Now when i've put around 250 First strikes through the new t9.1 elite sniper as well as have played a couple of games with it i feel i have enough data to to write this review. To make it easier for anyone wanting to know anything specific i've split this review up into sections starting from what i think is the most important and then gonig down to that's least important. Also since i find that the conclusion of the whole package is the most important i've actually added it first rather then last
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If anyone wish to know more about something or feel that i've missed anything please feel free to either add it to the thread or ask me about it.
Conclusion:The T9.1 elite sniper is the ultimate sniper marker in my opinion. Nothing against all other markers but with the adjustable rail, tank-in-stock, rifled barrel along with the fact that it's first strike ready, there's nothing on the market that can come close (i've never actually shot a T4 but im 100% positive that the new t9.1 sniper blow it away). It's sturdy, not too heavy and super reliable. Yes it's somewhat on the pricier side but considering what you get with it it's worth every cent. I strongly recommend this marker to anyone who is serious about playing sniper (should be everyone here no?
). If you already have a t9.1 then i strongly recommend the rifled barrel, adjustable raiser and tank-in-stock
Rifled barrel:Now since this is the only barrel that comes with the Elite sniper package i won't be able to compare it to any other barrel out there. That being said this is probably the craziest thing i've ever seen.
I've test shot 2 of these barrels and with one i had all 60 hits within a 15 cm x 20 cm area at the 60m. The other i shot 32 shots from 40 meters (all hits) and had a hit area of roughly 10 cm x 10 cm. This using first strikes obviously. Out of a total of now 250 FS shot through a rifled barrel i've not had a single barrel break or a shot drop short (other then when i've had the adjustable rail wrong).
Now as probably everyone have heard you will need to crank up the velocity quite a bit when you use the rifled barrel thus lowering the air effieciency (you can see the Tank-in-stock section on this). Also as many mighth have heard, cleaning the barrel can be something of a pain due to the plastic residue that gets stuck in the rifling. For me personally this hasn't been a problem since my own custom made swabs works wonders on cleaning residue. If you don't have a effective swab you can either boil the barrel (works but you need something pretty big to get the barrel to fit into the water or you can rinse the barrel then take some paper towels and jam them into the barrel, twisting it into the rifling. Once that's done use a wooden stick or something to push the towel through. I've tested this out of curiosity and the barrel do get clean after you do this 8-10 times and rinse the barrel in between.
Tank-in-Stock:The Tank in stock is absolutely awesome! Easy to install or remove, sturdy and has 4 different positions. The tank is a 13 ci which will give you between 110 – 130 shot depending on your velocity (at 280 fps you get between 120-130 shots out of it).
Since you have to crank up the velocity with the rilfed barrel you'll get fewer shots out of it, i got my t9.1 chronored in at between 280-285 fps and i get atleast 80 shots out of the tank (i've never actually run out of air yet so i don't have a exact number) my guess would be that with the rifled barrel chronoed at the same as mine you should probably get close to 100 shots before they start dropping short.
Another thing that's great with the tank-in-stock is that it gives almost perfect weight balance to your marker.
FSR Adjustable raiser:The Adjustable raiser that comes with the sniper is great! You have a big wheel on both sides for easy adjustment as well as index ”clicks”. You can adjust the raiser a total on 18 clicks where each click is ½ a degree (total adjustment possible: 9 degees). It always clicks into place so you don't have to worry about any misadjustments.
The raiser is really heavy, but you can change out the long metal siderails for the short plastic ones you get with the marker to take some weight off it.
Two things you need to be careful with when you first use the raiser is that it's correctly aligned to your marker, mine wasn't. My raiser were off to the left side which effectivly made it impossible to sight in any scopes on it. Another problem i had with it was that it had a bit of side to side wiggling, it wasn't much but enough to annoy me. Solved both these problems by removing the side rails (under them is a pin which hold the raiser together) with the rails off i could re-align the raiser and a small drop of chemical metal (link) on the pin and the side to side wiggling was fixed.
4x32 scope: The scopes that comes with the package isn't a bad scope. It's easy to adjust windage/elevation correctly, and have some eyerelief adjustment. It comes with lens covers for both lenses and a sunshield that you can remove if you like.
You can't really see that the scope is illuminated if you play during the day (no need for it though), but if you play in the evening or night game the illumination is quite nice. I do find that the highest settings tend to distract you, but all you need to do i to turn it on a lower setting to avoid that. The Illumination does NOT show from the from the front of the scope. This is something i see with many red-dots that you can actually see the light if you look at the sight (this may very well give away your position in a night game).
