2013 Milsig Paradigm Pro

[nessy]

FIRST!!

Now that I have that out of the way, I can begin.

So, today in the mail, one of multiple packages came for me, including the first of 2 project sniper rigs. May I present to you my Milsig Paradigm Pro in Desert Tan....



I know, I know. Pick your jaws up. I know its super sexy. lol.

Now to some seriousness. This is a preliminary review, as I have not fired this marker yet. That should occur this weekend. Let me first say that this thing is solid! I have not felt a marker that is this sturdy in my hands before. I personally think that it is even sturdier than any Tippmann out there. It's that well built. The tank screwed in with relative ease, and the marker as a whole comes to the eye very nicely.

As you can see, I have the HHA Optimizer on there, but took it off, as I am waiting for my riser and scope rings from Hawke to come in (should be sometime tomorrow.) I placed my face with mask on the marker, and it feels as though my eye will line up very well and with relative ease to the scope once its mounted on. That is a very good thing, considering that there are markers out there where its rather difficult to bring up to aim due to the nature of the stock and general layout of the marker. (BTW, I wear a VForce Grillz mask.)

The grip is very comfortable and does not hurt the hand as you hold it and move positions. I like the fore grip that came with the marker, but I prefer the Magpul AFG2 fore grip, as it fits my hand and shooting style a bit better. That is why it is on the marker in the picture. The barrel is very sturdy, and looks and feels well made. I have heard nothing but good things about the Marksman barrels, and this barrel meets those expectations and more in terms of build quality. The magazine release is easy to operate and doesn't require you to move your hand very far from the trigger to the operator. The magazines slide in and out with relative ease and are very stable inside the mag well. This is an all around, very well built marker. It is a bit heavier than most milsim markers out there, but as a sniper platform, heavy isn't an issue, especially considering that I am still young and well built from military service.

One thing I didn't realize was how long the magazines for the FSRs are. I believe I need to get a longer bi-pod, seeing as with the magazine in and bi-pod fully extended, they are roughly the same length. This can be an issue when shooting prone on the ground and I must elevate the marker to get a shot off. The magazine would end up being a pivot point, and that is no bueno.

Overall, I am very impressed with this marker at first glance. It is sturdy, well built, and Milsig seems to have fixed problems that were an issue with their previous K series. I am very excited to see what this thing can do once my scope is mounted and I can take it out to do some field tests and accuracy shooting. Expect a full write up with results and information sometime next week. I don't have a video camera aside from my phone, so I don't know how video will work, but I will take as many pictures of the range set up, target results, etc. as needed to post up here.

Nessy out. ^_^

[Allu]

Awsome!
oh if you have the time, could you look over the image link, I can't seem to get it to work.

[nessy]

Try again. I reinserted it. If it doesnt work, I'll repost it as an attachment

[chicago]

No image (is it https or http, try just http). This forum has trouble with secure accesses on images.

[nessy]

One more time for good measure.

[chicago]

Holy ****, glad you fixed the link, it's freakin beautiful.

[Allu]

Nice work nessy, link works beautifully.

[Allu]

Oh and regarding the content of the picture, let me summarize with: DROOOOL!!!

[ruraldawgs]

VERY nice !
I am curious about the optimizer ? what brand, where, how much they run (roughly).

Cant wait to get you're reports on performance.

[nessy]

HHA Optimizer. I found mine through eders.com. (a bow hunting store online) for $153. (Here's the link to their site. www.eders.com/products/hha-optimizer-speed-dial-adjustable-crossbow-sight-mount.html ) They vary in price across the web, so you might be able to find one for a slightly cheaper price. This was the cheapest I found, since I didn't find any on ebay at the time I was looking.

[nessy]

So I got to test fire the Paradigm Pro today. Weather conditions were as follows:

Mostly sunny
47 F
Wind blowing E/SE at approximately 12 mph
Ranges fired: 20 and 30 yards

Targets used were Redhead 12" Bulls eye targets that can be found at any Bass Pro. Whats nice about these targets is that they show hits more clearly, as there is a neon yellow behind the black overlay, so the shots show more clearly. This is especially useful when shooting the FSRs. You can easily see point of impact even through the running paint.


Here she is, completely set up and tested. This is more than likely the set up I will be using at games down the road. It is a very simple set up with not many bells as whistles, but it works:

Hawke XB1 SR crossbow scope
HHA Optimizer
Caldwell 9"-13" adjustable bi pod
Marksman 14" barrel

Some may notice that I did not use a riser or an APR under my HHA Optimizer. I felt as though that since I am using a scope that is specifically made for the ranges and speeds I am shooting, there is no need to raise it up. I know that I will have to use hold over at ranges outside of 60 yards, but I am perfectly fine with that, in order to keep my profile as low as possible. All shots in this review were made with my VForce Grillz on, and I had absolutely no problem whatsoever bringing my eye to sight. Plenty of eye relief and the Optimizer brings up the scope just high enough where I can comfortable rest my cheek on the stock and zero in on the target. I am really happy about that. ^_^

Now its time for what everyone has been waiting for, my preliminary review. First off, let me say that this thing is loud. Maybe it was because I was firing from my dining room out of my back door and the sound echoed. I will have to test that again when I can get to a place I can shoot further ranges. Hopefully it was just my location, and the marker itself won't be as loud as it was during this round of testing.

