T9 Longbow: A quantum leap in the sniper’s arsenal
by Ian "Lo" Ebersole on Feb 11, 2009

I was recently asked to review a new product from Special Ops Paintball, one that I was told refined their Longbow line of markers to an entirely new level of functionality. As both a former “paintball sniper” and an engineering student who was given a very firm grasp on kinematics (thanks, Dr. Ruskell), I was skeptical. Only after visiting with the players at Special Ops Paintball who not only swear by their products, but personally use them weekend in and weekend out in the woods, did I really understand what had everyone so excited. Soon thereafter I had one of the first models off the line in my hands, and a beautiful weekend to put it through its paces.

The term ‘sniper’ in paintball is contentious enough to spawn a hundred magazine articles. It seems the vast majority of players entering the sport have their hearts set on becoming a sniper rivaled only by some movie character. Longtime players argue, quite correctly, that there is no range advantage in paintball beyond that provided by a Flatline or Apex barrel, and that accuracy is determined by the paint quality, not the marker. Special Ops Paintball has focused their engineering talents on creating the ultimate marker for snipers in paintball; not one that shoots farther, or more precisely when mounted to a bench, but one that shoots where you point it. Woodsball ergonomics, they call it. Determining whether this new incarnation of the Tiberius Arms T9 would prove to be all it is promised would be my task.

Initial Impressions: Ooh. Oh my.

Wait, you mean after I picked my jaw up off the floor? Right off the bat, it must be said, the T9 looks very impressive. I’m not normally a fan of mil-sim style markers, but the T9 looks good. Probably too good. Don’t-wave-this-around-in-your-front-lawn good.

The T9 comes in a very sturdy hard case with waffle-style foam, which holds all of the components securely. Small components, such as the allen keys and spare screws come in a plastic bag. The Longbow-ready T9 comes with a full size barrel sock, extended barrel with mock suppressor, and the extended front shroud. It comes stock with one standard Tiberius magazine. Also included are a remote line adapter and hopper adapter for those times when you want even more firepower, making the T9 a very versatile marker system.

Also in the package were the longbow components, namely the longbow stock and the 20 round longbow clip. The assembly of these items is very straightforward. The stock slides into a dovetail on the rear of the T9, and is secured with a spring loaded pin which gives a nice snapping sound when the stock is entirely inserted. Once the stock is attached, it is very firm and secure, no wiggling room here. The longbow clip takes slightly longer to install, as it requires removing the hopper adapter plate from the right side of the marker (which is secured with 4 allen screws), and using three of those screws to replace the plate with the longbow clip well. The longbow clip itself slides nicely into the well, and is locked in place by another spring loaded pin. Pressing the brass button on top of the clip will release the clip for quick reloads.

Even before I put any paint or air in the T9 Longbow, I was able to immediately tell that the guys at SpecOps were on to something. With the attached stock and foregrip, the Longbow begs to be swiveled up into firing position. After the first few times it is brought to bear, looking down the open rail above the barrel shows that it is pointing exactly where you meant it to. As with all Tiberius markers, the grip is bulky, but this didn’t seem to be as awkward when the marker was braced against a shoulder using the stock (which dips slightly to allow for positive mask clearance). And without a tank or remote, there was absolutely nothing to hinder movement. The Longbow clip is directly to the side of the barrel, so looking over the top of the marker gives you a clear picture through the sight of your choice, which can be mounted to a full-length Picatinny rail.

One of the key features of the T9 longbow is being able to switch between feeding paint from the longbow clip and the main magazine in the grip, so this was one of the first features I tested. This is accomplished by rotating the barrel between two indexed positions. This task was fairly straightforward: push in on the barrel, rotate it a quarter turn, let it snap into the new position. The one trick to this procedure is making sure the barrel segments are screwed tightly together, as if they are loose, turning the barrel may only result in turning one barrel segment against the other, and not changing the feed position, possibly a critical mistake in a firefight.

The two feed positions combined will allow a player to shoot 28 rounds on one longbow clip and one main magazine, which is almost exactly what can be shot using a single 12g cartridge. During testing, I averaged 26 shots at useable velocities (280 to 260fps) per 12 gram cartridge. I found the best strategy on reloads to be to first shoot the 8 rounds out of the main magazine, and then rotate to the Longbow clip. When the Longbow clip is out of paint, or your air runs out, changing out for a new main magazine provides you both air and paint simultaneously, after which you can reload the Longbow clip at your convenience. This does take quite a bit of awareness to keep track of, but the return in not having any tank or hopper is what makes the Longbow’s ergonomics so beautiful.

After toying with all the features and configuration possibilities of the T9 Longbow, it was time for some field testing. I intentionally put the Longbow through some of the most demanding situations I could create, taking it to a local bunker field where I’d have no chance to sneak into brush and rely on stealth, playing against thirty experienced woodsball and SPPL players, and feeding it leftover paint which had been sitting in my bag for a few months. Either the T9 would speak for itself, or I’d end up as cannon fodder all day.

My first shots through the Longbow simply affirmed everything I’d been coming to understand about the marker. Even my old paint flew straight where I wanted it to, almost subconciously. And even though the barrel is unported, and the included suppressor is only a mockup, the T9 is still a fairly quiet marker. Thanks to the shoulder stock, kick is minimal, and it’s easy to squeeze off two and three shot taps when you need to.

I do have a bone to pick with two items regarding the T9 Longbow. One is that the sectioned barrel contains one section which was finished very roughly, unlike the other components which had a mirror-smooth bore. While I haven’t put enough paint through the T9 to statistically say whether or not this would cause issues, it was enough of a worry in my mind to remove that section of the barrel during play testing (which required removing the front shroud). With this preventative step, I didn’t experience any breaks in the barrel.

However, I did break a ball in the breech of the marker. This highlights a limitation in the design of the T9, in that once a ball has broken in the marker, it is difficult to remove all the paint from the breech. Working for the benefit of the Longbow, since the barrel is held in with a twist-lock system similar to the Automag, removing the barrel for cleaning is very quick. However, paint tends to creep into various other crevices in the breech and the magazines, which takes a fairly thorough cleaning to entirely remove, not something that can be done on the field. I later tested the marker extensively with fresh paint, and did not experience any breaks at all. When you are playing with the one-shot, one-kill mentality, quality paint should already be at the top of your list, but I’d highly recommend it for the T9 Longbow.

Now, the T9 Longbow is probably not going to be your marker of choice playing in CQB situations or on the airball field. With the longbow clip, 18” barrel, and stock, it is rather tough to maneuver around corners. Of course, with the T9, you can easily strip the marker down to pistol configuration in under a minute. And playing with only 28 rounds on your marker doesn’t come naturally, especially the first few games. However, the T9 does meet all the requirements of the ideal paintball sniper marker. It’s light, accurate, has a low profile, relatively quiet, and thanks to the ergonomics, it puts your paint on target. That’s what this sport is all about.

SpecOps T9 Longbow

Ammo capacity: 28 total shots (8 magazine, 20 clip)
Air source: 12 gram cartridge in magazine
MSRP: $429.95
http://www.specialopspaintball.com

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