RTI Arms

[binfordw]

I like a lot of the design features, and performance, however, the side panels....good grief. Looks a bit like Evanix, which is not a good thing in my book.

Exactly,  1980's erector set leftovers?

I guess it all is aesthetical, but still, bugs me, seems cheap.  Although I cringed at the black oxide button heads with washers on the WARP too.

[oldpro]

No way is anyone going to convince me The Priest wasn't a persons direct attempt at coping a well known air rifle. I've seen this for years now with Chinese importers copying Edguns and others I just think it's wrong. But hey it's my personal opinion and that's all. That said the Priest would look way better with the carbon bottle on it not that clunky aluminum one on there in this pic.

[Avra]

No...no...It is not a copy.That is NOT a Bobcat or a Wildcat in the brand logo.
It is a Lynx!
 

[farmerjoe99]

Well everyone is free to have his or her opinion,
I myself tend to agree with anti-squirrel and Zebra,
and don't see this as a bad thing nor necessarily copying,
it would be pretty rough for us users if company's were afraid to take someone elses
idea and change it and build on it to make it better in their eyes.

That said I would probably feel differently if I was an actual designer that was copied without credit...
the key here is to do your best and leave it up to the people... its the excellent quality, service, and most of all the relationships
of companies like WAR, RAW, and AAA that make them the great.

[Bizill]

Wow, I really like the cocking method of this gun vs the impact.  It's a lot like the colibri.
I gotta say though, the profit margins on these guns has to be pretty good......

maybe they did, but it would be so easy to utilize the mounting style of the ar15 grip.  This would open up almost limitless possibilities for hand grip styles.  I could also see where it would be really easy to have custom water jet sideplates made for it.  I'd like to see the gun in burnt bronze and black.

It seemed like the gun wasn't silenced as good as some others, did it not have any baffles?  It seemed like the inside of the shroud was empty to me?   Maybe opportunity to really quieten the gun down even more.

I like it - if I don't have a PCP by November I may grab one.

Per their description: Standard AR15 grip (must be without beaver tail)

[BigTinBoat]

No way is anyone going to convince me The Priest wasn't a persons direct attempt at coping a well known air rifle.

But how do we know who copied who?

When I do an image search of an FX Impact the 1st result is an FX Impact. The 2nd result is this. (And  found it in a post from 2012) So I wonder who copied who in the Impact/Evanix case?




If anything though it looks like the "appearance" is what is copied. How about the Cricket, Edgun, Mutant and all the other "Bullpups" out there?

[Zebra]

No way is anyone going to convince me The Priest wasn't a persons direct attempt at coping a well known air rifle. I've seen this for years now with Chinese importers copying Edguns and others I just think it's wrong. But hey it's my personal opinion and that's all. That said the Priest would look way better with the carbon bottle on it not that clunky aluminum one on there in this pic.

Yeah I hate it when companies make similar looking air rifles:

















I only like pcp guns that are totally unique like the.... Um.... you know.... the.... wait a minute.... um.... nope, can't think of a single one.

FX have never been shy about patenting their inventions. They can't patent things they didn't invent though so, if a new air gun is not breaching a patent or using someone else's trademark then it's perfectly legal and moral. It's called competition and every industry has it or it's a monopoly, which is bad.

We've had a little taste of how we customers get treated when there is no competition and I don't like it at all. It's long delays, poor quality control and a generally horrible experience.

[oldpro]

No way is anyone going to convince me The Priest wasn't a persons direct attempt at coping a well known air rifle. I've seen this for years now with Chinese importers copying Edguns and others I just think it's wrong. But hey it's my personal opinion and that's all. That said the Priest would look way better with the carbon bottle on it not that clunky aluminum one on there in this pic.

Yeah I hate it when companies make similar looking air rifles:

















I only like pcp guns that are totally unique like the.... Um.... you know.... the.... wait a minute.... um.... nope, can't think of a single one.

Zebra your stretching it LOL, seriously I dont mind at all that guns have similar features theres only so many ways to skin a cat but the priest is dam near identical. I can see im beating a dead horse Its a clone plain and simple.

[Tomg]

The Flex doesn't look like any other rifle, unless you mean it looks like a rifle...When I was asked to design the stock, I was given a simple framework directive, trigger placement, ,AR compatibility, and it had to be rugged, that was it. I was free to put a few functional features in with the help of Jim and Travis.

To some extent, all rifles will have features that looks similar to other guns, however there is a difference between copying the entire footprint of a popular gun, and coming up with something that have features similar to something else.

[Zebra]

Old Pro, if you're the guy that makes the Flex then I say this with the greatest of respect because I think it's a great product that I intend to buy at some point but nobody is going to mistake the Priest for an Impact.

