hobbesTZ
10-19-2004, 09:30 PM
All about the…
Piranha Evo
After one owns 30 markers (not a misprint) over a two year period, they grow sick of the constant buying/selling/trading and all the problems that come with each. I know this from experience. So, after selling another gun (Angel LCD), I decided to screw it all and just get something that meets the criteria I currently need. What I was looking for…
Reasonably fast
Soft trigger pull
Reliable
Very CO2 compatible
Anti-chop something
Low price
It’s impossible to find something that has everything you’re looking, so you have to make exceptions here and there. Fortunately for me, I was able to find pretty much exactly what I so desired. This turned out to be the Evo. My somewhat local shop had one left, a nice glossy red. It was priced at $200, very much so in my range. They had some other deals, but I knew hands down that this one met the most of my criteria. So far, I’ve played one day with it, shooting 1500 rounds. The setup I used was all stock except for the barrel and the bottomline. The barrel used was a Smart Parts TearDrop, and the bottomline consisted of a CP rail and 32* on/off ASA.
Out of the box…
The packaging for the Evo is an attractive cardboard box with a sleeve showing off some of the features. Inside, everything is held in with a simple plastic holder. Included with the Evo is the matching 9” barrel, parts kit (o-rings, velocity springs, allen wrench, detents, and a cup seal), matching drop forward w/ ASA, and the manual. One of the big suprises was the manual. This beast is fairly extensive and is FULL COLOR. There aren’t too many manuals quite like this (the Angel Manual comes to mind, only that one is larger). If you still don’t know what I’m getting at, it’s a lot like the eblade manual. Now for the gun itself. The body is blocky, unlike previous higher end piranhas. It’s less curvaceous and has a real thick feel. It definitely has a lot of material that could have been removed, but it’s not a problem in the least and lends to a more durable feel. There are a few lines on each side, as well as a Piranha Evo decal.
Also on either side you’ll find the eye covers, the same durable plastic as the trigger frame. Speaking of the trigger, it’s not adjustable at all. There are no set screws for adjustment, it is what it is until you buy an after market trigger, or modify the stock trigger (that’s what I did). The trigger is fairly stiff out of the box, but the trigger spring can easily be removed leading to a very soft feel (the microswitch is light with little feedback, similar to that of an Impulse, only more responsive). The grips have a rubbery plastic feel to them, and are unique to the Piranha and Omen trigger frames. It is possible to modify normal stickies or what have you, but the stock grips are fine. The interals are just like any other blowback, all aluminum. The bolt has two slots for the ball detents (Timmy style) and a venture like design on the inside. It’s flush cocking, so you don’t have to worry about getting wacked in the face, or getting your fingers cut up by a pin on the side. The internals are held in by a pin with a ball veering that locks into place, but slides out easy for cleaning. No spyder cotter-pins here. The drop forward it comes with is VERY blocky, but atleast it’s adjustable. You can move it back and forth on the grip frame, just like a horizontal maxflo. All the tanks I tried on the stock ASA go on really loose, which I can only assume isn’t an issue since the foregrip ASA is the same way and it works fine. A few other features include the inline regulator (more on that later), ram-air chamber, pressure guage, and the mid-high rise feedneck (tight, my Revvy fits very snug, and the Halo required a fair amount of sanding. Also including is a one year warranty from PMI.
Unleashing the beast…
The day after purchasing it, I took it to the local field. I used a 68/3000 nitro tank, TearDrop barrel, and a revvy for my setup the entire day. Turning the gun on involves holding a button on the side until the LCD screen turns on, at which point in time the gun is in safe mode. Just one click afterwords makes the gun live and ready to shoot. On the other side of the frame two buttons control turning the eyes on and off, as well as going through the LCDs limited features that I won’t even mention because they’re completely useless. The only real function of the LCD screen is to let you know if the eyes are on or off. I gassed it up (making sure to cock it first), and had no leaking issues then or for the rest of the day. At the chrono, my velocity was bouncing around, with no definitive + or -. On average, I’d guess it was + or – 15. This is pretty much the first gassing up the stock reg. has seen, so that could have been a factor. The Diablo Blaze paint I was using was pretty much a perfect fit, either rolling out or smoothly sliding out. Likewise, I didn’t experience any barrel breaks all day.
