BT TM-7—Looks AND Performance
by Tim Saunders & Robby Spratt on Mar 03, 2009
With the ever-increasing number of mil-sim style markers which have been flooding the industry over the past few years, markers are looking more and more like actual military equipment. For many players looks aren’t everything--but they are still important. BT kept both looks and performance in mind when they created the TM-7.
The marker resembles the German assault rifle, the MP7. BT was not only extremely successful in recreating the look of the MP7, but they also took producing an “off-the-shelf” marker with great functionality to the next level. Borrowing the proven technology of the Invert Mini gave BT a fast-track to getting tournament performance into a Mil-Sim style marker. Take a look at the schematic in the TM-7 manual, and you’ll see most the guts of the Mini hiding out in the shell of the TM-7. A proven, high performance design inside a great looking body. What more could you ask?
First Glance
When you first handle the marker, you’ll think it’s too light, plastic and fragile. The light weight is definitely one of the strongest assets of the TM-7. As you get a closer look, the high-quality of the light weight, polymer shell comes to life. It feels solid, and free of any flashing or other flaws common on cast composite parts. There is a little side to side play in the four-way adjustable trigger, but it’s not too bad. This will probably be solved as aftermarket triggers become available. It comes with a very good parts kit in a clear plastic case which includes wrenches, lube, spare o-rings, spare bolts, a second set of detents, and a 9-volt battery.
Operation
The operation is very simple. A single 9-volt battery goes in the easily accessible battery compartment. Screw in the air tank, and it’s ready to go. Push and hold the power button for two seconds to power it up in “eyes-on” mode. To turn the eyes off you just hold the trigger down when turning on the gun. The selector switch, which changes the marker operation between firing modes is smooth and sturdy, with a light click when a firing mode is selected. You can start the day in semi-automatic mode, and with a quick flip of the thumb move up to burst or fully automatic when you need some additional firepower. Both of the higher firepower settings require three single trigger pulls to initiate the burst or automatic firing, which may not come instinctively to all players. However, this was installed as a safety feature, to prevent accidentally unleashing a firestorm of paint when you stumble or in the staging area. The slight inconvenience is worth the safety factor. (The TM-7 also comes with a full compliment of tournament firing modes as found in the Invert Mini.)
The feedneck is the same style as the BT-4, which slides on from the front, but on the TM-7 the sling attachment points block the rail on front and rear, making it tricky to attach the feedneck at first. Look more closely, and you’ll see the picatinny rail is skinnier just in front of the breech, so the feedneck just pops on and slides back.
Because the breech is molded into the plastic body, there are structural ribs visible inside the breech, which look like little fins. These would be difficult to clean if broken paint is fired through the marker.
Performance
The TM-7 is a tournament level marker in a tactical body, so you absolutely will need a force fed or agitated hopper if you want the gun to shoot at its full potential. There is virtually no kick when it fires, so a gravity fed hopper will jam up frequently. This marker is amazingly quiet to shoot. It shoots very smoothly and accurately, and feels great in your hands. Sending large quantities of paint downfield is almost too easy, and the consistency of the marker makes taking single shots from a concealed position an entirely viable option.
For those really wanting to add some speed to the TM-7, the shell is designed so you can easily install the Empire Magna RF transmitter. This synchronizes your marker and Magna hopper through a RF signal, so that every time you pull the trigger, the Magna will activate, guaranteeing you will always have a ball in the breech.
The manual says that you don’t need to adjust the regulator, and that it should be at or below 200 psi. You adjust the velocity through an access point just in front of the battery compartment on the underside of the gun. BT also says, you only need to adjust in small increments, but we found that we had to adjust it at least a quarter turn to see any significant difference. From the factory the marker was shooting around 330 fps, so have it chronographed before you play with it for the first time. After adjusting the velocity to the 280fps range, the consistency kept within +/-10fps on the brand new regulator. As the regulator breaks in, this should settle to within 4 fps.
Ergonomics
The feel of the gun will vary between players, but the feel of the TM-7 is accurate to the real MP-7 it is based on. You can keep the gun with the stock attached or removed, and it comes with a blank back plate that covers up the attachment point for the stock.
The foregrip feels good in the vertical position, but when it is folded down, it feels a little too tight. It feels much better when you move the foregrip to the furthermost position. When adjusting the foregrip position, take care not to over tighten the bolt. It can pull right through the plastic. When we first played with the TM-7, the button that allows the foregrip to fold down popped off and the foregrip fell off. If there is one part of the gun that needs refinement, it’s the foregrip design. It’s not as stable as it ought to be for the rigors of woodsball and scenario paintball. However, as the foregrip mounts to a standard picatinny rail, replacements are available. While we’d like to see BT improve this design in later versions of the TM-7, the option is available to use an aftermarket foregrip.
The picatinny rails which adorn the marker will allow for any number of tactical accessories to be added, from scopes, sights and flashlights to cosmetic accessories. Another woodsball feature, the feedneck of the TM-7 is offset to the right side, which gives a clear line of sight across the top of the marker. This also allows for the addition of the BT Ripclip to the TM-7, an integrated electronic hopper solution mounted like a cyclone feeder, and functioning similarly to a HALO loader.
The trigger has four adjustment screws for activation point, forward movement/stop point, return spring tension, and rear movement range/stop point. This makes the action of the trigger extremely customizable. The trigger guard is also removable, so players who prefer a two-finger style trigger can be accommodated. Aftermarket double triggers have recently been released, although we did not test any on this marker.
For those unfamiliar with the Invert Mini, one distinct difference is found in the regulator system. The regulator assembly rests just beneath the grip inside the ASA. From here, the regulated air then flows through the main transfer tube in the grip of the marker. Your air tank (this marker, like the Mini, is not CO2 friendly) connects directly to the Regulator assembly, so there is no macroline to tamper with. This all made it extremely easy for BT to design the MP7 style body around the tiny “innards” of the Mini.
Maintenance
The Invert Mini platform used for the TM-7 is well known for being easy to maintain. The BT-7 complicates the maintenance slightly because you now have to remove the body in order to get at the Mini internals. This includes removing any accessories on the gun, undoing the bolts around the edges of the clam-shell style body, and then removing half the shell. After removing the body shell, maintenance is just like the Invert Mini. Despite the added step of removing the outer body, the incredibly simple Mini internals means a complete service will take less than a half hour.
Conclusion
For those looking to get an off the shelf Mil-Sim marker with minimal upgrades, this is the marker for you. Some players just love to tinker, customize and change their equipment down to the smallest component. For now, the TM-7 is limited in that regard. There are modifications available, but nothing like what you’ll see for other markers. They simply aren’t needed. Some guns are sold in the most basic configuration, and are merely a starting point for the hundreds of dollars in extras you’ll be adding to it. That isn’t the intent of the TM-7. It’s a high performance, mean-looking, paint-slinging machine. Off the shelf, it is ready for battle and will fulfill the needs of beginners and experts alike.