The mil-dots works really well for paintball if you need to do quick hands-on adjustments.
(As pointed out further down the thread this is actually paralax adjustment, i simply explain how to use it as a range finding tool, Thank you a lot for pointing out that i had forgotten to add what it's really meant for)
You can use the focus as a rangefinder and it works pretty well. For those who wonders how this works, it uses focus to tell you a specific range. For instance if you set the scope to 50 yards everything closer or further away will blur out while everything at the desired range is sharp and focused. Now in reality it's not this precise, if you set the scope for 50 yards anything within 45-55 yards will be focused (you can still get almost exact ranges since it's best focused at the desired range). This does however help to adjust the raiser since it gives you a clue as to how far away something is. If you don't want your scope to do this at all just put it on infinity (it's the 8 lying on it's side incase your not familiar with mathematical symbols) and it'll work like a regular 4x32 scope.
Now i personally think that a 4x32 scope is on the extreme side for paintball. It's useful for long shots and can be used at shorter ranges too (but it can be quite hard to find your target). I personally switch between this scope and my ADCO red dot depending on the style i play. Due to the size, magnification and weight of this scope i wouldn't use it if i play as a flanker but if you play a more traditional style of sniper then this scope will work really well for you.
(When you get the scope make sure that it's correct horizonally and vertiacally, mine was at an angle. This is no biggie but you might save some FS when you try and shoot it in if you do this before you start.)
Bi-pod: The Bi-pod that comes with the elite does have one problem, it does not tighten enough which makes it wiggle, and that isn't a steady platform to shoot from. Now i fixed this problem by simply adding 2 small pieces of rubber inside the clamp and now it's sturdy and doesn't wiggle at all.
What do i think of the Bi-pod (the wiggling aside)? It's actually a really nice Bi-pod, lightweight, easy to quickly setup or fold and let's you do quick and precise adjustments. Once you take care of the wiggle problem it's a good steady platfrom.
Also when using the tank-in-stock and FSR Raiser the bi-pod doesn't unbalance the marker which is awsome.
Now i personally use the bi-pod when i shoot in my scope and if im going to play defensively since it gives a good steady platfrom to shoot from. For more offensive play i tend to leave it out since it's added weight (even though it's lightweight) and can catch how of branches
Tactical folding grip:The tactical foregrip that comes with the elite has 5 different positions which makes it fit anyones preferences really. The grip itself feels well built.
It does have some wiggling around (nothing that has any effect or should bother anyone that much)and the push button sometimes seem to get stuck.
One of the nice features with the grip though is that you can remove or modify the side panels so that you can get the remote switches for the laser/flashlight right into the grip.
Laser:The laser that comes with the marker is probably the best laser i've ever seen for paintball/airsoft. With most lasers you will start having problems seeing the dot after about 10 meters, not this one. I've tested it to about 100 meters and still was still able to easily see the dot (it's also a unfocused laser which makes it a lot safer for eyes). It does not work in sunlight but at night, evening or even cloudy days there's no problem.
The laser is also Adjustable (that actually works mind you). Now this still means that you can only properly sight it in at a specific distance (laser goes straight while a ball goes in a arc). For me this is enough though. I use the laser as a quick way to switch between my scope and red dot without having to scope in the sights again. I do this by putting the laser in the same spot as the crosshairs on a specific distance. Then when i want to switch to the red dot all i need to do is, stand at the same distance, light up the laser and put my red dot in the same place as the laser.
The pressure switch works really well and if you do a slight mod you can put it into the foregrip.
Now the usefulness of the laser is extremely limited since most fields won't allow it's use, but you can always use it the way i do to quickly change between scopes.
Tactical Flashlight:
Honestly i don't see any actual use for this piece of equipment other then using it to signal other players on the field (morse code anyone?
). Don't get me wrong the flashlight, it's remote coil switch and fastenings all work great. But it's quite heavy and who would do anything with a flashlight in paintball (not even in night play)? The flashlight itself can be adjusted to either cover a wide area or to focus it's beam (getting the beam further away).
Tibby should hire me! i keep everything nice and tidy and i take salary in forms of first strike rounds, mags and other goodies
). If you already have a t9.1 then i strongly recommend the rifled barrel, adjustable raiser and tank-in-stock