On the field, the eyes were doing their job. They are a breambreak setup, and do not shoot unless there is a ball in the breech. There is no delay, it either shoots or it doesn’t. The board is capped at 20 BPS with the eyes on, 13 with them off. In any case, all that adds up to is zero chopping. I shot off 1500 rounds that day with out a single break. I forgot to turn my Revvy on a few times and was reminding by my marker that it was not feeding paint. I’ve done that with my Angel, only instead of not shooting, I would chop and my bolt would stick forward causing it not to shoot. The eyes are a lifesaver, and a big reason to buy the Evo. However, my main complaint is that it is still a blowback, and jolts like any other when fired. I for one couldn’t care less, but it may bother some. On the plus side, it certainly assists in firing. Accuracy with my setup was off an on, there were a couple zingers overall, and not a whole lot of ball on ball at long range. I’d say the accuracy was satisfactory, and can be improved with a new Inline reg. and a barrel kit. For $200, you can’t expect everything. The marker can run at 300 PSI while still shooting 280 FPS. I found that the stock reg. runs better at higher pressures that are probably unique to each setup. The reg. doesn’t NEED to be replaced, but there are many better options out there. Another good thing about the Piranha is that is was running to the very end of my tank. It didn’t have any burping issues at all, and kept me in the last game when I didn’t realize my tank pressure had gotten to about zero. That also happens to be another good feature, I can run my tank really low, which adds to the superb efficiency. I don’t have any numbers for ya, but I can say that it was real good.
Random things…
I didn’t test the stock barrel, but it seems fine. It has a smooth interior, with a two piece design. It’s lined up properly, and the back appears to be in the .689 range.
I have a Halo, but didn’t bother trying it. It has dual detents, but they are very soft stock. They could stand to be replaced with Halo Timmy detents
In the end…
I think the piranha is really top-notch as far as the lower end of the spectrum goes. It really can’t be beat for the price. You can expect to pay anywhere from $200-$300 brand new. You can buy it in black to blue, some sort of bronze fade, and reg. There is also an Atomix version in silver with a modified board (I think it’s WAS).
I guess that’s all I have to say, I hope I didn’t leave anything out. If you want to IM me with questions, feel free to have at it. Thanks for reading :clap:
Update!
The stock barrel is OK. It's not great, but it's not bad. Better than stock spyder barrels IMO.
The eyes are stupendous. I had to use a VL 200 when my Revvy was filled with paint, and was still able to rip away with out having to worry about chops.
Consistancy still sucks, a new Inline reg. is reccomended if you have the cash. It doesn't make or break the gun, but everyone wants things perfect.
Piranha Evo
After one owns 30 markers (not a misprint) over a two year period, they grow sick of the constant buying/selling/trading and all the problems that come with each. I know this from experience. So, after selling another gun (Angel LCD), I decided to screw it all and just get something that meets the criteria I currently need. What I was looking for…
Reasonably fast
Soft trigger pull
Reliable
Very CO2 compatible
Anti-chop something
Low price
It’s impossible to find something that has everything you’re looking, so you have to make exceptions here and there. Fortunately for me, I was able to find pretty much exactly what I so desired. This turned out to be the Evo. My somewhat local shop had one left, a nice glossy red. It was priced at $200, very much so in my range. They had some other deals, but I knew hands down that this one met the most of my criteria. So far, I’ve played one day with it, shooting 1500 rounds. The setup I used was all stock except for the barrel and the bottomline. The barrel used was a Smart Parts TearDrop, and the bottomline consisted of a CP rail and 32* on/off ASA.
Out of the box…
The packaging for the Evo is an attractive cardboard box with a sleeve showing off some of the features. Inside, everything is held in with a simple plastic holder. Included with the Evo is the matching 9” barrel, parts kit (o-rings, velocity springs, allen wrench, detents, and a cup seal), matching drop forward w/ ASA, and the manual. One of the big suprises was the manual. This beast is fairly extensive and is FULL COLOR. There aren’t too many manuals quite like this (the Angel Manual comes to mind, only that one is larger). If you still don’t know what I’m getting at, it’s a lot like the eblade manual. Now for the gun itself. The body is blocky, unlike previous higher end piranhas. It’s less curvaceous and has a real thick feel. It definitely has a lot of material that could have been removed, but it’s not a problem in the least and lends to a more durable feel. There are a few lines on each side, as well as a Piranha Evo decal.
