Priest… My Take
Will be ongoing and I’ll do a full write up, but wanted to give my initial thoughts since that this gun seems to be garnering some attention.
Got the gun today from RL Airguns…. packed well. Came with a test chrony and group. Looked good…
I opted for the silver/black in .25.
….and of course the one shot I took of the gun came out blurry so I’ll update with a better pic later. It’s dark now.
So quickly my initial thoughts and such. I literally had about an hour of daylight when I got home so I’ve not been able to do much with it. Again, I’ll do a full review on this later, but for now just to whet your appetite…
It’s small. It’s smaller than I had envisioned. The gun dont seem front heavy to me and even with the rather large scope I have on it, seems to be a good carry weight.
Reg whistle…. yep. Mine did it. Alarming at first and I even called Matt about it as I thought something might be wrong. A few more shots and it went away mostly. After several mags, it was barely noticeable. I can hear the plenum refilling every so often, but at this point…. it’s just not a big deal to me.
You do have to be deliberate with cocking. Much like my Hummingbird. You cant candy ass it. I didnt find the knurling to be too sharp.
Overall fit and such… I like it. It looks well made.
I do like the trigger…nice. I’ve not adjusted it yet. I didnt get a chance to do much groups at all. I sighted it in and proceeded to pop leaves at various distances. Nothing I’ve seen so far alarms me with accuracy, but again, I’ve not done any real groups yet.
Mine is shooting around 920 with JSB’s according to the chrony sheet, but I’ve not had a chance to verify that here.
It’s got a unique sound. There is a ping and it’s a little loud, but it doesnt bother me. Matt mentioned they will have a moderator upgrade soon for it for those who require a bit more quiet. I might get it just because, but the sound doesnt bother me.
The gun will accept AR grips, but the bolt to secure is a touch fatter than my spare AR grip so I will need to bore that out a little to make it fit if I want to go that route. I likely will just to have it ‘different’ from some others.
I put an Atlas clone on it and it does a good job of shielding the reg and such. That setup doesnt bother me, really. I’ve got several QB conversions and other conversions so I’m not going to be knocking it around.
The instructions looked good and had color pictures, which I appreciate.
Edit… for the magazine. Yes, you do have to seat the pellets proper. No different really from a Daystate magazine. I used the next pellet in hand to slightly push the previous one down then turn and insert the next pellet.
Going to eat and will be back later if there are any specific questions. More to come!
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Thank you, sir. Unfortunately, the snow and cold kept me from doing much with it this weekend, but we are supposed to be back in the 50’s/60’s by the weekend so will be able to add some relevant info at that time. In my tinkering, I did find out that the baffles from my BSA R10 shroud will fit perfectly inside the Priest…. but the result a mediocre reduction in report at best. Still, I dont think it to be offensively loud for the power level, but I still wouldnt consider it ‘backyard friendly’ if you have uppity neighbors.
this is a brilliant review,,,thanks to all that has imputed to it,,,,,,,looking forward to future info,,,cheers
yep… about 2 and a half hours west of Charlotte… right in the middle of the Blue Ridge Mountains.
Seven inches of snow huh? Do you happen to be close to Charlotte, NC??
Not a ton of shooting today. Got about 7 inches of snow dumped on us today. I did take it over to my shooting buddys house and both he and his wife was knocking plates offhand with it at 30-40 yards and both commented they liked it better than my Colibri and my Cricket. Seemed easier for them to shoot offhand than the other two, but obviously wasnt shooting at tiny targets.
My opinion hasnt changed so far. I still like it… the cocking isnt an issue for me, nor was it for either of them. Must be deliberate. Yes, if it were a .177 gun, I’d expect a bit easier cocking…but this is .25 and I’m ok with it.
Looking forward to more trigger time as the weather allows!
Jimmy
I think if you are used to the bird, you’ll get used to this in short order. Like the bird, you have to be deliberate with it. …and like the bird, if you are not, then you will double load it if you dont remove the mag. I will say it’s a bit stiffer than the bird though. I can shoot and cock the Colibri without losing sight picture through the scope. I cannot do this with the Priest. During my limited shooting today though, the cocking did seem to get a little easier, but I dont know if that’s because I was getting used to it and putting a bit more ass in it or if it was wearing in.
Well, I bought all 4 or my Kalibrguns used, so I’ll probably wait this out and make my move at a later date 😉 I just have high hopes for it. But thanks for all you do to get us this information just the same!
Yes, sir…no worries! Glad folks are finding this informative or at least entertaining! :smilen:
Jimmy
I think if you are used to the bird, you’ll get used to this in short order. Like the bird, you have to be deliberate with it. …and like the bird, if you are not, then you will double load it if you dont remove the mag. I will say it’s a bit stiffer than the bird though. I can shoot and cock the Colibri without losing sight picture through the scope. I cannot do this with the Priest. During my limited shooting today though, the cocking did seem to get a little easier, but I dont know if that’s because I was getting used to it and putting a bit more ass in it or if it was wearing in.
Well, I bought all 4 or my Kalibrguns used, so I’ll probably wait this out and make my move at a later date 😉 I just have high hopes for it. But thanks for all you do to get us this information just the same!
Jimmy
I think if you are used to the bird, you’ll get used to this in short order. Like the bird, you have to be deliberate with it. …and like the bird, if you are not, then you will double load it if you dont remove the mag. I will say it’s a bit stiffer than the bird though. I can shoot and cock the Colibri without losing sight picture through the scope. I cannot do this with the Priest. During my limited shooting today though, the cocking did seem to get a little easier, but I dont know if that’s because I was getting used to it and putting a bit more ass in it or if it was wearing in.
Thanks for posting this Rob. Been anxiously awaiting a good review on the rifle. Looks promising. I finally acquired a really nice Colibri and love the side bolt cocking. And yes you have to be fast and deliberate with the cocking of the Bird, so The Priest will feel right at home to me?
Jimmy
Couldnt tell you the type of aluminum or any testing. RTI has been around a while though not in the PCP market.
I only count 4 coarse threads on a PCP setup. I know it’s on the regulated end but still a bit lacking depending on the actual grade of metal used? Wingman probably has the most knowledge on this given his background and homemade PCP guns however this setup as shown more resembles a paintball setup and not a well implemented PCP setup.
I dont have the expertise to argue it either way to be honest. I’m sure I’ve built conversions that were far more iffy than this might be…haha
Couldnt tell you the type of aluminum or any testing. RTI has been around a while though not in the PCP market.
I only count 4 coarse threads on a PCP setup. I know it’s on the regulated end but still a bit lacking depending on the actual grade of metal used? Wingman probably has the most knowledge on this given his background and homemade PCP guns however this setup as shown more resembles a paintball setup and not a well implemented PCP setup.
Interesting, the cz barrel seems to live up to the name so that’s Good 🙂
I thought I might want to go higher when I saw the gun and in fact, had bought a picatinny riser, but I havent felt the need to use it. I used some no name high-ish rings that came with the scope and they are fine for it. In fact, when I bought the riser, I also bought high rings, but like an idiot, I got one inch instead of 30mm so I couldnt use them.
Shit, I’d be happy with 40 being my first intent was to get a Benjamin Marauder. Rob, how do you feel about your scope ring height? What size height are they and do you feel you wanna go higher, lower or is it just right? In Gregor’s vid he’s got ultra low rings on.
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Looking forward to it fella. Cheers