PMI Piranha

This is Tiny Tim's review of the PMI Piranha VTL G2.

First impressions- The gun is not a very ugly gun. I bought mine with an expansion chamber, and it was my first gun. I noticed it was very compact and simple. After taking it out of the box, I realized PMI meant for this to be a beginner gun. It came with all sorts of o-rings, hex keys, and mainsprings. It came with very cheesey grips, but they were quite comfortable. The low-pressure chamber was a fake, it wasn't hollowed out at all. The trigger pull was long and just a bit on the heavy side, but great for a first gun. It lacked a beavertail, which was actually a necessity because it is a rear-cocking gun and the bolt flies back and forth a lot. My first impressions were very good however.

Stock- The Piranha is great stock, needing only a few things. The aforementioned beavertail is a necessity, a lot of people don't pay attention when firing and tap their masks with the bolt, a very unsafe slip-up. Another good thing to buy would be an aftermarket barrel. The Piranha VTL keeps liquid out because it has a vertical bottle setup. The only things it really needs are a beavertail and a barrel.

Speed- The Piranha's speed is about average. I couldn't jam like I can on my Autococker or on my Matrix, but it was decent for a stock gun. The trigger didn't have any adjustment points on it, and the stock frame and trigger were all plastic. Beginners don't usually pay attention to things like this, and that's a reason why this marker is so cheap. The composite frame is very light however and balances the gun well. The Piranha isn't insanely fast, but it's not slow at all. Experienced fingers will have lots of fun shooting these.

Accuracy/Consistency- The Piranha is an open-bolt blowback marker. It kicks up a bit during strings of shots, but nothing to reject the gun for. The stock barrel is terrible and the bore is so tight that you could match up marbles to it. The key to supreme accuracy is a good paint to barrel match and consistency over the chronograph. I ran my Piranha on Co2, and consistency wasn't as good as with compressed air. If you choose to run compressed air, be sure to pick up an in-line regulator as well. I was getting as much as +/- 8 over the chronograph, which is very decent for a marker in this price-range. The Piranha's accuracy is up to par also.

Reliability- Here is where the Fish (nickname for a Piranha) is superior. PMI's objective with this marker was to deliver a decent product that would always work at a low price. The Piranha's I've seen don't usually need anything in terms of repairs. The o-rings need to be changed occasionally, as with all guns. There is one problem however that Piranhas are infamous for. That would be the sear. The older Piranhas have sears in them that start to round after a bit. Rounded sears don't catch on the bolt, and cause lots of skips and double-fires, like mine did. PMI is now shipping out a vast majority of the Piranhas with stainless-steel laser-cut sears that last a "lifetime", guaranteed. Piranhas are very reliable.

Overall Value- The Piranha is a great gun, for beginners and experienced players. In my opinion it cannot keep up with some of the upper-end guns. I sold mine because I was playing at a higher level and it wouldn't suffice. This was before the ELCD frames came out. These frames make it electronic, and can turn your Fish into a paint-spitting monster. It's a great gun to start out with, and now you can make it even better if you decide to take it one step further in the paintball world.