it is easy and fast no outside moving parts so you dont have to worry about that darn cocker thing smacking your thumb and this baby is easy on c02 its hard for this gun to get dirty do to the body being closed off ,
this is a great gun one of the best for the price i have two and i love them both
there are only a few things i would change about this gun and upgrades are comming out soon to make this happen !
Weaknesses:
ok nothin really but heres a list of things i would cry about if i cared :
the boot falls of easy aci glues on the boot and it falls off easy this gun also does not have a double trigger for it but... those two things aren't bad ...
you see i dont like the trigger boot so i like it more with out it and the double trigger aci are just now working as i write this to make a double trigger so after it comes out i will have nothing bad to say about this gun ....
Conclusion:
this is hands down the best of all the other guns i have shot only one other even touches this gun and that s well two the griffen also made by aci and the spyder genesis and its only good because of the killer trigger the f4 shoots better and is better with co2 and also has a way better stock barrel than any other gun out there !!! and throw the aci zero gravity barrel in there and you will not find a better gun for the price ! f4 rules why would i have two of them otherwise?
tippman pro-lite
tippman pro carbine
tippman model 98
spyder lt
Marker Setup:
aci f4 illustrator dx
revvy viewloader
custom drop forward
compressed air
Recommended Upgrades:
electronic loader
compressed air
Strengths:
great accuracy, nice consistency, reliable, beautiful gun. Have used it about 10,000 shots only so far but not one ball broken...works like a charm and so accurate. Outshot at same distance for accuracy an angel, autococker, and many other guns around its cost. The barrel is sweet, and i dont know about with CO2. Best to just go air right away, good for your gun in the long run as well as its performance
Weaknesses:
havn't encountered a single problem and i like to work on guns. WHY MUST IT BE SO RELIABLE!!!!!!
Conclusion:
as you can see above, this is a great gun. It starts out great, and has quite a bit of potential with upgrades. It doesnt have the potential of an angel or autococker but can shoot with them just as well, this gun upgraded is as good as a stock angel. Its all on preference, but my gun has about 500 into it and it works beautifully, i would reccomend it. I am pretty intense when i play and i play a lot, so using it only a couple months is no big deal...i can almost assure it
VERY DURABLE AND RELIABLE. Used as a back up gun to my bushy, and the only thing that has ever broken on it was the sear spring. The stock barrel, the zero-gravity, performs very nicley. I personally am a fan of single finger triggers, so this makes me happy. . Just dont use crappy paint.
Weaknesses:
Trigger pull is a little tight, but if you know how to lighten springs it'll be fine. I can't think of anything else that I don't love about it. If you use crappy paint, be warned, it lodges between the bolt and body and is a biznitch to clean out.
Conclusion:
A great gun at a great price. Can't be beat for durability/performance.
ICD desert fox, Spyder SE, Sheridan XTS, ICD alley cat, Tipp pro-carbine, model 98 flatline,
Marker Setup:
F4 illustrator 4-stage x-chamber nothing fancy but good gun
Recommended Upgrades:
This gun needs nothing
Strengths:
This gun is awesome! I've tried alot of different guns and this is my favorite. I have had minimal problems with this gun. I play in 30 to 40 degree weather sometimes and the gun works flawlessly on co2, unlike the review a couple down where he says the gun sux in cold weather. Most ppl i play with want to use my gun over their spyders and tippmans. Quiet special valve for more shots per tank and patented cold weather valve make this a good gun. I have kept stock bolt in and its beautiful. The aci combo barrel is also very good and will shot crap paint all day. Uses prolite threads and has alot of barrels available for it.
Weaknesses:
I cant seem to figure out much to be bad about this gun.
Sometimes it chops a ball and gets shell caught between bolt and sidewall
which causes the gun to not recock until it is cleaned.
I dunno why ppl think this gun is hard to field strip either man this thing comes apart quickly and is much easier to clean than any spyder.
Conclusion:
Awesome gun for price keeps up with anything in its pricerange.
Overall a very nice gun...Accurate, high performance and low maitenence. I purchased the gun used with tank and hopper for $215. Not a bad deal, and im extremely happy with the gun. I also reccomend the Venturi bolt ($20) from ACI compatible with this gun. I have not had a ball break since I installed this bolt.
Overall a high quality gun for mid-long range play. Outperforms my friends' Spyder TL Plus.
Weaknesses:
The only thing I didnt like about this gun was the stock bolt. It did break balls occasionally and after minimal use actually began to grind itself apart within my chamber. I soon replaced it with the venturi bolt (mentioned above) and have had none such problems since. Gun requires a decent amount of time to clean thoroughly.
Conclusion:
I would reccomend buying this gun to the enthusiastic player. Used guns in good condition can be a good buy, as I found out. If you plan on an upgrade, take a look at the venturi bolt from ACI.
This gun kicks @$$! Its acurate,quiet and cheap.last weekend,i went against cockers,mags,tippmanns and bushmasters and fought em no problem.ok well the bushmaster was a problem but the cockers where taken out with eise. this gun lets u seperate from everyone that is buyin spyders and u get a better gun in the end.
Weaknesses:
The only bad things about this gun is 3 small things.1 is the trigger pull is like 2.2 pounds,which you limits you to 5bps.the grip is plastic.and with every gun made before 00' there is a sear priblem.these are the small problems which s good for a low priced gun.
Conclusion:
in conclusion,this gun is one of the best all'a'round guns.it faces cockers no problem and is cheap.the thing that you can do to this gun is add a HVC and an aftermarket barrel.Im gettin a dye alumminum for mine.Great gun,and if you decidin between a spyder and this,get this.great gun with low maintnence.
this gun is so tyte!!!! my freind tryed to talk me out of it and bye a piranaha pro blue but i took my chances and i beat him and my other freinds who have cockers and shockers when im asleep.the gun is awsome -ive never had any trouble with it and the stock barrel is good for a stock barrel and as in other adds it does need to get broken in so dont go to arkenstone and try to beat the cockers and shockers like me haha
Weaknesses:
triger pull just doesnt seem right to me-sup shawn and tully and irfan!!!!