There are certain design similarities in that they are both bullpups and bottle guns - something neither of them invented. They both borrow some styling elements from the AR15 (like yourself and many others) and none of you can claim credit for that. What makes the Flex aesthetics original? If it's more than moving the carry handle to the other side, I don't see it. Again, that's not me saying it isn't an excellent product. It's just not original but I couldn't care less about that and neither can any of your happy customers.

The Priest brings a number of important new features to the market. The ability to run the bottle off the gun is something I have wanted to a while and can't get on the Impact. The price is more consumer friendly and it doesn't have a 6 month waiting list (yet). It's release is a good thing for customers.

This is very different to the Chinese fraudsters who make exact copies and use other people's brand names. In some cases, they actually pass off their fakes as the real deal but sell a low quality product. That is a bad thing.

If the Priest turns out to be a low quality product then it won't sell well. Information spreads too quickly on the Internet. If it turns out to be accurate then nobody will care who the designer was. That's just the way it is.

My Taipan Mutant looks similar to my Cricket but so what... It's awesome. The P12 looks like my Cricket too but I wouldn't consider it to be in the same league.

[oldpro]

 Rob I respect your opinion and I totally understand where your coming from but they look too close for comfort to me. If I was FX id be really perturbed but they probably have their hands full with all the issues the Impact has. I certainly would take a priest over and impact from what ive seen so far but not having shot one yet who knows? I like the design alot and I had something very very similar in the works and had to drop it when the impact arrived on the market. I love all the new technology thats pumping into the market these days, we are going to see advances like no other time in PCP history the next few years. 

[Tomg]

To each their own, I am not here to argue this way or that. However as being a designer for the better part of 35 years, I do have a working knowledge of how things work, and they are usually one of these:

A) You accidentally look similar to another product due to the design specifications have lead you on the same path.
B) You take cues from other developers and incorporate it into your own development.
C) You reverse engineer and/or copy someone else product almost verbatim, with very little distinguishing the two, but enough to not getting into trouble.

I personally think the A and B version is certainly a honest and straightforward, whereas C is dubious and dishonest.

[Tucobenedicto]

Nice,but a bit overpriced for a gun with a standard paintball regulator,isn't?

[Hunt4dinner]

I personally will stand back for about a year and let everyone else buy the priest and test it out for me!

[Tucobenedicto]

No...no...It is not a copy.That is NOT a Bobcat or a Wildcat in the brand logo.
It is a Lynx!
 

Lynx setup,copied from american tuners.

[Bizill]

Sorta wish I had cancelled my order for an Armada and waited for this Priest.  In my limited opinion the only competition is the FX Impact and the W.A.R. offerings.  Here's the bottom line from a guy like myself with a champagne taste on a beer budget, if the Priest proves itself worthy, I'm choosing that offering.  That's the giant elephant in the room.

[anti-squirrel]

I'd consider the Priest a clone if it had sidelever-cocking (not a "charging bolt") and the incredible adjustability of the Impact.  Since it has neither, I repeat that form followed function.  AR-grip, bullpup, bottle-gun, skeleton framed stock, shrouded.  With those in mind, I think just about anything anybody comes up with will look like these.  As Tomg indicated, it would be item A in his list.

After all, look at how many bolt-action sporter-stock PCPs look alike.

As long as it shoots accurately and is reliable, who cares?  My guess it is will be far simpler than the Impact, and the Navy-guy in me loves the KISS principle. 

[Skinard88]

Bizill said just what I was thinking.  If the Priest performs well, then I might just go down that road. I just wish the WARP was a little more budget friendly.  I think I will wait for Nov.5th and look for some reviews.

[Bizill]

Mmmmm, this bad boy is already regulated as well.  I'm quite sure I'll regret not refusing my Benji Armada when it's delivered tomorrow.  Wish I could afford the Armada, Priest and the beloved WARP, but funds dictate otherwise.  I wish this thread had come up just a few days sooner.  But without any reviews besides the one with the fella in his tiny shorts, well...I don't want to be part of the testing and development dept for RTI Arms unless they place me on their payroll. 

I WILL be keeping an eye on this AG.  Arrow option seems cool as well.  Price seems right.  I hate choices being that I'm so indecisive.

ETA: I'm new to this but is the regulator on this or the bottle adjustable, or do you have to purchase a specific psi setting for each tune or power level you'd want?

[BigTinBoat]

ETA: I'm new to this but is the regulator on this or the bottle adjustable, or do you have to purchase a specific psi setting for each tune or power level you'd want?

Based on the website:

Hi-Cap Bottle with Regulator

Priest comes with a 320cc buddy bottle which has a working pressure of 300bar. On top of it it has a pressure regulator which is by default set to 125bar. This combination allows us to make a whole lot of consistent shots.

and these pics:


I would say that the regulator is manufacturer in the same place the JDS regulators are made. (only they use a fancier chrome bonnet) The pressure should be adjustable and you should also be able to improve the regulator function with the addition of a Ninja piston if you feel comfortable doing so