Also on either side you’ll find the eye covers, the same durable plastic as the trigger frame. Speaking of the trigger, it’s not adjustable at all. There are no set screws for adjustment, it is what it is until you buy an after market trigger, or modify the stock trigger (that’s what I did). The trigger is fairly stiff out of the box, but the trigger spring can easily be removed leading to a very soft feel (the microswitch is light with little feedback, similar to that of an Impulse, only more responsive). The grips have a rubbery plastic feel to them, and are unique to the Piranha and Omen trigger frames. It is possible to modify normal stickies or what have you, but the stock grips are fine. The interals are just like any other blowback, all aluminum. The bolt has two slots for the ball detents (Timmy style) and a venture like design on the inside. It’s flush cocking, so you don’t have to worry about getting wacked in the face, or getting your fingers cut up by a pin on the side. The internals are held in by a pin with a ball veering that locks into place, but slides out easy for cleaning. No spyder cotter-pins here. The drop forward it comes with is VERY blocky, but atleast it’s adjustable. You can move it back and forth on the grip frame, just like a horizontal maxflo. All the tanks I tried on the stock ASA go on really loose, which I can only assume isn’t an issue since the foregrip ASA is the same way and it works fine. A few other features include the inline regulator (more on that later), ram-air chamber, pressure guage, and the mid-high rise feedneck (tight, my Revvy fits very snug, and the Halo required a fair amount of sanding. Also including is a one year warranty from PMI.
Unleashing the beast…
The day after purchasing it, I took it to the local field. I used a 68/3000 nitro tank, TearDrop barrel, and a revvy for my setup the entire day. Turning the gun on involves holding a button on the side until the LCD screen turns on, at which point in time the gun is in safe mode. Just one click afterwords makes the gun live and ready to shoot. On the other side of the frame two buttons control turning the eyes on and off, as well as going through the LCDs limited features that I won’t even mention because they’re completely useless. The only real function of the LCD screen is to let you know if the eyes are on or off. I gassed it up (making sure to cock it first), and had no leaking issues then or for the rest of the day. At the chrono, my velocity was bouncing around, with no definitive + or -. On average, I’d guess it was + or – 15. This is pretty much the first gassing up the stock reg. has seen, so that could have been a factor. The Diablo Blaze paint I was using was pretty much a perfect fit, either rolling out or smoothly sliding out. Likewise, I didn’t experience any barrel breaks all day.
On the field, the eyes were doing their job. They are a breambreak setup, and do not shoot unless there is a ball in the breech. There is no delay, it either shoots or it doesn’t. The board is capped at 20 BPS with the eyes on, 13 with them off. In any case, all that adds up to is zero chopping. I shot off 1500 rounds that day with out a single break. I forgot to turn my Revvy on a few times and was reminding by my marker that it was not feeding paint. I’ve done that with my Angel, only instead of not shooting, I would chop and my bolt would stick forward causing it not to shoot. The eyes are a lifesaver, and a big reason to buy the Evo. However, my main complaint is that it is still a blowback, and jolts like any other when fired. I for one couldn’t care less, but it may bother some. On the plus side, it certainly assists in firing. Accuracy with my setup was off an on, there were a couple zingers overall, and not a whole lot of ball on ball at long range. I’d say the accuracy was satisfactory, and can be improved with a new Inline reg. and a barrel kit. For $200, you can’t expect everything. The marker can run at 300 PSI while still shooting 280 FPS. I found that the stock reg. runs better at higher pressures that are probably unique to each setup. The reg. doesn’t NEED to be replaced, but there are many better options out there. Another good thing about the Piranha is that is was running to the very end of my tank. It didn’t have any burping issues at all, and kept me in the last game when I didn’t realize my tank pressure had gotten to about zero. That also happens to be another good feature, I can run my tank really low, which adds to the superb efficiency. I don’t have any numbers for ya, but I can say that it was real good.
Random things…
I didn’t test the stock barrel, but it seems fine. It has a smooth interior, with a two piece design. It’s lined up properly, and the back appears to be in the .689 range.
I have a Halo, but didn’t bother trying it. It has dual detents, but they are very soft stock. They could stand to be replaced with Halo Timmy detents
In the end…
I think the piranha is really top-notch as far as the lower end of the spectrum goes. It really can’t be beat for the price. You can expect to pay anywhere from $200-$300 brand new. You can buy it in black to blue, some sort of bronze fade, and reg. There is also an Atomix version in silver with a modified board (I think it’s WAS).
I guess that’s all I have to say, I hope I didn’t leave anything out. If you want to IM me with questions, feel free to have at it. Thanks for reading :clap:
Update!
The stock barrel is OK. It's not great, but it's not bad. Better than stock spyder barrels IMO.
The eyes are stupendous. I had to use a VL 200 when my Revvy was filled with paint, and was still able to rip away with out having to worry about chops.
Consistancy still sucks, a new Inline reg. is reccomended if you have the cash. It doesn't make or break the gun, but everyone wants things perfect.