I went and aired her up, and the first few shots came out hot around 335 fps, as expected. In fact, the first 5 shots out of the marker only deviated about +/- 5 fps, which really caught my attention early on. It did have its jumps once I adjusted the regulator, but what marker doesn't? After firing rounds and adjusting the chrono (they weren't joking. You have to fire test shots after adjusting to reset the reg, which ate up some of my FSRs.), I finally got it consistent. These were the final 6 shots once I got the chrono set:

276
278
277
276
279
280

Overall, a deviation of +/-4 fps. That is very impressive. Not as good as Chicago's or Trinity's SR1s, but impressive none the less.

My first grouping was 20 yards, standing, without zeroing the scope. Here are the results:



A very good grouping. Granted, while I was firing this, the wind was not blowing very hard. As my tests went on, the wind played a big part in the trajectory and it can be seen in my later results as it got colder and windier.

My second group was prone on bipod from 30 yards. Again, the wind wasnt blowing very hard, so the grouping was rather good.


Most rounds were sporadic, but all stayed within the 12" ring of the target.

3rd grouping was when the wind really started picking up, and I had to start holding over the scope to get the rounds on target. I'm not too good at judging the amount of holdover needed, and it shows in this grouping.


As you can see, it was a pain to fight the wind and get adjusted. First shot was high, next 4 were low because I over compensated. The last 5 were pretty close to center, and I use these as a relative gauge of the ability of the marker. Not a bad grouping, but could be better and a little more consistent.

The last grouping was probably my best, and I will tell you why. While the first 3 or 4 rounds were again, human error on my part due to wind adjustment, the last 6 were all in a roughly 3" x 3" grouping. I wasn't expecting this marker to have groups like that, especially in the wind.



As you can see, the last 6 were a very nice group. Now, all rounds hit the round target, and there were no misses, but the groupings were rather impressive, especially for such a rough test. I have 500 more FSRs coming sometime next week. Unfortunately, I wont be able to run any tests, seeing as I will be in California to spend time with my girlfriend for Valentine's Day, but rest assured that I will perform more tests at more ranges as soon as I get back.

Overall, the marker fired very nicely. The trigger pull was a bit hard, but very consistent, which I like a lot. I loved seeing the rounds fly to the target through the scope.

Tear down was a breeze. I saw the Hustle Paintball video of how to tear it down, but the video does not do the marker justice as to how easy it is to tear down, clean, and lube. I tore it down, cleaned, lubed, and put everything back together in 10 minutes, and that was only because I had to take off the HHA Optimizer. (the dial of the optimizer hangs down and blocks 2 of the Allen screws used to pull the HEAT core out). Everything slid back into place relatively easy and putting it together with the push pins was a snap.

The Marksman barrel is no joke. I have to do some research as to the bore size of it (I believe it is .688, but don't quote me on that) This barrel is spot on. It put paint exactly where the cross hairs were lined up. I am very confident that with the Hawke XB1 and this barrel, I can get very good groupings all the way out to 80 yards or more (as long as the wind behaves itself the next time I go out ^_^)

[chicago]

Excellent write up. I'm so happy for you! As the season goes on, I hope our paths don't cross. you will be a deadly force to be recogned with!

[nessy]

Don't jump to conclusions yet, Chicago. If you and I end up playing at the same scenario, I would gladly play as your spotter/second marksman. Besides, I have to see what she can do at longer ranges before I can even assume how much of a force I'd end up being. ^_^

[Allu]

Nice write up indeed, one thing I noticed, does the removing and re installing of the optimizer affect the zero?

[nessy]

I have not tested that theory yet, Allu. I will be sure to check that out once I can perform my next set of testing.

[ruraldawgs]

Excellent info (and overall writeup) in Paragraph 2 about APR/HHA. Thanks.

[casper]

What was you scope setting for magnification ??

[nessy]

I turned the scope to 280, since that's the speed I'm shooting. It comes out to 2x, which is fairly clear. Because I'm going to sight in with the HHA at 20 and 60 yards, I won't be adjusting the magnification once it's set. That would mess up my crosshairs when adjusting the HHA. I feel that you could zoom once you have your HHA dialed into the range you're going to shoot, but when you go to adjust for another range, I'd adjust it back to 2x, or 280.

[avengingangel]

Its beautiful. By any chance do you live in the Chicago area?

[nessy]

I unfortunately do not. I actually live in the Hampton roads area of Virginia. I was talking to WhiteFeather earlier today, and we both thought about making a trip up to LL7 next year during the summer if neither of us is deployed. We thought about getting a contingent of ACES members and playing for one of the generals as a pure sniper team. lol